One thing I’ve always known for sure is that I was born to live in or around the mountains, because that is where I feel the most satisfied, liberated, and at peace with the world. Living in Calgary has afforded me the opportunity (one I never take for granted) to explore the nearby Rockies and it’s pristine wilderness on a regular basis, and I have taken full advantage on my many forays into Banff and Kananaskis over the years (my favorite being Kananaskis which I chronicle in great detail on the website Powderface – the lakes and trails of kananaskis. Here one truly feels like they are living in the heart of the mountains, nestled within the bosom of Three Sisters and Grotto mountain.

Until recently my familiarity with the town of Canmore never really extended beyond it’s relevance as a stopover between trips into the backcountry, so I profess to not knowing all that much about the history of the town and surrounding area. The general knowledge is that it was a sleepy coal mining town until the 1980′s at which time mining operations had ceased and the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics were a reality, eventually putting the Canmore Nordic Center on the world map.
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You’ll usually see a lot of cars in the parking lot on weekends, but don’t panic. Those are all the people going up to Chester Lake, which has become very popular and one of the busiest next to Galatea and Ribbon Creek. It’s a nice Lake with pretty good fishing (once boasting the record catch for a Dolly Varden) but isn’t nearly as nice a destination as lesser known Headwall Lakes. Oddly enough, the Kananaskis Country Recreational Map I had didn’t even have a trail marked for Headwall, which might help explain why it doesn’t get as crowded as it’s neighbor. Headwall has small cutthroat for some moderate fishing, but it’s worth going just for the diverse terrain and stunning landscape. Most of the people you encounter are hiking, but if you take a bike you can save an hour or more each way on those long logging roads, and the adrenaline rush on the way down is a great way to end your trip.

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