Mt. Kishinena, Waterton Lakes National Park

August 28th, 2015
The Crew: Emily Archibald, and myself

Overview:  
Total Time = 7 hours including 1 hour break up top
Ascent:
Trail head at Red Rock Canyon to Snow shoe cabin = 50 minute bike ride
Snowshoe cabin to twin lakes trail intersection = 40 minutes
Sage pass trail sign to Sage pass = 20 minutes on switchbacks
Sage pass to Summit = 1 hour

Descent:
 Summit to sage pass = 1/2 hour
Sage Pass to twin lakes trail = 15 minutes
Twin lakes trail head to snowshoe cabin = 40 minutes
Bike ride to trail head = 50 minutes (if you ride your brakes the whole time like I did)

Skills/Equipment: Someone please take a cash up there (a container for a log book), was disappointed to not find one there on any one of the multiple summits. I strongly recommend a bike for the 8.4 km ride in on the snowshoe trail, otherwise its a long boring walk in and out with no views etc. No trail finding skills necessary, a faint trail takes you up to the top, cairns built to guide you.

General Route:
 Park at Red rock canyon parking lot. Take the snowshoe trail heading west when you cross the bridge over red rock. This trail is 8.4 km to snowshoe cabin. The trail is one of the few allowable for bikes in Waterton. Taking bikes bites a chunk off of your time, and as this part of the trail is all in trees with no view, its nice to have a quick ride, especially for the way out. It is a beginner mountain bike trail. I brought my cycle cross bike on it, and was able to do it, although more cautiously. There are some patches of loose gravel small and medium sized, section with roots, and otherwise packed dirt. You will ride over 3 gravel filled drainages.

Arrive at snowshoe cabin. There is an outhouse there in the campground, picnic table, and stream nearby. Stash your bikes in the bushes, then head on the trail to twin lakes, by crossing the bridge and following the sign. When you arrive at the intersection for the sage pass trail, follow the sign to go up to sage pass. Nice, long switchbacks take you up to the pass. You gain a view at the pass. You will notice a trail to the left leading south. This is the trail to go up to the summit. There should be a cairn or two along the way to guide you. However, even if you do not find this worn trail. you can not go too wrong. It is just a large slope of a ridge walk, with thin patches of trees. Just head to the highest point!

There are cairns at several spots, the first is apparently not the true summit, the second cairn is the summit. The third cairn is just a yellow park border sign. You should be able to see most of Waterton's mountain peaks from here. Enjoy identifying them with your trusty topo. map. Then down the same way you came up.

The summit in view ahead

Just starting up the ridge from Sage Pass

Identifying those peaks! Mt. Festibur in the background