CANMORE - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 169

• Elevation gain: 550 meters/1,800 feet
• Rating: moderate
• Trailhead: corner of Benchlands Trail and Elk Run Boulevard, east side of TransCanada
Highway
This unofficial trail follows a valley carved deeply into the Fairholme Range by Cougar
Creek. The length and elevation gain listed are to a high ridge on the boundary of Banff
National Park. Few hikers reach this point, with most content to turn around within an
hour's travel. The first section of trail runs alongside a man-made channel that acts as a
conduit for runoff in years of high snowfall. It's dry most of summer, but extra care should
be taken in spring. Cross just before the mouth of the canyon. From this point, the rough
trail crosses the creekbed 10 times in the first three kilometers (1.9 miles) to a major fork.
Stay within the left valley, continuing up and around the base of Mount Charles Stewart.
From this point the valley walls close in, and it's a steep climb up to the boundary of Banff
National Park. On the return journey, continue beyond the parking lot to the Summit Café,
where you can relax on the patio with a cool drink.
ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC), like similar clubs in the United States and Great
Britain, is a nonprofit mountaineering organization whose objectives include en-
couraging mountaineering through educational programs, exploring and studying
alpine and glacial regions, and preserving mountain flora and fauna.
The club was formed in 1906, mainly through the tireless campaign of its first
president, Arthur Wheeler. A list of early members reads like a Who's Who of the
Canadian Rockies-Bill Peyto, Tom Wilson, Byron Harmon, Mary Schèffer-names
familiar to all Canadian mountaineers. Today the club's membership includes 3,000
alpinists from throughout Canada.
The original clubhouse was near the Banff Springs Hotel, but in 1980 a new
clubhouse was built on benchland at the edge of Canmore to serve as the associ-
ation's headquarters. The club's ongoing projects include operating the Canadian
Alpine Centre in partnership with Hostelling International (which calls the property
the Lake Louise Alpine Centre), maintaining a system of 20 huts throughout the