Making the most of an unseasonably warm October, we drove to the DTC for Thanksgiving Sunday. I let Dan pick the objective this trip and he chose Little Abraham. This is an easier one that has a few moderate scrambling moves with a bit of fun ridge walking.
After roughly ten minutes of easy bushwhacking through aspens we reached the toe of the ridge. Impressive views over Abraham Lake open up immediately.Looking back at the way we came. Mount Michener dominates the view. We parked right of center, where the two varieties of tree meet, and then followed the edge of the aspens until we spotted the ridge through the trees.Typical travel at the start of the ridge.The fun portion of the ridge walk begins. Any difficult sections encountered were always easy to bypass .Looking back. The ridge is less fierce once up close.Bypassing a cliff sectionApproaching a false summit along the way.A few fun moderate scrambling moves (easily bypassed to the left).Looking back at a false summit.Approaching the last false summit, just before the peak.Looking back, southward. Abraham Lake narrows in the distance to its primary source, the North Saskatchewan River, with various peaks from the Icefields beyond.Standing on the peak of Little Abraham. Mount Abraham towers above me in the background.Striking views over Abraham Lake and Mount Michener from the peak of Little Abraham.The complex terrain of Mount Abraham lies to the North. It will have to wait for another day though. Summit panorama.Heading back the way we came.Downclimbing a short scramble section. It’s easier than it looks!
We made it back to the road in 5 hrs 15 min, leaving plenty of time for a Thanksgiving feast. In true dirtbag style, we feasted on ramen noodles and a bag of turkey stuffing chips! Hardbite released a limited edition flavour for Thanksgiving, featuring a photo of Abraham Lake and Mount Michener. I was delighted.
Enjoying a post-hike Thanksgiving feast in front of Abraham Lake and Mount Michener.
Peak Bliss 