The Outdoor Report's greatest hits from the past 10 years of hiking

Outdoor Report correspondent Paul Karchut selects 10 of his favourites as he marks a decade of exploring Alberta's outdoor destinations.

The Calgary Eyeopener's Paul Karchut celebrates the last decade by choosing a few of his favourites

Paul Karchut CBC News Posted: Sep 08, 2017 6:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 8, 2017

Outdoor Report correspondent Paul Karchut celebrates 10 years of dispatches on The Calgary Eyeopener by choosing 10 of his favourite outdoor destinations over the past decade. (CBC)

To celebrate 10 years of Outdoor Reports, I chose 10 in noparticular order of my favourites.

It wasn't easy. Overall, I've done around 125 to130 trips. Trying to choose 10 was like paring down a wedding list.

In the end, I just wanted to find something that was a nice range of experiences, coupled with a nice range of geographical reach. It was tricky though.

1) Akamina Ridge, Waterton Lakes National Park

It's a20-kilometreridge loop with great views and fantastic early summer wildflowers. It's closed right now, however, because of the wildfires. Here's hoping the fires spare this area, because it really is a treasure.

Waterton Lakes National Park ordered to evacuate as wildfire approaches

Akamina Ridge in Waterton Parks, a 20-km ridge loop with fantastic views and lots of early summer wildflowers, is closed presently due to wildfires. (Paul Karchut)

2) Mount Temple, Banff National Park

A grind of a day with more than 1,500 metres of elevation gain and some moderate scrambling, but so cool to get on top of a 3,500-metrepeak on just a day trip. Beware the crowds at the Moraine Lake parking lotthough, especially during larch season.

Mount Temple, Banff. Beware the crowds at Moraine Lake parking lot, especially during larch season. (Paul Karchut)

3) Mount Burstall, Kananaskis Country

This one is a full-on, technical scramble with some big exposure. Make sure you have lots of climbing/scrambling experience before attempting to do it but the views of the French and Robertson Glaciers and the surrounding peaks are unreal.

Mount Burstall in Kananaskis Country requires a high degree of technical skill, but if you've got it, the views of the French and Robinson glaciers are unreal. (Paul Karchut)

4) Lake Oesa via Lake O'Hara

With the shuttle bus and the early bookings, it might be a pain to get into the Lake O'Hara area but, man, is it worth it. Lake Oesa is one of those damn-near spiritual places,complete with remarkable rock steps and masonry along the way by the legendary Lawrence Grassi.

Lake Oesa almost takes you on a spiritual journey, with its rock steps and masonry. (Paul Karchut)

5) Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

Accessed either by Sunshine Meadows (more exciting but a shorter snow-free season) or Mount Shark in Kananaskis Country (a 25-kilometreaccess that many people turn into a multi-day backpacking trip), this parkits peaks, alpine lakes and stunning meadows is eye-poppingly beautiful. Once you're there, you can either camp, stay in the basic but comfortable Naiset Huts or splurge on the plush Assiniboine Lodge. The back country in this area is also being affected by wildfires right now, so be sure that it's open before heading up

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, with its alpine peaks, lakes and meadows, is stunning. (Paul Karchut)

6) Caldron Lake, Icefields Parkway

Although it starts at the very busy Peyto Lake overlook, you leave the crowds behind quickly and the trail becomes pretty primitive. This is a 16-kilometrereturn trip with great vistas, waterfalls and glacier views along the way. Then the lake itself is a stunning example of a high alpine lake, too. There is some modest exposure just before you get to the lake, so make sure you know the route before you go.

7) The Whaleback, Cowboy Trail

This is a zone that is most used by horseback riders and hunters but it would also be a great place to go for a hike or mountain bike ride. It's sprawling, rolling terrain is the finest example of unspoiled foothills I've seen in Alberta. But since this is not park land, it is widely used for hunting in the fall, so it's best experienced earlier in the summer while the wildflowers are in full bloom.

8) Northover Ridge

A33-kilometregrunt out to Kananaskis Lakes, up to Aster Lake, over Northover Ridge, down to Three Isle Lake and back to the car. Many people turn this into a two- or three-day circuit. We opted to travel light and do it in a day but it was a big one. The views, however, and the variety of terrain that you travel through make it one worth training for.

Travel light if you hope to complete the 33-kilometre hike across Northover Ridge in a single day. (Paul Karchut)

9) Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park

Alittle known park southeast of Red Deer. It's like Dinosaur Provincial Park but 50 years ago.There's fascinating Indigenous history, the hoodoos and coulees are beautiful and it's also a hot bed for dinosaur fossil discoveries so don't be surprised if you run into a paleontologist digging for bones. There are no official trails in this park so you just forge your own path. But beware, it can get veryhot in the middle of summer. Also, when it rains, the trails and access road become as slippery as a skating rink. Keep your eye on the forecast.

Dry Island Provincial Park is a hotbed for dinosaur fossil discoveries. (Paul Karchut)

10) Bugaboo Provincial Park

It may be 45 kilometresdown a bumpy logging road to get to but it's worth it. Even from the parking lot, the glacial views are breathtaking. And whether you do the ninekilometreout-and-back trip to Conrad Kain hut, the much more ambitious 20-kilometreCobalt Lake circuit that we did, or go to explore the world-renowned rock climbing, this is an area that doesn't disappoint. The Bugaboos are world famous among serious rock climbers as a sort of mecca. My expectations were high and they were still blown away.