French and Robertson Glacier Sept 26, 2010

Great Horned Owl we rescued off of the highway

View of the trail from the top of the col

At the top of the col looking north at Commonwealth peak

Marilyn at the top with views of Mt French and Mt Robertson

Phil at the top with Mt French in the background

View of French Glacier

Another view of French Glacier

Phil coming down the trail

View of Commonwealth peak in the clouds with the larch turning colors

One single larch at the knoll just before we hiked to the top which you can barely see in the distance

Great view of the vegetation and larch with Phil in the distance

Start of French Creek at the end of the trail

Our adventure actually started on route to do a hike Sunday morning.  We were driving on west on highway 8 and I spotted an owl in distressed on the side of the highway.  Two Ravens were trying to get at this bird as it could not fly.  Phil stopped the car and we placed a towel over it and scooped it up and drove to the Wildlife Rehab centre located in the north part of the Calgary. I was able to get a picture of the Great Horned Owl just before the vet took a look at it.  Unfortunately we followed up with the owl's progress and the vet had to euthanize it due to a head injury.

Well onto the hike....this trail is not marked on a map but is accessible by using the Burstall Pass hiking trail.  Park at Burstall Pass trailhead lot elevation is 6,266' (1,910m).  Hike almost to the bike racks (approx 2.9 km).  Just before the bike racks is an off shoot of an overgrown trail on the left hand side of the main trail.  It was marked by a small orange ribbon tied onto a tree.  The trail starts uphill immediately and is marked by a few cairns along the way.  You will do a few stream crossings so wear good hiking boots with gators that are waterproof. The approx. elevation gain on this trail was close to 2000 ft or (600m).  Phil and myself didn't have the best of weather as it was overcast and rained for most of the hike up to the view point.  Magically it stopped raining just before we ascended to the view point and were able to get our cameras out and take some pictures.  From the col looking southward you get an awesome view of Mt French (3,234m) and Mt Roberston (3,194m).  You get a good view of French Glacier but can barely see the toe of Roberston Glacier. Most of the larch and trees were all changing into fall colors so the view looking down from were we climed was nice, however I'm sure in a brighter day the colors would be more vibrant. Commonwealth peak is in view looking across to the north. The hike took us 5 hours and is approx. 12 km roundtrip. Despite the crappy weather we had a good hike and would most definitely do it again.