by Brian Patton | Mar 17, 2020 | backpacking, Canadian Rockies, canadian rockies trail guide, gear, hiking, technology
A veteran solo backpacker looks back to a decade of exploration on the remote trails of Banff, Jasper and the Willmore Wilderness and provides useful tips for today’s wilderness travellers. Back before there were text-enabled GPS units, solar panels with power...
by Brian Patton | Mar 12, 2020 | backpacking, Home page News, Jasper National Park
Winter is finally losing its grip on the Canadian Rockies. The first robins have made an appearance, not to mention the first grizzly bears. It won’t be long until we hear the sound of the first mosquitoes buzzing in our ears. Even if you’re not looking forward...
by Brian Patton | Feb 26, 2020 | backpacking, Banff National Park, canadian rockies trail guide, Home page News
Gavin Fitch is a lawyer in Calgary, the President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and a self-described “hardcore crazy backpacker”. As an active backpacker plying the remote valleys of the mountain parks over the past decade, he has experienced...
by Brian Patton | Nov 27, 2018 | backpacking, Canadian Rockies, Jasper National Park
Five intrepid backpackers celebrate the end of a hot, smoky summer with a soggy ten-day trek from the North Saskatchewan River to Maligne Lake on the Great Divide Trail. Fog, drizzle, rain, sleet, snow! Jim Shipley and his buddies did something this summer that I...
by Brian Patton | Nov 16, 2018 | backpacking, Banff National Park
The old trail to Castleguard Meadows via the Alexandra and Castleguard Rivers is a tough slog. But those who make it there, either by the fading trail or over the Saskatchewan Glacier, will never forget this remarkable region. Finding the way on this remote route,...
by Brian Patton | Jul 1, 2018 | backpacking, Canadian Rockies, hiking, Home page News, Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park
Last July 1st, blog correspondent Jim Shipley and his buddy Frank hiked to the top of The Nub in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park to celebrate Canada 150. As Jim’s photo attests, it was a little bit snowy backpacking into the park via Bryant Creek and Wonder...
