Crystal's Solo Hike - White Rabbit Creek

-an adventure in central Alberta-

It was one of those things where the plan started off one way and ended up an entirely different thing than expected. What was supposed to be another group hike ended up as a solo hike - by me. It's hard when life gets in the way, but I was determined to go and test out my new equipment in the field. I was a bit nervous going out on my own, as I have never done an overnight before by myself. Being nervous, I borrowed a friend's Airedale terrier, a breed of dog often used for hunting - including the hunting of bears - who would seem much more intimidating than my poodle puppy.


It was hard trying to figure out where I was going to go that might be okay for me to do as a solo; I eventually decided to make an attempt for Farley Lake. Doable if I pushed myself, but with plenty of other places to camp along the way if I got nervous about the trail at any point.

Unfortunately, even the day I went to leave did not go as planned and my weekend hike got cut down by a day. I headed out of the city late and  decided to spend the night at my friends' house, the ones who were taking care of my girl while I borrowed their dog. I started off from their place the next day, bright and early.

DAY ONE
Saturday May 30, 2015

I hadn't quite expected the drive along HWY 11 west to be as long as it was and I constantly worried about missing the staging area. Although I didn't worry enough to not enjoy the road as it wound its way towards the snow-capped mountains and past the bright blue of Abraham Lake. Perhaps I was enjoying the scenery a bit too much since I did miss the left turn into the parking lot and had to pull a u-turn to get back to it. It was still early and there was only one other person there. We had a nice little chat as he headed off on his bike ahead of me, with a chainsaw. No, he wasn't a crazy killer or someone poaching wood from a protected area. He was checking for fallen trees along the trail because he was out in this area often.

With map in hand I head towards Siffleur Falls. A popular day hike destination, but one that I would never reach since my trail parted ways just before the Falls. I enjoyed the spectacular views as I followed the raised walkway through beautiful fields dotted with tall firs. I crossed a narrow suspension bridge over the North Saskatchewan River and a more standard bridge over the next river crossing. It was nice starting my hike on such well groomed and maintained trails.

It wasn't until I was five minutes past the fork in my trail, shortly after the second bridge, that I realized I had missed the unmarked turn-off for Survey Hill. Whoops. As soon as I realized I was on the wrong trail I quickly backtracked. There was a barely noticeable trail heading left off of the main trail to Siffleur Falls. I took that way and found myself slowly moving upwards, until I ended up on an old forestry road that bordered the Kootney Plains Ecological Reserve. I turned to the right down this wide trail and hoped that I would do better on the next split leading onto the White Rabbit Trail.

I knew that eventually I would be turning off towards my right, so I kept my eyes open for where I was supposed to be going. This time, instead of missing my turn, I took the wrong right hand turn. I headed down a steep trail thinking it had to be the right one. I came across places where others had camped before, then found myself on another wide trail like the one I had left. I knew right away that this was not where I wanted to be.

So, once again, I turned around and headed back to the previous trail. I found myself needing to take a break once I got back to the main trail. My pack was starting to feel heavy and I found myself playing with the straps; trying to make it a little more comfortable.

When I found the turn off for White Rabbit Creek Trail, it was very obviously the right trail, although unmarked. It was a much smaller, but well traveled trail. It didn't take too long before I came across an outfitters camp that had been mentioned numerous times by people I had asked, as well as in the trail book that I had for this area.

I scouted around the camp for a bit to see if everything described in my guide book was really there and sure enough I found everything, just as it had been described years ago. It was an actively used site by outfitters and a local trapper. (I had seen trap line signs in a few places). After a minute or two it was time to forge on.

There were two bridges that crossed the river, an old one and a bit further up river, a new one. Guess which I used to get across the fast running creek?

A few steps took me out of the wooded area and into a large open field with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. I stopped here for lunch, soaking in the view, before continuing onward. I nibbled at my dry salami and cheese, then followed it with some dried apricots and dates. It was time to leave my rock in the open field and follow the faint trail leading from one field to the next.

It was a beautiful trek through open fields that brought me to the White Rabbit Creek crossing; the final crossing so that I could attempt Farley Lake on my own.

Here I was stymied. I had never done a creek crossing before and the river looked fairly fast to me. I decided I was best off erring on the side of caution. It was getting towards the afternoon, I was tired, and my shoulders were really starting to hurt. It had been a long time since I had gone on a hike with a full pack. I thought about the field where I had stopped for lunch and decided it was as good a place as any to spend a night.

So back to the first field I went, looking at the areas around me as I did so for potential campsites. I ended up on the far side of the creek from the outfitters camp. I set myself up and found my new tent very easy to put up. Nothing like a field test for brand new gear!

After getting my meager camp set up, I decided I should find a reasonably good spot to hang my bear bag. I found a probable place far enough away from camp on a tall, but not very climbable tree. It wasn't long until my bag was hanging far above head, where I felt confident it would be safe.

I decided, I quite liked this spot and proceeded to have a nap with my hiking companion, Ducky. She seemed quite happy with that idea since she had spent most of the hike running between me and the sounds of the nearest squirrels. I quite enjoyed the view from my tent. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. After a quick dinner of rice with beans, that really wasn't too bad, we decided to call it a night. All that napping had been so exhausting.


It was probably a good thing that we got to sleep early as I awoke to the sound thunder and a shivering dog. She wasn't scared, but with the storm came the wind and it got chillier than expected. Being the kind person that I am, I put my hoodie on the dog for warmth, which seemed to help. I listened to the steady downpour until I fell back to sleep.

I awoke to a bright and sunny morning. Thankfully, I was perfectly dry in my tent. Not a lick of moisture was to be seen or felt, either inside the tent or underneath the fly. Between tarp and tent it was perfection. I could hardly have asked for a better field test than that. Of course, there was the
small worry that perhaps the bear bag may not have fared so well. Once I got that down it was easy to see that not a drop of water had gotten inside either... not that it would have mattered since everything inside the bag was also safely packaged in scent-proof bags.

It was warming up quickly and I decided to opt out of a hot breakfast, eating a granola bar instead, before starting to break down my campsite. I laid all of my equipment out in the sun to dry off before packing it away. I knew I wouldn't have a chance in my crowded little apartment to air anything out properly, so I wanted to be sure it was well dried. I refilled my water pack from the nearby creek as I waited for things to dry.

Once I was packed up, I started the trek back to the staging area with the hopes that my truck was still waiting where I had left it. At one point I noticed bear scat on the trail as well. It had to have been from earlier that morning. However, there were no bears anywhere in sight so I continued on my way.

When I hit the Siffleur Falls trail I started seeing people on their way to Falls. By the time I was past the suspension bridge I was amazed at how many people there were heading up to see Siffleur Falls. I made a mental note to head out there at some point in the future.

It had been a great hike, and both Ducky and I had enjoyed our night away from civilization. It felt good, though, to be getting back to my truck and driving home. It's a beautiful drive along HWY 11 west of Rocky Mountain House. It's a drive I would recommend to any one. Chances of wildlife viewing are great; I saw a fox, a black bear momma and cub, as well as a couple of deer.