We enjoyed a fabulous rest day in Coleman checking out the coal mining and rum running history. It holds onto some colourful stories from the past which I find so intriguing to discover along a hiking trail. This is our own country we are experiencing! Isn’t Canada great eh?
This stretch of the trail took 7 days to reach Kananaskis Lake in Peter Loughheed park where our daughter was our Trail Angel and picked us up. Lucky us! We found ourselves working hard on this stretch with many days climbing and descending multiple times per day. Our fitness level has adjusted to the elevation and have found our steady pace for these uphills. What strikes me the most is the expansive nature of the terrain. The Rockies are so BIG!
The trail is being updated with several alternate routes created to avoid long road walks. One of these is the High Rock Trail which led us through forests, old atv trails, open ridges and beauty. Thank you trail workers who have done a tedious job of designing and digging these new paths. We have met very few thru hikers and only a few section hikers which makes this trail special.
Wildflowers are in their prime! 
Don’t forget the Rules of the road…
Wildlife is out there and we have seen a set of Mountain Goats with babes, white tailed deer galore, even a fawn with spots, a moose, marmots and ground squirrels, lots of bear pooh in certain areas. Fortunately, the only grizzly cub that we have seen was along the roadside as we were driving to our day off in Calgary.
Fording River Pass 
This rock was laden with fossils 
Tame creek crossings 
Logging in the Elk River Valley BC
Lower elk Lake 
Paradise at Kananaskis Lake
The frequent clear clean creeks that cross the trail tend to be shockingly cold for their size and therefore you would think that these large blue tinged lakes would be arctic cold as well, but pleasantly they are not and instead offer a relaxing end of day swim!
Zip and Jobie Go Hiking 