Home»All Photographs»2021 Hikes»Chimney Rock 05-07-21

Wanting to get out for a hike before the bad weather came in on the weekend, I headed for Chimney Rock on Friday. After calling to get permission to hike on this private land a few days prior, I was all set to go.
The drive to the trailhead was very scenic. Marsh birds near Nanton were out in abundance. There are also some very small cows on the prairies during this time of year - super cute!
I really enjoyed this outing . The mixture of ranchland and old growth forest meant that the scenery was always changing. Hiking over the undulating terrain also kept me entertained - there are no boring long slog sections on this hike!
After descending the third hill through a meadow, the final ascent to Chimney Rock is next.
Some easy scrambling gets you on the flat topped summit, where a nice view awaits. After snapping some photos, I continued on. Following in Bob Spirko's footsteps, I continued south along the ridge to a higher point a couple of kilometres away. The rock formations here were very interesting and the tree skeletons added to the scenic appeal.
From here, I noticed that I was not too far away from Whaleback Ridge to the east. I figured that while I have permission to be here today, why not extend my outing and forge may way over and check it out? So that is what I did.
A mix of open grassy terrain led down from the ridge to a valley below. Then I hiked up Whaleback Ridge, where more tree skeletons were guarding the summit.
From there, I looped back through the valley bottom, until I was just east of Chimney Rock. A steep grunt got me back up on the ridge, with the three-hill exit being the last stretch. All said, there were nine hills to hike today, ranging from 50 to 200 m elevation gain. Whew!
On the way home, I took a route I hadn't driven before - Hwy 540. I wanted to see Old Woman Buffalo Jump. There are no signs leading to it, and aside from an old picnic table, no amenities either. It is very non-descript on approach, and easy to miss.
The site itself however, is scenic and very interesting from a historical perspective. According to the Alberta Register of Historic Places, the jump (a seven metre drop from a sandstone bluff into the coulee below) forms an archaeological site of great significance. Bone beds on the slope below represent the remains of numerous bison driving, killing and processing events which extend to the bottom of the valley. The heritage value lies in the fact that its multiple bone bed deposits show up to 30 discrete layers of cultural artifacts dating back 2000 years! This site was the first buffalo jump to be excavated in the Canadian Prairies. Rapid and frequent burial of continuous cultural occupations by slope erosion has resulted in excellent preservation. The arrowheads from this deeply stratified excavation show a steady series of small changes through time, and these diagnostic elements are still used to determine the age of arrowheads found elsewhere in the Prairies - very cool! The site was in use until the 1790's.
As I stood on top of this relatively compact landscape feature in the broad hugeness of the surrounding prairie, I erased in my minds eye the farmstead, road and fences I saw. I instead imagined a small settlement below with teepees and fire rings. I stood on the edge of the drop, imagining what organized chaos unfolded here over so many centuries. Adrenaline, blood, yelling, weapons, the ground must have shook with 1500 lb buffalo thundering through. Then to run up to a live animal and slaughter it in order for your family to survive the winter. What a powerful and emotional image indeed.