This past Sunday, I was able to enjoy a beautiful hike up Turtle Mountain with two of my sisters.

It was my first time hiking Turtle and I’m not going to lie, it kicked me in the butt a bit.

I had read different reviews of the hike and for the most part people were saying that, while it wasn’t easy, it was a very manageable hike.

My problems began the night before with a poor nights sleep.

I don’t know if it was my excitement to hike or what but for some reason I just didn’t get the sleep I was hoping for.

Shortly after I woke up, my sisters arrived.

This limited my breakfast to a couple granola bars, which turned out to be a mistake.

I also decided that I wanted to take my full size camera up the mountain to get some photos, which was mistake number two.

Shortly into the hike I was already feeling a little dizzy and nauseous due to my unpreparedness.

I still managed to make my way to the false peak with my sister’s encouragement along the way and I’m glad I did.

The views from Turtle Mountain are amazing, even if you don’t go to the summit.

We were limited in how high we could go because of how windy it was.
The climb was definitely worth battling the wind though.

It’s amazing how far you can see once you’re near the top.

The views were spectacular and I can’t wait to hopefully summit Turtle in a couple weeks with friends.

I’ll be much more prepared this time around though as now I know just what I’ll be facing on my next attempt to summit.

When I go again on the 27th, I’ll be substituting my camera for two hiking poles and will make sure I have a solid breakfast an hour or so before I start the hike.

I’m glad I was able to learn from my mistakes on this attempt and look forward to climbing not only Turtle but many of the other beautiful mountains in the Crowsnest Pass this summer.