Peak 336454

Distance: 5.1 km (return); our GPS watch gave 6.3 km return

Elevation gain: 902 m; our GPS watch gave 851 m

High Point: 2353 m; our GPS watch gave 2299 m

The peak's name in Gillean Daffern's book is "The G8 Summits" courtesy of Sonny Bou. The name is apt since the views of Kananaskis Village are quite good.

I think the flood of 2013 adjusted the start location slightly, since the trail we found didn't match Gillean Daffern's description. Our parking spot was about 100 m north of the Kananaskis Drive turnoff, near a large rock field (the result of the unknown creek overflowing). Luckily, previous hikers set up cairns to guide us up the gravel bed. A cairn also marks the spot where you move off the gravel and onto a path on the left side of the creek bed. The trail quickly becomes an uphill slog through the trees, with no views for 2 km. The trail is packed dirt, and would be extremely difficult in wet or damp conditions.

The trail becomes more pleasant but no less steep once you are above the tree line. In places, the trail is hard to follow due to lots of loose scree. The last bit until the top is very much a choose your own adventure in route-finding. Once at the top, there were nice views of Kananaskis Village and the mountains to the east. You can also see Barrier Lake to the north.

Pictures to come...