The sun was shining, my hiking partner matched his pace to mine, there was hardly anyone else on the trail, we made it to the top in record time and I didn’t even feel tired. Yes, the Yamnuska traverse – 900-metre elevation gain to summit with a short section of seriously exposed cable crossing – was the perfect hike. What made it so?

Tips for the Perfect Hike:

1. Check the weather forecast. We knew the day was going to be stellar even though rain fell heavy throughout the night by simply logging on to the Environment Canada weather office website (all links below). You can do the same through the National Weather Service in the U.S. The forecast for our hiking day was clouds in the morning lifting by noon with sunshine all afternoon.

2. Know who you’re hiking with and their relative fitness and experience level. I’ve been hiking with my guy for over – gulp – 25 years! I figure we have a pretty good handle on each other’s hiking strengths and weaknesses. Of course, the relative ease of this particular summit might have something to do with the training for the ½ marathon I just completed in June!

3. Pack the right gear. Food, water, clothing (including heavy hiking boots to handle the scree skiing beneath the face of this impressive peak), walking poles, first aid kit and bear spray (Mount Yamnuska is on the eastern edge of the Rockies – both black and grizzly habitat). We packed raincoats even though the forecast was positive – and appreciated them at the summit cairn when the wind started to blow!

4. Know the route. Although we’ve been hiking Yam for more than 20 years, we started with a good map and guidebook. But do be sure to check the publication dates on both, routes change over the years (the bolted cable crossing has replaced an exposed 5 metre downclimb – although it’s hard to say which is worse if you’ve any phobias about height!).

5. Plan your trip for off-peak days and times if it’s a popular route. Yam is very popular – in fact we’ve hiked up to the shoulder of Yam (an early season fave) and counted well over two dozen hikers strewn out across the backside on a sunny weekend day. This congestion is usually avoided by hiking mid-week.