Rowe Creek

We took another trip up to Waterton before Papa Bear left for another work stint. We wanted to hike to Summit Lake, but decided that we should try something a little less intense, because we were all feeling a little under the weather. We hiked the Rowe Creek Trail, which runs along the north side of Mount Rowe, and leads to? What else, but Rowe Lakes. This hike starts out semi steep, and only gets steeper. While not as consistently steep as say, Bears Hump, it does give you a good cardio work out with a steady uphill climb. Little Bear was able to handle this hike quite well, there were only 2 spots where she remarked on the steepness of the trail. 

The first third or so of the hike in entirely in the trees, with the occasional glimpse of Rowe Creek. The photo above shoes the first time you really see the creek, the water is running quite high and fast still. After you break out of the trees, you will see some spectacular views of the upper elevations of Mount Rowe and Mount Lineham.

This picture was taken just after we broke through the trees, it was a beautiful mountain meadow rising to the north, with a steep valley to the south. The trail at this point runs right along the edge of the valley, and at some points a rocky cliff. Beyond this point we started running in to snow drifts, Which got bigger as we got further along, and made the walking slower, but still manageable. 

This hike a a good one if you prefer a less traveled path, and have some time to stop and just look around. There is some prime Grizzly Bear areas along this hike, though we did not see any. If you are not up for walking the 4km distance to Rowe Lake, this trail allows horses.

After the climb, as we were again, heading to the town site we saw another little Grizzly! He walked right in frount of our car and then along side it, right under my nose!