by Brian Patton | Oct 13, 2017 | backpacking, Banff National Park
Each summer, Calgary hiker Jim Shipley organizes a multi-day backpacking trip into the remote valleys and passes of Banff or Jasper Park, exploring country that he and his buddies haven’t visited before. While Jim contacts us for pre-trip tips, we always...
by Brian Patton | Sep 6, 2017 | Banff National Park, Elk Lakes Provincial Park, Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park, Wildfire
As British Columbia experiences its worst wildfire season ever, the BC Wildfire Service has closed access to the backcountry in the Rocky Mountain Forest District in the province’s southeast corner, which includes Mount Assiniboine, Elk Lakes and...
by Brian Patton | Aug 20, 2017 | backpacking, Banff National Park, canadian rockies trail guide
The trail to the Castleguard Meadows via Alexandra and Castleguard Rivers has never been easy. But since we first included it in the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, there has been no maintenance and things have only gotten worse. A few intrepid backpackers make the...
by Brian Patton | Jul 17, 2017 | Banff National Park, Home page News, Kootenay National Park, Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park
Update July 31, 2017—Trails in the Sunshine Meadows and north along the Bow Valley Highline (Simpson Pass, Healy Pass, Egypt Lake, Whistling Pass) reopened Wednesday, July 26. But increased fire activity prompted Parks Canada to close the trails and Sunshine Village...
by Brian Patton | Jun 29, 2017 | Banff National Park, hiking, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park
An above average snowpack in the Mountain Parks will likely plague many high trails until late July this year. Trails above 2200m (7,200ft) on north and east facing slopes will be particularly vulnerable to lingering snow banks. While snowpack tracked close to normal...
by Brian Patton | May 30, 2017 | Banff National Park, Canadian Rockies, canadian rockies trail guide, Jasper National Park, Lake Louise, Lake O'Hara
A new series of trail guides in eBook format has been published by Summerthought. Designed for Kindle readers, tablets and iPhones, and utilizing the free Kindle app, the series works as an affordable alternative or supplement to the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide. Each...
