Hi Doug, you're very welcome. I'm glad you could check it out. Your great great great great grandfather sure left his mark in the Canadian Rockies, and it was a pleasure hiking the pass named in his honor. Best wishes for your trek this summer. Enjoy... it is a beauty!! Thank you for watching and commenting.

This was such a cool comment to see because I was planning this pass for my birthday trip in mid to late August! I'll be coming from the Alberta side. Exciting to think I could be passing a descendant of Howse on The Howse Pass.

@@anthonyalpine Nice, I hope you two meet out there. Enjoy your birthday hiking trip over the pass!

Thanks very much Martina. It was a pleasure to meet you as well. I truly enjoyed every moment of this trip... the ride out, the hiking, the camping, and the weather. It went even better than I expected it would, everything worked out perfectly. We are lucky to have the Rocky Mountains so near to us. It is a hiker's paradise. Thanks again, take care.

@@nickharland3795 did you have lots of bear encounters?

None at all. It was clear sailing. :)

Thanks very much Matt. It is definitely a beautiful area, great views in every direction. The weather even co-operated for the most part. I agree, lots of interesting history to some of these old trails.

Hey thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed it... I know I definitely enjoyed the hike. It is a spectacular valley to camp in! Appreciate you taking the time to watch, thanks again. Take care.

My pleasure. Yes, it was a very enjoyable hike, and everything worked out even better than I had hoped. Thanks for taking the time. Take care.

My pleasure. Thanks for watching JJ. It is a beautiful area to hike for sure. I've been back one other time since this video was taken. Love it there. Thanks, take care.

Thanks very much Roy. Yes B.C. is definitely one of the prettier parts of Canada. This was definitely in grizzly country, but luckily I saw no sign of them. Though it would be nice to see one from a safe distance. Haha, yeah wise words indeed... never know what might be watching. The trail crew's hard work made for some relatively easy hiking on the B.C. side. Most French speaking Canadians live out east, but all the signage in all the National Parks is in both languages. I know about as much French as I do Spanish:) Thanks again, very much appreciate it. Take care.

Thanks very much Angela. Yes it was a very nice hike in some fantastic nature. It's always nice to hike and camp beside a fast flowing river. I really enjoyed both campsites and the views during the latter half of the hike were very nice. Thank you so much for taking the time. I wish you and yours a happy new year as well. All the best. Nick

Thanks very much. Yes it is definitely harder from the Alberta side. The B.C. side has been restored up to the pass by now I'm guessing. The newer GDT route on the Alberta side requires some pretty serious bushwhacking, but is also combined with easy, scenic walking on the river flats. All in all, not too bad.

Hey thanks very much, glad you enjoyed. Yeah there were definitely some fantastic views along the Blaeberry River and Howse River. I hope to go back there again one of these years. Appreciate you taking the time, thanks again.

Yeah it was definitely a great hike. The Upper Blaeberry River valley is gorgeous, although not as wide open as the Howse River valley. B.C. has done a very nice job cleaning up the trail and re-building bridges, the Alberta side not so much. Most of my trips have some association to David Thompson's exploits... his travels are the stuff of legend. Thanks for taking the time. Take care.

It was definitely a nice trip. Lots of impressive peaks in that valley. It was very enjoyable... even the weather co-operated for the most part. Thanks for checking it out. Take care.

Haha, yeah I'd definitely like to canoe that river. Might try that if I can get some time this summer. It was a really enjoyable trip, and the weather was quite good for most of it. Just a bit of rain at the end like you said. Banff and Jasper are indeed very large parks, lots of room to hike and paddle. Thanks, glad you enjoyed. Take care.

Hey right on man, glad to help. Take care.

Hey thanks John. Yeah it was an interesting, and very enjoyable hike. Thanks for checking it out.

Thanks very much Darrell, take care.

It is an awesome area to hike, and possibly paddle. I will never forget that trip!! Thanks for taking the time.

Yeah it was a good mix of different terrains. Definitely had a enjoyable time... seemingly had the whole valley all to myself. It was a blast. Thanks for checking it out. Take care.

Thanks very much. yes, it was definitely a beautiful area to explore around. Much appreciated, take care.

Hi Martin, and good morning. Thanks very much.

Thanks very much Shawn. Yeah some awesome country in there. I haven't specifically thought of that route, but it sounds very interesting. So many great options in the mountains. Mary Schafer was a real trooper. Her travels are legendary.

Thanks very much. Yes lots of nice views along this trail, was very enjoyable. Thanks for watching.

Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it. Appreciate you taking the time, take care.

It is definitely a scenic valley. Thanks very much, it is much appreciated. Take care.

Hey thanks Willy. I appreciate you taking the time. Hope you are doing well my friend. Take care.

Thanks very much Larry.

Thanks very much Dan. This trip likely wouldn't have happened without your help. Much appreciated!!

Hey Mark, thanks very much. Appreciate you taking the time.

Yeah it's a good one man tent, I've been very happy with it.

Thanks very much Terry. I appreciate you taking the time. Hope you are doing well also. Have a great fall season. Take care.

My pleasure Sylvain. Thank you for taking the time to watch. Yes, definitely beautiful landscapes in Banff. No bear encounters, no tracks, no scat, nothing at all. Other than birds, the largest animal I saw was a chipmunk:) Thanks again, take care.

Thanks very much. Yeah the reports are accurate. There are some really thick stretches hiking in the trees to avoid the river. I stomped down as much as I could, and snapped quite a few branches out of the way:)... but it's a drop in the bucket. It is rough. But I think it's better than taking the old trail. I think I actually only hiked about 150 meters of the original trail (in the trees hiking), between Conway Creek and the Glacier Lake junction... According to the report I read, which described the new GDT route that I used. The old trail does not sound like it's worth the effort. Good luck on your trip. I hope the weather is good for you.

Hey John, yeah this was a real exciting trip. The first river is fast flowing, and was pretty high for September. It was pretty much continuous whitewater. There were a bunch of trail maintenance workers in the first 6 or 7 miles of trail. They were clearing the trail, and re-building bridges. It was a very welcome sight, as that part of the trail looked very different just 2 years ago. The trail conditions definitely got tougher after that point. The second camp was one of the nicer places I've ever stayed at. I had the whole valley all to myself. I had 2 bear sprays, one on me, and an extra in my pack. I brought my hatchet to have at camp, just in case. Yeah, strict laws and I have no experience with firearms. Hopefully making noise and carrying bear spray are enough to prevent any encounters with bears. I really love solo trips, and most of my trips are indeed solo. I like group trips too, but so far I have only filmed solo trips. I'm still waiting to win the lottery, and when I do, I'm flying you up here for a trip... wherever you want go and explore, water or trail, or both. Thanks for taking the time John, take care. Nick P.S. I did not see any garbage along the trail. It was a very pleasant surprise.

@@nickharland3795 that's awesome ya looked amazing for sure. Hurry up win that lotto lol take care and thanks again for sharing

I started at Cairnes Creek Receation Area, I'm guessing about 40 kms up the Blaeberry forest service road (pretty much all the way up to the end of the road). The rec area is just before a bridge crossing the Blaeberry River, you'd want to stay on the north/west side of the river. When I was there, trail workers told me about a guy who was one day ahead of me. Apparently he was pushing his mountain bike, and carrying a packraft to float the Howse River down to Sask Crossing.

Thanks very much. Yes, lots of nice views on this trip. I really enjoyed it out there.

Thanks Asko. I'm pretty sure there are trout in there. You would need a special national parks fishing permit to fish that river.

Hey thanks very much Matthew. It is a fantastic hike if you don't mind some pretty good bushwhacking. The Alberta side, along the Howse River flats, is simply amazing!! Great to hear you are planning a trip there. You can reach me at nharland@shaw.ca. Thanks again, take care.

Hey thanks very much. I'm glad you are enjoying. I read an old report from 1974, where a Parks Canada surveying crew canoed five different rivers, including the Clearwater River from Trident Lake to Rocky Mountain House. Lots of good info, although possibly out-dated in certain spots. Overall, not too many large rapids, but many, many logs jams and dangerous sweepers. It is a very interesting read, and has a couple trips I'd like to try. Hope this helps, take care. parkscanadahistory.com/series/wild-rivers/alberta-e.pdf

Nick Harland thanks for the response and the added info. Will definitely give it a read. Hope to get out in the spring and go take a look at the river itself and try to get a better idea of a trip down it would work haha. Thanks again and keep up the awesome videos, super informative.

Hey thanks very much. Yes, you need to book and pay Parks Canada for back-country and random camping in the park. It is pretty easy to do, and fairly in-expensive. Thanks again, take care.

It was a very enjoyable trip. The old trail hasn't been maintained since 1993, so I chose the up-dated GDT route which follows Conway Creek directly to the Howse River. There were a few bushwhacks, but mostly easy walking on the flats. Everything I've read about the old trail tells me this was the easier choice. Glad you could check it out, thanks for watching.

Thanks very much Sean. There is one map that shows the route I took. I will try send a link to a good article I read before I hiked it. The link to the map is in the comments of the article. Note, the map shows two fords of Conway Creek, only attempt in low water. I chose to bushwhack due to higher water. canadianrockiestrailguide.com/howse-pass-the-disappearing-trail/

@@nickharland3795 Thank you so much! Dan Salls recommend that I connect with you. I'm hoping to hike through the pass some day soon and your video gives a great perspective.

You're very welcome Sean. Yeah Dan's a great guy. Best of luck on your hike.!!

Hello Brice, sorry for the late reply, I was actually just on a snowshoeing trip along the Red Deer River in Banff this past week. You can email me at nharland@shaw.ca Thanks very much, it is much appreciated. Take care.

Thanks very much, very kind of you.