A Knight Up High

Saturday the 16th July and we rose early and set off for Kananaskis Country, our destination the trailhead for The Black Prince Cirque. The name Black Prince conjures up images of medieval castles and chivalrous knights! The name originated with Prince Edward of England, a fierce, 14th Century warrior who wore striking black armour.  It was revived as the name of a World War 1 battleship.  In memory of the ship, the name was bestowed on a striking Canadian Rockies peak: Mt. Black Prince.  Our destination was Black Prince Cirque.

Channeling the warrior's spirit we hiked up the steep head wall guarding the lower Black Prince Cirque and wandered amongst the lakes hidden within it; Warspite Lake is one.  Odd to think that as we neared the head wall having navigated our way across an avalanche area full of rock and newly deposited trees it was snowing in the cirque. Yes, snow.  To our joy the cloud lifted as we entered the vast basin, or cirque, and the sun shone through. 

The final assent was steep and muddy as we navigated our way alongside the creek which was in full speight and provided us with a splendid waterfall, the Warspite Cascades.  The sound of rushing water masked our huffs and puffs as we went ever higher.

As we entered the upper cirque cresting its lip we entered a grassy basin littered with boulders, ahead of us was Mount Warspite at 9348 feet and to the left was Mount Black Prince.

A grand day on the hills!