Bluff Mountain - Livingstone PLUZ - Alberta, Canada

2023-06-14 - there is nothing exactly exciting about Bluff Mountain. I had driven past the tree topped peak many times and thought that the only interesting thing about it was the daunting east face which looms over the little town of Frank, AB. I had heard there was a trail but that most of that was in forest cover and there were no summit views.
But, in looking for a easy mid-week adventure, I decided to go see for myself. I set out on a gloomy June day from my house in Lethbridge and was at the trailhead in just over 90 min. This was the first of many things to like about this hike.
Once at the trailhead I had to hike east back to Bluff Mt. I suppose one could avoid this extra distance if a hiker was willing to wade through the Crowsnest River. But it wasn't too far before I was heading up the trails near Bluff's ridge.
I soon found that there were numerous trails around the lower elevations. This is likely due to these sections being frequented by many Crowsnest Pass residents and visiting hikers as there are many little lookout points. I ended up choosing what looked like the best of the beaten paths in a heavily forested area. This was a good choice and I could see that, in several sections, the trail had been maintained with deadfall cleared and cairns set up to mark the way.
Before too long I popped out of the forest and onto the ridge crest. The views on the crest were much nicer and I could start to see the peaks of the Livingstone Range to the east, Frank Slide to the SE, Turtle Mt. and the Castle Wildland to the south and the little towns that make up Crowsnest Pass (Bellevue, Hillcrest, Frank, Blairmore and Coleman) to the east and west.
I hiked along the crest for some time and soon came to the only scrambling section of the trail I had on the ascent. This was a large ramp filled with scree. It was easy to navigate as some kind souls had built steps through some of the scree. Once past the scrambling section it was just a steep hike to the summit.
As expected, the views from the summit are non-existent, unless you like a 360 degree panorama of trees. haha. But the trees did provide protection from the cold wind and it allowed me to have a leisurely lunch.
On the descent I opted to stick to the ridge crest this time so that I could enjoy more views. This was a good decision and the scrambling here was easy. It was steep in parts but I never felt exposed.
Once down from the scrambling portion it was an easy hike back to the trailhead along a path that parallels the river and Highway #3.
References:
Several online reports include an extension of the Bluff Mt. hike to nearby Greenhill Ridge.
alisekera.zenf...
www.soistheman...
peaksandstream...
bobspirko.ca/O...
www.explor8ion...
Music:
"Douglas Fir" by Northwest Stories
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"Moon and Sun" by Michael Lane
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