Point Campground

I had been suffering from cabin fever for a while and I badly needed to go to the mountains. An extreme cold snap in January gave us no other choice but to fly down in Mexico to enjoy a nice vacation at the beach! But for me, winter is better spent in the wilderness. I had so many options in mind for this overnight trip. I eventually chose to snowshoe to the Point Campground in Kananaskis Country. Being only a little over an hour from home and only approximately 4KM in length, all the conditions were good for a successful trip. Highway 40 in Kananaskis was amazingly beautiful to drive in the winter. And while I left Calgary under a bluebird sky, the clouds were hanging low around here.

It eventually started to snow and the visibility was greatly reduced. I thought it just made the scenery even prettier.

Highway 40 is closed at the Kananaskis Lakes every year from December 1st to June 15th to protect wildlife habitats. The side road to the Lakes stays open in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and that’s where I went to reach the trailhead of the Point Campground Trail.

The trail starts right between Upper Kananaskis Lake and Lower Kananaskis Lake. These natural lakes were turned into massive reservoirs to provide hydro-electricity but also for flood prevention in the Bow Valley. The Upper lake flows into the Lower, which in turn outflows into the Kananaskis River, a tributary of the Bow River, the main water source of the city of Calgary.

Can you spot the angler and his ice fishing hut on the lake?

After a long section into the trees, I was finally above the treeline and completely lost the trail. It had been a well defined trail before that from previous hikers. But the wind and the snow had this entire section well covered. My GPS map wouldn’t load properly so I only had a waypoint and my location as a reference. No big deal, I knew I had to skirt around the lake to reach a big point of land (hence the name Point Campground) where the campground was located.

Here I was, breaking trail on the steep shores of Upper Kananaskis Lake, in search of a place that looked like Point Campground. I was really exposed to the wind and also dealing with a whiteout blizzard. It was fun and added a little bit of challenge to my adventure.

I was finally able to see the trail from afar and got back on it only a hundred meters from the campground. I must’ve added a kilometer in total distance with the detour I took, but anyhow, the views were great and it felt good to exercise quite a bit.

I found a nice campsite overlooking Mount Indefatigable. And just as I was unpacking my stuff, the storm ended and I was treated with a nice blue sky.

I then proceeded with the usual camp chores. First, the fire. I always wanted to try ”drier lint” as a fire-starter material. It weights nothing, costs nothing and smells like fresh laundry lol. So I did, and it worked really good! I had intentionally cut my kindling bigger than usual for this test and I had a nice fire within seconds.

Next, dinner. I was starving. Over the last few weeks I started cooking and dehydrating a ton of food for my future backpacking trips. I basically decided not to use any store bought food for any of my meals from now on. This trip was no exception, and I had a homemade portion of dehydrated pasta. All my meals only require hot water. No cooking, no cleaning, no fuss!

My Caldera Cone with the Kojin stove. Fuel used was methanol (methyl hydrates).

Dehydrated pasta, meat sauce and mushrooms with Parmesan cheese,

Once the hot water was added, I left the ziplock in my insulated bag for 10-15 minutes before enjoying this meal around the fire.

And finally, before relaxing around the campfire, I had to setup my sleeping system. I was excited to try my newly restored bivy bag. This was an old Integral Designs (old outdoor gear company from Calgary) Goretex Bivy bag that was given to me. It came with a peeling bottom fabric so I had to take it all apart and sew in a new waterproof fabric and seal the seams with hot seam-sealing tape. I didn’t brought any tarp or tent for this overnight trip. Only this waterproof and breathable bivy bag. After digging out an area for the bivy, I laid down my foam pad and then the bivy with an insulated inflatable mattress on the inside, as well as two down quilts on top of each other.

If the sky was to stay clear all night, my plan was to sleep under the stars for the first time in winter conditions.

With my camp organized, I was ready to sit and relax. I had snow melting in a pot over the fire, a few spruce branches to keep my feet warm on the ground and a small sit pad next to the fire pit. I was a happy camper!

While the evening stayed somewhat clear on my left, the Lake on the opposite side stayed windy. I was comfortable, sheltered near the trees and was never bothered by the weather whatsoever.

Once in the backcountry, the time stops for me. I feel so relaxed, calm and worry-less. Adding majestic mountain views to this and I’m in heaven. That evening was exactly this.

These Baffin boots are awesome. They surely aren’t the best boots to walk in the snow but around camp, nothing is warmer. I opted for these knowing I would spend hours at camp.

My sweaty base layers drying near the fire.

Staying organized in the winter is key. I kept everything in stuff sacks and at the same location. Spreading out in snowy conditions is risky! It’s really easy to lose stuff in the snow.

I always crave sweet food late at night around a campfire but this time, I came prepared.

The lake finally cleared up later in the evening and I was treated with beautiful views of Mount Sarrail.

Just behind the Point Campground was Mount Lyautey, an impressive mountain which has its own glacier on top. The first ascent was completed in 1930 by Kate Gardiner from New-Zealand and her guide Walter Feuz. Kate Gardiner (1886-1977) was a well-known climber in the Canadian Rockies and was at some point considered one of the foremost women climbers in the world.

It looked even prettier with the pink and purple colors of the sunset. Once the sun down, I stayed warm around the fire, admiring the stars up in the sky.

The night was magical. The sky was so clear that I slept with my head outside of the bivy bag until it started snowing at 5AM. I am always amazed at the amount of stars in the sky. The last time I was able to enjoy the stars in the backcountry was at the Marble Canyon Campground and I was happy to see them again. The snow on the ground made the night way less darker than what I would’ve expected. I was still able to clearly see the mountains around me from the comfort of my bed and just above me, Little Bear (Ursa Minor) was shining all night long. It’s a moment I will always cherish. The sky covered up rapidly by 5AM and it forced me to hide inside the bivy bag for the rest of the morning when I finally woke up at around 8AM.

The Goretex material handled condensation quite well. The snow on top of it might have limited the breathability at the end of the night, but I am happy with how it performed. Both quilts had stayed dry overnight and that was the most important thing for me to test because on a multi-day trip, drying a down quilt after the first night could be really difficult.

Very little condensation on the upper Goretex fabric, way less than what I had expected,

Breakfast was consumed (oatmeal with homemade dehydrated fruits) and tea was prepared. It was a slow morning but I was in no hurry. I was confident I could go back to my vehicle in less then an hour using the trail. It was snowing a lot so I packed up as fast as I could while my tea water was boiling.

I left camp at around 10AM and made my way back using the right path this time. The trail was faint and buried in snow at higher elevation. But I now knew where to go and the colder overnight temperature had froze the top of snow, leaving a crust solid enough for me to skip the snowshoes and hike only in boots.

The sun was hidden behind the clouds but it made for a really interesting mood. I stopped so many times to look around me and enjoy the scenery.

Back into the trees, I came across this tree. There is only one animal capable of marking a tree in a such way. It was a good thing the bears were now sleeping peacefully for a few more weeks still!

I made it back to the trailhead after an hour of hiking. I could tell that the last few weeks of treadmill workouts I did really helped to get my trail legs back. Walking with these bulky boots was a really good workout. The better shape I am getting in, the more promising the upcoming backpacking season looks for me.

Of course, the sun came out just as I was back on the road! lol It might have been a short trip, but an overnight under the stars at the Point Campground was just what I needed to fight my cabin fever. I drove back home with a smile on my face, thinking about my next winter camping adventure in the next few weeks.

Porcupine Creek

Simpson River Trail

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