Badland’s Disc Golf & a Bit of Wayne

So there we are climbing high above the tiny town of Wayne, in the amazingly scenic Alberta Badlands, in search of a shot. Up and up we go, dodging prickly things and slipping from time to time on the steep and loose terrain. Gotta get that photo – one where we’d be overlooking town with nice views up and down the valley. Down there it’s all those yellows and oranges of fall and above a sky of blue with wispy clouds. Should make for a fine pic.

Coming over a rise, a strange something. Oh yeah…disc golf. And this post thingy is a “hole”, way up here at the edge of a steep precipice. Now I recall this (hard core) course being here. We get our shot and then we wander the “fairways” in awe at the sheer ballsyness of it all. For the expert players only, this course is in your face and utterly merciless and a misguided throw could mean trouble – a lost disc or one requiring much work to retrieve. The terrain here is anything but flat and takes no prisoners.

Disc Golf (also called Frisbee Golf) plays much like the regular game. It’s been around for some time but it’s only been popular for the last couple decades. Courses can be found all over and most are rather pastoral affairs with generally flat-ish terrain and defined fairways like a normal golf course. Badland’s Disc Golf seems an exception, with many holes protected by steep drop offs or deep coulees along with hazards like cactus, sage brush and sinkholes that could swallow a person. The latter can appear without warning (and each rain brings new ones) and can be obscured by vegetation…twisting an ankle is good possibility.

Badland’s Disc Golf dates back to about 2000. They use a variation of a target called a tone, a metal tube that chimes on being hit and making the hole. Most other courses seems to use a chain basket atop a pole as a hole, which seems more forgiving and easy.

Overshooting a hole at this course means a long down climb to recover a disc. And coming up short could means a foray into a deep gully or thickets of vegetation that like to poke. It’s not for the timid.

But scenic wise, it can’t be beat. And Buddha gives his blessing.

From an online review (member Treeplant)… “If you do plan on visiting the course, check the forecast though, DO NOT try this course if it’s raining, and only play it if it’s calling for high winds if you’re a pro or if you don’t mind seeing your discs sail three hundred feet into a small canyon.” Good advice – the soil here turns to a slippery gumbo when wet and the wind can blow heavy at times. Nothing’s easy in the Badlands.

Near one hole, an old road winding its way up to the plains above. And down in the valley, a couple blue bridges. On the road into Wayne there’s something like a dozen of them – but from this angle we could only see some. And below, at one time, a thriving town home to many thousands with a busy railway line and many coal mines dotting the landscape. Underfoot, the earth more like Swiss Cheese. Now Wayne’s home to a few dozen folks and the (infamous) Rosedeer Hotel is the only business. Let’s head down that way.

Closed up on our visit, come a summer weekend the Rosedeer’s Last Chance Saloon is packed and noisy. It’s particularly popular with the motorcycle fraternity and if you arrive later than about ten or eleven on a Friday or Saturday, you won’t get a seat. It sure is cool to see it so quiet – usually the rumble of V-Twins in deafening. The building dates back to the 1910s and in addition to a popular bar you can even spend the night in a heritage room. And one day maybe we will. They also have a campground. The window says Rosedeer Hotel “Utah”, which is from a movie appearance we suspect.

A flag, all tattered and frayed, still flies proud. On the hill above – look for it – another Maple Leaf. Just across the parking lot the remains of a railway line, pulled up a few years ago after having sat moribund for a half dozen more. There’s a lot of bridges along this section, the expense of keeping them up one of the reasons the line was closed. Interestingly the railway (CNR) is still holding title to the right of way and it’s suggest they have future plans for it. So the story is not over yet perhaps.

Down the road, something familiar out of the corner of our eye. That colour! Over there, in Alberta Wheat Pool Blue/Green, a former grain elevator biffy/storage shed. Now sure where it was moved in from – there were lots of grain elevators up and down the railway line here. Stored lawn equipment can be seen inside. A crapper repurposed. It might seem small and insignificant…

Awesomeness In the general area…
The Humble Miner’s Cottage.
Bridges of Cambria.
Abandoned Murray Mine.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: October, 2017.
Location: Wayne, AB.
Article references and thanks: VisitLastChanceSaloon.com, Professional Disc Golf Association, Disc Golf Course Review.

In the Alberta Badlands.

And here our shot of Wayne (far below).

And what’s this?

We’ve found ourselves on a disc golf course.

Hole 17.

Must be a challenging to play here among the steep terrain.

Overshooting could mean disaster.

The old road out of the valley.

It’s certainly a scenic course.

Sinkholes are one hazard.

One wrong step…

These are “tone” targets.

Blessings for those who play.

They chime on being hit.

The last business in Wayne.

Utah?

One day we’ll stay over.

Little details.

And more…

It can be busy here…

…But this day it’s all closed up.

Visited in the fall.

Tattered but flying proud.

A most colourful season.

The old CNR line pulled up a few years back.

That yellow jacket.

A grain elevator biffy.