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Day 1 Stenton Lake, Alberta Wildlands Prov. Park

High altitude trip route right outside our front door.

Day 1 Front Door to Stenton Lake, 18.5 km, 1319 m Elevation Gain, 385 m Elevation Loss, 8 hrs 20 min.

Volcano was a very keen hiker and had got excited when she recognized my backpack. I felt that the hike would not be appropriate for Volcano, too rough and too much elevation. I tried to fool Volcano by putting my backpack into the garage. When Emily arrived we left through the garage not wearing any backpacks. Laura told me when I got home the next day that Volcano was not fooled. She stared at the garage door for a long time waiting for me.

I cooked Emily and I both up a good breakfast of eggs, toast and fruit and after giving the dogs a quick walk we headed on our way. We left the house at about 9:13 am and headed up the street. It is just over of walking on the sidewalk to reach the parking lot at Cougar Creek. It was another km of walking on relatively good trail that brought us the Cougar Creek Debri fence. The fence was constructed after the flood of 2013. One of the causes of the flood was the large amounts of rock and gravel that the creek brought down and filled in the creek bed causing the water to overflow. The fence is designed to hold the debri (rocks) back and prevent the infilling of the creek.

The debris fence. It is about 20 feet high. Currently being replaced by a more permanent engineered that will be 34 m tall. Link to Town of Canmore video Cougar Creek Debris Retention Structure.

Once past the fence we would spend the next 2 hrs 15 min walking about 7.3 km Cougar Creek. There was no trail just a gravelly rocky creek bed. For the first little while we past climbers on the canyon walls but very soon we would be on our own.

Inside the canyon. the walking is good.
A weeping wall. In the winter there are thick beautiful columns of ice on the wall.

It took an 1 hr 10 min to reach Canada Forks, a junction of two creeks, we followed the left fork. The creek got progressively more rugged and the boulders larger.

Emily heading upstream. There are small pools of water in some of the depressions.
More flood debris.
The creek is very constricted in this section. Can you find the little hiker among the giant boulders?

The valley soon widened and the creek became a wide gravel bed. Walking is straightforward but good ankle flexibility on the rocks helped.

Small islands of trees survived the effects of the flood.
Emily pointing the valley rocky ridge that indicates the valley we want to turn up.
Something else has caught Emily’s attention.
On the east bank there was a small remnant of a path that once ran along Cougar Creek. It may have been washed away in the flood of 2013 or another time of high water.

Once we found the junction with the valley we needed to hike up we found a shade spot in some trees and took a 20 minute break. We had been hiking for 2 hrs 15 min and covered approximately 9.5 km. We did not know it but our hiking pace was to drastically slow down.

We able to follow a path through the trees away from the main stem of Cougar Creek for a short time before being forced back the stream bed. We thought it was rough before but the initial part of the side stream was even rougher.

Emily off heading up the side stream. This nice trail would not last long.
Back into a very jumbly stream bed.
The walking was tough but hard to get lost.

By carefully scouting the sides of the stream we were able to find some of the original trail. As time went on we got better at finding sections of trail which made the hiking much easier than in the stream bed.

A little more packed where the flood debris entered the forest.
Emily found a trail.
The trail while softer did have lots of dead fall.
Back to the creek.

My interest in geology always creeps in while hiking. Cannot help but wonder what causes some the features in the rock.

Large boulder in the stream bed. What are the dark intrusions?
Emily putting on her best face. This section was super tough.
Boulders that we have had to clamber over.
A sidesloping gravel path is preferable to the creek bed.
The thrust fault mountains of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies in full display in Cougar Peak. We have been hiking 30 minutes since lunch and traveled 0.8 km.
Up and over we go.
Catching some shade on a dirt trail.
Snow!! In July.

We hiked up to to a limestone tower that was a way point in Gillian Dafferin’s book. We took a rest beside small freshwater pool. We had covered 1.5 km in just under an hour.

Water is flowing.
It has been hard but fun.
The limestone tower

After a 15 minute break we headed back up the creek. The large rocks and boulders disappeared as we hiked up but the creek was now full of water making for numerous water crossings.

Emily looking for a way forward.
A grassy path.
Water crossings.
Traded boulders for water and logs.
Emily trying to avoid getting her feet wet.

One of the passages we read in Gillian Dafferin’s book was that we will be faced with obstacles but when approached they will “resolve themselves”. We came across a waterfall and a steep sided canyon. A faint trail led up a steep slope requiring some scrambling. I went first.

The canyon is squeezing in on us.
Scaling the wall.
Now what. We are running out of options.

Ten minutes after this waterfall we become hopelessly stuck. We had come to a junction with a smaller creek flowing from the south. Continuing to go upstream was impossible due to vegetation crowding the creek. We could see no way to continue to follow the creek so we hiked straight uphill to gain a better view of our situation. As we climbed directly up the slope the ridge that we believed we were trying to get to came into view. As we gained more elevation the trees thinned out somewhat and we decided we would attempt to follow the direction of the creek but hiking through the trees. We used our view of the ridgeline and the Viewranger App to keep ourselves heading in the right direction. We stopped for a 10 minute break for snacks in a small clearing.

Emily working her way across the slope. Cougar Peak in the distance.
You can see the creek we were following to the right of Emily and a creek flowing from the valley between Mount Charles Stewart South (high peak on the right) and Mount Charles Stewart SE2.
After our break. We have risen above tree line. The creek we had been following has turned up slope and has cut a canyon into the hillside. On the way back we will follow the canyon which is were the trail is.
View of Mount Charles Stewart on the right and the glorious ridge leading up to it.

After clearing the trees we followed the drainage straight up the hill to Cougar Col. Our stream that we had been following had dried up. We arrived at Cougar Col at 3:20 pm, 6 hrs and a distance of 14.7 km. To think we had completed the first 9.4 km in just 2 hrs 15 min. It had taken us 3 hrs 45 min to hike just 5.3 km. Being high on Cougar Col was spectacular and was only a taste of the views that we would be getting as we followed the ridge up over the high point and onto Stenton Lake.

Looking up to Cougar Col, almost there
Looking east from Cougar Col.
The valley looking across to the ridge that hides Stenton Lake. Stenton Lake is behind the ridge at centre.

There was no distinct trail up the ridge. So we just started heading up. After about 20 minutes a faint trail appeared where there was a discolouration in the rocks and the lichen.

Heading up that way to the high point on the brown cliff.
A faint trail in appeared in the rocks.

It was an amazing walk up the ridge. The footing was somewhat unstable but we made good time. Just prior to the high point we came across a marker indicating the boundary of Banff NP. As we rose up and over the 2600 m (8600 ft) elevation level, we gained views far and wide that to the South-East includes Mt Assiniboine. The expansive views that were on offer in all directions made all the memories of all hard work melt away.

Alpine views. Endless views of mountain tops.
Emily on he way up. Looking past Emily leads you into Banff NP.
The ridge became more solid and the walking easier.
View to Mount Charles Douglas SE2 and the valley we walked up.
Underfoot the trail has become a gravel like surface.
Just a few minutes from the high point of the day. You can see Mt Assiniboine through the gap left of Emily.

We did not actually go over the peak but once passing over the flat area where two ridges met we cut across to the left of the peak.

A lonely marker on the trail.
Will head up for just another minute before heading off the the left of the peak. The trail goes up the centre of the photo.

We went over the high point for the day, 2645 m (8815 ft) and side slopped through a break in the cliff. I had not done much high elevation hiking or scrambling in many years and remember being quite nervous about the down slope that lead to a cliff below us. On the way back the next I walked this section with no issues. There really was not a great deal of risk or exposure but we sure were a long way up. As we started to head down the ridge on the far side we came across a group of mountain sheep grazing on the meager vegetation growing between the rocks.\

Pretty straightforward from here, follow the ridge line and then drop down to Stenton Lake. The tall peak on the right is Stenton Peak.
Even among the rocks, life survives.
Follow the ridge and just at the second snowfield there is a path leading across the slope on the left which we will follow.
Herd of sheep on the hillside.
This is looking east to the upper reach of the Cougar Creek Watershed. The mountains form a T and create a barrier directing all the water to head down to Cougar Creek. the other side of the mountains on the left is the valley with Exshaw Creek.
Banff Park Boundary sign located just before we begin the side slope. The valley below is what I had been planning to cross and very glad we did not try to do that. The tiny snow field on the left is at Cougar Col where we were just an hour previous.
We have to negotiate a small cliff band below us. Then walk along the ridge before descending to Stenton Lake. Stenton like is below the brown/grey ridge. The far grassy section at the end of the ridge is beyond the lake.
Colour reappears as we drop in elevation.
We were both intrigued by the steeply dipping rock layers.
The name and types of the different rock layers along with the ages in millions of years.
West end of Mt Rundle.

Many people have seen pictures of Mt Rundle, a mountain that runs 18 km from Canmore to Banff. An interesting exercise is to compare the rock layers of Mt Rundle to those in the picture above on our way to Stenton Lake. On Mt Rundle the Livingston Formation is the topmost layer forming vertical cliffs, with the Exshaw and Banff Formations forming the slopes below and the Palliser Formation making the lower cliffs. The youngest rock layer is on top, so the Livingston Formation is the youngest layer on Mt Rundle. In our hike to Stenton Lake, the Livingston was the oldest rock layer (see picture above). So all those rock layers in the photo above on the way to to Stenton Lake have been eroded off of Mt Rundle. Another thing to think about is those layers that are at such elevation on Mt Rundle, all lie below on feet on the way to Stenton Lake.

For those familiar with the Three Sisters in Canmore. Big Sister is topped by Livingston (younger) while both Middle and Little Sister are topped by Palliser (older).
On a geological map our route in white over the different rock formations to Stenton Lake.

The trail was quite steep heading down to the little ridge that would take us to Stenton Lake. There was a cliff band to negotiate but an obvious trail had been well worn into the cliff. We hiked long the ridge and came to our first views of Stenton Lake, it was 4:55 pm.

Making our way down
Path leading up along the ridge.
Looking back the way we have come. Cougar Col is above the snowfield on the very right. We did come down the cliff band at centre left.
First view of Stenton Lake, Camping is at the west end. The mountain in the background is Carrol Peak. There is a trail that runs off to the right of Carrot Peak (east) that leads to the South Ghost River.

The trail started to head uphill towards a little peak on the ridge above the lake. Emily and I decided that we did not want to hike uphill anymore with the lake just there below us so we headed down towards the lake picking our way through the boulder field. It was quite steep but fun.

Super star hiker on the boulder field.
Two happy hikers. We have made it down to the grassy slope and are now almost done.
Just have to walk around the end of the lake. We would set up the tent by a large rock on grassy area near the gravel on the other side.

Once off the rocks and onto the vegetated slope it was just over 10 minutes to walk around the end of the lake and to where would set up the tent. It was just after 5:30 pm when we dropped our packs, 8hrs 20 min since we set off. Emily set up the tent while I took photos. Then we filled our air mattresses and got the inside of the tent set up. We started on dinner about 6:15 pm. We sat in the warmth of the setting sun drinking a cold refreshing beer that I had a brought to celebrate our adventure.

Emily setting up the tent.
The sun shining brilliantly onto our campsite.
All set up. Zpacks Duplex self standing 2lb tent.
A view east down the lake.
Emily in the kitchen.
Our reward for a great day on the trail.
Happy campers.

After dinner we went and explored around the lake. You can continue to hike west to join up with a trail that will take you east to the South Ghost River or west to Carrot Creek and Lake Minnewanka. We made a desperate attempt to do a bear hang. Unfortunately we could not find a tree more than about 10 ft high. While our food would not have been safe from a bear at least it was quite a ways away from us. If I was to go back to Stenton Lake I would be taking a Bear Canister with me. Once back at camp we took some personal time to reflect. Emily journalled while sitting on a rock and snapped one of my favourite photos of her.

View went towards Carrot Peak.
The long view of the lake.

The skies were very clear when we headed to bed at about 8:30 pm. The plan was to get up around 2 am and look at the stars. I was not overly hopeful of good skies since Canmore and Banff are sources of light pollution that are nearby but never hurts to get up and check out the night sky.

Good night from Stenton Lake.

Stenton Lake Nighttime

Stenton Lake Home

bootwreckers

Day 3 of our 2015 Colorado River trip is posted, s Day 3 of our 2015 Colorado River trip is posted, see link in bio.

After th epic day prior this was a super relaxed day of just 13 miles and one stop.

Photo 1 - evening reflections at Spanish Bottom

Photo 2 - morning at camp

Photo 3 - breakfast time in our secluded backcountry campsite

Photo 4 - Mikah paddling back on the river

Photo 5 - a look at where the Loop Overlook trail brought us the day before

Photo 6 - investigating Anasazi Bottom

Photo 7 - Mikah and Siobhan at Anasazi Bottom

Photo 8 - Me at Anasazi Bottom

Photo 9 - arrival at Spanish Bottom, can see the pinnacles of th Doll House on the cliffs

Photo 10 - Looking down at camp at Spanish Bottom 

Another awesome day on the river.

Enjoy.

#canyonlands, #canyonlandsnationalpark, #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #turkshead, #anasazi, #anasaziruins, #utah, #exploreutah, #coloradoriver, #canoeing, #redrocks, #hikingadventures, #camping, #hikingadventures #texriverways, #floatritp #canoe #familytime❤️ #outdoors #outside #outsidethebox #earthpix  #wildernessculture  #wildernessociety  #seeutah  #igsouthwest #discoverearth #earthofficial
Day 2 Colorado Float Trip 2015, Little Bridge Cany Day 2 Colorado Float Trip 2015, Little Bridge Canyon to Random Camp on The Loop.

This was a huge day packed with ancient Anasazi ruins and various forms of rock art, and some big mileage paddling the river.

Full summary on our blog, link in bio.

Photo 1 - docked at the Loop Overlook Hike

Photo 2 - Siobhan and Mikah ready for another day of adventure 

Photo 3 - morning light on the river

Photo 4 - Big sky

Photo 5 - Siobhan and rock art at Big Bottom

Photo 6 - Mikah and Siobhan with more rock art, those hands on the wall were from a person living thousands of years ago, again at Bit Bottom

Photo 7 - Anasazi Granary

Photo 8 - Anasazi Granary Monument Creek

Photo 9 - looking downriver from Loop Overlook trail

Photo 10 - evening river vibes

Enjoy!

#canyonlands, #canyonlandsnationalpark, #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #turkshead, #anasazi, #anasaziruins, #utah, #exploreutah, #coloradoriver, #canoeing, #redrocks, #hikingadventures, #camping, #hikingadventures #texriverways, #floatritp #canoe #familytime❤️ #outdoors #outside #outsidethebox #earthpix  #wildernessculture  #wildernessociety  #seeutah  #igsouthwest #discoverearth #earthofficial
New post, throwback to 2015, our first canoe trip, New post, throwback to 2015, our first canoe trip, an adventure down the Colorado River from Moab to Spanish Bottom.

Posted the main page for the trip plus our travel day to Moab and Day 1 on the river.

This trip remains a favourite of ours as it was so different from all the hiking adventures. Although we did some hiking while on the river.

One of the great things about the trip is a person could go again, stop at different places and have an entirely different trip.

Photo 1 - evening on the Colorado, looking downriver from our campsite

Photo 2 - Siobhan getting a greasy meal at Five Guys in Salt Lake City

Photo 3 - with Wayne at the Budget Inn, Green River, and freshly baked blueberry muffins

Photo 4 - Siobhan getting ready

Photo 5 - Mikah checking their straps

Photo 6 - on th river

Photo 7 - happy paddler

Photo 8 - Siobhan up high taking in the view

Photo 9 - Mikah found their perch

Photo 10 - the view upstream from out campsite at Little Bridge Canyon

See link in bio to our blog and full summary of the trip.

Simply can't wait to go back.

#canyonlands, #canyonlandsnationalpark, #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #turkshead, #anasazi, #anasaziruins, #utah, #exploreutah, #coloradoriver, #canoeing, #redrocks, #hikingadventures, #camping, #hikingadventures #texriverways, #floatritp #canoe #familytime❤️ #outdoors #outside #outsidethebox #earthpix  #wildernessculture  #wildernessociety  #seeutah  #igsouthwest #discoverearth #earthofficial
Day 4 of our Labour Day Weekend trip through the E Day 4 of our Labour Day Weekend trip through the Egypt Lake area, Banff NP.

Hiked from Pharaoh Creek CG up over Healy Pass back to our car, now at the Sunshine Village Parking Lot.

Low stress day on the trail but the fall temperatures made for a great day in the backcountry.

Photo 1 - morning at Pharaoh Creek CG

Photo 2 - Chilly breakfast, yay for coffee

Photo 3 - approaching Egypt Lake Campground 

Photo 4 - fall colours and The Sphinx

Photo 5 - Pharaoh Peak 

Photo 6 - Golden meadows of Healy Pass

Photo 7 - looking back to the Egypt Lake area, can see Scarab and Egypt Lake

Photo 8 - view south all the way to Mt Assiniboine 

Photo 9 - creek crossing

Photo 10 - end of another successful adventure

Great trip, awesome hiking partner, @sio.mellors, looking forward to more adventures with her this summer.

For full summary see link in bio

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks #teamzpacks

Happy trails!
Day 3 of our 2021 Labour Day Weekend trip through Day 3 of our 2021 Labour Day Weekend trip through the Egypt Lake area, Banff NP.

This day took us from the campground at Balls Pass Junction over Whistling Pass, with a detour up Pharaoh Peak, which wasn't without some drama.

Lunch was another side trip to Scarab Lake followed by an excursion to Egypt Lake.

Our final destination was Pharaoh Creek Campground. After a lovely evening the Milky Way came out to play.

Read the summary at www.Bootwreckers.com, link in bio.

Photo 1 - moody morning at Balls Pass Junction

Photo 2 - golden meadows as we approach Haiduk Lake

Photo 3 - making our way up Whistling Pass

Photo 4 - heading up Pharaoh Peak, and it really was this steep

Photo 5 - looking over Mummy and Scarab Lakes from the Pharaoh Peak.

Photo 6 - group shot on the way down

Photo 7 - at Egypt Lake

Photo 8 - Frosty Paws guarding the tent

Photo 9 - the Milky Way

Video - scree skiing down Pharaoh Peak

Another great day on the trail with @sio.mellors

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks #teamzpacks
Day 2 of our Labour Day weekend trip through the E Day 2 of our Labour Day weekend trip through the Egypt Lake area, Banff NP is up on Bootwreckers, see link in bio.

The day was sunny and the skies were blue, it was simply an amazing day to be on the trail.

Out day started out retracing our steps from th previous evening back to Shadow Lake.

After lingering to take in the stunning view at the lake we had an easy hike to our campsite at Balls Pass Junction.

After setting up the tent and having lunch we headed up the short but steep trail to Ball Pass. Ball Pass is in mu opinion one of th premier viewpoints in Banff NP. 

After exploring Ball Pass we returned back to the campground and enjoyed a well earned stream chilled beer and a nap.

Clouds rolled in later in the day but it only lightly rained.

Was not the biggest mileage day on the trail but was proof that a great day on the trail.
Photo 1 - Siobhan looking at Mt Ball and it's Glacier from Ball Pass
Photo 2 - Siobhan checking directions
Photo 3 - Shadow Lake and Mt Ball
Photo 4 - Siobhan on bridge crossing outlet of Shadow Lake
Photo 5 - dried  strawberries on the trail
Photo 6 - heading up Ball Pass
Photo 7 - Siobhan looking over the valley from Ball Pass
Photo 8 - heading down from Ball Pass
Photo 9 - our reward for a good day on the trail
Photo 10 - finding peace and tranquility in the backcountry 

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks
Day 1 of our amazing trip through the Egypt Lake a Day 1 of our amazing trip through the Egypt Lake area Labour Day Weekend, 2021 now posted up on our blog, link in bio. Another Grand adventure with one of my kids, @sio.mellors.

Our four day trip started at the Vista Lake Trailhead on Hwy 93 South. Up and over Gibbon Pass to camp at Shadow Lake Campground on day 1.

Day 2 was a short hike to Balls Pass Junction CG, then after a short break off to explore Ball Pass, in my opinion one of the best vistas anywhere.

Day 3 we hiked over Whistling Pass on the way to Pharaoh Creek CG, with a scramble up Pharaoh Peak, lunch at Scarab Lake, and a visit to Egypt Lake on the way.

Day 4 was hiking over Healy Pass and out to the Sunshine Village parking lot where our car had been moved to.

Lots of stories from this adventure,  was a lot of fun to revisit and write.

Photo 1 - evening as Shadow Lake

Photo 2 - pre-hike happy team photo

Photo 3 - Arnica Lake, where we had lunch

Photo 4 - the yellow of Larches starting to come in

Photo 5 - the golden meadows of th high alpine at Gibbon Pass

Photo 6 - view all the way to Mt Assiniboine from Gibbon Pass, about 70 km away

Photo 8 - mushrooms in the undergrowth as we approach Shadow Lake CG

Photo 9 - Frosty guarding our campsite

Photo 10 - still smiling at the end of th day at Shadow Lake

#parkscanada #parks
#shadowlake #banffalberta #banffnationalpark #banffcanada #banff #backpacking #camping #lake #egyptlake #Egyptlake  #backcountry #family #familytime #familytime❤️
The trip summaries for Days 10, 11 and 12 from ou The trip summaries  for Days 10, 11 and 12 from our 2021 GDT Section E hike is now up on www.Bootwreckers.com, see link in bio

We had a great end to the trip. Day 9 was a short day from our wild camp on the Bald Hills to Evelyn Crk Campground. Day 10 was a spectacular hike up over Little and Big Shovel Passes to the iconic Jasper Skyline Trail. Camping at Signal Campground. 

Day 11 was an easy walk into Jasper.

The trip was an amazing experience over 11 days, I met and hiked with many people but big props to my kid, who for some reason keeps hiking with me.

Photo 1 - end of hike, looking off into the distance, across th Athabasca River at Cairngorm Mt. 

Photo 2 - morning Bald Hills

Photo 3 - campsite Evelyn Crk CG

Photo 4 - Reading before bed

Photo 5 - fresh bear print on the trail

Photo 6 - Little Shovel Pass

Photo 7 - Snowbowl

Photo 8 - Last grind up to the Notch

Photo 9 - looking east from the Skyline down through Excelsior Creek

Photo 10 At campsite Signal Campground 

See trip reports on our blog, link in bio.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks #teamzpacks #zpacks #duplex #sectionhike #sectionhiker
Day 7 and 8 on our GDT trip from last summer. Day Day 7 and 8 on our GDT trip from last summer.

Day 7 was from Waterfalls CG to a meadow in the Six Passes Route. Was a wet, moist day. Numerous creek crossings. Left the main GDT route at Maligne Pass and went off trail into the Six Passes. 

Spent the first night in an amazing meadow. With rain in the forecast we did 5 passes and the ridge walk in one day.

In one word the day was "Epic" . Was a spectacular journey. Huge day, 23 km and over 1500m up and down. So happy we did it, but we were so relieved to put in the tent somewhere flat.

Picture 1) the view of the Six Passes Route from the top of the first pass

Picture 2) me getting ready to leave Waterfalls CG

Picture 3) crossing a creek on a wet log

Picture 4) camping Six Passes

Picture 5) hiking Six Passes

Picture 6) sunrise pass # 2

Picture 7) it's a rocky climb

Picture 8) mmmm chocolate 

Picture 9) the final ascent on the ridge

Picture 10) happy to be home for the evening

See trip reports on our blog, link in bio.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks #teamzpacks #zpacks #duplex #sectionhike #sectionhiker
First 5 days of my 11 day 2021 Great Divide Trail First 5 days of my 11 day 2021 Great Divide Trail Hike Section E is up on Bootwreckers, see link in bio.

Includes the 2 days I did on Section D but aborted due to smoke.

Picture 1) Camp on Owen Creek
Picture 2) Camp at Lower Michelle Lake
Picture 3) Pinto Pass
Picture 4) hiking up Cataract Creek
Picture 5) Smokey sunrise over the Brazeau River

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks #teamzpacks #zpacks #duplex #sectionhike #sectionhiker
Fun trip out to the Ink Pots in Banff NP on Decemb Fun trip out to the Ink Pots in Banff NP on December 31st.

Was very cold, -30C, but bluebird skies overhead.

Did a little snowshoeing in the meadow.

Saw almost no one above the upper falls at Johnson Canyon.

Fun adventure.

Happy New Year everyone.

#outside, #outsidethebox, #liveoutdoors, #liveoutsidethebox #naturephotography, #naturelovers,  #retiredhusky, #rescuer
#parkscanada #banffnationalpark #banffalberta #banffcanada
#sunstar #sun #lake #sunrise #alpin #scenery #reflectionphotography #reflections #sceneryphotography
Day 6 Section E Great Divide Trail Hike 2021 (Part Day 6 Section E Great Divide Trail Hike 2021 (Part 1)

Fun day on the trail heading from Four Points CG to Waterfalls CG. 

The day started dry but damp from the rainfall overnight. As we left the Brazeau River valley and headed up to Jonas Pass the storm clouds blew in forcing us to get our wet weather gear on. 

I discovered shortly after that it is great to have gloves for hiking, but that they should be accessible, not buried somewhere in the pack.

The storm was quite fierce but luckily brief. We arrived at Jonas pass and were able to put our rain gear away.

The clouds would remain with for the duration of the hike adding some mood to the hike.

This was my second time hiking over Jonas Pass and Jonas Shoulder and both times it has rained.

We arrived at Jonas Shoulder. We took some time to enjoy the view and let off some steam. The rest of the hike would be downhill.

Happy Friday

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks
Waterfall on Owen Creek, Day 1 GDT Section E. Req Waterfall on Owen Creek, Day 1 GDT Section E.

Required a fun bit of scrambling to access.

Happy Friday

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #waterfalls #waterfall #naturephotography #naturephotography #nationalparks
Day 5 GDT 2021 Section E. This day was memorable Day 5 GDT 2021 Section E.

This day was memorable for a few reasons. First waking up to more smoke.

First photo is the sun rising over the mountains at 8:30am, shouldn't really be that red.

Doing the extra distance on day 4 meant that this day I had a 3.1 km hike from Boulder Crk CG to Four Points CG.

I could not extend the day as Emily was joining me on this day coming in from the Nigel Pass trailhead and the next campground on our route would be to far to reach on this day.

When I arrived at Four Points it was just before 8am! Must be my shortest day ever.

I spent the day reading and waiting for Emily. I heard her bear calling down the trail about a minute before she arrived.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Met some some people from Calgary who I had a mutual friend with, he used to be their cross country ski coach.

We went to bed reasonably early as we had a decent day ahead of us tomorrow.

The smoke was lifting as we went to bed. 

The last photo is Links' Happy Badass Bandana. Still miss my little hiking partner.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking
Day 4 Great Divide Trail Section E. Pinto Lakes to Day 4 Great Divide Trail Section E. Pinto Lakes to Boulder Creek CG.

Super fun day full of adventure and a lot of smoke. This was a big day, 32 km over Cataract Pass into the upper reaches of Bourgeau Creek in Jasper NP.

After the clear skies of my astrophotography in the middle of the night I got up at 5am, jst 3 hours after I put the camera away, to join my trail companions Jason and Bent for the day. 

The terrain was suppose to be rugged and the trail a little iffy so I thought it would be good to have some companions. As it was we got took two wrong turns in the first 15 minutes.

After several steam crossings, some with suspect bridge work, finally had to cross a wide stream and get wet feet. I had sandals, but my companions ploughed through so I figured I had to keep up.

I found a rock with ancient Indigenous petroglyphs. It is just off trail, but a good day and a half hike from any road.

We passed from Banff NP to Alberta Parks Wilderness area. There is wild camping in the Wilderness area, but good camping spots are hard to find.

I was going to stop for the day short of Cataract Pass, but it was so smokey I thought I would continue on.

We had lunch at the base of Cataract Pass. I used Frosty Paws as a table for my lunch.

It was such a big day I will conclude the trip in another post.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking
Milky Way and the Persaids Meteor Shower. Pinto La Milky Way and the Persaids Meteor Shower. Pinto Lake

On the night of day 3 I got up at 2am to take photos of the night sky. I was hoping to catch the Milky Way and I knew that the Perseids was going on, so hoping to see both.

I must have seen a good couple of dozen meteors during the hour I was awake.

I went to sleep in my hiking clothes because I knew I was getting up at 2am to take photos then we had a big day ahead of us so the breakfast wake up call was 5am!

I got so lucky with the pictures as in the couple's hours between returning to bed and getting up to start Day 4, the smoke rolled in.

Photo 1 is the Milky Way but no meteor. There are meteors in the following three photos.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #milkyway, #perseidmeteorshower #perseids #nightimephotography #astrophotography
Great Divide Trail Section E, Valley after first p Great Divide Trail Section E, Valley after first pass on the Six Passes route.

New post on www.Bootwreckers.com, preparation and plan for my GDT Section D and E hike for the summer of 2021 (see link in bio)

Learned a lot from last year,  still discovered some new things about hiking and camping.

First post has to do with all aspects of preparation:
- Gear
- Food
- Training
- Itinerary 

The GDT - Where everyday is an adventure.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking
Day 3 of my trip on Great Divide Trail Section E. Day 3 of my trip on Great Divide Trail Section E.

Relatively easy day from Michelle Lakes to Pinto Lake, only over two passes.

I started traveling with two guys I met actually at Yoho a week back, Jason and Bent.

Of course Frosty was on trip, enjoying the early morning at Michelle Lakes.

The first Lake is Upper Michelle Lake.

The photo of me at the pass is at the unofficial names Michelle Pass. Then it was up to Pinto Pass.

I took a one last picture back to Michelle Pass. Last picture is at Pinto Lake.

Great day, only got a little lost.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #zpacks #teamzpacks
Jupiter and 4 little moons First try at astrophot Jupiter and 4 little moons

First try at astrophotography using my camera attached to a telescope, 8" Celeron

Pretty happy with results. Need to research settings for camera to get some colour on Jupiter, but for a first try pretty happy.

Taken from field near Two Jack Lake in Banff NP. Jupiter was over Mt Rundle.

#artofvisual #visualoflife #areyouawake  #earthfocus  #adventurethatislife #createscenery #earthexperience #primeshots #simplyadventure #goparks #wildernessculture #folkscenery #wondersofourplanet #amazingphotohunter #all2epic #milliondollarvisuals #sky_sultans #astrophotography #astronomy
Another photo of the waterfall at Michelle Lakes, Another photo of the waterfall at Michelle Lakes, Day 2 GDT Section E.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #sunstar
#waterfall
#waterfalls
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