Archie Hikes: Mount Boswell, Waterton Lakes National Park

Aug. 13th, 2015

The Crew: Kim and Emily Archie

Overview:

Ascent:
Crypt Landing to the point of cut off from the main trail = 1 hour and 15 minutes

Cut off, down to the creek, cross the creek, start up the mountain to the point where it opens up from the trees = half hour

From the end of the bushwhacking up to the ridge = 1 hour and a half

From the ridge to the summit = 20 minutes

Descent:
From the summit to the real crypt trail = 2 hours

From the real crypt trail to the docks = 1 hour and 10 minutes

Skills and Equipment: route finding skills would be helpful as there are many paths up this mountain side and I can't say for sure which is best, you have to figure out as you go. Owning a boat or having friends with a boat would be fantastic, so you can get dropped off early to start the day and decrease the time constraint. If you are on a tight schedule, bring snacks high energy in your pockets and a camel back, we barely ate as we were afraid to spend time taking a break, so eat and drink on the go!

General Route:

Followed directions from Andrew Nugaras book "More Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies". Take the waterton cruise ship at 9:00 a.m., tickets are $22.00 round trip. Arrange to have the 5:30 pick up time. Follow the crypt trail to above "Burnt Rock Falls". I was confused about which falls that was. You pass signs for Hell roaring falls, and a look out for those falls, but that is not what you want. Keep going until you are above the falls you will see on your way that are coming from orange/red rock. We cut off the trail at kilometer_____ there was a well worn path going west/down into the valley, some deadfall had been dragged over the trail to block it (see the first image below).

We descended down to the river in the valley, easy bushwhacking, then crossed the river and started straight up the mountain, difficult bushwhacking. Andrew Nugaras suggested veering south to avoid thick bush and alders, which we should have done. At least the bushwhacking is not long lasting, no matter which part of the mountain side you go up. Once things clear you can see multiple drainage sites that can be scrambled up. We had difficulty deciding which to take. We ended up taking the second to last, or in other words the second most south drainage up. It was wet at spots but that was easily avoided. Easy step up type terrain. Once up to where more trees appeared, we veered at an angle to the north. There was a low point in the saddle that we aimed for. As we ascended there was a point at which I could see a large boulder on the saddle and I then made that my goal.

Once you reach the saddle it is a very short climb south and then very short ridge walk west to the true summit. When you get up top you see an AMAZING view of Mt. Cleveland to the south. Definitely the highlight of the trip for me! There is a log book up top with an entry from 1984! So add your name to this historic document and then descend a similar way. Again, there are multiple drainages you can descend, choose your own adventure. We descended in the most south drainage for no particular reason except that is where we ended up. This meant we got to the valley floor close to a small lake. We thought this would be fine, but turned out the area close to the lake is marsh and alder bushes. These were a hassle to get through, ended up taking off our boots and wading through up past our knees. So I recommend veering north (left) as you hit the bushwhacking on the way down, a little ways from the lake. Rejoin the trail and hustle down to the docks to meet your boat ride home.