Missinglink Mountain

Hiking up little Missinglink Mountain by the east (or direct) approach is about as easy as it gets. A little (mostly treed) bump in the Kananaskis Foothills it has a lot to offer for minimal effort and surprisingly broad reaching views given its less than lofty aspirations. On topping out one is rewarded with a glorious panorama taking in rolling hills and towering mountains off there to the west.

Mother Nature has a lot to offer up this way and given how little work it takes we’ll have to tag this outing as “short and sweet” (TM).

Start at the Gorge Creek day use area on Gorge Creek Road, north of connecting Highway #546 and west of Turner Valley. You can’t miss the trailhead and you start where the road ends present day. From the parking lot look east and see the objective summit – it’s that grassy patch up there just a short distance away.

Back track on the road a bit, pass a gate marking a decommissioned section (for autos anyway) and aim for a meadow a bit to your right. There’s a faint trail in the grass there and on hitting the trees at the far end, becomes more distinct.

In mere moments it’s time to get down to business and start the climb. The grade is mostly modest and attacks the hill mountain pretty much straight on. There’s a couple steep pushes with one or two possible ankle-twisting sections along the way. If wet it might be a bit slick too and with Kananaskis mud slippery as Teflon, caution is on order at times like that. Flagging in places reminds us it’s a new route and had you visited even a few years prior, the way would have not been so obvious with only these streamers to guide you. The trail’s only recently been beaten down.

You’ll be in the woods for most of the ascent, but as you gain elevation they thin. Flowers underfoot include Bunchberry and Paintbrush. Pass the bone tree and after a steep section break out of the trees for good, then it’s one final push to gain the ridge. Yeah, the hard work’s behind you now! A couple clicks plus a few hundred metres of up and the hardest part is done.

The west facing ridge here is a mix of grassy meadow and rocky outcroppings with the latter making great photo-op platforms.

We visited Missinglink Mountain once before, long ago, but came from a different and much longer approach. Here: Missinglink Mountain (1). We saw no one that day but it was before the trail chronicled here became more defined. In contrast we shared the way up with perhaps a half dozen groups this most recent outing.

Turn north and continue along the ridge with a slight up grade, the summit just minutes away, then arrive and take it all in. Below, an opening the trees marks the parking spot and it’s so close you should be able to hear other outdoorsy people chatting down there.

Off in the distance and as far as one can see both north and south, it’s the majestic front range Rockies. Threepoint, Rose and Bluerock Mountains are most front and centre and appear as an impenetrable wall. In their shadow is a little pointy peak which we’ve been up and you can see it here: Mt Ware (Little Ware too). Lesser summits is where you’ll find us!

In the west but not far away it’s Volcano Ridge and directly the north it’s Allsmoke Mountain. We’re hoping to do the latter one day soon.

Directly below, it’s a literal sea of green made up of rolling hills and ridges. Lots of forest down there! There’s a maze of wilderness trails as well, unseen from this distance of course, and most start at where you parked. Both Mt Ware and Volcano Ridge can be accessed from this starting point, incidentally.

This section of Kananaskis is multi-use so you can expect to see equestrian riders and bikes on many trails (doubtful on Missinglink Mountain Trail, however). Cows also free range here, so don’t be alarmed if you round a corner and meet one face to face down by the parking lot. We get startled, they get startled and then we all have a big laugh. Honestly, when partially obscured by trees they look more like a bear than anything. Usually keeping to low lying areas, as evidenced by all the landmines down by the cars, we have seen them up high in odd places on occasion. I guess they’re a special breed of mountain climbing bovines or maybe super cows or something.

We always doddle and take in a leisurely lunch with each hike or summit. Trust us, it’s the only way to do it. A couple groups come and go in the meantime and a bit giddy from the moment find ourselves chuckling at the Lion King scene playing our before us. The doggie didn’t seem to share in the enthusiasm, however, and lacked the dignity of Simba. “What are you doing to me?!”

And now we can’t get that damn song out of our heads…”It’s the circle of life…”

To the east trees block the way but if you had Superman’s abilities to look through things, you’d see the hills transition off the prairies in that direction. In this part of Kananaskis is where flat and not so flat meet. Oh, and it’s cowboy country so expect to meet a few Stetson wearing folks with horses in the parking lot where you started.

God, we love this area. We have the best playground on the planet and it’s for all to enjoy.

A faint trail leads off into the woods in an north-easterly direction and while followed it soon petered out. Just like all the people that made it, we were curious if there was a chance to go farther and make new discoveries. Nope, just more trees. When ready, head down the way you came. No, not yet, not us! Wait, we have more photos to shoot, more triumphant poses to own and think of everything we can to delay the inevitable. Once committed, however, it’s a quick descent with full flaps back to ground level.

What’s in a name? It’s said Missinglink Mountain was given the title in the 1890s by a survey crew (including legendary AO Wheeler who called it Missing Link two words) and may have been in reference to it being used as a triangulation base for their work. It’s said there is no official recognized difference between hills and mountains yet we always think of the latter as big and towering. Missinglink is neither and by the numbers one of the lowest of the low to carry that title.

Google Earth rant: why does the world seem so flat lately? I swear it used to have a more three-d thing going on and now elevation isn’t really emphasized when we overlay our track and display it. Who knows?

Till the next trip report, keep on rocking life.

They’re saying…

”One of the great places to see great places, online! Wonderful work Chris and Connie…!” Greg Herman.

Hike similar in nature…
Mesa Butte (the Grind).
High Noon Hills.
Deer Ridge.

If you wish more information about this route or if you love to chat don’t hesitate to contact us!

Date of adventure: July, 2020.
Location: Sheep River area Kananaskis, AB
Distance: 4.5km there and back.
Height gain maximum: 330m.
Height gain cumulative: 330.000001m (maybe).
NOTE: all distances and heights are approximate and may differ slightly from other trip reports.
Technical stuff and notes: Nothing of note.
Reference: Kananaskis Trail Guides by Gillean Daffern.

Missinglink Mountain – odd name – great hike.

Crossing a meadow at the start.

Old flagging marked the route before it was beaten in.

A bunch of Bunchberry.

Paintbrush grows well in the foothills.

The steepest push.

The trees thin near the top.

Gaining the ridge.

The summit comes into view.

Cheers…Salud…Proost…Sei gesund…

Photo op with big peaks to the west.

It’s our second visit to this summit.

The opening in trees marks the parking lot.

The east end of Volcano Ridge.

Little Mount Ware in front.

Doing what we do.

So many green rolling hills.

Wassup…

A Lion King moment.

Obligatory triumphant pose.

In back and lit up, Allsmoke Mountain.

The hard part is heading down.

One last rock to pose on, then it’s into the trees.

The big descent is about to begin.

Down and down we go.

Elevation is quickly lost.

The curious bone tree.

One small stream to cross.

Missinglink’s summit.

The decommissioned (to autos) Gorge Creek Road.

Short and sweet – start left.