Home»All Photographs»2020 Hikes»Newman Peak - Spionkop Ridge 08-08-20

Clayton and I headed south to Waterton Lakes National Park today for a hike n' bike to Newman Peak and Spionkop Ridge.
The day starts with an easy and fast bike ride starting at the west end of the Red Rock Parkway (which has brand new paving and paint - what a delightful drive).
Once we stashed our bikes at the Goat Lake junction (easier said than done in the recently burnt forest with open views), we hiked to a high col between Avion Ridge and Newman Peak.
From there, the infamous Waterton winds took over and although the hiking was easy, the crux was managing the winds. With full gear on and hoods up, the wind along the open ridge was more like some sort of man-made wind tunnel - no gusts, just a steady rip of about 80 km/hour. It's quite a core workout doing that for a couple of hours - I felt it the next day!
The views were fine though and once we were back in the valley, the weather was more peaceful and the bike ride out was quite fun.