Long run day, and the prescribed distance is 28km. We decided to browse AllTrails for some runnable trails near home. We found Bryant Creek Shelter via Watridge Lake , and this one did not disappoint! It was listed as 26.7km with 700m of vert.  If you look at my track you will see that I ended up running a couple of km at the end to get to the 28km I needed for my workout. We also recorded more like 500m of elevation gain then the 744m that AllTrails reported.  It was a gorgeous day and the out and back is always nice for us as Michelle and I run at different paces so it is nice to either wait for her at the end for a snack or high-five her on the way back. 

Getting There

The trail head was about an hour out of Canmore. We drove up past the Nordic Center and up Spray Lakes Road. Past Grassi Lake and the Ha Ling tail head up past Spray Lakes. You turn right at the Mt. Engadine turnoff and follow the road for a few KM to the well-appointed Mt. Shark parking lot. There are public restrooms at the trailhead as well. Google Maps Directions Here.

Runnability

This one was very runnable except for a couple of reasonable climbs. Stronger runners could likely run the whole thing without too much trouble.

What to Bring

We both ran with a 2 litre bladder in our packs. There was plenty of opportunity to fill up a filter flask from creeks along the way although I did not take note of how far apart they were. I suspect that you could get away with a single 500 ml filter flask for the whole run.

Bear Spray – There were lots of signs warning to beware of bears. We made sure to make plenty of noise on the trail and always had the bear spray handy. 

Google Earth Fly By