Pigeon Mountain Loop October 29, 2016

High on  Halloween

Everyone has their own style for getting high. 

This is what mine looks like.

It involves fun & color!

It's filled with fresh air & fitness!

It's packed with scenery & beauty!

It's all real!

Hiking the full Pigeon Mountain Loop was the choice objective to celebrate Halloween!  I put the idea out there and was thrilled four friends were just as keen to share the day with me.  I left the idea open of completing the loop or returning the way we went up.  It depended on snow conditions and much to my surprise there was not much of that sweet stuff to impede in any way.   We got an early enough start that we were able to witness the alpenglow show while we geared up.

We took care of the first business which was to get that initial 4.7 kms out of the way.  It was easy going but seemed like it took forever.  Then it was wide open beauty for the next few hours.  A touch of fog and cloud drifted about, here and there, every now and then.  It added to the ambiance.

I have hiked this location a few times yet always forget which is the last little hill.  Those things go on and on and on.  I took my time in this section and made sure to take in the entire surroundings, even behind me.  The alpenglow at the trail head was pretty and just as pretty was the sundog further along in our hike.

frosty

The saddle between the two summits was as pretty as can be.  

Instead of keeping to where the main trail would be, we opted to head straight to the snow laden trees.  No one had been, it was untouched and out of this world beautiful. We owned this spot and invested loads of time in our ownership.  

it seemed dreamy and surreal

We reached the official Pigeon Mountain Summit and once again took our time.  

We each captured our own memories and shared memories.  

Here I am with Short Stop in our shared memory.

Ever since discovering the full loop route, I have never returned the way we came.  We gingerly worked our way up to the lower summit.  The beauty continued.  We made this our choice place to dine.  Talk about a table by a window with a view.  After refuelling, we took a second series of summit shots before hiking down along this meadow to carry on with the loop.

just having fun feeling & living the moment

The views along the wide open meadow were magnificent.  We only had a couple of inches of snow to contend with.  No need for snowshoes nor foot traction along this whole section.  We did attach our microspikes for one down hill area for about thirty minutes but they were more of a nuisance than anything. 

Further down there was less snow on the ground and on the trees but it still made for a pretty picture.

We made our way back out to the Skogan Trail and followed it back to where we intersected the wildlife sign and then carried on along the long stretch back to the parking lot.  The sun was warm, it was all down hill, we were high and happy.

I always have expectations for a day which are realistic given forecasts and previous days weather.  I also incorporate into those exceptions that at the snap of a finger, at the drop of a hat, at the.....oh you give my drift, the weather can do a 90 degree, a 180 degree, a 360 degree turn in either direction for better or worse.  I was prepared for the worse when in fact we got the better, even better, it was the best!  Thank you for today!