Backpacking through the Rocky Mountains in 2017 with my wife Tori. We trekked from Jasper to Grande Cache over the course of 8 days and covered a distance of approximately 160km (100 miles). The first couple of days were amongst the most challenging as our bodies got used to carrying such heavy loads up steep climbs.
The smoke in the air form the rampant BC forest fires was concerning as it was burning my eyes, and making me worry that the fires may encroach. But we pushed on, apprehensive that we'd bitten off more than we could chew - we needed to average 20km a day and our packs were heavy. The earlier stretches of the North Boundary Trail are not shockingly beautiful like the rest of Jasper, however it's flat and easy to navigate, plus any monotony is quickly forgotten with a side trip into Snake Indian Falls, it's thought to be one of the most impressive waterfalls in the Rockies. Alternate access to this route is via Rock Lake though you'd miss the Falls. Broken again at the end of day two, we passed the Rock Lake Trail fork, and knew it was our last chance to bail. But even though we were pushing ourselves so hard, it was so rewarding when we'd reach camp and meet our daily goal again, that we never considered it.
The trail between Little Heaven Campsite in Jasper and Mountain Trail in Wilmore Wilderness is completely unmaintained, and difficult to get info on. When you're high up in Glacier and and then Desolation Pass, you're past the tree line and heading through a valley flanked by barren peaks on either side which help guide the way. The trail was particularly hard to follow through this area.
0:00 - Intro
2:37 - Trek Begins
5:05 - Celestine Trailhead
12:30 - Stages of Brokenness
14:40 - Getting to Camp Night 1 - Shale Banks
15:48 - Morning Day 2
20:11 - Snake Indian Falls
25:59 - Wild Edibles
27:35 - Getting to Camp Night 2 - Willow Creek
28:48 - Morning Day 3
33:50 - Buck Goes for a Swim
36:36 - Storing Fishing Rod for Backpacking
42:40 - Getting to Camp Night 3 - Little Heaven
47:20 - Hanging Food In Tree
49:55 - Morning Day 4
52:58 - Creek Crossing
55:16 - Broken Fishing Rod
1:02:49 - Checking Maps
1:05:39 - Height-of-Land
- Subscribe to Jim Baird The Adventurer:
/ jimbairdtheadventurer
- Check out my website www.theadventurer.ca
- Like my Facebook page, Jim Baird - Adventurer: / jbadventurer
- Follow me on Twitter @JBadventurer JBadventurer?lang=en
- Follow me on Instagram jbadventurer / jbadventurer