Pocaterra Ridge

Pocaterra Ridge, July 23.

Pocaterra Ridge at Highwood Pass, Alberta, had been on our "to do" list for awhile, but, wanting to do a one way ridge walk, with a car waiting at the end of the day for an easy return, we had been stymied by a lack of partners. Bikes! Yes, that was it, leave them locked up at the pass, hike the ridge, and coast back down the highway at day's end! In the panorama above, taken from Little Arethusa, Pocaterra is the undulating green and tan ridge stretching from right, to just left of center. Our bikes would be off the bottom of the picture towards the left, if the Highwood Pass parking lot was visible.

After wasting some time wandering in the creekside willows looking for a dry crossing, an easy log bridge was found, which led to a good trail ascending the forest on the north end of the ridge. An hour later, we were out of the trees, getting blasted by a strong, cool wind as we headed south towards summit #2 in the distance. Panorama here.

There was an abundance of alpine wildflowers along the crest, with townsendia and jacob's ladder (below) being some of the showier species.

Further along, as the ridge dipped below treeline, the east facing glades were packed with paintbrush, arnica and valerian. That's Elbow Lake in the distance, a trailside attraction on the way to two other classic Highwood Pass area adventures:
Piper Creek
and the mountain bike loop:
Around the Misty Range.

Jo, still bundled up against the wind, following the undulating ridgeline snaking towards top #2.

The wind abated as we hit top #2, and continued on our way towards #3 at left, an easy stroll on grass. Beyond is the high point of the day, summit #4, at left of center, looking maybe a bit intimidating to some from here, scree ramps and rocky steps made it easier than it appears. Little Highwood Pass is the notch to right of center.

With most of the uphill over for the day, we took a brief breather at the top, and a look back north at summits three and two of the ridge.

After a bit more scree, these grassy slopes were a delight to descend. Here's Phil, with a different way to descend these slopes, in late November 2004.

The south side of Little Highwood Pass was still sporting a short, yet skiable patch of snow, bringing back memories of a perfect day in November.

More flower meadows as we dropped into the trees.

Our route out took down into Pocaterra Cirque, a favorite fall larch destination. Some images of a perfect late September day can be found here. Back on a well beaten trail, we trudged through the forest over the last short climb of the day, back to our bikes at the busy Highwood Pass parking lot. The quick downhill blast on pavement was as anticipated, save for a slowdown to avoid a herd of bighorns, and actually having to fight the wind by pedaling a flatter stretch back to our truck. We were late for dinner as usual!

Index to links:
Arethusa Cirque Fall in Pocaterra Cirque Skiing in Pocaterra Cirque Google Earth view of Highwood Pass	Pocaterra Ridge panorama Piper Creek slideshow Around the Misty Range.