Duration: 4 hours to summit
Distance: 8km including detour to hot springs
Total ascent: 1325m
Maximum elevation: 3086m
Photos of people at the hot springs on Mist Mountain kept popping up on my Instagram feed, and I decided that I wanted to experience the hot springs for myself. I planned a trip with a friend to Canmore for the August long-weekend and added Mist Mountain to our itinerary. She had never done a hike even close to this level of difficulty, but she was up for the challenge.
We had read numerous reports of the trailhead being hard to find, but entering the Mist Mountain Trailhead into Google Maps and following those directions lead us right there. We started our hike at around 8:30am. The first part of the trail was a gentle incline and we were able to maintain a conversation without much difficulty. The trail was fairly narrow and my trekking poles kept catching on the foliage, which was a tad annoying. The bugs were also out in full force and we were glad to have brought bug spray to somewhat deter the mosquitos and horseflies.
When we got closer to the tree line, we were greeted with a beautiful alpine meadow dotted with wildflowers in an assortment of colours. Then a short, steeper section lead us to the top of a grassy ridge where we had a lookout to the Rocky Mountains. We stopped to take photos.
The terrain quickly changed to talus on the other side of the ridge as we began our traverse to the hot springs, but it was well packed and easy to walk on. It only took around 30 minutes to reach the hot springs. There was a lineup when we arrived, as we had expected there would be. We were told there was a less popular pool just below the main pools, which we decided to check out. This pool was about 5 feet across and 2 feet deep, so I could lay across it with my body partly submerged. The water was tepid, but I thought it was the perfect temperature. We did a quick photoshoot before scrambling back up to the main pools. Our timing just happened to be perfect, so we did not have to wait! We took more photos and then let another group have a turn.
Feeling refreshed from our dip in the hot springs and energized from our snack break, we decided to continue to the summit. We set off at close to 1pm, having spent a leisurely hour or so at the hot springs. There was a short stretch of backtracking to where the trail forks, and then we were trudging up the talus towards the top. We came across a small patch of snow, which was slushy from the afternoon heat. I was pleased to have trekking poles for this part.
When we got over a ridge and rounded the corner, what we saw was intimidating. An extremely steep slope of scree lay between us and the summit. My GPS map told me there was only about a kilometre of distance left, but still around 600m of elevation. We asked a pair of hikers heading down the mountain how much time we could expect it to take us and their response was discouraging. It had taken them an hour and a half to reach the summit from where we were.
It was certainly slow going, as the loose rock would give way under our feet and we would slide backwards with each step. We wanted to give up, but we had already come so far, and we wanted to make that effort worth it. My pace dropped to three steps and then a quick break, but I was inching my way ever closer to the summit. I know my friend was cursing my name at this point in the hike and wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into, but she was a trooper.
When I finally reached the top of the ridge, my eyes began to fill up with tears. I was physically exhausted and relieved that the grind up the mountain had come to an end. I was simultaneously overwhelmed by the splendour of the view before me. I can say with certainty that the view from the summit of Mist Mountain is the most beautiful thing I have seen in my entire life. Every hiker we had passed on our way up warned us that the hike was difficult, but assured us the view was worth it. They were absolutely right.
