Canada's Great Divide Trail

Starting this next summer (2014) I intend to start section hiking Canada's Great Divide Trail.  I plan to break the 1200km trail into 8 sections and hope to complete the whole the trail by 2021, the year prior to turning 50.

This next year, the first section will be a 158.3 km jaunt, over 8 days.  This section will cover from the Canada / US boarder along the Waterton Lakes to the town of Coleman.

The Great Divide Trail, or GDT, is a wilderness hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia, crossing the divide no fewer than 30 times. It begins in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Canada-US border (where it connects with the Continental Divide Trail) and ends in Kakwa Provincial Park north of Jasper National Park.

The route south of Palliser Pass was originally mapped in 1974 by a group of 6 people funded by an Opportunities for Youth Grant. This group included Mary Jane Cox, Jenny Feick, Chris Hart, Dave Higgins, Cliff White, and Dave Zevick. White was the project coordinator and used the data from the project as the basis of an undergraduate thesis.

The Friends of the Great Divide Trail are dedicated to maintaining the original 100 km-long section of the GDT running through unprotected Alberta Crown Forest Reserve lands, from North Fork Pass to Fording River Pass, that was constructed in the 1970s and 1980s.

The GDT is not officially recognized by Parks Canada and therefore is not signed and not always even an actual trail, sometimes merely a wilderness route. The GDT passes through five National Parks: Waterton Lakes, Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper; seven Provincial Parks: Akamina-Kishinena, Elk Lakes, Peter Lougheed, Height of the Rockies, Mount Assiniboine, Mount Robson and Kakwa; four wilderness areas: Beehive Natural Area, Kananaskis Country, White Goat Wilderness and Willmore Wilderness Area; and five forest districts: Castle, Bow/Crow, Cranbrook, Golden and Robson Valley.

From now till summer I will be familiarizing myself with the trail and preparing physically to take on this challenge.  I will be posting my progress in preparation, as well as further details on the trail and blog about some of the equipment I plan to take with me on the trail.

I intend to hike the trail ultra light with the intention to keep the base weight of my pack below 12 lbs.  I really enjoyed my experience hiking the West Coast Trail this way and look forward to carrying on with this form of hiking.

The following is a breakdown of the hike this summer (Section 1):

Day 1:
Water Shuttle from the town of Waterton to Boundary Bay.
Hike 13.7km Boundary Bay - Alderson Lake Campground

Day 2:
Hike 16.6 km Alderson Lake Campground - Akamina Creek Campground

Day 3:
Hike 24.8 km Akamina Creek Campgound - Lone Lake Campground

Day 4:
Hike 21.4 km Lone Lake Campground - Jutland Brook Campground

Day 5:
Hike 15.9 km Jutland Brook Campground - Random Camp on West Castle Rd.

Day 6:
Hike 12 km Random Camp on West Castle Rd. - Castle Mtn Ski Resort Campground

Day 7:
Hike 22.7 km Castle Mtn Ski Resort Campground - Lynx Creek Campground

Day 8:
Hike Linx Creek Campground - Coleman

Below is a map of the GDT in all it's glory:

A few details on the trail:

Length: 1200 km (746 mi)

Location: Alberta and British Columbia, Canada

Use: Hiking

Elevation:

Highest point: 2,590 m (8,500 ft)

Lowest point: Old Fort Point trailhead, 1,055 m (3,461 ft)

Trail difficulty: Strenuous

Months: July to September

Sights: Canadian Rockies, Waterton Lakes National Park, Banff National Park, Kootenay National Park, Yoho National Park, Jasper National Park, Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area,