Spanning 1,200km (or 750mi) across the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Great Divide Trail is one of the most premier long distance hiking trails in the entire world. Following the divide very closely between Alberta and British Columbia, along the mountain range crest. They call this hike the wildest thru hike for a reason, it's extremely remote, and the conditions are truly challenging given the high elevation and extreme landscape. Similar to how the Continental Divide Trail was 10 or so years ago, the GDT is a collection of existing trails, strung together with cross country and off trail sections to make one long footpath.
My top gear picks for the GDT:
Patagonia Rain Jacket - bit.ly/3ua4k7H
Ursack Major XL Food Bag - amzn.to/47nbfIM
Mosquito Head Net - amzn.to/46bpiAv
Satellite Communicator - amzn.to/3SFnxbt
Our Full Gear Lists for the GDT: www.jupiterhike...
My guide on how to hike the GDT (pictures, stats, gear, and info!)
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Become a member of the GDTA to help grow this amazing trail!
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The Great Divide Trail at a glance:
1,200km (750mi) in length, depending on end point
Grizzly and moose country the entire way
5 National Parks (Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Waterton, and Yoho)
9 Provincial Parks, 4 Wilderness Areas, 4 Forest Districts
2,590m (or 8,500ft) is the high point @ an un-named pass in Section E
1,055m (or 3,500ft) is the low point @ Old Fort Point outside of Jasper
Peak hiking season is from July to September,
30 to 60 days is roughly how long this hike takes depending on experience and fitness
Overall the GDT is one of the most amazing thru hikes you could ever do. Unparalleled scenery, glaciers around every corner, grizzly bears, moose, pika, marmots, exposed alpine meadows and lakes. Ridge walks on loose scree and talus. Off trail travel, bushwhacking, and adventure. Hiking through popular national parks such as Banff and Jasper. It truly is an incredible beast of a hike.
In this video we hike through sections C and D along the Great Divide Trail. Through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Banff National Park, Kootenay National Park, and Yoho National Park. Some of the most popular, and most beautiful places to hike in all of the Canadian Rockies.
Unfortunately due to the volume of visitors in these places, permits are a must, and not easy to acquire. We had to stay at designated campsites on specific dates for every night that we would be in these parks or face a potentially large fine, removal, or making the GDT look bad which could have far reaching consequences for future hikers. The permit process isn't great, but it's for sure worth it to get to hike in these areas and do the GDT.
Hiking through Banff, and past Mt Assiniboine. Entering Kootenay at the Rockwall and Floe Lake. Trekking up the Iceline Trail in Yoho to Kiwetinok Pass. These are some of the most spectacular places in the world, and it's amazing that this trail gets to see them all. And given that these are National Parks, it means that for the most part the trail is actually pretty great! Not too much bushwhacking or weird navigation.
Though parts of the Northover Ridge Alternate, or Kiwetinok Alternate do have some very steep sections on loose scree or talus. Hiking on tiny ridgelines along the mountain divide. Some brushy trail, and some difficult parts to them.... for the most part these sections are great. Still no grizzly bears seen, still no moose. But we did see a porcupine, who stole our gear in the night! I slept through the ordeal while sprocket stayed up to try and fend it off.
In these sections we resupplied in the town of Banff via Sunshine Village and the side trail there. We resupplied in Golden just to the west about an hour of hitch hiking. Alternatively we could have likely resupplied in the tiny town of Field, or hitched east to Lake Louise, but decided that Golden had the most amenities available, and was the least touristy of the three options. At the end of this video we arrive at Sask Crossing (Saskatchewan River Crossing Resort) where we had sent a package of food to ourselves, and could grab a meal at their restaurant before heading north into Jasper National Park.
In the end these Canadian National Parks were even more beautiful than I had remembered and we had a great time hiking through them.
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13 окт 2024
