Home»All Photographs»2019 Hikes»Snowpig Classic '19

David, Konrad, Clayton and Myself went on our annual 'Snowpig Classic' trip to Lower Cataract Creek - a site we hadn't used since 2012. The landscape was different this time around, due to the catastrophic floods of 2013 that ripped through southern Alberta.
After hiking a few kilometers into our site, we undertook the usual tasks of compacting the snow at our tent site, digging out a kitchen/firepit area and establishing a water source. The latter was a bit of a curveball this year - we chopped down through about 2 feet of ice before reaching rock - oops! Luckily, Clayton discovered an open channel a couple hundred meters away - this would work for our water source.
Each year the food seems to get more elaborate with fire-roasted boursin cheese, roasted garlic, chicken wings with blue cheese and hot sauce, bacon-pineapple skewers, Moroccan samosas, cherry cake and chips with homemade pimento dip all on the menu.
On day 2, we enjoyed a hike downstream to Upper Cataract Falls, where a dramatic gorge proceeds a photogenic precipice.
Although windy, the return hike was warm and sunny. Back at camp, we each went our own way for a bit to collect logs for the fire - I had spied some nice dry ones on the hike that I wanted to return to and pillage.
The fire that ensued that evening was the biggest in the nine year 'Snowpig' history...Konrad's rationale was "why leave hard-earned firewood behind?"
On day 3, we woke up to a pleasant snowfall with no wind. After eating a hot breakfast, we packed up and hiked back to the trailhead, then drove to Longview for some really good burgers and beer - what a trip!