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October 13, 2019 In Outdoor Edventures

Rockbound Lake Hike

Where:

  • Rockbound Lake

 

When:

  • October 13, 2019

 

Who:

  • Ed, Jace, Craig, Paige, Joey, Ian

 

Trailhead:

  • a 45-minute drive from Canmore
  • heading west on the Trans Canada Highway, take the Castle Junction turn off
  • at the T intersection turn right (east) and head .2 km to the trailhead on the left-hand side of the road

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

  • 760 meters elevation to Rockbound Lake
  • 17 km round trip
  • the hike took us four and a half hours
  • the first 5 km is a gentle climb in the trees on a logging road
  • the trail narrows into a single track to Tower Lake, and then it’s a steeper climb on a switchback for 15 minutes up to Rockbound Lake
  • there was a light dusting of snow, and the metal grippers proved to be very helpful as we rounded behind Castle Mountain
  • this is a moderate hike as there are no long stretches of steep elevation however it is on the longer side distance and time-wise

 

 

Interesting notes:

  • the initial part of the trail is quite forested, but once you start to head around the back of Castle Mountain the views begin in earnest
  • the views include Tower Lake, Rockbound Lake, Castle Mountain, Eisenhower Tower, Stuart Knob, Helena Ridge, and Silverton Creek
  • we were fortunate that the larch trees had still maintained some of their majestic yellow fall coloring
  • sometime we would like to climb above Rockbound Lake to see what is in the open area on the plateau between Castle Mountain and Helena Ridge
  • some people ask what we do in the shoulder seasons, and the answer is simply that we hike or snowshoe depending on conditions

 

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