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Spring hiking with crampons

With the onset of spring, most well-travelled winter trails turn into skating rinks with the daily freeze-thaw cycle. That's why I decided to store my skis and snowshoes and try a well-reviewed pair of Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultras. For serious hiking on snowpacked...

The Canadian Hiker’s & Backpacker’s Handbook

When Ben Gadd asked me to write the Foreword to The Canadian Hiker's & Backpacker's Handbook back in 2008, I was surprised and a bit taken aback. Wasn't there already a wealth of "how-to" books about hiking and backpacking on the market? And backpacking was...

Coping with gridlock in Banff

Planning a trip to Banff this summer? Prepare for gridlock. Canada, the Canadian Rockies, and particularly Banff, are everywhere you look these days. On the cover of the December-January issue of National Geographic Traveler and as the subject of a flattering feature...

Canadian Rockies: A hiker’s bucket list

Canadian Rockies: A hiker’s bucket list

As co-author of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide, when I was making a bucket list hikes for myself, I realized I have hiked every day hike trail in the mountain parks at least once. Many readers assume Bart Robinson and I have hiked all the trails in the Canadian...

Jasper’s backcountry trail crisis

Jasper’s backcountry trail crisis

  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...

Park wardens: past and present

Park wardens: past and present

When we published the 2nd edition of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide in 1978, Jim Thorsell provided the cover photo of two park wardens in wool knickers packing from Floe Lake to Numa Pass (below). When Jim revisited Floe Lake last month, he discovered two very...

A case for park trailminders

The recent citation issued to a civilian trailminder in Kootenay Park has brought national attention to a question I've been asking for quite sometime. Why is it that provincial parks, lands & forest agencies, and municipalities can work with volunteer groups to...

Remembering Mel Hurtig

Remembering Mel Hurtig, who passed away last week at age 84 after a brief illness, and a myriad of articles have been published across Canada lauding his achievements and devotion to Canada. But I also remember him as a friend and an enthusiastic walker who loved the...

New Gem Trek maps – Kootenay and Bow Lake

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...