The Promised Land

The Trail to the Promised Land was a hard hike with full packs. We started pretty late in the morning, and took all our gear in backpacks. Apparently you can do this hike in one day, but I think it would be a pretty long day. The first couple hours of hiking were relatively flat, and we forded Ptolemy Creek seven or eight times. After a very strenuous climb in the afternoon we got to the camping spot in a stand of spruce trees. It was a pretty nice camp spot and no one else was around. We cooked some supper, set up the tent, and enjoyed the sunset from an incredible vantage point. I didn't sleep very well so I got up while it was still dark to watch the sunrise. After a quick breakfast we packed up and headed up towards the pass. After just a couple minutes of walking we found one of the cave entrances - a big gaping hole in the ground, which you could see down into quite a ways. There was lots of snow in the entrance though, and it was steep and we didn't have any ropes. From there, we climbed a scree slope up to the snow-covered pass. We went over into the promised land too, but it was almost entirely covered with snow. After walking for quite a while, and occasionally falling through the crust up to my waist, we decided we were being stupid because we didn't know where any of the other caves were, and the entrances could be covered with snow. So we retraced our steps back to the pass, and back down to camp to pick up our packs. It was a fairly uneventful walk back to the car, and was an awful lot easier than hiking up. Overall I would say this hike is amazing. Before you start climbing it might be a little dull, and once you start climbing, you're out of breath, but hey, take more breaks and enjoy the incredible views. The only thing that was a little annoying was the dirtbike we heard buzzing around for most of the first day. But this is a problem with the whole Crowsnest Pass area, as it is one of the few places in the Rockies that isn't a park. You will run into a lot less people than in the parks though.