Hike to Opal Ridge, Elbow Sheep Wildland Provincial Park, Canmore, Alberta, Canada
Mike and I were looking to do another hike the day after we hiked Windtower. We decided to check out Opal Ridge in the Elbow Sheep Wildland Provincial Park. A Kananaskis Conservation Pass is required to do this hike as well so we purchased one for another day.
We got another early start to try to beat the heat again, but weren’t the first ones in the parking lot this time. It seemed like another popular hike. We set out on the trail which quickly hit what felt like an overgrown road where we turned left. We were on this “road” for about a tenth of a mile when we turned off to the right to head up the trail that would take us up to Opal Ridge.
Things immediately got steep, especially as we approached treeline. We would frequently find ourselves using our hands to scramble up features. There were certain places with multiple “trails” to choose from and would require some route finding to pick a route that wasn’t all soft, loose dirt. As we climbed, I remembered that I would also have to descend this same slope and started apologizing to my knees in advance. Once we made it to the top of this steep, loose section, a trail re-emerged and gave us a few minutes of relief until we found ourselves going up another steep, loose gully. Once we got to the top of this gully, things started to level out, and we found ourselves on the ridge up to Opal Ridge. We had beautiful views in every direction.
At the top, we took our time having a snack and enjoying the views. Once we were ready to start moving again, we headed back down the trail the way we came. It took us longer to descend than it did to ascend, but thankfully it wasn’t as bad as I had feared.
Overall, I enjoyed this hike but found it very challenging for a 4.5 mile hike. I would only recommend this hike to experienced hikers. It’s a very steep, unmarked hike. Some route finding and scrambling is required.
Stats: 4.5 miles, 3300 ft of elevation gain
