Mesa Butte (Baha Bazo Tida Wathte)

Elevation: 1688 m
Elevation Gain: 345 m
In the 1890s, Arthur O. Wheeler’s Irrigation Survey first applied the name “Mesa Hill” to a prominent foothill west of Millarville, AB. By 1949, the hill had, apparently, become a butte and the Alberta Geographical Names Board officially recognized it as “Mesa Butte.” In the years that followed, a small community appeared to the east of the hill. Unaware of a name that had been printed on maps since the 1890s, the community decided to call the hill (and themselves) “Square Butte.” Following the development of a multimillion-dollar facility (Square Butte Ranches), the Alberta Geographical Names Board renamed the hill in 1994 and it officially became “Square Butte.” To make matters more confusing, the Board, for some reason, transposed the name “Mesa Butte” one foothill to the west at that time. The new “Mesa Butte”, however, had been named “Death’s Head by Wheeler nearly a hundred years earlier. As a result of the Geographical Names Board’s puzzling actions, many continue to refer to these foothills by the historical names that Wheeler originally applied to them. Interestingly, the long and convoluted naming history of these hills fails to acknowledge that First Nations’ people had referred to the hill as “Baha Bazo Tida Wathte” (long before presumptuous Europeans arrived in the region).
My Ascents:
May 1 2021
Trailhead: Mesa Butte Provincial Recreation Area
GPS Track: Mesa Butte

As April turned to May and spring slowly encroached on the Rockies, visions of family hikes danced in my head. Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, our winter weekends consisted mostly of staying at home and watching our two little kids hurricanes upend the place. With the snowpack in retreat and daytime highs on the rise, I therefore suggested that we take them to the mountains to let them run amok there for a change.

When 5-year-old Mera discovered that we were planning a hike, she was overjoyed (what’s that saying about apples/trees?). Her 3-year-old sister Penny, however, was less keen. To date, Penny’s mountain outings have all come at the expense of Daddy’s back. Having officially outgrown her cherished child-carrier “backpack,” she was acutely aware that she would actually have to tackle this hike on her own 2 legs. Ever the encouraging sister, Mera sought to put Penny at ease, explaining over and over again that “hiking is fun!” (Again, this is very clearly MY daughter!)

After wrangling everyone into the car, we drove west towards our objective: Mesa Butte (or should that be Square Butte?). When we discovered a gated road and conflicting signage (“No Trespassing” vs. “Designated Hiking and Equestrian Area”) at our intended trailhead, we backtracked a short distance and parked at the Mesa Butte Recreation Area.

LEFT: Daddy’s girls all geared up for another hiking season!
RIGHT: After getting ready, we set forth, hiked 25 yards and immediately stopped when Penny informed us of her, suddenly imminent, need to “potty.” KIDS… Backtracking to the day use area, we disappointingly found the facilities still locked. Note to Kananaskis: if you open a road on May 1, you may wish to open the facilities at the same time (lest there be a repeat of last year’s garbage and poo-filled parks debacle). After discovering that a bear does indeed poop in the woods (and that her parents then need to pack said poo out), we set forth once more.

Take 2! Mera and Penny show Mom how it’s done.

LEFT AND RIGHT: Our happy little hikers.

Early views from the “Curly Sands” trail (which eventually connected to our intended “Mesa Grind” route). We’d intended to use the latter exclusively but parking near the Mesa Butte Recreation Area forced us to start on “Curly Sands.” Curly Sands ended up being a nice little hike with decent views so I’d probably take it again if we return.

LEFT: Mera expertly demonstrates how to deal with deadfall while hiking.
RIGHT: Penny is a quick study! Looks like hiking is fun after all!

After losing a bit of elevation on an icy, north-facing slope, we left the “Curly Sands” trail and were treated to this “Butte-iful” view of the Mesa “Grind” ahead. #DadJokes

LEFT: Dad can still help with the final summit push (but at least this time I’m not carrying either of them)!
RIGHT: Apparently Mesa Butte was a bit too easy for Ms. Mera. At least she made herself comfortable while she waited for her little sister…

Prairie crocus: proof that spring is finally here!

Panoramic views as the summit comes into sight (click to see larger).

Penny’s first, unassisted, summit: Way to go “Bear”! Based on the size of that summit smile, I think she’s having fun (even without her precious “backpack”)!

LEFT AND RIGHT: And Mera’s first entry in a summit register! Nice work kiddos!

Looks like 5-year-old Mera’s handwriting is about as legible as mine.

A prairie and foothill-filled summit panorama. If you squint hard enough, there’s even some real mountains on the right. Click to see larger.

A closer look at the still-snowy Front Ranges beyond Death’s Head (or is that Mesa Butte?). Click to see larger.

Looking south to Holy Cross Mountain and Mount Head (center).

Pyriform Mountain (left), Junction Mountain (center left) and Lineham Ridge (center right).

Highwood Peak (left), Shunga-La-She (center left) and Jagermeister Peak (center).

Bluerock Mountain (center right) is the area's most prominent peak.

Of course, our first family hike of the year wouldn’t be complete without a summit snowstorm! ❄️

Mera and Penny happily scramble for cover from the snow squall (♪ The cold never bothered them anyways ♪).

Among the cover of the nearby trees, we discovered an impressive and well-stocked fire pit. Sadly, we forgot our matches!

LEFT AND RIGHT: Incapable of sitting, the girls climbed everything in sight while we waited out the storm…

… Crux, on the other hand, was perfectly happy to take a load off while the kids ran amok over the summit.

As the storm abated, we managed to herd the kids and the dog onto a log for a quick family photo to commemorate Penny’s first (unassisted) summit!

Funny face time (Brianne, apparently, missed the memo).

After a fun (but frigid) summit stay, we packed our yard sale up and began our descent. This is usually the point of the hike where Penny gets to nap on my back but she soon discovered that hiking can be even more fun when gravity isn’t working against you!

As so often occurs, sunny skies returned as we left the summit behind. 🌞

LEFT: An interesting discovery by the girls during our descent. I suspect that it once belonged to a fawn. When Mera and Penny asked what it was, we were smart enough to leave Bambi's name out of the discussion...
RIGHT: Wrapping up a fun family adventure under sunny spring skies. As our day neared its conclusion, Penny asked me if we could come hiking again sometime soon? As a giant grin spread across my face, I told her “of course” and asked if she enjoyed hiking on her own. Her response: “Yeah! Hiking is fun – but not that fun” (with a suddenly very serious look on her little face).
Having groveled up many a scree slope and carried a heavy kid or two up along the way, I found her off-hand remark particularly apt. For some reason, however, we keep coming back for more (and for Penny and Mera, the best is yet to come)!

LEFT: After (surprisingly) staying awake on the drive back, our newest little summit-seeker passed out HARD when her head hit the pillow at home!
RIGHT: With our “Baby Bear” sound asleep in her bed, the rest of the family celebrated an eventful day (and a house that didn’t require cleaning for once!) with a backyard fire (this time we had matches!); a fine end to a fun - but not that fun - day! 🔥