indefatigable \in-dih-FAT-ih-guh-bul\, adjective:
Incapable of being fatigued; not readily exhausted; untiring; unwearying; not yielding to fatigue
Let me tell you something about this mountain, it made me take the last part of this definition to heart.
I could have stopped any number of times through this hike and been ok with the progress I made, but I feel that unless you are talking about reaching the summit, the point of a scramble / mountain hike (within reason) isn’t to just say “I made it to that spot”. If I had turned back there would be a part of me that would insist I come back some other time to stand on top of this mountain and raise my arms in victory. 
If I was hiking alone I might have stopped and turned back, using my need to be back in Calgary for 3pm as the perfect excuse to abort and go get something cold to drink. I didn’t turn back because I really did want to reach the top… plus Jon wouldn’t let me quit before we got there. 
We started off at about 830am trying to beat the projected high of 30 degrees, or at the very least to avoid climbing up in that temperature. I am so glad we started when we did, because before long the temperature was on the rise.
Unlike the Baldy hike, I have been down this path before (up this path? whatever). I attempted to get to the top in May a year or 2 ago and was stopped by snow up to my armpits at the point you would turn to head through the trees towards the summit. Scott and I heard the rumblings of an avalanche when we reached that point, so we wisely decided to turn back. I guess that is why this hike is only recommended to be done in mid-June to September.
This time around there was no moisture to be found on the ground anywhere… the creek was bone dry (I haven’t forgotten about that picture Jon), and the trail was so dusty that Jon was able to practice his tracking skills with other people’s footprints. I was definitely wishing for some snowbanks or a dip in the creek, but lacking that I took great pleasure in finding any shade I could to cool down for a minute.
We managed to reach the summit in 2.5 to 3 hours, and this was with frequent rest stops for yours truly to catch my breath and hide from the sun. Jon was trying to talk me in to doing a traverse from the south to the north peak, but I had a feeling I would be done in just doing the standard hike (which I was), so I said we couldn’t afford the time. Thank goodness for a full schedule 
I am pleased we made it to the top because the view was spectacular and well worth the constant uphill climb. Every time I turned around I was surprised at how high we were and how more amazing the view was compared to the last time I had looked up from the path. What is not surprising at all is that going down was almost as physically challenging as the ascent, you are just exhausting different muscles than you did going up.
Looking back up at the peak on the way down is just as impressive because you drop away from the summit pretty quickly.. leading to some “holy crap, I was just up there!?!” comments.
Now you might be asking yourself “where are all the pictures?” Sadly I forgot my camera on the counter at home, so I will have to wait to link to Jon’s blog when he posts to provide pictures of this beautiful day.
You can also go google the mountain name… this is a very popular hike and has been well documented elsewhere. A very cool panorama of the bench viewpoint (the first point on the ridge) can be found about halfway down this page.
Google Earth to the rescue! approximate route (lots more switchbacks than what I drew in)
Technical Difficulty: Easy – nothing too scary here, just up and up and up…
Physical Difficulty: Moderate – When we reached the car I was glad we were done, but I wasn’t wishing we were done half way through the hike
Elevation gain: 1000m
Distance: 7.6km round trip (according to various maps and books I have)
Time: 5.5 hours
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A heavy-breathing Yoshirolla Kilomantra says, “Right on Mr. Alan. I haven’t done that hike in about 15 years. And all I remember you describe quite well ‘up and up and up…’”