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Day 2 – Colorado River Trip 2015

An amazing panel of pictographs at Big Bottom (across from Lathrop Canyon).

Day 2 Little Bridge Canyon to Camp at south/western end of First Loop of The Loop, 21 miles, 8 hrs 45 min.

We camped at the small canyon at mile 9. The black line at mile 11 is the Hike Over the Loop Trail. The miles indicate the distance to the confluence with the Green River.

This was a big day with lots of stops and big mileage. I am not sure why I pushed our mileage so hard as the 21 mile day left us with just 13 miles for the last day. There were numerous campsites we could have stopped at which would have cut a few miles off of the this day without turning day 3 into a marathon. I remember there being some mutinous overtones in the boat near the end of the day which were quelled by a glorious campsite and dinner.

Making breakfast. Have no idea what I was frying up. Have my jammie bottoms on over top of my hiking pants, must be chilly.

Looking back on the trip I remember a mistake I made was that I forgot to bring sugar for the morning coffee. To add a little sweetness to the coffee we tried dropping some of our chocolate, mini Mars bars, into the coffee. I recall that the caramel in the Mars bars not dissolving too well and leaving a sticky sludge in the bottom of the coffee cups.

Siobhan looking good after a long nights sleep. Drying the fly before packing it up. In the desert you have to be very careful where you toss the fly or the tent down.
The orange glow of the morning sun reflecting off the red rocks (Siobhan photo)
Fun looking rock outside of camp.
Tent all packed away.
Dad doing the work. Like that large cacti just off the trail. (Siobhan photo)
Where we had Terry our toilet set up. One of the best views from a toilet ever.

We were in the canoes and out onto the river by 9:25 am, not exactly an alpine start. Our first destination would be petroglyphs at Lockhart Canyon a little over 3 miles down river.

All ready to go. Mikah has the river map to know where to go, I have the guidebook and camera ready to go. Sure hope we do not capsize the canoes as nothing is tied in.
Looking back to Little Bridge Canyon.
Drying the dishcloths. Happy start to the day.
Early morning reflections.

Sometime during the morning some park rangers passed us in a motor boat. The rangers drew up close by and asked for the name of the permit holder. I shouted back and could see the ranger typing into what appeared to be an onboard computer. They gave a friendly wave and wished us a pleasant trip. I was pretty impressed that we had a permit checked on the river. I have hiked and camped through Canadian National Parks for a decade and have only ever once had my permit checked once and here we were on day 2 of our trip and we already had our permit checked. We would run into the rangers a couple more times on the trip.

Never get tire of the layers.
On the ground at Lockhart Canyon.
Petroglyph panel.
Close up of the panel. Unfortunately some people have added there own doodles and markings.
It was a bit of a fight to get back to the canoes.
Not an ideal way to secure our canoe. The water jugs are convenient but should be secured to trees.

We spent about 25 minutes exploring Lockhart Canyon before returning to the river. Our next destination would be Big Bottom where there was suppose to be pictographs, petroglyphs and Anasazi ruins. It was an easy 3 mile float down the river to Big Bottom. We had the canoes safely secured, we thought, by 12:35 pm. Big Bottom did not disappoint.

Inspiring scenery.
It is hard to see but we have attached the canoes to our water jugs again. Wait to see what happens. Lesson learned. The picture is Photoshopped, I removed someone from the picture.

Tamarisks choked off much of the shoreline around Big Bottom but there were landing points right at the beginning and in the middle of Big Bottom. We chose to stop at the beginning were there was an obvious landing point complete with trail. There are many trails crisscrossing the area but they all lead to the many sights of interest that dot Big Bottom. Big Bottom is probably the place on our trip that had the most points of interest.

Siobhan happy to find a panel of rock art with three faces.
Mikah looking up at another painting high on the cliff.
Looking back across the river. Just on the right you can see some green through the cliffs. The green is Lathrop Canyon. There is a trail to hike out of the canyon back to the top of the rim.
Fun little window.
Mikah dong a bit of rock climbing.
Siobhan just taking in the view.
An amazing set of ruins. It is called a moki (moqui) house in the guidebook.
It is pretty big, but really if it is a dwelling, it is not so big.
An amazing panel with quite a few different pictures.
Hands frozen in time.
That these hands once belong to people who lived here, hundreds if not thousands of years ago is quite awe inspiring.
This is biological soil crust. These black mounds are living organisms. In desert environments hikers are asked to stick to existing trails to avoid damaging the living organisms in the crust that can take decades to regenerate after just one errant foot step. To learn more visit NPS article at Biological Soil Crust of Southeast Utah.

We spent an amazing 40 minutes exploring the area at Big Bottom. But we had a long way to go on this day so we headed back to the canoes and were greeted by a little surprise.

Hmmm, that is not how we left our canoes. The park rangers who were in the area passed by our canoes and took the time to properly secure our
canoes to the trees on the shoreline. Lesson learned for us.
Back on the water
This rock is on the east side of the river about 2 miles from Big Bottom and is aptly named Coffee Pot Rock. If you look closely at the base of the coffee pot on the left, you can see an Anasazi Granary.
One of two granaries on Coffee Pot Rock. Now how did they access the granary?
I still remember taking this photo. My kids probably think I am nuts, but I loved the way the column on the right had collapsed breaking the nice lines of the strata.
This is passing by Sheep Bottom (on the right). I need to look up why the bright white line has not been stained red by the rock above. One possible explanation is the pores in the limestone are large and allow the iron washing down from above to pass through.

Our next stop would be at Indian Creek to see some more Anasazi structures. It would be about 3 pm when we arrived and knowing that we still had a few hours to go was starting to cause stress among the crew.

Ok, so we used the water jugs again. There were no trees available.
A tamarisk free zone. Does not provide much for tying the canoes to. But with such a sunny day I was not overly worried about flash floods.
The ruins in the cliffs high above.
Mikah made their way up the ruins for a closer look.
I followed Mikah’s lead to get a better look at the ruins.

We kept our stay at Indian Creek was kept short as it was getting hot on the shore. The temperature on the water was much cooler. A couple of miles after Indian Creek while making a long left hand bend we came to the mouth of Monument Creek. Looking high on the cliffs we could see a couple of Anasazi structures.

Mikah looking up at the Anasazi structures.
A second structure just right of centre.
Back on the river, 4:20 pm. That is one big wall.
I remember this rock, it reminded me of the Starship USS Enterprise.

We had one more stop to make before we made camp. At the beginning of a river feature called The Loop there is a break in the high cliffs which after a quick scramble provides a look over the other side. We tied up the canoes once more and headed up for a look. It took us about 15 minutes to work our way up to get a view of the other side.

Good docking at The Loop.
Trail is up the drainage and to the right.
View where we will still have to paddle today.
We would get another look at this spire tomorrow from the river on the other side.
The other side. Nice to have an elevated view.
Another view of the other side.
Heading back down again.

It was another two miles to where we would camp. I did not mark it on the map but in the guidebook on page 239 it mentioned “When you reach the western part of the first full bend of The Loop and begin to head south, there are several good campsites upon ledges with no tamarisks on the right or west bank.” We would go all the way to southern end of the first loop and camp in a small canyon at mile 9 on the map (indicating 9 miles to the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers). While nerves where getting a little frayed it was a beautiful campsite. We had the tent set up by 6:30 pm and were eating dinner, pasta and sausages, by 6:55 pm.

6:40 pm and the tent is all set up.
Siobhan waiting patiently, maybe, for dinner.
As good as it gets in the backcountry.
Siobhan digging into her pot of dinner.

After dinner but before we went to bed a guy in a small motor boat chugged past our campsite in the dark. Other than the park rangers he was the only person we saw on the river during our trip. Good night from The Loop.

Day 3 Colorado River Trip 2015

Home Colorado River Trip 2015

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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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