Bear's Hump

Elevation: 1525 m
Elevation Gain: 215 m
Prior to being named for a Calgary businessman, Mount Crandell was known as “Great Bear” or “Grizzly Medicine” Mountain to the local Piikani. Although the peak’s First Nation's name is no longer used, a small overlook at the mountain’s southern end is still named for its supposed resemblance to the muscular shoulder hump of a grizzly bear.
My Ascents:
August 11 2024, June 20 2022, July 16 2016
Trailhead: Bear's Hump Trailhead
GPS Track: Bear's Hump

In 2023, the unthinkable occurred. After surviving our first annual “Team YYC” 🐎🏈 camping weekend in Banff, friends Andrea and Korwin and their kids discovered that they actually liked “tenting it” in the great outdoors 🏕️ and expressed interest in doing it again. For a while, we thought that they were joking. Andrea - Happy in a tent - With her kids. 🤯 It sounds improbable but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. In related news, pigs were spotted soaring high overhead that very same afternoon and the underworld’s temperature plummeted. 😏

When it came time to plan our 2024 “Team YYC” camping trip, Andrea and Korwin offered up the ultimate proof of their newfound (and unforeseen) fondness for the outdoors: they wanted to make our 2024 camping trip 50% longer than last year’s! This revelation produced more “Gasps” than a Parks Canada interpretive program but we like camping and fellow Team YYCers Chris and Jenn were also on board, so we all set aside 3 summer nights for a group camping trip to beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park.

Little did the rest of “Team YYC” know… 50% more camping also meant 50% more hiking!!!

After an enjoyable stroll up to Summit Lake on the first full day of our camping trip, we wanted to stick closer to the Waterton townsite and elected to hike up the popular Bear’s Hump on Day 2. This was done for several reasons (but the most important one was that we wanted to be up and down in time for lunch at nearby “Wieners of Waterton”)! 🌭😂

LEFT: Surprisingly, we managed to all find parking spots in the small trailhead lot on a sunny Sunday morning. As we started, I was bemused by the fact that Parks Canada assigned some of the lot’s limited spaces as “Handicap Parking” given that the hike isn’t really accessible. This is best evidenced by the 4 large stone stairs immediately to the right of the Handicap Parking stall!
RIGHT: Team YYC starts hiking up and over the debris flow that resulted from a severe rain event in 2023. This event briefly closed the entire park, however, large heaps of rocky debris are the only reminder of it 1-year later.

LEFT and RIGHT: 6-year-old Penny and 41-year-old Chris tackle the trail’s many stone stairs with approximately equal levels of enthusiasm. 😐

The Team YYC adults pause for a breather about halfway up while the YYC kids (led by 8-year-old Kaden 🚀 once more) race ahead.

The hike up the Bear’s Hump is short and sweet steep! This combined with the day’s high-temperatures 🌡️ meant that several breaks were required on our way up. As the sweat dripped from our brows, 🥵 we hatched a plan to go for a post-hike swim in Waterton Lake.

LEFT: When it comes to steepness, the Bear’s Hump saves the best for last with this, the steepest section, right before the hump’s apex. If you’re looking to spike your heart rate (like Andrea and I were), this is the place to do it!
RIGHT: After about 40 minutes of hiking and rest stops, Brianne and Penny took the final steps up to the Hump’s plateau-like “summit” and were joined by the rest of Team YYC in short order.

While the hike up the Hump had us huffing and puffing, the panorama over the Middle and Upper Waterton Lakes proved similarly breathtaking. 😍 Click to see larger.

Looking down towards the famous Prince of Wales Hotel, perched atop the Bosporus which divides the Middle and Upper Lakes.

Shimmering waters separate Vimy Peak from the more proximate townsite directly below.

To the south, Montana’s Mount Cleveland is the area’s highest and most impressive peak (3,194 m elevation).

LEFT: Happy hiking Hobbses! 🥰
RIGHT: My amazing little hikers add another “summit” to their growing tally.

Looking west towards the Akamina Parkway and the valley that the Carthew Alderson trail follows to connect Waterton and Cameron Lake. Above the valley, Buchanan Peak is apparent.

For the second day in a row, “Sleeping Beauty” appeared at the top of our hike! Suffice to say, the kids were all thrilled to finally meet a real "princess!" 👸😏

I’m not sure if Chris got kissed by a prince 😘 or not but he eventually rose from his summit slumber and we gathered for a quick group photo before starting our descent.

LEFT and RIGHT: Penny and Brianne made quick work of the trail down, motivated by the prospect of wieners! 🌭🌭🌭

LEFT: Team YYC winds their way down the hike’s many switchbacking staircases.
RIGHT: As is her custom, 22-month-old Lillian enjoyed 99% of the hike from the cozy confines my backpack but lost her mind 😭 about 100 m from the bottom… Apparently, she wanted to break free... Even with a baby on the loose, however, our descent was speedy and we soon found ourselves back at the parking lot (where the Handicap Parking space was now occupied)! 🤷‍♂️

The payoff for the day’s hike – a well-deserved wiener! If the size of this one intimidates you, don’t worry – Waterton has wieners big and small to match whatever you have an appetite for!

As we savored our wieners, the typical Waterton wind whipped up and the temperature dropped. For most sane people, this would spell the end of the plans for a post-hike swim but no one ever accused us of being sane… 🤷‍♂️😂

After drying off, we bid adieu to Brianne (who had to work the following day) and Lilly and Penny who joined her on her way home. As they drove north, the remaining YYCers enjoyed another propane fire to cap our 2024 camping trip. Sadly, this fire was short-lived as a thunderstorm ⛈️ chased everyone to bed early. The next morning, Andrea, Korwin and their kids emerged from their tent a tad soggy and a tad less enthusiastic about camping. 😔 (Photo courtesy Andrea)

Between the overnight downpour and the 50% increase in hiking, hopefully our 2024 Waterton trip didn’t scare the rest of Team YYC 🐎🏈 off. 🤞 For my part, I’d love to plan a 4-night group camping trip in 2025! 😉