Back on the Trail

JULY 20
After an amazing rest day in Coleman, Paolo, Bev, Christy and I headed back on the trail with rested legs and backpacks full of food. The weather continued to be hot and sunny as we headed back up into the mountains. With the unusually hot and humid weather we are drinking 5 or 6 litres of water per day and sweating just as much!

JULY 22
After two more days of walking on various ATV trails we finally crossed over Tornado Pass and shortly thereafter we saw the first orange blaze (blaze = a paint mark on a tree) that signified we were on the original Great Divide Trail built nearly 30 years ago! For the first time in 5 days, we were once again hiking on actual trail and a beautiful trail it was. Dave Higgins and his fellow members of the Great Divide Trail and Alberta Wilderness Associations have maintained this section of trail with pride over the many years even though the trail lies completely outside of the protection of national & provincial parks. This has resulted in a far greater challenge to keep the trail alive due to active logging, mining and oil industry in the area but thanks to the hardwork and dedication of the trail maintenance volunteers, this section of trail is flourishing and was easily the highlight of our past week of hiking!

We traversed high ridge crests, walked through alpine meadows filled with multi-coloured wildflowers; forded several crystal clear streams; and saw two more black bears (from a distance) but not a single other human for 5 days! Sorry no photos yet until I get a USB cable in Banff.

Due to the large distance to our next resupply at Highwood House, we pushed some big miles and long days. We were all very tired at the end of each day and we became more susceptible to little injuries: Bev's hip stiffened up painfully; Christy's plantar fasciatis flared up; Paolo had a severe sinus headache; and I rolled my right ankle twice forcing me to use Christy's mono-pod as a walking stick for balance. But we still managed to average over 25 kilometres per day.

JULY 23
We were woken up in the middle of the night by a spectacularly powerful thunderstorm. The lightning struck very close, the rain fell hard and heavy, and the wind felt like it was going to blow our tent away with us in it! But by morning the sun was back out and we crawled out of our tent to find that we were now camped in a puddle. We spent the next hour drying our gear in the sun before setting out on the trail only a little damp from the night's storm.

SPECIAL THANKS to:
Lannie from Coleman for the ride up to Allison Creek Road!