Rummel Lake and Pass Hike

August 12, 2019 In Outdoor Edventures

Where:

When:

Who:

Trailhead:

take the Spray Lakes Road from Canmore for about 30 minutes until you reach the turnoff for Mt. Engadine Lodge
park on the east side of the road
the trail starts right at the T intersection

Trail notes:

425 meters of elevation gain and a 9 km out and back to the lake
200 meters and 6 km extra to hike out and back to the pass
the trail starts with a fairly gentle climb thru the forest for the first couple of km

after the gentle start, there is a bit of a climb thru the open meadow until you reenter the forest where it is once again a gentle climb until you cross Rummel Creek
be careful thru the meadow to watch the signage such that you don’t end up on the High Rockies trail
when you come to the bridge at Rummel Creek, there is another trail you can take on the south side (right fork)
this route provides a more scenic (waterfalls) stroll along the creek up to the lake however it requires sure footing on one narrow and slightly elevated climb along a ridge (fairly safe for most people but something to be aware of)
the other option is to take the left fork which takes you thru more forest up to the lake
from Rummel Lake, you have the option of taking the trail at the far end of the lake (along the north side) up a steep pitch to the valley above
in the valley, you can proceed east for a 3 km to Rummel Pass which provides beautiful views of the Kananaskis Valley including Lost Lake, Mt. Kidd, Fortress Ridge, and Fortress Mountain
the hike took us just under five hours but would have been about three hours if we had just gone to the lake and back
this trail is good for all levels of hikers

Interesting notes:

we saw two bears (black bear and grizzly bear) feeding on the side of the road on the drive up (the grizzly ran out in front of our vehicle which was cool to see but a bit scary if we had hit it)
we also saw two partridge (one with two chicks), two herds of mountain sheep, as well as several marmots, so it was the best wildlife outing we have ever had
a good portion of the trail to the lake is in the forest but does provide some nice views looking back from the first meadow up and down the Spray Lakes area, and Rummel Lake is very picturesque
the lake is nestled in between Mt. Galatea and The Tower
if you have time and the conditions allow for it, the hike to the pass is well worth the extra effort
the views on the return from the pass facing west across the valley are quite spectacular
as so often happens we felt like we had the trail to ourselves as we only encountered two other groups of two people each
this trail is named after Lizzie Rummel who was known as the Baroness of the Canadian Rockies (her book is a great read)