A few months back (June 29, 2021) I decided to go hiking in Canmore. This time, to the more obscure, and “difficult”-rated Bald Eagle Peak. The ascent did indeed prove moderately difficult, with progress being slowed because of the dense forest terrain (the path isn’t always easy to discern depending on which path you follow), and the degree of incline for the upper portion of the mountain. I often use All Trails for navigating, especially when I’m on a lesser-known hike like this one, and the strange thing about the path on All Trails when I did the hike in June (shown in red on the image) is that it had a different path down than it had up. [NOTE: I have since noticed that the path for this hike on All Trails is different now.]
Loops are common in hikes, but the top loop portion (still shown as a black dotted line on the All Trails map) proved.. problematic. Even though it was during our summer heat wave and was an incredibly hot day (35 C), I had prepared adequately for the conditions. I was able to follow the path marked on All Trails, often requiring the GPS overlay to help keep me on track, as the forest portion had no discernible trail other than the occasional ribbon. I had noticed that there was in fact a trodden path that showed up when looking at the mountain on Google maps, but it basically led straight up the mountain, making it a difficult slog I’m sure. The All Trails path that I had, sent me west to the drainage creek where I connected with the west-southwest corner of the mountain, the beginning of a subtle ridgeline that must spread the elevation gain more evenly over the forest portion compared to the direct route – fair enough – this path may be properly thought-out for this reason, however either path eventually leads you to the upper ridgeline that takes you to the top. The upper ridge is a full-bodied clamber over rocky outcroppings all along the ridge (but nothing too extreme), and provides truly breathtaking vistas all the way up. The peak itself is a short, chimney-type climb that requires the use of hands to climb, and careful foot placement. The pay-off at the top is huge, and well worth the journey.
After spending 20-30 mins at the top, I began my descent. As you notice on the image, where the ridge meets the base of the chimney, the downward path splits from the upward path, leading you beneath the ridgeline for several hundred meters to eventually reconnect with it. I’m not entirely sure – it’s possible that this path is slightly easier going downhill – but what I am entirely sure of is that if you deviate from the path, even slightly, by drifting downhill, YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO RECONNECT WITH THE MAIN TRAIL – moreover, as I so memorably discovered, YOU CANNOT EVEN MAKE IT DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. I had no idea it was this imperative to stay on the designated path (a path that has no visual trail on the ground) so I was not too careful, thinking I could always just correct my direction and get back to the path, and so I ended up drifting downhill (something that’s extremely dangerous at the top portion of a steep mountain). When I noticed I was off the path, I tried to adjust by angling back in the direction of the trail, but still going downhill (because who wants to go back uphill when you’ve started down a mountain), but little did I know that every step I took downhill, was a step away from the only point I could have taken to reconnect with the main trail – and the main trail, as it turns out, is the only way down the upper portion of the mountain. The entire upper half of the mountain (the area beneath the upper part of the ridge) is steep, rough, shale terrain that includes several impassible sub-ridges. The whole area filters down into a main gully that serves as the east edge of the lower half of the mountain. Being that this area is just the raw face of a mountain, there is no “easy path” to take because of the brush and loose shale together with the fact that it is still very steep. So steep, that any misstep would be a slip and a rough slide on loose rocks – not deadly, you’d be able to pick yourself up – but when you’re in danger of this kind of slip with every step, you tend to go slower. My stride shortened to about 6-inch steps for most of this area, which as you can imagine, slowed my progress down the mountain immensely. At times steps became so uncertain that I had to sit down on the rough terrain and slide, each time tearing my shorts a bit more (eventually they were completely shredded). Normally, when a hike takes you 4 hours to get to the top of a mountain, you can count on the trip down taking about 3 hours or so, however with my slow pace, I reached three hours and I wasn’t even a third of the way down the mountain. It was quickly beginning to look like I was going to spend my whole afternoon and evening on my descent. What made matters worse was my water situation. It was still 35C and knowing this was going to be an issue, I started severely rationing my water. I also began to pray for deliverance from this situation which now seemed to me to be bordering on emergency. And for the first time in my life, I began to call out “Help” in hopes some other hiker might hear me – but knowing I was way too far off the trail for that to be an actual possibility. I kept trying to cut over towards the main path, but to no avail. Ridges kept blocking my path over, and kept forcing me on a path down the mountain. Eventually, I gave up trying to cut over (as it was more time consuming to try) and decided to just follow my downward path to the main gully that everything filtered into, in order to let that take me all the way down (or so I thought – as I found out later, you should never follow gullies down a mountain). It was yet more gruelingly slow progress on the terrain, but I finally made it to the gully. The smooth stone floor of the gully, finally made it a little easier to walk, and so I regained a little hope that I would make it down that day (probably by late evening), however my bigger problem was hydration. Going on 5 hours on my single rationed bottle of water, and the temperature still sweltering, the bottle was almost empty. My prayers became more intense. Then, when I was down to my last swig of water, I came to a small runoff pool – a sink-sized indentation in the rock, filled with water. Normally I would not touch standing water on a mountain but I had to make a decision – do I risk getting sick from beaver fever or do I risk heat stroke? The water was clear and there was no plant or animal matter in it whatsoever, so I decided to fill my bottle.. and took a small sip.. it tasted gamey (not good) but I did not start to feel sick (not that I know how long it would take to feel the effects of beaver fever) and decided to fully hydrate myself as I was simply in too much need. It might have saved my life. Thank you, Lord. I continued down the gully, noticing that I was encountering some vertical drops. Then, all of sudden, still only about a third of the way down the mountain, I hit the clincher: a smooth 20-foot drop, straight down, with no hand holds to climb down. The ridges on either side of the gully where much too step to climb and find a way around, and I was way too exhausted to climb any amount back up the mountain (I would have had to climb all the way back up to where I originally deviated from the trail!).. So I realized I was fully at an impasse. I wasn’t going anywhere. Either I was going to spend a night on the mountain and begin climbing back up the next day – with little food and water.. or I make a call to 911. I had thus far avoided it, though many might have tried to call much earlier given the situation – but I did not want to risk a presumed large bill for a helicopter rescue.. But at this point I knew it had to be attempted. I looked at my phone and I didn’t see bars (I think I had the single base triangle which on my phone is really tiny). This was likely due to the high ridges on either side of me – rising several hundred feet, with me in a narrow gully between them.. the call was choppy but it went through. (Take note that if you think you’re going to need to use your phone for an emergency call, keep an eye on your signal strength as you go and don’t get caught walking deep into a location that has no coverage.) In a few minutes they connected me to Canmore mountain rescue, and explaining my situation to them, they agreed I would need a rescue. Using my GPS location app, I was able to share my exact coordinates. After about 30 mins, I heard the helicopter. After another 10-15 mins they were lowering the rescuer. He harnessed me to himself, and after a most-harrowing day on Bald Eagle Peak, my feet finally left the earth that had them bound for almost 10 hours. (I felt like Frodo getting rescued from Mt. Doom by the eagles.) In less than five minutes I was down at the parking lot where I parked my car. They unhooked my harness, took a photo of my drivers license, I thanked my rescuer, I waved to the helicopter pilot to thank him as well. I then walked to my car, thanking my Lord for staying with me (as He always does) and for keeping me safe in a situation that could have gone differently. (I know I’ve got a home with Him whenever I do leave this life, but I’m thinking He wants me around a bit longer.) I then drove into Canmore for a cold beer and supper. Here are some very important things I have learned (or re-learned) in regards to hiking preparations: 1. Always tell someone where you’re hiking, especially when going solo; 2. Buy some water purification tablets or a filter straw and put them right next to your bear spray in your backpack whenever you hike; 3. Think twice (and do careful research) before following the All Trails path on lesser-known hikes; 4. Consider downloading a GPS coordinates app to your phone so you can always be ready to communicate your exact coordinates to someone by phone or text if you need to; 5. Don’t follow gullies down a mountain; 6. Maintain awareness of your cell phone battery level and signal strength. MY ADVICE FOR HIKING BALD EAGLE PEAK: Take the same path down that you took up (the ridge)! If you do try to follow the alternate path down, stick to it like glue and make sure you reconnect with the main ridge because if you don’t, and get caught drifting downward from the path, it’s a dead end and very probably an emergency situation.
Psalm 139:1-6
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.