The more we travel the more we are able to appreciate just how beautiful it is in our own backyard. Lucky for us, our backyard is one of the most naturally stunning areas in the world, the Canadian Rockies. These photos are in a provincial park in an area called West Bragg Creek, or about an hour drive West of Calgary.
These photos were taken in late Spring on a trail called the Moose Loop which would have been for cross country skiing in the winter. It is relatively flat as we are just entering the mountains in an area called the foothills. You can see the snow covered peaks in the background.
This trail loops around a large marsh so one could potentially see moose. Moose aren't as common as deer which are almost always found in Bragg Creek. Unfortunately we did not see many animals on this hike but the weather was perfect for hiking, not too hot or too cool.
Part of this trail follows the Trans Canada Trail which is a footpath that extends across the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is just slightly better maintained than some of the hiking in the area as it is more popular and better funded. Since we are in a Provincial park which charges an annual parking fee, the trails are well maintained.
The swampy land means there are excellent views. This was probably a lake at one point that silted up with mud and rocks coming from the hills in the area. There would be beavers living in this area and there is a good pond to see them in closer to the parking lot.
It is far too cold to swim in these waters so don't get any ideas. You might be able to fish and if this body of water was closer to a road, there would be people paddleboarding on it. Maybe it is only large because it is the Spring and there would be meltwater. The area was fairly dry last Summer.
Maps are at every junction so skiers and hikers don't get lost. There are mountain biking trails here and even horseback riding which makes it a popular destination for outdoor lovers. The photo was taken at the red pin in the upper corner of the map.
The trail follows the higher land around the flat area in the middle, we often take little detours when hiking to extend our walk. After living out here for a while, any hike that doesn't involved climbing half a mountain is easy, even if it is twenty thousand plus steps.
They do logging in the provincial parks here. Cutting away strips of wood is one way to control fires. Trucks and crews are able to access here from roads built to take the logs out.
Cattle farms also have rights to let their cows feed on these lands so watch your step! I'm not sure if this was a cow or some other large land mammal. Elk, Moose, Horses and other big herbivores would wonder these parts.
This is a picture of Bragg creek as it exits the swampy area we walked around. It will eventually join up with the Elbow River and the Bow River in Calgary so some of our drinking water comes from here.
Thank you for reading and hope you all are enjoying the winter. Tonight the temperature is going to be in the negative thirties so if you're around, stay warm!
All photos are unfiltered and were taken with an s22