Ostracized Peak - Castle Wildland Provincial Park - Alberta, Canada

2024-08-13 - despite its nickname this peak is hard to miss. It is a prominent point to the south of Highway #3 as it juts up between massive Chinook Peak and the lower but still prominent Sentry Mt.
Its unique name was coined by So Nakagawa in 2011 in his soistheman blog. 'So' was one of the first people to publish an online account of the scramble. The trailhead can also be used on an east and easy approach of Sentry and for that reason Andrew Nugara included it in his recent 'Popular Day Hikes' series (see below).
Though it is not officially named that has never stopped me when it comes to the Castle Wildland as I'm always looking for an excuse to hike and scramble in my favourite area (close 2nd is Waterton Lakes). The first part of the trail is easy enough. There is a good road that meanders a bit but gets back into the back country quick. This first part crosses lease property so I chose not to drive past the barbed wire fence and also to make sure I closed the fence behind me.
The good road continues along for a while before suddenly petering out below a steep hill. Once on top of the steep hill I could see that the route ahead was close and not going to pose any serious difficulties -- at least at first. I was able to find a trail easy enough and this led me up the east slope to a saddle between Sentry and Ostracized.
Along the way I was treated to a large cave with a big opening. I ventured into the cave even though there was scat (mountain sheep) littered everywhere. Not wanting to become the victim of a ram attack I stayed close to the mouth of the cave. I could also see that there was a good drop off just 50m or so into the cave. In his book Nugara also warns against venturing too far into the cave.
After spending a few min. in the cave I returned to the slog of the east slope. It was indeed steep but I was up to the saddle in good time and settled in for a leisurely lunch.
During my lunch I was enticed by the idea of going up Sentry Mt. as well as it looked like an easy enough approach. But I was determined to get to Ostracized first so headed directly south.
It looked as though the scrambling was going to be easy enough but I found myself exposed and on some steep slopes. Soon enough I found a game trail (evidenced by the vegetation and scat) that led around east face the peak and then back onto the ridge line that leads to the summit. This trail was ok in August but I definitely would not want to walk along it if was wet at all. After getting up to the ridge line it was a simple scramble / steep hike all the way to the peak.
The views from Ostracized Peak are beautiful. I especially liked seeing the contrast of the highway snaking through the small towns of the Crowsnest Pass against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains. The massive peaks of Chinook Peak and Mt. Ptolemy dominate the view to the south.
The weather was nice enough to relax on the summit for a few min. before heading down. I returned the same way and took extra caution on the exposed trail. Once back to my lunch spot I again contemplated a run up to Sentry Mt. but as I was having a perfect day already in the mountains I didn't want to push my luck so decided to head down.
This hike and scramble is highly recommended. I would definitely do this one again but next time commit myself to also getting to Sentry Mt. while I'm there.
References:
Andrew Nugara. (2021). Popular Day Hikes: The Castle and Crowsnest. (1st Edition). Rocky Mountain Books: Calgary, AB.
Online
www.soistheman...
www.explor8ion...
sonnybou.ca/ssb...
hikingwithpar.... (for Sentry Mt. but Par does a good job of describing the initial route)
Music:
"Ghost in the Night" by The Satellite Station
• The Satellite Station ...
"Bloom" performed by Lullana, written by The Paper Kites
• LULLANAS - Bloom (The ...