I had a perfect day in Waterton this Saturday. My workout buddy Catherine and I made plans to go hiking with our babies (hers is human, mine is furry). We were joined by her husband and another couple (my sibling in-laws actually) and their baby.
Catherine and I got to the park first and she had the great idea to do a quick jaunt up Bears Hump while we waited for the rest of our group. It was a muggy day which made breathing harder and I was drenched in sweat.
When we got to the bottom, the rest of our party was waiting and we decided to hit Red Rock Canyon. Even though it was raining, we wanted to enjoy the outdoors so we headed out. I was shocked when we got there because the canyon had changed again since my visit a few weeks ago. You can read about the changes HERE. The stream was running again at a normal flow and a lot of the grey shale that was on the canyon floor previously has washed away and glimpses of red are visible again! We were having a great time until we started to see flashes of lightning. That was a little nerve wracking so we quickly headed back to the trail and out of the water.
After red rock, we opted to do the short hike to the observation area next to Blakiston Falls. It’s a very easy hike, only 2km I believe and there are no climbs and the trail is wide. A great hike for the non-hiking set with a beautiful pay off. On the observation deck however, it started to pour so we quickly headed back.
When we pulled into town the lightning was incredible and the rain poured down us. Walking across the street to the restaurant had us soaking wet. We stopped at Zum’s for dinner. I am a loyal diner and typically only ever eat at Vimy’s Lounge & Grill or Pearls Café. I should have stuck to what I knew because the food at Zum’s was terrible! I’m going to review it on TripAdvisor, but none of us were overly impressed with our food.
The downpour ended as we ate and we decided there was enough daylight left to hit Bertha Falls! Off we went for our 4th hike of the day. As we hiked, we noticed a ton of hail on the side of the trail. Rocky, being a winter dog loved it and would roll around in the hail and eat the little balls of snow.
There was one section of the trail that had a misty fog. As we walked through we talked about what movies it reminded us of, it reminded me of Last of the Mohicans.
We stopped at the scenic viewpoint for a few photos and by then one of the babies was getting restless and it was getting cool as evening approached. We decided to turn around and head back.
Catherine and I did the math and figured we spent about 3.5 hours hiking for a total of approximately 12 km. Which would explain why I was so sore I could barely walk yesterday
