This post can also be found at Thetrek.co
Our rest day, or Zero day as it is commonly called, was sufficient. We dined well, imbibed and did some ole’ fashion laundry. There was no laundry facility at our hotel, so doing the best we could, we filled the tub, tossed in some detergent tabs and started stomping around in wardrobe soup. Also, lacking a proper dryer, we strung our rope around the room, creating an impromptu clothes line that split the room in two. Ahhh yes, the luxuries of living. The rain fell while we huddled inside, the power went out several times. Simply glad to be dry and in a room.
July 4th: Coleman, AB > Window Mountain Lake. 27km
Departing that dry and warm room was a sad farewell, clouds hid the mountains with a high chance of rain in the afternoon. On we go. Leaving Coleman is a walk along the highway shoulder, up through a quaint neighborhood proudly flying their “I <3 Crowsnest Coal” and “Fuck Trudeau” flags above their yards. The pavement transitions to gravel, winding along forested roads. Several RVs pass us, coming from our destination, in tow with all the fuel burning toys one could adore on muddy backroads. Pulling up alongside us is a yellow Ford explorer, glancing at one another we think “A Ride?”. It’s a local who has lived up the road all his life, he warns us with concern that there have been several grizzlies spotted in the area recently. “Cool!” I say, wanting to see a grizzly myself. Looking at me sternly with a majority of his teeth, he counters “Not Cool. You best be careful. Hope ye got bear spray.” We point to our belts. “Good”. The aged man goes on about a grizzly mother raising one black and one brown cub “If you see those three, I hope you get a picture. You’ll see nothin’ like it again….” Pausing in thought, then “Take care now.” Off he drives.
We have walked 12km on forest roads now, packs loaded down with seven days of food, shoulders aching while UTV after UTV zooms by carrying passengers in neon slickers searching for silty mud and opaque puddles. We reached the trail, but not after making a couple of wrong turns and walking a kilometer in the wrong direction, making it a total of two kilometers back to the correct path. Mohammed, a fellow GDTer joins us, but not for long, he is on day one of his GDT journey, having skipped section A, his pace far outweighs ours.
The single track trail is a relief, the sound of cylinders is muffled by the forest. At last, we are back on a hiking trail. Through clear cuts and along seismic lines we go, walking under the ever darkening sky.
The official GDT route has changed since 2017, the year our maps were last updated, and now is rerouted to include the High Rock Trail (HRT) which takes hikers above treeline to the base of a rock wall, heading north. Misty clouds soon swallowed the vistas that the HRT is known for. With 10 kilometers to our campsite, the rain was upon us. High hopes encouraged us to stay out of our rain gear “it’s a light sprinkle” “it’s just a bit misty, we’re fine” “dress like the weather you want it to be!” Oh my. Silly hikers.
Hanging on to our warm weather mentality.
It was about 5pm when we climbed onto the HRT, the mist was setting in, and, within the hour, deluge.
Misty drops opted for heavier precipitation. Now we listened, putting our rain jacket and pants over damp clothes. Visibility dropped to 50 meters, in the cloud we hiked as the wind and rain bullied us along the scenic trail. The stomach of the sky deity was hungry, rumbling from the skies, at first from afar, but closing in. Streams ran where our trail should be, mud caked our saturated feet as we slipped along. The sky cracked, illuminating the rock wall to our left, a monolith spanning all visible sight. We had no choice but to continue walking, there was no out. Solange’s hip began to twinge with pain, it commonly happens during changes in weather, slowing us down, prolonging our exposure to the storm. I’m cold. My gloves are wet, my fingers are losing feeling. I grow frustrated. “Can you walk any faster?!” I quipped. “No” Solange replies. Knowing that there is no option but to embrace the situation, we gradually walk. Somewhere amongst the rain, my mind and the cold we have gone off trail. I don’t want to be here. Soaked through and freezing. I know Solange is too. Determining the correct way to the trail we begin the off trail sidehill and approach the trial from above, between us is a steep grassy slope. I begin to tread carefully down, but that won’t do. I slip on the grass, begin to slide, hit a fallen log, tumble, and land on my ass in the middle of the trail, water bottles strewn about. I grumble, slowly raising to my feet, leaving some pride in the mud. Solange opts for a smarter alternative, sitting down and using the wet grass as a slide down to the trail.
Mohammed and Solange topping the muddy hill.
Enduring several more hours of heavy rain, the clouds have been wrung out and cease their falling misery. Not far from camp now, our shoes squish with each step. A lake at last. The other GDTers have already set up tents and are eating dinner when we arrive at 9:45pm. Their spirits are not as waterlogged as ours. It wasn’t until we began to set up camp that I realized, apparently Solange had known, that our bags were not waterproof. We erect our wet tent, and assemble our sleeping arrangement. My wet sleeping bag slides from the stuff sack. Solange uses a dry bag. The day will not end.
Our saving grace is our food. We did not spend hundreds of hours on food preparation to create unsatisfactory meals. Spicy Ramen in broth was the sole option to warm our dampened spirits. We dined with thanks, the rain had stopped. Finishing our meals, I volunteered to place our food in the bear lockers which sat nicely in bitter cold shin deep water. Wading in slowly, I made it 15 meters to the lockers. First Locker, full. So was the second. A random locker it is then. Whether through pity or praise, the gods smiled down on us as I opened the bear locker. It was not empty. Staring back at me from the center of the locker sat a glass bottle, nearly full, of Elijah Craig small batch bourbon. The tonic for saturated souls, a warming jacket of the frozen. I returned to the shore with the treasure, toasting to completing a day of misery, we took a swig. The bourbon warmed us from tongue to tummy, easing our pain, a lullaby for sleep.
Notable Features: wrong turns, rain-rain-rain, wet pack, whiskey!, swollen knee.
July 5th Window Mountain Lake > Atlas Road / Dutch Creek Junction. 25km.
We awoke to a blue sky. Thank goodness. Today would be better. A late start and we started hiking at 10:40, after yesterday's beating, we allowed ourselves the comfort of sleeping in and taking things slow. My knee was beginning to be more troublesome, not so much on the up or flat, but the down. How had I messed it up? I was uncertain. Section B turned out to be the antithesis of flat, an elevation profile reveals an erratic irregular heartbeat that the finest pacemaker couldn’t settle. In other words, my knee would be put to the test. Today 1200 meters up, 1600 meters down. The summits clung to their snowy caps, each pulled down over their ears, meaning we had bottomless trudging through slippery snow. My knee began to give me grief and occupied a place in the corner of my mind. The twinge grew more intense during the day seeding doubts of a successful trip. It’s easy to get caught up in a negative thought cycle. My mind swirled, with each consecutive slip of the feet, my knee’s seeds grew. Coming down the second hill, or perhaps third, of the day I went to cross a snow bridge over a creek, the water was clearly audible under the snow. The trail was covered, but footprints guided us along, bringing us to this bridge and further, I crossed. My last step to the other side and I fell through, one leg on the bridge, one on the other side. I performed my one and only ever gymnastics move, a near splits in unison with a faceplant and soaked foot. Like yesterday, I groaned as I crawled up. This damn trail is beating the shit out of me. That was enough, I resorted to an advil, I didn’t want the pain anymore.
A large descent led us to a snowless, replanted clearcut. We felt like giants towering above the cohort of trees, standing about 1.5 meters tall. A trail junction with a logging road coerced us into stopping for lunch before our next climb. I was feeling pretty beat up after the last 36 hours, was I going to make the 900 kilometers of hiking? At lunch we pored over our maps. At this point we had more or less given up map and compass navigation, the trail was hard enough as it is and we already hiked all day, we didn’t need more complications. Lunch was over, our pepperoni stick and hummus wrap with a sprinkle of goldfish hit the spot.
Standing up and turning around, I froze. “Guys. Guys!” I whispered, “Look”. There roaming among the young trees was a grizzly bear. We all stopped and watched as it carried on. Had it seen us? Does it know we are here?! I was sure that it knew exactly where we were, how could it not? We were by no means quiet while eating lunch. My bear tour self emerged, ensuring that everyone stayed quiet and still. The bear was going to cross the road right in front of us and sure as hell, it did. 40 meters away the magnificent bear walked into the road, looked over at us and continued on, not changing its gait, not missing a stride, looking at all of us dead on.
I was revitalized, my moral compass upended, this is why I am out here. All the suffering, rain, and cold was worth it for those few seconds. To be in the WILD, to walk with bears, to be at the mercy of the natural world. Holding reverence for the wild, we challenged ourselves in its arena, not to win or conquer, but to test ourselves, to prove that WE are able.
It lifted my spirits immensely. In the Wilderness, no barrier separating, to look upon a grizzly while it looks at you. Amazing.
Notable Features: swollen knee, advil, grizzly, fell through snow bridge, forests.
July 6: Atlas Road / Dutch Creek Junction > Hidden Creek. 25km.
Today was emotionally hard. I doubted my ability due to my knee, the rain was incessant (It’s July!!!) and eventually got cold.
Today we climbed Tornado Pass and descended the other side, that is about it. A long up paired with its partner, long down. We crossed a stream several times while hiking up, eventually coming to snow within the old forest. Laid in the snow were two sets of wolf tracks, clear as day, they could’ve been from this morning. One of them had paws that were as large as Solange’s hand!
Rising above the trees, the pass became clear. We needed to cross two residual avalanche paths before arriving at the base of the steep climb. The avalanche paths, although perhaps crossable, were too risky to be crossed. Without an ice axe, one slip would send us sliding hundreds of feet. A risk not worth the reward. We scrambled up alongside the snow on loose cobbles and stone, shifting under each step, occasionally sending a rock down towards Solange. We clambered on offset from then on. More than halfway up the rocks we looked down to realize our mistake, if we had gone below the snow, rather than above, we could be walking on a trail and not this loose sharp collection of cobbles. No turning back now. We find that once above the snow we needed to follow a goat trail along the tops of abrupt drops. I wouldn’t call these cliffs exactly, for they were four or so meters tall, but the trails were thin on the loose rock. No slipping here. Carefully stepping along, I slid once and jumped onto my other foot. Heart racing, I teetered across to a safe resting place. Solange’s turn. She does the same, more methodical, crossing with grace.
Nearing the final climb of Tornado Pass
We scrambled to the top, once again climbing on all fours. Fortunately the aspect of the pass was south facing and there was no snow. Every pass has two sides, this one had a north face, and cresting the top I yell with excitement “Whoooooo!!! We did it!” In a few more steps, I shout again “Noooooo!! Why?! Aagghhhh” A cornice settled nicely covered the shoulder of the slope. When Solange arrives, she is also not impressed with the cornice. Fortunately it doesn’t cover the entire shoulder of the slope and we walk up and around it.
Solange completing Tornado Pass ascent, tired.
The descent begins. More mist, this time coming up from the valley. Rain starts as we descend. Nearly like day one all over. Residual snow covers the bottom third of our descent, seeing someone else had glissaded, we chose to as well. The 50 meter glissade brought unconquerable smiles to our wet faces. Just the fun we needed.
I need to remember that this is what I want to do, where I want to be. Although it hurts, I need to improve my gratitude while out here.
Notable Features: wolf prints, glissade, tornado pass, avy debris.
July 7: Hidden Creek > Memory Lake. 24km.
Another day filled with ups and downs. Section B is more physically demanding than section A, better trail conditions, but more elevation change. Today my knees gave me more grief than ever. I must’ve been overcompensating with my left leg and now the interior quad muscle hurts more than I ever knew a muscle could hurt. I limp along, no longer maintaining a regular gait. Other than my knees, the day was amazing. Alpine meadows, lush forests, and gushing streams. The weather was splendid and could not have been better.
We took a leisurely lunch in an open pasture by a creek, ensuring to get in a good bath before continuing. Sunny Alpine kilometers were the first of the hike. We didn’t make it to our intended camp. Both too banged up and exhausted to carry on. I winced with each step, the pain detracting from the day. We went to bed early, setting an alarm for 6am to make up for the lost kilometers that we were unable to complete today.
Notable Features: giant cirques, alpine meadows, warm, lots of elevation.
July 8: Memory Lake > Etherington Creek. 30km.
To our west lay a wall of monoliths, cirques and sheer 1000’ tall walls.
It was our biggest day yet, covering 30 kilometers. The elevation let up and we felt in better shape than the day prior. We walked along ridges that parallel landscapes that define the Canadian Rockies. Huge monoliths, cirques and cliffs reaching upwards of several hundred meters. It was amazing to reflect on where we had come, using peaks as landmarks and discerning our route. “We went over that hill, down the valley, up to the base of that cliff…” Our directions were all relative to landscape features now, no longer the names of streets and towns. Our perception of travel and direction was tuning to the land. Most of the day was spent on ridges with views of the impressive geology.
My leg became worse as the day went on, eventually bending it at all became a pain. At lunch I was able to massage it for a period of time, eventually loosening the muscle and allowing me to walk at a more regular speed. Lunch was taken near Lost Creek Camp, a seasonal hunting camp, which was festooned with relics of the field. Lasso’s, ropes, chairs, axes, fire pit and grill, skulls and moose paddles. It was fun to poke around and admire a collection of objects in the middle of the woods.
Some of the ornaments at Lost Creek Camp
We would have liked to stay at the camp, but our lack of distance traveled didn’t agree with our schedule. We carried on. I’ll be massaging my legs three times per day now to keep me walking at a semi-normal speed. We’re nearly done with section B. A much needed rest day is coming up.
The day was so long that it all blends together, today was yesterday, yesterday today.
Notable Features: Lynx, dry feet, alpine meadows, ridge views, larches.
July 9th: Etherington Creek > Weary Creek. 29km.
Awaking to the sounds of birds and a woodpecker hammering at the tree we slept under, we felt well rested. Something about coming to the end of section B had put a pep in our step and had us feeling rejuvenated or perhaps excited to have a rest day. Although today was another long day, 29km, there is only one, yes ONE, pass to climb before we finish off section B! My legs felt good in the morning, Solange felt good. Our energy had us pushing hard for the end.
The dry single log crossing
Awaking to dry feet was also special, a rarity with snow and stream crossings. So when we came to a stream crossing where a bridge had deteriorated to a single elevated log, I chose to take the gamble, either make it across dry or fall off and get wet. I continued to enjoy my dry shoes, while Solange waded across the creek and crawled through the thicket of willows. Up we went, the top of Fording River Pass in our sights.
The wet willow crossing
By 1pm we were atop the gusty pass, looking back into Alberta and ahead to BC. Like a cherry atop a pie, a shallow lake crowned the pass. We jumped in for a nice alpine dip in the little water body celebrating the summit of our only elevation of the day.
Although we were heading down the rest of the day, it didn’t mean things would get easier. The bottom of the pass had a hydrological maze awaiting. Trails washed out, mudslides and rocky flood plains made it near impossible to stay on route, occasionally making a foray up the steep banks only to learn that the game trail petered out after a short distance. All we knew is that we needed to make it downstream, crossing the knee to thigh deep river several times. This was our biggest river crossing yet, one that required us to find a proper crossing where the water wasn’t too fast or current too strong. Scouring up and down the bank we were able to find our five crossings, although we later learned that only two crossings were needed.
At Aldridge Creek campsite we took a break, recovering after the river toyed with us. There was a spot of cell service, learning that one of our reservations for the next section had been refunded due to the trail being closed. A wrench in the plans. That was neither here nor there, well, it was there, but we’ll deal with that later.
The Parks Service has closed Floe Lake due to inadequate, severe, conditions…Another detour, good thing we’re well versed.
We scooted the last 8km down the forest service road to Weary Creek (aptly named) where we would camp. Our Zero day relied on it being a busy road and we would hitch the 30km to Kananaskis where we would rest for the day. During our walk down the 8km of road we saw three trucks on the road, definitely a busy road, fantastic.
Notable Features: alpine swimming, end of B, wonderful day, happy, river crossings.
July 10: Weary Creek > Mt. Sarrail. 32km
A Zero day?! No Way!
The previous night, Saturday, we saw three trucks driving around. One truck passed us at 8:30 this morning just before we were to set off. Turns out the road is not so busy on Sunday morning. With no vehicles coming or going, we had no choice but to begin our walk. Rather than rest all day and hitch the “busy” road to our next site, we had to start walking. The road was mildly entertaining, we saw plenty of ground squirrels, a few GDT southbound bikers, but besides that we were walking the road. Boredom brings out the loopy personality that is within all of us, singing songs with no coherent meaning, entertaining ideas that are inconceivable in a normal mental state, and using the middle of the road as your music festival dancing grounds. It also turns out that when you want to hear tires tearing down a gravel road, other sounds begin to sound the same, such as creeks and wind through the trees. We were let down a lot. Three hours and 10km into our walk, I turned around to ask Solange to stop singing her whack song. My eyes catch something else. A dust cloud behind a brilliant white four-wheeled steed, a Toyota Tacoma. “CAR!!” Solange whips around, our thumbs shooting up faster than Kerouac’s in the beat era.
Dance like nobody is watching
We hitched a ride, skipping the next 12km of road walking. Our plans for a Zero day were hardly plans at all because the road didn’t travel to our destination and we did indeed need to cross a pass in order to reach Mt. Sarrail. After a short stint of confusion of the whereabouts of our resupply box at “Elk Lakes”, on the British Columbia side, or at “Elk Lakes Trailhead”, on the Alberta side, we reached our resupply contact via InReach confirming that it was indeed on the Alberta side. Phew. It was 1pm and we took off over the pass.
Mt. Sarrail campsite awaited us, a beautiful little spot in K-Country (Kananaskis). After setting up our tent and stashing our food, there was one thing left to do. Hitch to the store for ice cream and pizza. An easy hitch and we were ordering our ice cream, a double scoop that triumphed over all double scoops, it was massive! One of my scoops fell off onto the picnic table, and with the intention of not losing out on an entire scoop, I grabbed the scoop like a baseball, squishing it back into place atop the waffle cone. No shame in that.
Hitched another ride to the trading post where we bought HUGE double ice creams, one for our driver (Happy Birthday!), then we got a slice of shitty, yet delicious frozen pizza and terrible yet satisfying hot dogs.
Our Zero day turned into a 20km day, we were able to secure three hitches, saving about 20km of walking. We didn’t quite get to rest as much as we anticipated or hoped, but the hitching, ice cream, pizza, hot dog and juice made it a wonderful day. We resupplied, reweighting our packs with 8 days of food. Section B was actually complete this time, unlike yesterday. Now we’re off through the National Parks and on our way home, to Golden for a real couple of much-needed Zero days.
Notable Features: Hitching x3, movie, junk food, ice cream
