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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2010 : 3:56 PM
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Heyla, folks,
Last year, I introduced myself as a writer and researcher who, though living near some wonderful wetlands, loves the mountains, here.
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=30834
Also posted some questions I had about some scenarios I'm working on. It generated some great and useful information.
I've had a busy year with additional research: acquired the DVD of 101 years of the Canadian Alpine Journal, which is giving me many happy map-dreaming hours. And this year's Valentine's gift from my husband was an original copy of J. Monroe Thorington's The Glittering Mountains of Canada.
I've also dropped in to read and enjoy trail reports.
A quick question. I'm working on a scenario in the "future history." It's described as (among other things) a regional base for combined forces which include the military, police and fire, etc. It's also the base for training some of these people in SAR and mountain work.
My problem is... where the heck is it?
In my original sketch of the scene, I'd dubbed it Fort Saskatchewan, because I was thinking of setting it slightly east of the mountains, possibly around the area of Nordegg. Or if in the mountains, right around Saskatchewan River Crossing. Then, to my dismay, as I began cross-checking facts, I discovered that there's a real Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton. Which is too far from where I need this place to be.
My main reason for setting it just east of the mountains is that I need it to be a size-able community, and I don't want to add any more of those than are actually in the mountains. My preference for this future history is that they've sort of gone backwards on development in the mountain parks, and may even have less than is currently there.
So... I know this isn't about skiing, hiking, boating or other outdoor pursuits, as such, but you folks were so kind on my other inquiries, that I thought I'd beg your indulgence.
For those of you who helped me with my "Through the Death Trap" sequence http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=30924, it's the same guy. Getting himself into all sorts of trouble, trying to clear his name.
Thanks ever so much!
-- Marilynx
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 Alberta-based choss climbin', flame throwin', rappel lovin', ass talkin' hater who doesn't like "Gumby" for a descriptor
6302 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2010 : 8:10 PM
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| When your done this book of yours, can you please post name, and where to get it. |
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2421 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2010 : 8:31 PM
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Nordegg is a good one - almost abandoned old coal mining town with the mine now shut down.
Just west of that is the Ram River area. Presently has a campground and the Ram River Falls, just north of the highway and up a mountain road. Would make a good training base for forestry and mountain rescue workers. That might make a good locale.
The next place along that highway to the east is Rocky Mountain House, which is a pr4etty decent-sized town. |
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2010 : 8:37 PM
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T2C,
Well, we've been told by a reputable agent that the first book is commercially viable, but that since it's obviously first in a series, and since we're unknowns, they want us to complete several more before they present them to publishers.
Believe me, the day the contract is signed, I will be turning cartwheels and telling everyone!
In the mean time, I'm having a wonderful time reading and researching. And writing. |
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2010 : 8:47 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by peter1955
Nordegg is a good one - almost abandoned old coal mining town with the mine now shut down.
Just west of that is the Ram River area. Presently has a campground and the Ram River Falls, just north of the highway and up a mountain road. Would make a good training base for forestry and mountain rescue workers. That might make a good locale.
The next place along that highway to the east is Rocky Mountain House, which is a pretty decent-sized town.
Well, renovating an old coal mining town would be right up the alley of this time frame. Might have the "support town" for families and dependents of the forestry and rescue workers there, then have the actual training camp where you suggest. Certainly, it would be a shorter commute than many of us have.
Thanks for the suggestions!
-- Marilynx |
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Penhold, Alberta
Canada
2009 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 03:19 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by peter1955
Nordegg is a good one - almost abandoned old coal mining town with the mine now shut down.
Just west of that is the Ram River area. Presently has a campground and the Ram River Falls, just north of the highway and up a mountain road.
Peter's directions are wrong. The Ram river area is south of Nordegg along hwy. 40 also known as the forestry trunk road. |
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 07:48 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by darrenbell
quote:
Originally posted by peter1955
Nordegg is a good one - almost abandoned old coal mining town with the mine now shut down.
Just west of that is the Ram River area. Presently has a campground and the Ram River Falls, just north of the highway and up a mountain road.
Peter's directions are wrong. The Ram river area is south of Nordegg along hwy. 40 also known as the forestry trunk road.
Well, then that may explain why I can't seem to find it on a Google map... no, not finding it yet. Let's try a printed map. OK, I'm looking at the first edition of the MapArt Alberta Road Atlas. Pages 62 and 63?
Is it 734? Did they change the road numbers after my (admittedly six year old) map was published? (Post costs being what they are, I haven't gotten new editions every year, and probably ought to.)
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Edited by - Marilynx on 03/10/2010 11:21 AM |
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Penhold, Alberta
Canada
2009 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 08:09 AM
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| Yes, 734(aka: forestry trunk or even hwy. 40), don't confuse the North Ram for the proper river though. The Ram river is further south(about 20-30kms.) |
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 09:07 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by darrenbell
Yes, 734(aka: forestry trunk or even hwy. 40), don't confuse the North Ram for the proper river though. The Ram river is further south(about 20-30kms.)
OK, I think I've got it. I can foresee an order of updated maps in my future. Are the Backroad Map Books worthwhile? http://rmbooks.com/maps.htm
My overly tall hobbit of a husband (hobbits being very fond of maps, but my husband is built like a Tolkien elf) got involved in this particular hunt, and has been heard to mutter that whoever was tracing the roads on the Google version of Alberta, (a) didn't appear to feel the need to label things, and (b) had no concept of terrain.
Thank you, kindly! (BTW, what's the pronunciation on "Nordegg"?) |
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Penhold, Alberta
Canada
2009 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 09:28 AM
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| Yes, IMO the backroad map books are very good as a reference guide. Nordegg is pronounced just like that...Nor-Deg. |
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 12:18 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by darrenbell
Yes, IMO the backroad map books are very good as a reference guide. Nordegg is pronounced just like that...Nor-Deg.
Hey. you never know about local pronunciations. A street I travel frequently around here is named Tchoupitoulas. Pronounced Shop-ih-too-las.
<Groan.> The one drawback with ordering from Rocky Mountain Books is that I never know where to stop! |
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78 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 1:07 PM
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Nordegg would be a great choice - a town of 3,500 that became a ghost town after the coal mine closed in 1955. Current population - about 250 but growing fast.
http://www.nordegghistoricalsociety.8m.com/town.html
The mine is designated as a national historic site and there is lots of old infrastructure and buildings. |
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2010 : 3:32 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Engor
quote:
Originally posted by peter1955
Just west of that is the Ram River area. Presently has a campground and the Ram River Falls, just north of the highway and up a mountain road. Would make a good training base for forestry and mountain rescue workers. That might make a good locale.
Peter apparently meant the Bighorn Falls, former name for the Crescent Falls, the most spectacular falls in the Rockies, in my opinion:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2526309150084441450foDvPK
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2414730890084441450AKfZVz
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2251369540084441450OGblyY
His directions are correct if you replace "Ram" with "Bighorn"
Oh! Thank you for that! I was just reading, in one of the old books I have, about the Crescent Falls and could not find them on my maps. Both areas sound highly suitable for forestry and mountain SAR training, though.
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2421 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2010 : 11:54 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by darrenbell
quote:
Originally posted by peter1955
Nordegg is a good one - almost abandoned old coal mining town with the mine now shut down.
Just west of that is the Ram River area. Presently has a campground and the Ram River Falls, just north of the highway and up a mountain road.
Peter's directions are wrong. The Ram river area is south of Nordegg along hwy. 40 also known as the forestry trunk road.
Peter's directions were right. If only they'd stop changing the name of the falls. The last time I was out there, we just refered to it as 'the falls on the Ram River'. That was before all the tourists came along, though. |
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Salmon Arm, BC
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2010 : 4:02 PM
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Well, Crescent aka Bighorn Falls is on the Bighorn River. Ram Falls is on the Ram River. Big difference!
Marilynx, like you suggest, Crescent Falls would be a highly suitable spot for forestry and mountain SAR training. It's in a nice broad valley where the Rockies ease off into the foothills, as you can see in this pic:
Below the falls is a spectacular crescent-shaped canyon called, naturally, Crescent Canyon (and which led to the change in name of the falls) that people do hike down into and get trapped in on occasion. Or worse...when I was there 2 summers ago, there was a memorial at the canyon viewpoint for a girl who had tragically fallen into the canyon shortly before.
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 10:47 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by peter1955
Peter's directions were right. If only they'd stop changing the name of the falls. The last time I was out there, we just refered to it as 'the falls on the Ram River'. That was before all the tourists came along, though.
Hey! Us tourists like the mountains, too. <grin> Not to mention waterfalls, and so forth. Blame it on the politicians, who change the names and directions for everything! (Tourism being a major industry here in the wetlands of south Louisiana. And we won't go into Louisiana politics...)
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New Orleans, Louisiana
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2010 : 11:12 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by pmjwright
Well, Crescent aka Bighorn Falls is on the Bighorn River. Ram Falls is on the Ram River. Big difference!
Marilynx, like you suggest, Crescent Falls would be a highly suitable spot for forestry and mountain SAR training. It's in a nice broad valley where the Rockies ease off into the foothills, as you can see in this pic:
Below the falls is a spectacular crescent-shaped canyon called, naturally, Crescent Canyon (and which led to the change in name of the falls) that people do hike down into and get trapped in on occasion. Or worse...when I was there 2 summers ago, there was a memorial at the canyon viewpoint for a girl who had tragically fallen into the canyon shortly before.
Obviously, I am not picturing the terrain correctly. If one can hike down into the canyon, why can't one hike back out?
Beautiful locations somehow seem like they ought to be immune to tragedy. They aren't, of course.
Since my maps aren't detailed enough, does anyone have a snippet of a map that will show me these two locations, potentially in relation to Nordegg?
That's a magnificent picture. The last two times I've been up that way, we stuck mainly to the Bow Valley, with a side excursion over Roger's Pass, as well as up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. Patently obvious that we need to plan on some additional trips. My husband should also have more vacation time....
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Edited by - Marilynx on 03/10/2010 11:33 AM |
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Salmon Arm, BC
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2010 : 2:57 PM
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Marilynx, of course if you can hike down into the canyon then you can hike back out!
But at many places the terrain is treacherous, cliff bands and loose rock, and that's where people could get into big trouble if they were to try to go down or up there.
As you get closer to the canyon viewpoint, the walls are sheer. I'll have to find those pics for you. The rim trail is right near the edge and there's a fence along only part of it. I don't know the story about the girl, but her memorial was at the viewpoint so I must believe she either climbed over or went beyond the fence and plunged off the cliff. |
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2010 : 3:19 PM
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Photos of Bighorn Canyon:
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78 Posts |
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Writer Researching: Military Outpost
