Mount Fullerton

Elevation: 2700m          Gain: 1050m                   Difficulty level: moderate

Ascent time: grrr!!        Total trip time: bleep      Conditions: Summer/Dry

 

Parking area: Little Elbow Recreation Area (Highway 66, West of Bragg Creek)

 

 

 

I have nothing nice to say about Mount Fullof<bleep>. All we really needed was a bunch of mosquitoes to make the experience complete. Nevertheless, we learned:

  1. The route NOT to take.

  2. Alan Kane is usually pretty accurate with respect to difficulty levels. If you start cursing him for underestimating a hike, its probably because you lost the path

 

ROUTE

 

Bike (we didn't) along the Little Elbow Trail until you reach a turn off to a trail on the right; which leads to a creek bed. If walking for 1 hour on a former road doesn't inspire you enough, you are then confronted with several more hours of seemingly endless walking (ps: bring a bike).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep to the left, and after about 1-2 hours of walking along the creek, look specifically for the view below, since this is the route in. Once you have accessed the rocky drainage, the amphitheatre is obvious. Its then pretty smooth sailing to the summit.  

 

 

On the other hand, if you weren't paying attention, you will miss the entrance entirely (like us). The trick to avoiding hours of misery is to stay to the left in the creek (we didn't). If are too far to the right, you will likely see the view below, and promptly march on past (like us). 

 

 

The following refers to what NOT to do. If you miss the drainage, you will likely hike for a few hours whereby the best candidate for an amphitheatre would be shown below. However, if you see this view, turn promptly around; since it gets decidedly un-fun from here on in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORAL OF THIS STORY:

If a scramble seems harder than the description in Alan Kane's book, then you are probably on the wrong path.

No clue what mountain this is, but the top of this was really just a false summit.  It didn't get any easier from here.....

 

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