Mount Rae Summit Traditional Cache
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This cache is placed at the summit of Mount Rae, the highest peak in the Misty Range and also the highest peak visible from Calgary. Allow as much as 9 hours for the round trip and plan to do the climb in dry and non-windy conditions if possible.
Mount Rae may not look all that spectacular from the highway compared to some of the other mountains in the area, but nonetheless at a height of 3218 metres the view from the summit is one of the best in all of Canada and attracts hikers from all over the world every summer. Many recognizable peaks will be visible from the summit including several of the "11,000ers". On clear days it is possible to see all the way to Mount Farnham and Farnham Tower in the Purcell Range as well as the Howser Spire in the Bugaboos. The city of Calgary is visible 100 kms to the east on most days also. The Mountain was named by Irish explorer John Palliser in 1859 after Dr. John Rae, Scottish explorer best known for having established the final link of the Northwest Passage (Rae Strait) in 1854. Park in the Highwood Meadows parking lot and hike to the end of the popular Ptarmigan Cirque trail. The trail up Mount Rae begins at the base of the cliff to your left. Scramble up to the col at the back of the large scree gully (note, the pinnacle above you on the ridge is NOT the summit, the true summit does not come into view until you reach the col). There are a number of trails which can be used to traverse around the pinnacles on the summit ridge. As you get closer to the summit, you will need to climb up to the ridge and walk along it for a short distance before heading back down to the left and then back up to the ridge just before the summit. Good luck! Be sure to check out Alan Kane's book "Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies" for a more detailed route description of this and many other mountains in the area.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre fbzr ebpxf nobhg 2z sebz fhzzvg pnvea.
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