To The Mountains I Go: Moose Mountain Moo

Day Hike
Distance: 6.5km (up)
Elevation gain: 473m
High Point: 2437
Time: 5-6 hours
Difficulty: Moderate

Access:
Go to Bragg Creek. Turn left at the main stop sign onto Cowboy Trail (hwy 22). Then at the next big stop sign take a right onto hwy 66. Follow that road and the turn off is the first right after Patty Flats onto Moose Mountain Road (there is no signs). Then climb your way up the dirt road, and there will be a parking lot on the right right before you hit a gate to the sour gas station.

Experience:
My original plan was to go to Paradise Valley and Giant Steps with my family for father's day, but then my Dad couldn't come so we changed our plan last minute to Moose Mountain. People then changed their minds, and it ended up just being Mom and I going on the hike. Mom was a bit nervous at first because she didn't have a strong man to protect her if there was trouble, but that soon went away when we got there.
We got out of the van and there was a lot of vehicles up there! There was no one to be seen so we tried to find the right way to go, and we found the sour gas station (which is the wrong way) and then we went down a deer trail. At first it looked well worn, but as we kept on following this random trail we got lost. The path was getting less and less noticeable, then all of a sudden we appeared at a large trail that was well used. It was a relief to see the actual trail in front of us. We then got on our merry way!
The trail starts off flat and then it goes down for a bit. Its kinda steep but not too bad. Then the trail has a slight incline for a long time. This part was super easy! Mom and I both just forgot how long we were hiking till we came out of the trees and saw the flat before the first hump. We stopped at the bottom of the first hump because it was going to be a steep rocking climb to the top. We ate some food, and took some pictures here because it was beautiful. There was lots of wild flowers growing out of the moss.
The climb up the first hump seemed short and we also thought it was the top of the entire mountain, but as we seemed to have kept going up we landed on top of the hump. From there we could see the real top with the forestry lookout on top. We debated whether or not to go up it, and we both decided we could at least try it. So we started our adventure up the second hump. It is steeper and narrower than the rest of the hike, and I think a lady that was coming down could tell I was debating if I could even make it so she came over to me and said the easy way to go and "It is very doable, and the view is worth it." With her encouragement Mom and I tackled the second hump very slowly because it was a bunch of loose rock and it was steep! We also had to go through some snow which is always fun.
We made it to the top! We said we would try and there we were! At the top! We got up and there was a very nice picnic table, and higher up there is the helipad, guest book, and the hut! There was an actual person in the hut. We also signed the guest book! I took a picture just to prove it, and then we sat on the helipad and ate a delicious sandwich. There a lot of people on the hike, and it just so happened that the people we were sitting next to brought a bunch a beer up just to get a little tipsy while on top of a mountain. Aren't they the smartest people in thee entire world! We didn't want to stay to long so we left because it was starting to rain! All the signs we had read said to not be out of the tree line if there was a thunder storm, so for good measure we hurried out of the rocky area back into the trees. Moose mountain has been known for getting thunder struck quite a bit if you didn't know.
We were starting to get really tired by now, but we were off the humps and on our way back to the van. We did our Zombie walk, and made it back in good time! It took us 3 hours to get to the top, and it took us 2hours and 15min to get back.
I gave this hike a difficulty of Moderate because the flat part was really easy and the length wasn't to bad. It was just the humps that were quite difficult. If you are a new hiker this hike is awesome because you can get to the bottom of the first hump and still have a nice view. This hike has to be one of my favorties so far because it has nice views, but it is also very friendly to dogs, bikes, and chubby people (me :P).