by Brian Patton | May 28, 2019 | Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, Weather, Wildflowers, Yoho National Park |
Stretching your legs for the following best spring hikes in the Canadian Rockies. Here are some favourite early trips that virtually guarantee wildflowers and wood ticks. I’m always amazed how so many hikers rush the season in the Canadian Rockies. The marquee... by Brian Patton | Nov 27, 2018 | Backpacking, Great Divide Trail, Jasper National Park, Trip reports |
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 | Jun 29, 2017 | Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, Weather |
An above average snowpack in the Canadian Rockies will likely plague many high trails until late July this year (2017). Trails above 2200m (7,200ft) on north and east facing slopes will be particularly vulnerable to lingering snow banks. While snowpack tracked close... by Brian Patton | Jun 21, 2017 | Jasper National Park |
Motorists who want to drive the Cavell access road to the base of Jasper’s Mount Edith Cavell this summer will require a special permit, and only 180 are being issued for each day. The restrictions are due to ongoing construction at the road’s southern... by Brian Patton | Oct 30, 2016 | Backpacking, Government, Jasper National Park |
Washed out bridges that aren’t replaced. Deteriorating backcountry campsites with grotty outhouses. Landslides and fires wiping out sections of trails, some permanently. Tracks over alpine passes awash and churned into muddy soup. Numerous trails decommissioned... by Brian Patton | Jul 23, 2016 | Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Maps |
Gem Trek Maps has just released a batch of revised titles including Bow Lake & Saskatchewan Crossing and Kootenay National Park. Printed on waterproof material and with topographical contours and attractive relief shading, they are welcome revisions to what we...