A lone Larch in fall colour

This was one of the views from the lower plateau of Plateau Mountain, after we had hiked up from the closed gate. It was taken on 28 September 2016, on our first 'recent' trip - the second visit was just one week later, on 5 October 2016, during which we were able to get up to the top plateau (with permission). On our second trip, we were trudging through snow and dense, low cloud on the very top of Plateau Mountain. What a difference a week makes.

I have been lucky enough to visit this special area several times in the past, but wondered if I would ever be able to get back to one of my absolute favourite places. There are two gates across this road - the lower one always seems to be open, but the second, higher gate is always kept locked. This means a long hike up a gravel road to get to the first plateau area, and then a further hike to get to the very top (which we didn't do).

Took me a while to make up my mind whether to go on this trip, as I wasn't sure if I'd be able to manage it - my body just can't do anything uphill, even just a very slight incline. Also, I had read someone's old report, saying that, up till the day they went, a female Grizzly and her two cubs had been hanging out there for 10 days! They didn't see the bears, but noticed all the many places where the bears had pushed over rocks and ripped up the ground to look for plant roots, etc.. On our hike, there were so many digging sights and these were still unnerving enough! We also saw several bear paw prints in the gravel along this road. My main concern was that I would have to fall back and let my friends continue. The thought of being by myself and seeing a family of Grizzlies had been enough to keep me awake part of the previous night and I even broke into a sweat worrying about it, lol. However, I have very thoughtful friends, and we stayed pretty much together.

These friends were there to look for plants, mosses, lichens and liverworts - plus anything else of interest - so they don't walk at a fast pace and are always stopping to look at something. This suits my ability perfectly. We were, of course, too late for wildflowers, though there were a lot of False Dandelions in bloom. We also came across a number of fungi, most of them the same kind of very small, brown fungus. We did see one or two other kinds that were worth photographing.

Because of stopping so often, we ran out of time to continue hiking this road as far as the very top, flat plateau - I would have had to stay behind if they had gone further. The lower plateau is where most of my visits have taken place, but I think I have been right to the very top twice, maybe three times, before. Almost every visit other years had been in the month of July. Actually, the middle part of the hike was over ground that was very similar to the very top plateau, including some permafrost 'boils'.

Birds seen on this trip included a tiny Wren, a few small flocks of unidentified birds flying fast, and a falcon (Prairie falcon?).

"This nearly flat high-elevation plateau is recognized for several unique features. There is an internationally recognized ice cave with ice crystals, curls, sheets and pillars (ice crystals are so fragile that a temperature increase of one degree Celsius can cause melting). The periglacial features (known as "patterned ground") in the reserve include active permafrost, sorted stone circles, polygons, steps and frost boils. The area also contains critical winter range for bighorn sheep." From www.albertaparks.ca/plateau-mountain.aspx

There are no public roads in Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve; the road to the mountain top is leased by Husky Oil; to prevent vandalism to natural gas production facilities and to lessen impact on the area's natural features, access is controlled by the locked gate; travel in the reserve is by foot only; there are no facilities on site and overnight camping and open fires are prohibited."

www.albertaparks.ca/media/2741526/plateau_mtn_mgmt_plan.pdf

Thanks so much, Sandy, for organizing this wonderful trip and getting us out there! Not sure, but I think the last time I was out there was in August 2012. Major flood damage had kept the roads closed after that, so it was very exciting to know that someone else had discovered that the roads were now OK for travel. We were so lucky with the weather and only had a few raindrops. Rather chilly, but it was almost October, so it was hardly surprising. I think the temperature was between 2C and 4C, approximately. I was wearing thermal underwear, jeans, two fleece jackets and my thick winter jacket, and my winter boots!

Many thanks, too, to Ken, for the ride from and back to Calgary - much appreciated! A long drive, but through such beautiful scenery.