Back on the trails

It's Saturday, time for another adventure in the mountains. This time I am visiting Ribbon Creek in Kananaskis country. We have a trail running date. I arrive at the trailhead around 10:00, it is already quite full with folks getting outdoors for some natural TLC. I load up my bag, gear up, take a pre-adventure dump in the loveliest smelling outhouse in Kananaskis and then head to the start of the trail.

Ribbon Lake Parking Lot. It is great to see so many cars.

Just driving to Kananaskis makes my heart skip, I just love being out in the Rocky Mountains, undertaking as much adventure as I can handle.

The first portion of my run is fairly easy as it is a rolling trail up to Ribbon Falls (11km in). I am currently coming back from an IT Band injury and my feet are not quite accustomed to trail running after the long lay-off. So for the first 10 k my feet are screaming as they are pounded, step after step into the alpine trail.

After Ribbon Falls the Trail began to get steep and then crossed some shale before leading right to a rock face. The only way up was to climb some chains bolted into the side of the mountain.

Once above the rock face, it is a short uphill run to Ribbon Lake and beyond. I round the lake and end up going through the trees before emerging in a beautiful alpine meadow. Running through this meadow brings me to another steep, muddy section of trail and finally the high point of my day, the junction that leads to Guinn Pass or Buller Pass. Now it is time to go down.

One the way down, I am stuck at the chains as a large group is moving quite slowly down said chains. Despite a seemingly inconvenient roadblock, I find it rather fortunate as I am able to take a little break, eat some food and air out my feet. Wonderful.

The rest of the way down my legs feel amazing. I am much stronger now that I have been running for a couple of hours. I fly by the people heading up to the falls and chains and I get to answer a couple questions from a wonderful lady about where I have been. She is amazed that I made it all the way to the junction.

I get off the trail and head to the stream to cool off. Sitting down in the water is exhilarating as it punished my legs with icy cold, alpine water. It instantly makes me feel great and I get to reflect on the run while wincing in pain. I know it is a good adventure when I need to cool off my legs off in a stream.