There’s a hike 1-hour south of Canmore called the Tent Ridge horseshoe. It’s classified as difficult, but it’s only 10km long. There are clear warnings online to not hike in winter as it’s considered backcountry, rapid weather changes can occur and avalanche hazards exist. Luckily I was visiting in September. No problem I thought.
I had arrived in Canada less than 24-hours before I hopped out of my car at the trailhead. It was just as incredible as I had pictured. Trust me when I say, seeing the Rockies for the first time will knock you off your feet. Hiking through the meadows and scrambling up the boulders I was in a daze – it was jaw-droppingly beautiful.
I was 3-hours into the trek before the clouds appeared. Shortly after, out of nowhere, intense wind and heavy sleet rolled in. At risk of being blown down the mountain, I found the closest ridge and curled in a ball behind it trying to shield myself. It was no use, the wind was whirling in every direction and tearing through me, I was shaking like mad. It had been 25 °C when I’d left the hostel that morning, so I hadn’t thought twice about what I was wearing. My jeans, t-shirt, and the only cold weather item I owned in Brisbane (a flimsy leather jacket) were not going to cut subzero conditions.
I didn’t have signal. No one knew where I was. I couldn’t feel my fingers and my feet were going numb. I started stressing that (1) the snow wouldn’t ease up and my feet would be too numb to carry me back or (2) hyperthermia would set in if I stayed put. I had messed up real bad and my only option was to push on.
Shakily I tried to keep balance and continued walking. I couldn’t feel my toes by this point and the ice beneath my feet was unstable. The Tent Ridge Trail follows a long pointy peak, a small fall to my left or right and I’d be tumbling down the mountain.
I looked back to see if any hikers had emerged who could help, and that’s when I saw them. Not more than 100m below, a giant grizzly bear and a smaller yet equally terrifying baby bear jogging along behind it 🤦🏽♀️🐻
From the small amount of info I knew about bears (from movies 🙃) I was pretty sure they avoided loud noises. This bear had a cub though and despite walking away from me, they were heading straight for the woods below… where my trail eventually intersected.
I decided to take a risk, got out my phone (zero signal), and started blaring music. The weather wasn’t relenting so I had no choice but to push on and pray that Taylor Swift 1989 on repeat would be loud enough to ward off bears when I entered the woods 🤦🏽♀️😂
It took me another hour to reach the end of the peak before the descent. That’s when I encountered my Canadian angels. A lovely couple had spotted me shuffling from afar and had waited until I caught up. “OMG, what are you doing without a coat? And you’re alone? Did you see the bears?!!!” she exclaimed as she passed me her gloves (my hands were a murky shade of blue by this point).
In the final hour of the descent my newfound friends taught me a LOT about hiking in Canada:
1. Never hike alone. Play music or tie bells to your bag.
2. Bear spray (which I’d never heard of before and promptly asked if you apply it like bug spray) is NOT in fact like mosquito repellent. IT’S MACE 🤣 Very strong mace that you spray directly at a bear if it’s charging at you 🙃
3. Even if it’s 25°C, when you’re hiking the Rockies in late autumn or early spring a freak snowstorm can hit – so dress for this!
Traveling in my early 20’s was a weird juxtaposition of experiences. While mostly incredible highs of empowerment and independence, there were a fair share of harsh reminders of my painstaking cluelessness – there was (and still is) a lot to learn 🤣
When I hopped in my rental car that afternoon, I took a deep breath of relief and thought to myself. Yep, I almost died today. Let’s try to not do that again.
Read more: #SuitcaseStories – Gunpoint, Mistaken Identity, and a 5-Star Uber Rating