Time and distance are for a round trip. Elevation gain ~1,500'.
The Indefatigable Trail in Kananaskis Country is one of those must-do hikes with probably the best views in the park. Having said that, the park has de-commissioned this very popular trail from its official trails list. The reasons cited are the frequency of bear-related trail closures and the fact that the trail is quickly becoming eroded.
Both are valid reasons. By August of every year, the trail is usually closed due to bear activity. And the trail is widening every year. Why? Because it is a reasonably steep trail with lots of rubble over hard packed earth or rock - much like ball bearings on a slope. Thus many hikers have taken to walking beside the trail, wider and wider to avoid slipping. But if you are careful, you should have no problems with this trail.
As a testament to the popularity of this trail, there used to be 2 benches, one at the midpoint and one at the end of the trail so that hikers could either rest or just sit and admire the view. As part of the decommissioning of the trail, these have been removed. The trail sign has also been removed and replaced with a small pile of boulders.
The trail starts off in nice, cool forest but soon gains steepness as it turns to a more gravelly surface. From then it's pretty much straight up. Just take your time and you will be rewarded with fantastic views. If you're not really sure-footed and don't like the ball bearings (we call them 'rollers'), allow as much time coming down as going up.
Because there are no more warnings posted (because it's not an official trail anymore), you should check at the visitor centre for bear activity.
And where did that name come from? Mt Indefatigable was named to commemorate a WW1 battleship of the same name.
Directions:
The trail starts at the Interlakes parking area (at Upper Kananaskis Lake). Walk across the dam and about 100 metres along the lakeshore trail you will see the pile of boulders and the trail to your right.
ByPosted By: krusty01
- Sat Sep 05 13:07:51 EDT 2009
Not Rated
CommentWent to the Peter Lougheed visitor information centre, (would recomend stopping in if you have time or need info on the area). Talked to a parks officer and was told the trail is no longer listed as there are 3 generations of Grizzly's living on the mountain. He said if we still wanted to hike up to make plenty of noise and be no further than 4 meteres away from anyone else. Since we had smaller kids we dicided to bypass the hike this time around.
ByPosted By: mountain momma
- Sat Aug 08 14:24:05 EDT 2009
UpsideGreat views, great workout, can be done when you're short on time
DownsideNone
CommentI think this is a great hike!
ByPosted By: iberard
- Mon Sep 29 00:11:23 EDT 2008
UpsideAbsolutely amazing views and an amazing workout.
DownsideSorry, cant say I found any downside to this spectacular hike/scramble.
CommentThis is the quickest way to obtain views that you would normally obtain after 3-4hrs of hiking.
ByPosted By: Xenko
- Sat Jul 19 22:40:02 EDT 2008
CommentCorrection: ~10 km round trip.
ByPosted By: Xenko
- Sat Jul 19 22:10:27 EDT 2008
UpsideAmazing views and a great hike.
DownsideTrail erosion/small rocks makes it slippery at times. To reach the south peak you have to do some scrambling.
CommentI did the hike up to the south peak summit and back (you can see the red weather station from the parking lot), and I have to disagree with the time, elevation change, and difficulty when compared to what is outlined by the GPS route.
When looking at the GPS maps, the route described above only consists of the portion from the parking lot up to where the route forks, which is about a 3 hour round trip (only 2.5 km though), with 1500 ft elevation gain. After that, the left route goes to the south peak , continuing straight leads to the north peak, and they are connected by a "knife's edge" ridge (which should ONLY be attempted by experts as it is very VERY dangerous.)
Going to the top of the south peak requires some scrambling near the top, where the trail can be hard to distinguish. There are two blue plastic ribbons tied to rocks to indicate the general direction you need to hike/scramble as you reach the top. Past the second blue ribbon it is a fairly easy uphill hike to reach the top. The view is spectacular and well worth the trek!!
4 to 5 hours from the parking lot, to the south peak summit, and back down. ~900 meters (3,000 feet) of elevation gain. ~5 km round trip.
The north peak looks like an easier hike, and I'm hoping to try it next weekend.
ByPosted By: Mahone
- Wed Jul 09 13:21:31 EDT 2008
Not Rated
UpsideAmazing views almost all the way up! The decommisioning of the trail is sad but needed due to the facts below, but even a Blind guy could find their way carefully along the ridge. We never dip down to the tarn but swing West and climb right up the East facing sloped face towards the antennas on the top! In late Spring, you can slide down the avalanche chute, but be very carefull to make sure the Season is safe!!
DownsideNo real down side, unless you're going up on a busy weekend and hate following others.
CommentI've done this trip a few times, including snow shoeing up to tree line, always a great place for first timers to enjoy that part of K-Country.
ByPosted By: Bretan
- Tue Aug 07 21:09:43 EDT 2007
UpsideAwesome Views
DownsideErosion of Trails, possibility of Bear Encounters, straight up hiking
CommentIf one is comfortable with some fairly high exposure scrambling, there is a loop around the summit ridge. Just as you hit the meadow near the top, head to the left and scramble up. In the spring there's usually snow in the bowl, and if you're wearing the right pants, you can tobbogan down the hill to the small tarn.
Posted By: krusty01
Posted By: mountain momma
Posted By: iberard
Posted By: Xenko
Posted By: Mahone
Posted By: Bretan
