Muskiki Lake Part 1

~a trip to the foothills of Alberta~

Adventures: Naomi DeBruyn, Crystal Kirkham
Region: Nordegg Area, Alberta Foothills
 

Ok, the trip out to the foothills had been in the planning stages for a while, however, we had troubles deciding on the location we should be heading for. What with time constraints and different abilities and ailments, etc., not too mention the “NO ENTRY DURING THIS TIME PERIOD” due to wildlife activity, it wasn’t quite as cut and dried as it could have been. We were so stoked to finally get out there!

DAY ONE:
Friday, July 31 2015

ALSIKE, AB
 
I kind of had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the weekend we’d hoped for before I ever left the house, though. I was packing up some chocolate covered coffee beans (energy trail snack), and the bag suddenly dumped out all over the floor, much to the glee of the cats! (No I made sure that nobody but two leggeds had any!). Then, my bag of ‘Gorp’ (trail mix – homemade in this case), dumped out all over the inside of my pack. Frustration to the extremes! I actually debated for a moment, but decided that the melted assorted Chipits in a new pack on a hot day be a good idea. Out came ALL the gear… again (I’d done this three times in the last week).



When I finally managed to take my leave it was with high hopes and a nagging feeling that wouldn’t leave me alone. A little voice had bugged me the night before, but I got sidetracked and forgot about it. We had the GPS co-ordinates, BUT, failed to compare the maps that Google had given me to the originals that Crystal had.

I pulled out of the driveway with my dog sitting on the porch looking like the most dejected being in the world. Not this time! The truck had been checked – oil, water, tires, etc., and was good to go. All I needed was gas. A brief stop for a fill, a large bottle of water on impulse, and I was headed west with the radio cranked.

The first part of the road I knew well, but half an hour later it was logging/gravel road – known around here as “Back Roads.” Another two and half hours and I’d be hooking up with Crystal and we’d be heading into the ‘forest’ for some relaxation.

THUNDER LAKE, AB

If only I’d known…

That nagging feeling came back and bit me in the ass – HARD! All I can say is, do NOT trust Google to deliver the correct maps for GPS co-ordinates. I was sent North, meanwhile, Crystal was South waiting for me. That would have been fine, except in the foothills of the Rockies, cell phone service is not exactly reliable. I punched in the final destination, and was given a location in GERMANY! Ok, this is not the right place. I trusted my intuition and turned around, then took a turn off onto a road with a home made sign stating “Wild Country” and prayed that somehow we’d hook up.

I managed to get a text through to Crystal telling her where I was, and that I was going to drive South and see if that would help. About fifteen very long minutes later… there comes a white pickup up the road, with my friend behind the wheel! We both hit the brakes, and were laughing with relief. I followed her South until we reached the turn off. Then began some more fun of a whole other kind

With a little bit of work and educated deduction, we finally located the entrance to Thunder Lake, which is where we’d originally intended to spend the long weekend. It offered fishing, as well as some awesome access to semi formed trails around the lake. We figured it’d be great for what we had wanted to do.

Sadly, someone had beaten us to the punch. The narrow lane that had been carved out of the toothpicks was completely blocked by a largish RV. It was time to come up with a new plan on the spot.

...on to Muskiki Lake in Part 2...