Missinglink Mountain

Our objective this day is the oddly named Missinglink Mountain, located in the rolling foothills of Kananaskis Country west of Turner Valley and near the Sheep River. It’s a long undulating ridge with stunning views of the front range peaks to the west. It’s a bit of a trudge at the beginning but once at the cliffs it’s a delightful and most enjoyable hike. It’s a ridge walker’s dream and a great place if you like solitude. It’s seldom visited.

Normally one would start from the road that passes directly underneath the grassy slopes on south side of the mountain. Flood damage means, for now, one has to hike in from the highway instead, which adds perhaps an extra kilometre or so each way (and minimal elevation). Not a big deal. Later this season it should all be fixed anyway, making access easier once again.

Park along highway 546 where it meets the (temporarily closed) Gorge Creek Trail road. Hike down it as it heads west initially, then turns north. Along here work is being done to shore up a bank above the highway we just left. The whole area was badly damaged in the spring 2013 floods. We spot our first deer, one of many, of say several dozen, we’d see this day.

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Scroll down for photos and to comment ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

Soon Missinglink Mountain comes into view. Or at least the south end of it. From here we can see grassy slopes leading up to a cliff band, but not the summit of the mountain itself. It’s still a couple kilometres away and out of view from here. Just before our climb, we pass another flood damaged area, this one also being worked on. Kananaskis sure is a mess.

Starting up the steep hillside (sometimes the VERY steep hillside), we make quick time and are soon at the cliffs. While this section is not the most enjoyable – Connie and I like to gain our elevation at a more relaxed pace – we are happy know that most of the hard work is already behind us. These slopes, by the way, when wet (like with dew) are a bit slippery and care should be taken.

Once at the top there is a faint trail to follow. The views are stunning and in spite of the modest elevation gain, the steep cliffs and the Gorge Creek canyon directly below, make it seem like we’re much higher than we actually are. Also below is the Gorge Creek Road, which has been quiet since the floods last year. To the south is a modest-size green bump called (aptly) Green Mountain and directly west is another small hill named Mount Hoffmann. In front is what we call the ridge north of Green Mountain.

Along here, Eagle-eye Connie spots an odd wooden structure hanging from the cliffs. It’s purpose is a mystery…and how it got there is another and even more so – it’s in a precipitous location, one that would not be easy to get to. Weird!

This section of the ridge, according to Kananaskis hiking guru Gillean Daffern is called Dot Mountain. No one else, it seems, refers to it that way and for the sake of simplicity we’ll call it the west ridge of Missinglink Mountain.

Passing the last cliff, we’re soon in the trees. More faint trails help us along here. Sometimes they fade away, however all one has to do it stick to the ridge top. It’s obvious, even in the dense woods.

The ridge along here undulates and every now and then the trees thin and we break out into a meadow. These give us a good view of the mountains to the west. The most predominant one is Bluerock Mountain. Other tall peaks seen are Mt Rose, Mt Burns and Junction Mountain. All still have some snow pack on them. Some of those mentioned can be scrambled, if you are an ambitious type.

We head up one more bump, drop down a bit, then head up once again. The whole time we’re following game trails or bushwhacking. Recall however, the ridge is well defined and not terribly wide and at long as one keeps on top (it falls away on both sides), you’ll do okay.

Dropping down into a meadow, the summit finally comes into view. It looks heavily treed but in fact is open to the west. We bushwhack our way to it and are soon rewarded with some great vistas. In addition to the peaks mentioned earlier, we have a good look at Mt Ware, which we hope to summit one day (we can’t until they open the Gorge Creek Road however). Also seen is the mostly bare summit of Volcano Ridge. We’ve almost been to the top and hope to return, again, when the road opens, to take a second stab at it.

Taking it all in for a while, we head back. After a picnic lunch, with wine, of course. For the most part we followed our original route in. In places, we head to the east side of the ridge to see if it opens up in places. It doesn’t. Along here were pass a cut line. What’s amazing is that no matter what the terrain these are almost always arrow straight.

In addition to the deer mentioned earlier, we saw many grouse this trip along with numerous chipmunks. Dropping down from one high point, we rounded a corner and surprised some elk – and they surprised us! Slow down heart!

In no time we’re back at the cliffs. Rather than head down the grassy slopes the way we came up, we elect to see if sticking to the trees would be less steep. As it turned out the angle of descent was for the most part the same and no less hard on the knees. Soon we’re back at the road and not long after, the car, a thoroughly enjoyable trip behind us.

We hiked under glorious blue skies this trip, although at times a storm threatened.

This route, as we did it, does not appear in any hiking books. Based on other trip reports we’ve found online (we were inspired by Bob Spirko’s) a few others have gone the way we have. Daffern lists a number of other routes to the summit but none take in the best part, the cliffs. Given it’s easy to get to, and easily summited, and the great views from it, I am surprised it’s not more popular. Connie and I both enjoyed it very much but saw no one this trip and scant evidence others had ever visited.

How Missinglink Mountain gained its strange name is not completely clear. Many have theories but none has been confirmed.

Check out some other ridges we’ve hiked…
Windy Point Ridge.
Wind Ridge.
Picklejar Ridge.

If you wish more information on this trail, by all means contact us!

Date of adventure: June, 2014.
Location: Kananaskis AB, Sheep River area.
Distance: 9km out and back.
Height gain maximum: 430m.
Height gain cumulative: 500m.
Technical bits: Some minor route finding challenges.
NOTE: all heights and distances are approximate.

  • _________________________

    BIGDoer.com: Doing it Different!



    Something to say in private? Click here to: Reach Us!
    NEWS!First TimersFAQMeet the Team
    BIGDoer.com on Facebook

    If you liked this post, please tip your server…



    Or

    © 2012-2024 Chris Doering, Johanna (Connie) Biggart & the BIGDoer.com Society. 🍁🎀

Gorge Creek Trail

We start by walking down the closed (to traffic) Gorge Creek Trail road.

Deer Kananaskis

We’d see lots of deer this day.

Flood damage Kananaskis

Fixing damage from the 2013 floods.

Gorge Creek Road

Our objective comes into view although we can’t see the summit from this angle.

Kananaskis flood damage

A washed out culvert…

Hiking Missinglink Mountain

Up the steep grassy slopes.

Bluerock Mountain

Bluerock Mountain in back.

Missinglink Mountain

Most of the elevation is gained here.

Climbing Missinglink Mountain

Enjoying the views…

Green Mountain

Green Mountain is the treed bump in the centre.

Missinglink Mountain cliffs

For the next while, we’ll hike along the tops of these cliffs.

Views Missinglink Mountain

Looking roughly southwest.

Cliffs Missinglink Mountain

The view directly south.

Chipmunk

A curious chipmunk.

Missinglink Mtn cliffs

An enjoyable ridgewalk.

Missinglink Mtn mystery

An odd wooden structure is seen on the cliff face (centre).

Missinglink Mountain mystery

What is it? And how did it get there?

Views from Missinglink Mountain

Soaking it all up.

Missinglkink Mountain hike

As we head north the ridge becomes more treed.

Hiking Missinglink Mtn

Faint trails help guide the way.

Missinglink Mountain summit

The summit comes into view – it looks treed but is open to the west.

Summit Missinglink Mountain

At the top…

Volcano Ridge

Volcano Ridge is the mostly bare bump in back.

View from Missinglink Mtn

Rolling hills and stunning peaks directly west.

Missinglink Mtn summit

Looking south from the summit.

Mount Ware

Mount Ware which we hope to summit it one day.

Summit Missinglink Mtn

Looking back at Missinglink’s summit.

Missinglink Mountain cutline

On the return trip we pass a cutline.

Spruce Grouse

A grouse blends into the background.

Hiking down Missinglink Mountain

Heading back down.

Cliffs Missinglink Mtn

Back at the cliffs.

Dot Mountain

Gillean Daffern refers to this part of the ridge as Dot Mountain.

Missinglink Mountain slopes

Down the grassy slopes – the ridge in back is as far as we know is unnamed.

Dense forest Kananaskis

We make our way through a thick wooded area.

Gorge Creek truck trail

Back on the Gorge Creek road.

Missinglink Mountain route

Our route….

Route up Misinglink Mountain

Our route (2)…

6 responses

  1. irunfar says:

    Awesome photos! The cliffs remind me of the Hailstone Butte hike. How did you like the trip?

    • The grassy slope was a bit of a grind but the rest is a cake walk. The scenery is stunning. We loved it! I hope to do Hailstone Butte by the way. Soon.

  2. MrPayne says:

    I’ve got to start hiking! What a gorgeous place.

  3. david kent says:

    Awesome photos! I’ll add this mountain to my bucket list.

You cannot copy content of this page