Home»All Photographs»2021 Hikes»Scalp Peak 06-16-21

I finally did it. I was up before the birds started singing. And that's saying a lot, especially in June. As I left our house and loaded my bike on my truck at 3:45 am, there was pure silence. I picked David up at 4:30 am and we were on our way to Scalp Peak. The drive was about 2.5 hours to this remote area, which finished with some 45 km on gravel road to reach the trailhead.
After starting off on our bikes at 7:30 am, we rode for about 2 hours up a horse trail before reaching the base of Scalp Peak. After hiding our bikes in the bush and changing over to hiking gear and boots, we had a quick snack.
Next, we ascended a steep forested area and soon came upon a burn that had been ablaze just a couple of years ago. The landscape here was stark and beautiful in the morning sun.
Soon thereafter, we reached treeline and a vast open slope appeared before us. We layered up for the wind here, and continued on.
At the top of the slope, the long route to the summit appeared. We would take a 4 km long ridge that zigged then zagged toward the summit. Needless to say, the views were stellar throughout, although the wind also kept us constant company.
Some interesting rock formations made for good photos - I wonder if pinnacles like these crumble away over time or come crashing down in a singular dramatic event? Either way, David and I had no time to find out - the summit was less than an hour away now.
We took some photos at the top, but had planned our snack breaks to be in wind-sheltered areas, and this was not that. So down we went.
We retraced our steps along the long summit ridge and then back to treeline for third lunchsies.
The descent back through the burn was as scenic as the first time, and soon we were back at the bikes. A quick change here preceded mounting our steeds for the 13 km ride back. This part was fast. Although we did stop to marvel at the fact that we were ripping down a horse trail through meadows of dandelions on our mountain bikes in the middle of nowhere - what a cool feeling for a Wednesday.
We got back to the trailhead at 7:00 pm, some 11.5 hours after starting out. With 41 km covered and 1800 metres of elevation gain ascended, we figured we deserved a double-scoop ice cream cone on the drive home through Sundre - David had cookies n' cream, and I had salted caramel.