Brief Foothills report; 2nd half of October '16. Last time I went to Jumpingpound was way back in the 90s so 2nd visit was overdue. Powderface is open and drive-able, with quite a bit of road work going on (graders, trucks, etc). Parked at Lusk Pass trailhead; there is also TCT (Trans Canada Trail) sign here. Bridge over Jumpingpound creek has collapsed in 2013 floods, but brand new one has been built. If only Parks Canada were half as efficient as provincial parks. Long switchbacks up to junction with Cox Hill trail - about 45 mins of fast pace -- then great ridgewalk across several bumps to the "summit". Continued over down east ridge towards Moose mountain, but didn't have enough time to go all the way. Strong freezing wind had something to do with it too; so I abandoned return same way & decided to get some shelter by dropping down direct "Jumpingpound Summit trail" to Powderface. This bit had quite a bit of ice. Then long march back to Lusk on the road; luckily mini-van stopped and gave me the ride saving me ~4km of mundane march.

I am well aware there are several challenging options in the neighborhood, but for fit walkers with 2 cars great 1-way traverse I'd recommend is: Dawson -- Cox Hill -- Jumpingpound -- Moose -- Elbow Trail. Long day though. Couple of pictures:


[Jumpingpound ridge pano, heading towards the "summit" (bump in the center)]


[Snowmen looking east towards Moose Mtn, with great Autumn Skies above]


[Jumpingpound 'summit' looking north; host of familiar peaks in the distance]


[East ridge pano towards Moose and Foothills]

Full trip report with more high-res photos, map and downloadable GPS track here

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cool snow line pics

A far cry from the drizzling steady rain around here. Really nice shots.

Any idea of the temperature you were in? Friend of mine was trekking about near Golden and said it was unusually cold.

think few degrees above freezing, but very cold wind on wide open ridge & felt much colder; had to put light down jacket under windbreaker.

Coast might get good November weather-wise. I recall few years back same thing; endless rain in October, then very clear and sunny November. Things tend to even out.

Thanks for posting. It is a nice trail, I like the options and you get plenty of open views when compared with Powderface. Normally I come up from Dawson to Cox and traverse over to JP. An good alternative is the trail from Canyon Creek, a bit of a steep hike for a short way, then a nice gently rising traverse up to treeline.

Thanks Phil; I was thinking of your Howard trip -- hard to believe you did Dawson - Cox - Jumpingpound - Canyon just as approach (and deproach!). Advantage of being trail runner, I guess

Question: What is your estimate for Jumpingpound to Moose? Not your pace, but normal pace. I estimated 2 - 3 hours, but there are some ups & downs. So basically would trip from Powderface to Jumpingpound (shortest route) to Moose and back same way be comfortable 8 hrs day? Again normal pace, with breaks etc.

I haven't done it myself. But I know people who have, and I think your estimate is about right.