Tombstone Backpacking

I got out for my first backpacking trip in a long time on 15 and 16 August. I went with Peter and Rod up to the Tombstone backcountry campground near Tombstone Lakes in Kananaskis. It was about ten years after Jesse, Rod and I got lost in David Thompson Country so it was about time to get back out. My little Edmonton gaming group is a good collection of outdoor adventurers but only three of us were able to find the time to go.

After a bit of debate, it was decided that we needed a fairly short, in and out, one-night trip that wasn't too far from Calgary. A little searching the web and talking with some of the hikers in my office led to picking Tombstone. It lies on the junction of the Little Elbow – Big Elbow loop and a trail in from Elbow Lake. The short route is to park on Hwy 40, just north of the summit of the Highwood Pass and hike the 6 km or so past Elbow Lake. We watched the weather all week as it was cloudy and rainy but the forecast for the weekend suggested some improvement.

Peter and Rod showed up at my house on Friday evening so we could make final arrangements and head out the next day. We expected a short hike so we didn't rush through waffles for breakfast and had our packs ready around 11:00. The initial part of the hike is quite steep as it climbs away from the highway. It was comfortable walking because the skies were mostly cloudy and the temperature was cool. We met a few groups coming down from the lake but the trail was almost all ours from the lake to the campground. The trail also descended slightly all the way from the lake to the campground. The scenery was excellent as we walked along the open trail through a gap in two mountain ranges. The peaks were white as the rain in Calgary had fallen as snow at the tops of the mountains.

We were set up in our campground in the late afternoon so we decided to walk up to Tombstone Lakes. We only visited the larger, lower lake. The wind was calm so the lake was perfectly flat with ripples occasionally made by fish coming to the surface to snatch bugs. Rod decided to keep his mountain bathing tradition alive so he stripped down behind some trees and jumped in.

Back at camp, Rod and I enjoyed "One Grand Stew" even though it had leaked a little in my pack. We eventually got a fire going despite the wet wood and were able to sit around it, enjoying 56 herbs of medicinal goodness, and chat while night came. We got a little rain through the night but Rod was comfy in his new bivy sack and Peter and I were dry in my tent. The slope of the ground and lack of friction between his mattress and sleeping bag meant Peter spent most of the night sliding to the foot of the tent.

We woke to more clouds and lots of mist in the valleys. Again, we were in no hurry so we ate breakfast and packed up at a relaxing pace. The weather was a little cooler and we got a few more drops of rain on the way out but it was a pleasant walk. This day we encountered a few more groups on the trail although they were just there for the day. I was a bit surprised because there was no real destination between Elbow Lake and the campground. We even encountered a group out on horses and I spotted a moose who quickly went crashing back into the trees because of the noise of the horses.

All in all, it was an easy, enjoyable hike and good to get back out with friends. We hadn't even got back to the car before plans for our second hike were being laid. The actual trip ended up to be 7.62 km each way and the one-way trip up to Tombstone Lake was 2.2 km. It took us 2.5 hours for each leg of the backpack though we were only in motion for 1:40 each time. The elevation gain was just under 400 m.