Heart mountain horseshoe loop - February 7th 2026

Trail : Heart Mountain horseshoe loop/counterclockwise Date : February 7th 2026 Location : Bow Valley Wildland provincial park, AB Trailhead location : Heart Creek parking lot, near Lac-Des-Arc Distance : 10.8 km Elevation gain : 1101 m Time to summit Heart Mountain : 1h50 Total time to complete the loop : 5h31 (this is normally not our speed but I injured my back on the way up, the way down was slow moving 😐) Difficulty : Hard hike/ moderate scramble Trail conditions : scrambling section was dry, the loop from Heart summit was packed down. We didn’t even use spikes!) Trail traffic : Only met 2 guys at the summit of Heart. The lower trail was lightly busy. Park pass : Kananaskis conservation pass Our alarm went off at 4:15 a.m., marking the start of a big day. By 5:15, we were on the road with the goal of catching the sunrise from the summit of Heart Mountain. The weather forecast from the night before showed no wind, but as we merged onto Highway 1, our truck was already being pushed... A quick check on SpotX revealed 55 km/h gusts at the summit. Dam 🤦🏻‍♀️ Despite that, we decided to stick to our original plan, knowing we could always turn around if needed. We left the parking lot at 6:03 a.m. under a sky filled with stars. It was beautiful and surprisingly warm for February 7th, with temperatures around 8°C. We chose to complete the loop counterclockwise, scrambling up as most people do. Below the blue arrows, the wind became extremely strong. I briefly considered turning back, but we pushed on a little farther and adjusted to the conditions as we gained elevation. Hiking in the dark has its perks, you only focus on what’s is ahead and you kinda loose that steepness perception… During the scramble, I made a wrong move and pulled a muscle in my lower back, but at the time it didn’t seem too concerning. Despite the wind, we reached the summit of Heart Mountain with relative ease. The ascent was mostly dry with very little ice, and we didn’t need our spikes. That said, it remains a moderate scramble and should not be underestimated. The sunrise from the summit was not glorious but still beautiful. With the winds relentless, we didn’t linger and continued toward Grant McEwan peak. The loop section past Heart summit was less windy and more enjoyable. The trail between the summits had packed snow and was generally easy to travel on without spikes or gaiters. There is quite a bit of elevation gain to reach McEwan, but nothing technical. The views from Grant McEwan are amazing, with Barrier Lake standing out below. We signed the black registry canister and continued toward « Piglet »’s Peak. We reached piglet’s peak quite easily and then started our descent after one last uphill. The winds picked up again and my back was killing me so the way down was SLOW, felt like never ending. Thankful for my poles as they rescued me from collapsing a few times🫠 Still have absolutely no regrets from today, it was a challenging and spectacular day like I like them! I will need to see my chiropractor this week though! Lol