Created 14-Jan-16
Modified 20-Dec-23
Snowpig Classic 2016
The setup: I’ve missed the last two years due to illness/injury so I was pleased to get on this year’s trip to a repeat but prime location near … well, lets just say we were able to do a side trip on day two to Karst Spring. In years past the food has been a bit of a one-upmanship kind of thing (it has involved steak, bacon, bacon, bacon etc) so on a hike in the fall I suggested instead of competing we should collaborate. Some discussion ensued, as it does on such outings, and we settled on the epic idea of cooking a leg of lamb in the fire. Full props to Peter on this one, he did all the ‘leg work’ and it turned out better than expected. And that’s saying something because there was a big buildup to this segment.
Day one: Drive out from Calgary with Peter, Peter J., and Conrad – an enthusiastic winter camping virgin. A cold snap was slowly breaking, the forecast looked promising but it was -22C at the trailhead. After hiking in about 4km, the balance of day one was spent setting up our tents, coring out about 3’ of snow from the firepit area, and cutting firewood. That evening we enjoyed our lamb dinner (see captioned photos) and hanging out. It was a cold windy night.
Day two: I was up a couple hours before the rest of the boys, breakfast, a side-trip to Karst Springs, then we got serious about laying up some wood for night two. The wind was a pain but the fire was prime and we used up most of the wood we gathered. I went for a wander to look at the stars but the wind made it only a short stay in the open.
Day three: Basically leisurely pack up and hike out. The lasagna / salad / refreshments at Peter’s was a great way to end the trip. Thanks guys!
© Clayton Ditzler
