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Hike Mount Indefatigable

Kananaskis, Alberta

4.5/5
based on 2 reviews

Description

Added by James Hueser

Distance: 7.5 km (4.7 miles) round trip from the parking lot. Duration: 3 hours. Elevation gain: 950 metres (3115 feet). A great ridge walk in Kananaskis. Excellent views of the valley, Kananaskis Lakes, and the huge peaks around it.

If you choose to do this hike, you'll find yourself at Kananaskis Lakes, one of my favourite spots in K-Country! Park your car at the Interlakes parking lot, have that one last bathroom break, and make your way north to get to the trailhead. The trailhead is impossible to miss as it's blocked off with a big ol' sign saying that it's no longer maintained due to the grizzly population on the mountain. A nice little sidestep around it sets you on your way!

In all seriousness though, there is a family of grizzlies that inhabit this area, so make sure you have bear spray and bear knowledge, and - of course - a big, booming yell to let them know you'll be passing through their territory.

If you were able to notice which mountain was Indefatigable from the parking lot (the one with the weather station on top), you probably saw the ridge that you'd be walking on most of the way. The trail is well defined from the bear sign until the ridge, and then it gets a bit faint, but that's only an issue on the way down. If you manage to lose the trail on the ridge, just keep going up!

At some point in time, you're going to have to make a hard left to make your way up the south summit -- this is around the time the ridge levels off, so make the turn at the first branch of the trail. The summit push is pretty fun because there are couple of different ways you can do it. For the adventurous, keep to the right, you'll get some good scrambling experience. For those who are working their way up to that, keep to the left and you'll be able to follow a bit of a gully up to the top of the ridge leading to the summit. Make sure you pack a good lunch for the summit, as you'll want to stay there as long as possible! The views of Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes are breath taking, as well as the sea of mountains you view from the summit.

If you haven't noticed, I go crazy over wildflowers, so here's a list of ones I spotted on my way up:

  • Forget-me-not
  • Glacier lily
  • Scorpionweed
  • Buttercups
  • Partridge-foot
  • Sky pilot
  • Yellow mountain saxifrage
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Hike Mount Indefatigable Reviews

Absolutely fantastic hike. Recommend 10/10. Make sure you park in the NORTH parking lot at upper kannanaskis lakes. It's the last parking lot so make sure you keep going on the road until you get to the end.

This hike was great! Took a little longer than the 3-4 hours that the original poster said for the group I was with, but definitely worth it. Fantastic views the whole time. Only problem we had was at the beginning, since Google maps did not bring us to the proper parking lot and we had to drive around a little to figure out where we were going. Overall a great day!

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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