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Great Divide Trail Hike – Section C 2020

Wolf at Egypt Lake

I learned about the Great Divide Trail after our Assiniboine trip in 2019. My Viewranger App (Android Version) had a the main trail that we followed highlighted in brown. The brown trail extended north and south of where we hiked at Assiniboine and when enlarged I was able to read the words Great Divide Trail. A little bit of searching and I discovered that I had a long distance trail right in my own backyard.

The GDT showing up on my Viewranger App. It was how I discovered the trail.

Hiking long distance trails had become a topic in the family. I had a subscription to Backpacker magazine where they would highlight/idolize long distance hikes and thru hiking. Emily had completed a solo trip of the John Muir Trail in 2016, section hiked the Te Araroa and has plans to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. We had all watched the movies Wild and A Walk in the Woods. Plus in 2018 Emily and I had spent 14 days hiking the GR20 in Corsica.

The knowledge of having a major long distance hike running through my backyard was very exciting. It was time to start doing some research. In September of 2019 I picked up a copy of Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail by author Dustin Lynx (side note: I taught both of Dustin’s kids at high school, math and physics). I knew I could never hike the entire trail in one go. I teach summer school in July and there would not be enough time before I had to return to school for the new year. More importantly, I had never hiked more than 14 days so scaling up to the 45 days necessary to hike the GDT would be challenging. Section hiking the GDT would be a great option as it would allow me the flexibility to explore the trail over several years while allowing time in the summer for other hikes and adventures.

During the initial planning stage a caretaker at the school who had done a lot of hiking in the past, including the GDT, recommended the book Backpacking the Canadian Rockies – High Summer by Chris Townsend. This is the same fellow who lent me the copy of No Picnic on Mt Kenya which we read during our hike on the GR20. I photocopied part of the book by Chris Townsend for us to read during our trip on the Arizona Trail. The book was captivating as Chris Townsend is both an experienced hiker and a gifted storyteller. High Summer is a must read for any GDT enthusiast. When Chris Townsend hiked the GDT in the late 80’s there was no unified trail and he hiked it all the way to the Northwest Territories.

We have a saying as far as trip planning goes: “things don’t get real until dad has a spreadsheet”. I like to put things down and visualize how things are going to play out. Sometimes I feel I walk the entire hike before we actually set boots on the trail. I purchased the guide book on September 14th and by the 26th I had created a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet comprised the hiking plan, a to do list, and a packing list that also calculates weight. I have tried to minimize the weight that I carry since I start with a 6 lbs penalty due to the camera gear that I carry.

Once I had the hike planned the next hurdle would be to book the campsites. As we were hiking the section of the GDT that passes through one of the most highly trafficked areas of the national parks I would have to be quick on the online booking. When the online booking system opened on January 22nd I successfully booked everything.The one hitch was that our first of two nights at Egypt Lake was in the Egypt lake Shelter. Egypt Lake campsites were all booked up for the date I wanted 10 minutes after the online booking opened! This would not become a problem until May, when Parks Canada shut down all the shelters due to Covid restrictions.

We changed plans due to the loss of the 1st night at Egypt Lake and decided to do two nights at Mt Assiniboine. This meant trying to move our Howard Douglas booking by one day. I checked the booking system multiple times a day looking for an opening at Howard Douglas. It only took a few weeks before there was an opening for the date we wanted.

Getting myself physically ready is very simple living in Canmore. I would do hikes up and down Mt Lady MacDonald or Grotto Mt carrying a 50 lbs a couple times a week to go along with my daily runs starting as soon as the snow melted off the trails in April. I had a few challenges during our hike but physical fitness was not one of them.

Emily’s note: I was at university and working that summer in Kelowna, where the heat in July/August got so high I could barely hike. I took to going running early in the morning, and on the rare days I woke up to a cloudy sky I booked it outside to the nearest mountain to get as much elevation in before the clouds burned off and it got too hot to move. I was a little nervous that dad would be far ahead of me fitness-wise, but we seemed to make it through alright on that front.

My original plan for resupplies was to carry 7 days of food to arrive at the parking lot for Floe Lake where we would take on the resupply for the remaining 8 days to take us to Saskatchewan River Crossing. Emily went behind my back and organized a resupply for Field, which reduced the second stretch from one 8 day stretch to a 3 and 5 day stretch. Link to the Resupply Plan.

An unexpected challenge came up when I went to purchase our dried meals for the trip. Due to a few reasons—but mostly Covid—there was very little freeze dried food available at any of the local retailers or online. This was cause for panic as we had less than two weeks before our departure date. I purchased what I could locally and put in an order online with a national retailer, but we were about 5 meals short for both of us. The solution was simple, as Emily had bought me a food dryer for my birthday. We both dried some homemade meals to make up for the shortfall. I was totally impressed how the little dryer handled drying the entire meals. The weight on the cannelloni went from 700 g to just over 200 g after drying. Given more time I would definitely make more homemade meals. When re-hydrating on the trail we purposely ate a store purchased meal on the first night and then reused the empty bags to re-hydrate our homemade meals to keep from having to dirty the our pot. I have learned since returning home that there is a company in Canmore that prepares backcountry dried meals, Peak Eats. I will definitely be purchasing meals produced locally for my future backpacking trips.

Emily’s note: I had some experience with dehydrating meals before, since I did all my meals for the JMT. Still, then I’d always used recipes from a backpacking cookbook, with meals designed to be dehydrated. It was pretty neat to just dehydrate our own meals and see how well they worked.

A short movie summarizing our 10 days on the Great Divide Trail.
A short movie summarizing our 10 days on the Great Divide Trail.
A short movie summarizing our 10 days on the Great Divide Trail.
Drying Cannelloni.

Once I got around to packing the food I got concerned because most of what I had read and been told was that you should plan for about 2 lbs of food per day. After packing up our food I discovered that we were well under the 2 lb guideline. My solution was simple as I just added more food. We ended up with way too much food on the first leg. This was a good problem to have but quite amusing as we watched our food bags not decrease nearly as fast as they should have. I should have trusted what I had packed to begin with which was based on my previous backpacking trips.

The Great Mistake of the trip came just a week before we planned to leave. After a short day hike I noticed that my Salomon hiking shoes had a hole in the material over the toes. In Canmore we have a shoe repair store, Comfy Shoes, but I needed the shoes in less than a week. I should have gone and pleaded my case for an emergency repair but I didn’t. I went to the local hiking store but they did not have my shoes and they were not available. I had been thinking of switching from Salomon because I was not a big fan of the quick lace system. I have been wearing Salomon’s for about 6 years, first a pair of boots then hiking shoes. Never had I had a blister so less than a week before a major hike was a bad time to switch brands, but I did. I switched to a pair of hiking Keen Targhee shoes. I went on a couple hikes up Grotto Mt and except for a bit a rubbing on the soles of my feet they felt fine. The decision to switch not only footwear but brands right before an extended hike would have dire consequences for my both my feet and the trip.

Emily’s note: While not so dramatic as dad’s, I also had some footwear issues that summer. I got a pair of Oboz’s in May, but by mid-July it became evident that all my efforts to break them in were futile. After an aborted two-night overnight where I bailed due to large blisters after one day, I went back to MEC and picked up a reliable pair of Salomon X-Ultra shoes. The pickings weren’t as good this year, due to COVID impacting production, so I had to get a slightly different version than my ideal. The only ones available were the Gore-Tex quick-lace version. I prefer non-Gore-Tex since they dry faster, and I just don’t like the Salomon quick-lace, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky. The X-Ultra has served me well on several trips and I knew I’d be best off with a familiar model. So while I hadn’t changed brands right before the trip, I still had two-week old shoes when we started, so my future foot issues were probably at least partially due to the shoes not being broken in before the trip. Definitely by the end of the trip my blisters had mostly cleared up, while dad’s only got worse due to the unfamiliar shoes.

The trip did not work out as planned. Due to the condition of my feet we ended up stopping at Field after 10 days on the trail. It was a fantastic trip full of adventures and great people. What we/I learned will help make future trips more successful. Our 2021 Trip from Field to Jasper is already planned (you can see a tab for it on the bottom of the Excel sheet).

A short movie summarizing our 10 days on the Great Divide Trail.

Link to what I packed and weights.

What we/I learned:

  • Less food, we barely touched our dried fruit, did not need “extra” Logan Bread snacks
  • Shoes must be at least 1 month old and have been on at least one hike of 8 hours in length
  • Do not switch brands of shoes a week before trip
  • Keep days to under 25km if at all possible. Attempt to start with a couple of medium days, in the mid teens in terms of distance, to work into the hike
  • On long backpacking trips, have full strapped sandals that can be used to hike in on flat/easy trail, help allow the feet to keep cool
  • Bring full rolls of blister tape to start hike. White tape for blisters, clear tape to shield toes from white tape
  • Have a paper map of each section. Mark up with potential campsites for Wild Camping sections
  • Physical preparation was perfect. Using a 45lbs pack and 600m – 800m elevation trips up Mt Lady MacDonald or Grotto Mt twice a week. No muscle soreness at all on trip
  • For summer in the Canadian Rockies, have horsefly repellent
  • Summer in the Canadian Rockies means possibilities of near zero morning temperatures, need adequate warm clothing
  • Carrying a near 50 lbs pack (complete with camera gear) is not a big deal with good physical preparation.
  • Read the guidebook description of the coming day to uncover any unique details. The section from Og Lake to Citadel Pass is listed in the guidebook as dry, wish I had read that before we had to ration our water as we hiked up Citadel Pass in the afternoon sun.
  • We might be able to hike at 5kph in good terrain, but rely on a 3kph average over the whole day. It just seems to work out that way, however carefully we schedule our breaks
  • Tap heels on first day to prevent blisters
Our favourite blister tape.

Day 1 GDT Section C 2020 – Upper Kananasksis Lake to Wild Camp Palliser Pass

Day 2 GDT Section C 2020 – Wild Camp Palliser Pass to Big Springs CG

Day 3 GDT Section C 2020 – Big Springs CG to Lake Magog CG

Day 4 GDT Section C 2020 – Niblet and Nublet, Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park

Day 5 GDT Section C 2020 – Lake Magog CG to Howard Douglas CG

Day 6 GDT Section C 2020 – Howard Douglas CG to Egypt Lake CG

Day 7 GDT Section C 2020 – Egypt Lake CG to Floe Lake CG

Day 8 GDT Section C 2020 – Floe Lake CG to Tumbling Creek CG

Day 9 GDT Section C 2020 – Tumbling Creek CG to McArthur Creek CG (Draft)

Day 10 GDT Section C 2020 – McArthur Creek CG to Ottertail Creek Trail Head (Draft)

2 thoughts on “Great Divide Trail Hike – Section C 2020”

  1. Oliver says:
    July 27, 2021 at 9:55 pm

    Where’s day 9 and 10? Eagerly awaiting. Your series is very thorough, we are glad to have found it. This hike will be the first “long” backpack for my wife, and definitely the longest I have ever done. This is great prep.

    Reply
    1. Ian says:
      July 29, 2021 at 9:45 am

      I will let my daughter know we have people waiting. She has to add her comments 🙂

      Glad you have found the series informative.

      If you have any questions, please ask.

      ian

      Reply

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bootwreckers

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
Campsite at Lower Michelle Lakes, Day 2 GDT Sectio Campsite at Lower Michelle Lakes, Day 2 GDT Section E.

Scored the best campsite on the trip at Lower Michelle Lakes. Had more own personal waterfall. Frosty as always had the best spot.

Spent the day relaxing, reading and watching the helicopter activity. 

Started the next day hiking with Jason and Bent who camped by Upper Michelle Lakes and did not know about the waterfall.

#greatdivide #greatdividetrail #gdt #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #thruhiking #outside #backpacking #zpacks #teamzpacks
Morning at Ball Pass Junction, west end of Haiduk Morning at Ball Pass Junction, west end of Haiduk Peak.  Day 3 of our hike around the Egypt Lake area. Thrilled with the colours of the morning sky.

We had some rain overnight, but not much. The clouds lifted off later in the morning. 

Another great day on the trail with @sio.mellors

#parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #sunset #shadowlake #Egyptlake #banffalberta #banffnationalpark #banffcanada
Evening at Shadow Lake, Banff NP. Super fun 4 day Evening at Shadow Lake, Banff NP.

Super fun 4 day hike with @sio.mellors thought the trails around Egypt Lake area.

Shadow Lake was our first evening and was a lovely place to watch the sunset.

 #parkscanada #parks #bcparks #trails #longdistancehike #longtrail #outdoors #outside #thruhike #hike #sunset #shadowlake #Egyptlake #banffalberta #banffnationalpark #banffcanada #reflection #reflections
Day 1 Great Divide Trail Section E 2021, Saskatche Day 1 Great Divide Trail Section E 2021, Saskatchewan River Crossing to Upper Owens Creek.

First day of my 11 day hike from Sask River Crossing to Jasper. I was solo for the first 5 days before being joined my my daughter at Four Points CG.

This was only day I actuall slept on my own.

I left Sask River Crossing at 12:30pm followed an old road that intersected th GDT just past the park gates.

Hiked until about 6:30pm as I wanted to camp near tree line for a clear view of th nights sky. The sky was clear and the Perseids Meteor shower was on and did not disappoint 

Photo 1) my tent and the Milky Way

Photo 2) Me getting ready to  head out

Photo 3) view looking West along th north Saskatchewan River

Photo 4) water dropping into the canyon on Owens Creek

Photo 5) the slide that gave people grief earlier in the summer was passable at creek level

Photo 6) the confluence was a mess a hard going

Photo 7) nice waterfall after th confluence

Photo 8) little Canyon near upper reaches of th creek

Photo 9) dinner cooking in th kitchen

Photo 10) Frosty Paws, me and my tent

Was a great day out on th trail.

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