Foran Grade Ridge

Elevation: 1690 m
Elevation Gain: 230 m
Foran Grade Ridge is an unofficially named foothill in Sheep River Provincial Park. The ridge was named for Bill Foran who served as a Foremen at Lineham Lumber’s nearby logging camps and as a Ranger at the Bighorn Ranger Station.
My Ascents:
July 12 2020
Trailhead: Foran Grade Roadside Pullout
GPS Track: Foran Grade Ridge

After a couple of pleasant evenings at the Turner Valley Municipal campground, the time to pack up our trailer and check-out arrived on Sunday morning. Rather than head straight home, however, we opted to venture back into Sheep River Provincial Park for a family-friendly foothills foray. Afterall, why spend more time at home when we already live there, work there and, from time to time, get locked down there (#2020)?

From Turner Valley, a short 20-minute drive west along Highway 546 brought us to the roadside pullout (1.6-km west of the Sandy McNab campground) that serves as a trailhead for Foran Grande Ridge. After easily locating a wide trail on the north side of the highway, we set off.

After a short distance, the trail passed through this gate which is obviously intended to keep cattle in or out. After yesterday’s “attack of the cows”, Brianne sincerely hoped for the latter…

Beyond the gate, a game of “jump-over-the-cow-poop” ensued making it obvious which side of the fence the local livestock live on.

Following the meandering trail towards Foran Grade Ridge as a threatening sky looms overhead.

A stand-up animal sighting (thankfully, not a cow)!

As the trail began to gently ascend through aspen forest, Mera quickly found something to climb. #LittleGoat

Who needs playgrounds when there are forests and foothills?

While the aspen woodlands didn’t allow for many open mountain views, they did sport a magnificent proliferation of colorful wildflowers including these wonderful western wood lilies.

LEFT: Rosy red paintbrushes.
RIGHT: Lavender lupins.

Brianne and Mera continue to gain elevation. Foran Grade is somewhat deceptive as you can never see far enough ahead to determine where its high point is. Each rise presents itself as a possible “last up before the summit” only to yield a subsequent gentle rise to higher ground.

An opening in the forest grants views of a storm brewing to the southwest. Despite being surrounded by active weather all morning, we never had to dead with more than a brief sprinkle.

Wildflowers frame nearby Windy Point.

Penny in the place she loves most – her hiking backpack. It seems that we have one daughter (Mera) who is a tireless little hiker and another (Penny) who insists upon being carried about the Rockies like a little mountain queen!

The westward panorama from a high point that we thought might be the summit – it wasn’t! Click to see larger (and note that the view from here is actually much better than the view from Foran Grade’s summit)!

The Sheep River and Highway 546 stretch west towards the Front Ranges.

Snowy Mist Mountain and fist-like Gibraltar Mountain appear beyond a localized rain shower.

As is usually the case in the Sheep River Valley, Bluerock Mountain highlights the view to the west (when there is a view to the west)!

Up, up we go. Where the summit lies, nobody knows!

Western wood lilies EVERYWHERE!

LEFT: A stump and some rocks mark Foran Grade’s unremarkable summit. This hike really is one that’s more about the journey than the destination!
RIGHT: Brianne distributes lunch atop the mostly viewless summit.

Not the most scenic summit panorama I’ve borne witness to! Click to see larger.

If you squint hard enough, you can actually see a few mountains from Foran Grade Ridge’s treed summit.

More open summit views reveal more active weather to the east.

Downtown Calgary’s silhouette is faintly visible on the horizon beyond the storm.

LEFT: A wobbly summit cairn made for fine "surfing" and was, unequivocally, the highlight of Foran Grade Ridge’s high point.
RIGHT: After a quick ridgetop lunch and a select few summit photos, we began our descent. Rather than retrace our steps, we opted to continue north, descending to and following the Windy Point trail to turn our hike into a loop.

Shortly after leaving the summit, the trail winds to the west where pastoral terrain grants views towards Windy Point (right) and the more distant Front Ranges.

Having completely forgotten to bother with family summit photos, Mera insisted that we take a selfie once there was actually a view.

After reaching a signed junction, we turned south and followed the twin-track-trail (one track for adults and one for kids, apparently) back towards the Highway.

1.1-km from the signed junction, the trail spat us back out on Highway 546. The only problem being that the Windy Point trailhead is 2.5-km away from the one that we’d parked at!

LEFT: Rather than follow the narrow, noisy highway back to our trailhead, we crossed to the road’s south side and hiked back along the Canyon trail.
RIGHT: Mom holds Mera’s hand as they look down steep slopes towards the Sheep River.

LEFT: Pleasant views and a further proliferation of wildflowers along the Canyon trail.
RIGHT: Wildrose Country.

After a couple of kilometers, the trail left the canyon’s side and aimed for open meadows. As the afternoon sun beat down upon us, the trail also veered discouragingly away from the road. It was at this point that we officially reached the “Are we done yet?” part of the day.

LEFT: 4-year-old Mera continues to ride her “horse” through grass that was as deep as she was tall. She was an absolute trooper on this hike but, by its end, she was definitely tiring. "Horse" or not, 7.6-km is a lot longer with little legs!
RIGHT: While lilies lay all about in the aspens above, brown eyed susans filled the grasslands below.

LEFT: At last! A tired Mera finishes her 2nd straight hike without any help. My little hiker is making me more and more proud every weekend!
RIGHT: Mera and her proud Mama enjoy “special drinks” (root beer and real beer, respectively) in the shade of our trailer while “Queen” Penny enjoys an afternoon nap (being carried about can be so exhausting)!

With our Sunday hike complete, it was, finally, time to head back home. Once there, the familiar routine started anew: unpack, clean up and start planning our next camping getaway!