Mt. NESTOR Bike & Hike - Spray Lakes - Kananaskis - Alberta (4K)

Let me just start by saying that the views from the top are SPECTACULAR! A bit of a slog but the views make up for it.
This hike is roughly 24 km of which 16 km is on a bike. 1250 meters elevation gain to bring you to a height of 9744 feet.
Here is my trip report of The bike and Hike of Mt. Nestor in Kananaskis. From the Bow River bridge in Canmore, it’s around 17km to the turnoff to cross the 3 Sisters dam to access the West Spray Lakes road and campground. The bike ride in is very easy as it is relatively flat and offers very little resistance. About a 40-minute bike ride. Great views of the Spray Lakes reservoir and mountains along the 8km bike ride in. There are a couple of cairns on the road around 7kms or so. These are NOT the ones to go by. Continue roughly 8.2 km until you see a cairn on both sides of the road. There is also a culvert there. I built a cairn in the shape of an "N" to indicate Nestor. Hopefully that helps you.
The trail, faint at times works its way up to a gulley system. At the fork take the left gulley which gives way to a rock bed. Get used to this as you will be on it for quite some time. It's not treadmill scree though so it isnt too bad. This will give way to a ridge on your left. Go up this near the dead trees and follow the obvious route to the top.
The only scrambling on the route is in the last 5 minutes. You do an easy downclimb after the false summit to go up the CRUX section which is maybe an 8-10 meter upclimb which I would rate as Easy/Moderate. The summit is just a couple minutes on a ridge past this to a small summit block. Great to see Spray lakes views from this side of the reservoir.
#hellyhansen #roirecreation
Disclaimer - Always scramble within your own abilities. Thoroughly assess the situation and research the route. GPS and/or a topo map are a valuable tool to help. Leave a route description behind with exact location should you not arrive home at a predetermined time. Have a way to contact rescue as well if you are in an area of no cell service(SPOT, Garmin, etc.). Also, if hiking in winter make sure you have the necessary skill and knowledge regarding unstable conditions and perform a proper risk assessment prior to engaging in this activity.