Headwall Lakes, Kananaskis

The Headwall Lakes are located about 40 km south of Canmore, on the Spray Lakes Road. They lie in a valley between two mountains, Mt. Chester and Mt. James Walker at an elevation of ~2,300 metres (7,545 ft.) The upper lake spills into the lower lake, which in turn drains via Headwall Creek into Smith-Dorrien Creek then south east into Lower Kananaskis Lake. Earlier this week, I joined friends, Glen and Irene Philips for a hike up to the lakes and of course, I took a camera with me.

The hike is a challenging one. Although not overly long, at 14 km (8.75 mi.) for the round trip, the trail is rugged and at times very steep. The first segment is an old logging road which parallels the Spray Lakes Road. The next section is up the valley through a varied terrain, beginning with a gentle slope through forest. Emerging from the trees you begin the tougher hiking, traversing a large talus slope to reach the first headwall. Just above this first headwall is the lower lake. Continuing on to the far end of the lower lake, you begin a very steep ascent, staying to the right side of the cascade, where the upper lake drains into the lower. On reaching the top of the next headwall, the second lake appears.

Today’s pictures follow the course of our journey beginning with this picture of Headwall Creek, near the beginning of our trek up the valley. That’s Mount Chester in the background.

The next picture shows a part of Mount Chester, photographed from a break in the forest on our way up the valley.

The next three photographs were taken in the area where we emerged from the forest and got our first glimpse of the amazing scenery in the upper part of the valley. The first picture shows one of the many peaks of Mount James Walker, just to the right of the trail.

Looking a little further along the valley I captured this scene of a massive talus slope below this ridge, also part of Mount James Walker.

Looking ahead in the direction of the Headwall Lakes is a nice view of the two, bordering mountains and the talus slope we crossed to get there.

This is our first destination, the Lower Headwall Lake. At the end of this lake is the second headwall, with the upper lake behind it. The cascade down the front of the headwall is water flowing between the two lakes on its way to the Kananaskis Lakes. In the distant background, you can see the Fortress Mountain.

I couldn’t pass up a closer view of the waterfall.

The next photograph shows our ultimate destination, the upper lake.

This area was quite beautiful and we chose to relax, enjoy the warm sunshine, have lunch, and recharge for the return trek. Glen did a little fishing and was rewarded with catching a nice Cutthroat Trout, which he and Irene enjoyed last evening after returning home to Canmore. I took a few pictures which I hope do justice to what we witnessed in this stark and striking landscape.

This following scene was just to the right of the lake, part of Mount James Walker. I thought it would look good in black and white, so I’ve converted it from the original coloured version.

Amid the rugged terrain, was the obvious sign of the alpine summer, the hardy wildflowers that bloom every year and transform the landscape.

As I gazed around, not wanting to miss a thing, I noticed this very fine stream of water, cascading down a cliff-face on Mount Chester. It didn’t look exactly like this, I confess. It has been re-styled to bring out the many colours that you just don’t see in the harsh light of midday. Perhaps not a truly faithful representation of what I saw, but to me, an appealing image.

 

As we began the homeward trek, I took this last picture, looking down the valley. I was at the edge of the second headwall with the lower lake in the foreground and the waterfall just to my left. In the background is the Spray Range of mountains on the opposite side of the Spray Valley.

Many thanks to Glen and Irene for showing me this wonderful area and sharing the experience with me.