Wildflowers of the Whaleback, Dames on the Range.

Begin your experience at Chimney Rock Bed and Breakfast, with hosts Tony and Debbie Webster.  This unique Bed and Breakfast is set in the spectacular ranching country adjacent to Bob Creek Wildland and Black Creek Heritage Rangeland. Participants are invited to stay overnight the day before, so they can start the day with a hearty country breakfast and be ready for an early start the next morning. 

Dame Heidi from Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation will meet you at 8 am, and the group will drive 20 minutes down the road to the start of the hike.  From the Waldron pullout just off Highway 22, the group heads up the hill and crosses onto Alberta's first protected heritage rangeland.  This landscape has been part of ranching history for more than four generations and is still a significant part of the Waldron Grazing Cooperative, just as it was over 100 years ago when it was a part of the Walrond Ranch. 

The group hikes across spectacular fescue grassland and enjoys an amazing array of wildflowers, from anemones to three flowered avens!  The first view of Whaleback Ridge is enjoyed from a snack break amongst the Douglas Fir of Black Mountain and hopefully while watching an eagle soar high overhead.  Perspective fools you, the ridge is not so far away. Once the group scouts around wetlands and hopefully a spectacular bloom of the rare blue camas, they head into the trees and follow a trail up to the Whaleback.  This is a nationally significant montane landscape; the view from atop encompasses uninterrupted ridges and grassland valleys all the way to the Livingston Range of the Rocky Mountain Front.  Lunch will feature local food, prepared by Ma Dame Debbie Webster. 

Our time on the Ridge will include time to eat, talk, enjoy the quiet, share stories and time to reflect.  It is a truly inspirational landscape and something that not everyone has a chance to experience.  When ready, the group will ridge walk, photograph and take their time to the return trail that efficiently takes us back through more spectacular scenery to a main track between Whaleback Ridge and Black Mountain.  It is our goal to meet an experienced wagon team at this point to carry the tired hikers back to the starting point, approximately a 45 minute ride.  Naturalists John and Janet Foster say the best way to see this country is from a horse drawn wagon, and they are right!  We will then go back in time for a good old fashioned one hundred kilometer slow food dinner. Hopefully not so slow, because our appetites will be good ones by the end of the day.  Just to make sure we fit in absolutely everything, Arden Nerring from "Wild About Flowers" will present a native plant gardening workshop - and she has some amazing tips and techniques to share!  So I suggest folks book overnight at Chimney Rock Bed and Breakfast!!

Join us! Cost and date TBA. The hike is limited to nine participants.

Call Dame Heidi if you have any questions 1(403) 627-1152, or call Ma Dame Debbie Webster to register for this once in a lifetime event 1(403)646-0151.

This day is entirely dependant on weather. July has seen thunderstorms, hail storms, rain, extreme heat and more than often, amazing blue skies with pleasant sunshine and a light breeze to keep hikers comfortable.  Participants must be prepared, and the day’s plans may be altered to accommodate our SW Alberta weather!

Dames on the Range and Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation

Moderate

14 - 74

Prepare: for a challenging day hike (6 - 8 hours) with some steep sections.  There are no facilities (no outhouses, no drinking water, no formal hiking trails) in the Wildland and Heritage Rangeland, so prepare to “rough it” for the day!  Pack light, but bring what you need.  Enjoy a 45 minute wagon ride back in the Wildland.  This is a horse drawn wagon, seating is basic and the track is rough in sections. 

Other Lodging

TBA