Arethusa Cirque

Elevation: 2380 m
Elevation Gain: 250 m (or less)
Arethusa Cirque is the glacier-carved alpine basin that sits below Mount Arethusa’s south face. Mount Arethusa (and the cirque at its base) were named for the British light cruiser Arethusa. The HMS Arethusa was sunk by a mine in 1916 and the peak was named in her honor in 1917.
My Ascents:
October 10 2022, August 3 2020
Trailhead: Arethusa Cirque Parking (Roadside Pullout)

The autumn of 2022 offered up the finest finish to hiking season that I can recall in all of my years exploring the Rockies. Usually, one mid-September snowstorm puts an abrupt end to seasonal mountain adventures but, this year, summer-like temperatures 🌞 persisted until Halloween! Better still, the unusually warm and dry conditions weren’t accompanied by Mordor-like wildfire smoke and clear skies granted views for days. Last but not least, that most awesome of alpine arboreal scenes (the goldening of the larches) went on for weeks and weeks and weeks. Fall 2022 was perfection and it seemed like all Rockies enthusiasts took full advantage.

Except for me 🙃. For the first time that I can recall, I spent all of September within Calgary’s city limits. And I could not have been happier to do so. I stayed home because September 2022 brought me something far more amazing than larches or summits. September 2022 brought me my newest little hiking partner: Lillian Hobbs! 🥰

While I’d have been content to snuggle at home indefinitely with my little “Sparrowhawk”, it really would have been a shame not to introduce her to the Rockies given the continued amazing weather… So, on a beautiful Thanksgiving Monday, when we figured that Mom and Baby were finally physically able, we gratefully set out for Lillian’s first family hike.

After a surprisingly smooth drive/game of dodge the cow on the road, we arrived at the roadside pullout below Arethusa Cirque in the nick of time. When we pulled in, the pullout was busy. By the time that we’d donned our hiking boots and topped Lillian up, it was overflowing! It’s remarkable how much this area has changed in the last decade. When we first visited in September 2012, we were one of two cars in the pullout. Two years later in September 2014, I had the whole cirque to myself. This year, there were hundreds of cars in the pullout with more still lined up on both sides of the highway nearby. Given the increased (to put it mildly) visitation, it would be nice if the Government used some of the $90 they now gauge K-Country users to actually build appropriate facilities (like, ahem, a real parking lot and washrooms).

So why is Arethusa Cirque so absurdly popular? Well, it’s popular for the same reasons that make it a good hike for a 3-week-old baby 👶. It’s short, easy, close to Calgary and spectacular. Therefore, crowded or not, Lillian was excited for her first foray into the Canadian Rockies! 🏔️

LEFT: Getting geared up at the roadside pullout. It’s been a minute since we had reason to use this fuzzy little purple bear sleeper!
RIGHT: Our oft-forgotten fur child Crux looks forward to one of his best walks in months. While he used to be a summit-seeker, newborn baby hikes suit this old boy just fine these days.

The baby of the hour 🎉: little Lillian living up to her nickname (“Chillian”) in her fuzzy sleeper and carrier.

LEFT: Mom (aka Brianne aka Goat 🐐) excited to be back at it only 3 weeks after Lillian was born (shhh… don’t tell her obstetrician)!
RIGHT: As we steadily gained elevation, the predominantly evergreen forest slowly gave way to (still golden!) larches.

LEFT and RIGHT: Exploring a brief spur trail which granted fine views of Arethusa Creek.

About 1 km from the trailhead, the grade eased and the colorful scenery suddenly opened up. Despite being October 10th, we were thrilled to find the cirque still filled with golden larch trees.

LEFT: 7-year-old Mera and 5-year-old Penny make their way into the cirque’s beautiful alpine environs. These two have changed so much since our last hike here only 2 years ago!
RIGHT: Despite entering the colorful cirque around lunchtime, we remained in cool morning shadows 🥶 thanks to the combination of low autumn sun and tall surrounding peaks!

Our brief foray into the cirque concluded at the foot of this magnificent rockpile. While the hiking circuit continues for several kilometers from here, this spot proved scenic enough to satisfy our needs for the day. Besides, we had to be back in Calgary for Thanksgiving turkey in a few hours! 🦃

LEFT: “Chillian” enjoys her first alpine nap atop Mom’s shoulder. ❤️
RIGHT: Baby snuggles and golden larches. Be still my beating heart!

LEFT and RIGHT: Unaccustomed to the cool alpine air, Lillian eventually woke and took in the scene.

Lillian’s first Rockies panorama (and what a panorama it was)! Click to see larger.

Colorful larches and nearby Highwood Ridge filled the scene to the west.

Further west, Mount Pocaterra towered over its popular but diminutive namesake: Pocaterra Ridge.

Little Arethusa (left) and menacing Mount Arethusa (right) loom above their namesake cirque.

A random rockpile-top cairn splits the scene between Storm Mountain (left) and one of its unnamed outliers (right).

LEFT: Mera points accusingly at me. Upon reaching the rockpile, we’d told the kids that they had to sit down and eat their lunch. This ended up being a “do as I say, not as I do” moment since I decided not to eat and, instead, busied myself hopping about the rockpile looking for photo opportunities.
RIGHT: Since Mera was less interested in her sandwich than she was in scrambling, she soon joined me among the rubble. Old habits die hard, it seems...

Having stumbled upon a find, Mera called to Penny and, soon, everyone but Brianne and Lillian was balancing over boulders.

Mera proudly shows off her find: an impressive rock filled with fossil shells!

As we explored the rockpile, Lillian nursed (babies need lunch too!) and the hour grew later. Eventually, the sun eclipsed nearby Storm Mountain and the cirque finally felt its warmth. Sadly, by the time that it did so, it was time to plot our retreat. After all, the turkey was already in the oven at Nannie and Papa’s!

LEFT: Hiking out in the warm afternoon sun, both of my girls stopped frequently to marvel at the golden larch trees all about. A few years ago, I showed Mera and Penny how soft larch needles were and now they stop to pet every larch we pass on hikes 😂!
RIGHT: A short time into our descent, another hiker noticed a baby sleeper in a larch tree behind us and asked if, perhaps, we were missing anything? Since there were no other 3-week-olds on the hike, the extra outfit clearly belonged to us (but how it ended up in a tree instead of our backpack remains a mystery)… 🤔

LEFT and RIGHT: Having collected our belongings from the surrounding trees, we resumed our hike down. As we passed Arethusa Creek, we stopped once more to admire the Cirque’s scenery. Below this point, the trail quickly loses both elevation and views as it plunges back into the subalpine forest.

LEFT: Taking advantage of one last scenic spot to capture our first family hiking photo with little Lillian! 😍
RIGHT: A proud Mama Goat with her Baby Sparrowhawk!

Of course, Lillian’s big sisters also wanted a photo with her. Cue the crying in 3, 2, 1…

LEFT: After our family photoshoot in the cirque, we made haste back down the wooded trail, stopping only when Penny demanded that we take a picture of her atop a log. More accurately, Mera and Penny made haste (read: ran well ahead of us 🏃‍♀️) while we generally struggled to keep up!
RIGHT: Having managed not to lose any of our kids (despite two of them literally running away), we reached the parking area, bringing Lillian’s first Rockies foray to a successful conclusion!

A very tired little girl sleeps through Thanksgiving dinner after her first hike. On this day, I was thankful for still-golden larch trees, for unseasonably warm autumn weather, for the spectacular Rocky Mountains, for family and, most of all, for my beautiful little Lillian Chillian (One in a Billion). ❤️