Opal Ridge (South)

It seems like every hike I go on could be labeled as the one with the best views so far. Opal Ridge in the Opal Range was one of these. I hesitated whether or not to go as the sky looked a little dark. But the forecast showed good weather in the evening so I ended going. I didn’t know what to expect on this mountain, but most of the time, the last-minute plans are the most rewarding. After gaining a little bit of elevation along a creek, the trail followed a few power lines before going up.

The entire trail is 99% on rock. It switchbacks all the way up, alternating between easy walking to full on scrambling.

I gained a lot of elevation very early in the climb. I am not too sure what left me breathless the most between the steep incline or the views behind me.

After each scrambling section was a flat plateau, a perfect spot to stop and drink water and catch my breath. The higher I got on the mountain, the harder it became physically. A scree slope is amazing to go down, but it requires so much energy to go up. But one’s gotta work hard to earn these view eh!

My first glimpse of the south summit. The ridge leading to it looked amazing to walk but the snow sections were a little concerning as seen from down below.

And the sun finally joined me! No matter what direction I was looking in, it was impossible not be amazed by what I was seeing!

It was cool to see this person walking on the ridge. I ended up chatting with him for a while. Thomas, a fellow expat from Eastern Canada was also blown away by this hike and the views it offered. It’s always fun to meet like-minded people. We will probably go for a hike together later this summer.

One last section through the crux on the left and I'll be on the ridge.

Made it! The south summit of Opal Ridge was SPECTACULAR. Once I got at the top, I was overwhelmed with emotions. On this day, I was actually celebrating my first year anniversary of living in Alberta. I screamed, cried, laughed and also thought about my partner Andrea who couldn’t make it with me up here and I wished she could’ve. I knew I was by myself on the mountain so I put some music on my phone and the first one I had to sing while starting my descent was the very same song that was playing in my truck while crossing the Saskatchewan-Alberta border a year ago on my way to Calgary: “Alberta Bound” by Paul Brandt.

The full length of Opal Ridge.

On my way up I had been warned about a momma grizzly and her cub walking around the summit. I couldn’t see them but their tracks were everywhere in the snow on the east face of the mountain. After having spent a good amount of time on the summit, I kept singing happily while negotiating the two snow sections between the summit and the ridge. It was a little trickier on the way down with the soft and wet snow but I managed to get it over with in no time (and safely).

That’s what loud country music will do to me lol!

Looking back at the snow patches from the ridge.

I’ll have to come back when the snow is all gone and walk the entire ridge from the south to the north summit. It was still too early to explore this north area of the ridge.

The descent was fast with all the scree sections that I was able to run. The sun was getting very low and the light turned orange which made for a fun hike down.

Back on the power line trail. I kept making a lot of noise because at around 9PM, it was the perfect time for bears to come out. While I didn’t see any, I learned from Thomas the day after that not one, not two, not three but FOUR grizzly bears were hanging around the parking lot just an hour before I got back to my truck. That’s one thing I always need to look for because I am always hiking solo from late in the afternoon up until sunset and that’s also when the bears are out and about as the trails are usually empty by then. I always try to make as much noise as possible. But being on a mountain by myself is something I enjoy and there are not a lot of things that would keep me off the trails.

Again, only when you hike late in the day can you have Highway 40 all to yourself to snap pictures at sunset in the middle of the road. What a special hike Opal Ridge was for me. The views, the sunset, the challenging trail.. it had it all! With four evenings in a row in the mountains, I had one last hike to do the next day to complete this amazing last week of May.