Shark Lake Snowshoe

Where:

• Shark Lake

 

When:

• February 8, 2020

 

Who:

• Ed, Jace, Gerard, Carolyn, Dave, Tanya, Ian, Craig, Keri, Fiona

 

Trailhead:

• take the Spray Lakes road from Canmore for about 40 km (30 minutes) until you reach the turnoff for Engadine Lodge and then turn right
• the parking area is about two km down the road towards Mt. Shark on the right-hand side where there is quite a wide and notable jut out
• cross the road and head to the right for about 50 meters where there is a well defined wide former logging road with a slight uphill at the start

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

• virtually no elevation gain although there is are a few slight descents and ascents
• 8 km round trip out to the lake and back
• 2-3 hours total time on the trail
• very moderate trail that starts out on an old logging road
• be sure to follow the flagging tape so that you don’t turn left up the Tent Ridge trail
• we were able to follow some prior snowshoe tracks that made it easy to follow, and there was only a light dusting of new snow

 

Interesting notes:

• the wide-open trail for most of the hikes offers some nice views of the surrounding peaks (Tent Ridge, Mt. Shark, Mount Morrison, Mount Turner, Cone Mountain, Mount Fortune, Mount Engadine) as well as Spray Lakes
• the last part of the trail is through a nice forested area that breaks out into this small lake in an amphitheater between Mount Smuts, Mount Shark, and Tent Ridge
• this trail is a good one to take people of all ages and abilities, but will not satisfy those looking for a more intense workout
• we had the trail to ourselves which was surprising as it was a relatively nice day