Category: Blog

One Epic Adventure! 

By Barb Lauer 

After completing the easiest section of the GDT last summer (section C, Field to Kananaskis), this summer Lynnie and I tackled the most challenging section, section G, SOBO from Kakwa to Mt Robson. An amazing achievement that would not have been possible without the help of Dustin Lynx.   

Section G is a very difficult section and should not be undertaken lightly – route finding sometimes without GPS help, dubious water crossings, bushwhacking around deadfall and washed out campsites (Wolverine campsite on the North Boundary trail was completely under water), wading through thigh deep bog water, wet feet for the entire time, bugs, hiking in the dark, high mileage, not to mention the wet and miserable weather that we had on and off for days. Oh and then there was the curious grizzly who charged our campsite near Surprise Pass. In total 217 km (including walking part of the access road) was hiked over 10 days, 9 nights. The upside: spectacular views from Big Shale Hill, Surprise Pass, Fetherstonhaugh Pass, Jackpine Pass (pictured below), to name a few and an incredible sense of accomplishment. I would not have missed this adventure for anything! 

There were five of us on this trip:

• Mighty Lynnie – artist, GDTA maintenance volunteer and the most positive person I’ve ever met; Lynnie has hiked 2 other sections of the trail and this section, being the hardest was a personal goal for her.
• Outdoor mountain expert Dustin – author of the Great Divide Trail Guidebook; he was hoping to hike all alternate routes for River Taig’s app but with the weather and the four old folks following him it proved to be too much! 
• Tougher than Nails Christine – ex GDTA board member; Christine has hiked all sections of the GDT twice except this one and having completed cancer treatment a year ago, finishing the trail was a significant milestone for her.
• Tough as Nails Terry – Christine’s partner and at 75 years old (not a typo!) probably the oldest thru-hiker ever to hike section G.
• Enthusiastic Responsible Barb – the nut that got this trip going. Ex-GDTA Board member. Hiked 2 other sections with Lynnie, looking to complete all sections over the next few years. 

We all had a part to play, but I have to say that if we didn’t have Dustin Lynx with us helping with route finding and water crossings, the trip would have taken us a lot longer than it did. All anyone had to say was “Dustin’s leaving” and we would all quickly fall in behind him. A big shout out to Dustin for his expertise, leadership, calm demeanor and help in getting us through Section G!   

Here are a few highlights of the trip…

The grizzly charging our campsite was certainly exciting! We were random camped just below Surprise Pass. After dinner, I was standing outside our tent, which was sheltered from the wind by some trees and slightly away from the others. I was looking off at the snow in the distance and then I thought a rock moved (in the picture below, the bear was on the skinny strip of snow, lower left). I wasn’t sure it was a bear because it looked so small and so I continued to watch it run across the snow and then the little guy stopped, and with its ears pointed up, stared at me for what seemed like hours but I’m sure was only seconds. I didn’t move, I was willing it to turn away. No luck there. It started to charge towards our tent. At this point, we sprang into action – walking with purpose to the others shouting that a bear was coming into camp and to get ready. We grouped together and shouted at the bear. He came over a small rise, probably within 100m of the camp, and then immediately veered off when it saw us (we’re a pretty mean looking group!), never to be seen again. Lynnie and I moved our tent closer to the others and from that night onwards we were more careful to camp close to each other.

That same eventful day, we had our first rather dubious water crossing, defined here to be any water crossing where Dustin took off his pack and put his phone into a waterproof bag. Although it wasn’t a wide water crossing, the water was knee deep, roaring and really moving, and the rocks were slippery. Lynnie made it across safely, after a false start, returning and going again. I followed Lynnie and used my normal approach to dangerous situations – try to use momentum and get across as quickly as possible; to be honest I was afraid of the water. Not a good strategy for water crossings! I lost my footing on the slippery rocks and went down, to be fished out very quickly by Dustin (thank you again Dustin!). For the rest of the trip, I learned a ton about water crossings and even came to enjoy the challenge.

I don’t know if you’ve watched water crossing videos, but I have to say that none of them were as scary as what we encountered on Section G (as examples: Chown River and a bridge out are pictured below) and none of the videos included the advice that was really needed.

Here’s what I learned about water crossings from Dustin and Christine:  

• Go slow;  
• Three points of contact at all times (I use poles). Do not try and move a pole or a foot until all four points of contact are secure. If you feel one of the contact points going, stabilize and only then move one contact point. Avoid big rocks and try and find a place to jam your foot into. 
• Face the current straight on (going across) or even better walk into it on a diagonal if possible;
• Lean into the current and if necessary, bend down into it for extra stability. On one crossing, my shoulders were getting wet with the spray, as I leaned into the current to maximize stability;
• Fight the current, it’s trying to take you with it and you need to stand your ground (I know, this is obvious, but it really did feel like a fight). 

Despite having plans to do as many high alternate routes as possible (I love the ups!), the only high alternate route we did was Providence Pass High Alternate out of Kakwa. I’m not sure what the official route is like but the down on this puppy was horrible, a mud slide with trees to cling to and climb over. Everyone fell multiple times and thankfully no one was injured. If you do this section and find my water bottle, please can you put it into recycling. It must have come out when I did my spectacular dead turtle fall.

As for the other high alternates, there was too much snow, ice and bad weather for us to tackle them. We even did the low Jackpine River alternate, but this was more about fitness than anything else. With Dustin aware of the route, there were no route-finding issues and lots of great water crossing practice. 

We also had many wonderful surprises on this trip.  We met up with Doug Borthwick (GDTA Board member), Brandon Bernadet (GDTA volunteer and GDT thru-hiker) and their friend Ernie on the way in and stayed with them at the Kakwa cabin (picture below).  

We met up with another young and very strong hiker, Lionel, (only the ninth person that we saw on the trail) at the moment we needed him most– the scariest water crossing ever. We camped in the most spectacular places… Mt. Bess Shoulder, for example (see picture below). And when it was getting late in the day, we were tired and had lost the trail because of blown down trees, we were able to backtrack a bit and find a wonderful, green, soft place to camp. And finally, when we thought we would never see the sun again… it came out!  

At times, with our wet feet, our clothes completely wet through, and with more rain pounding down, we did wonder, “is this worth it?” … And without a doubt, YES! We’ll be back on the trail next summer! 

By Margaret Gmoser 

July 11th to 16th, 2020 was slated for a section of the GDT from south to north. I checked out the Oldman River crossing in June when the water was cloudy and high and decided that Cache Creek would be our entry point. By the date of our departure the river looked much better and was just knee deep. 

Our cheerful group consisted of two Grannies 70 and 75, two 13 year olds and one in the middle at 39 years old. The Grannies soon realized that the teenagers had plenty of extra energy which could be put to use carrying some of the groceries. 

We had cool temperatures and lots of wind, but blue skies and very few bugs as a result. The flowers were outstanding. One night of hail and snow at High Rock campground made us happy that we had packed an extra layer.   

We did a long day from there to the Cataract Creek campsite – not our favourite since it had limited tent sites and was bushy and dark. The trails were in good shape with the usual deadfall. Two dirt bikes had made tracks on a portion of the route where this is discouraged. This was unfortunate since they left quite a mark on the trail. There are so many other places for them to ride. 

We shared our last campsite at James Lake with a mystery man who arrived in the dark and left before 6 am – perhaps a keen GDT’er. We wish him luck. 

At the end of the trail we had the lucky coincidence to meet Lani Smith, one of the GDT originators. Our youngsters were impressed that he was headed up Baril Creek on his mountain bike.  

We’d like to return in the fall sometime to see all the beautiful larch in full glory. 

By Wendy Ryan 

Wendy Ryan is both an avid horseback trail rider and a GDT enthusiast. From Pincher Creek, Wendy has enjoyed time on the GDT over the years, joined the GDTA, and believes in the GDTA’s commitment to preserving, promoting, and maintaining the GDT. She is also interested in horse travel on the GDT. Towards this, last year she and a friend spent time riding their horses in the Beehive area. Among the beauty, they also came across a rather junked-up old outfitters camp at the High Rock GDT campground, a popular camp with hikers despite the heaps of old junk. Wendy wanted to gather up some fellow horse packer friends and clean this mess up. And this summer they did it! Here’s their story…  

Starting out with ten riders and their horses, eight packhorses, and one mule, we had a successful weekend horse packing up Soda Creek to the Beehive Mountain, and riding along the Great Divide Trail. Not sure when the last horse pack trip would have been up into that area with that number of outdoor horsemen/women, if ever! What a sight 🙂  No trip could be ridden along the GDT without riding into Little Bear Lake, and enjoying the peaceful and beautiful view of our surroundings.

Although already mid afternoon, this was our lunch spot.  A few keen people wanted to clear the trail for better travel and in not much time that was completed and far more enjoyable to ride. About 1 km in total distance was cleared. Many hands make light work. Memory Lake became our base camp for the three days and two nights, and what a perfect setting. The shallow lake is more of a pond – no more than 30 cm deep, so for our drinking water we walked back south to the headwater creek of the Oldman River. 

The next day seven riders headed up the trail onto the Mount Gass old road and the GDT hiking trail to head for the old outfitters camp about 5 km away. Since three people had to leave camp for home, as they had work or other commitments, they left shortly after us, following the main road down to the valley and the vehicles, about a 2.5 hour ride. Unfortunately on the way to the old outfitters camp, one of the main horses became ill. So Mac swapped out riding horses with Wyatt, and then Mac walked the sick horse back to our base camp. It was thought that it could have eaten some of the plentiful Death Camas in the meadow. One section of the trail back to base camp was a bit ugly with a steep down trail, and therefore making for a steep up hill on the way back to join the group headed to the outfitters camp! All went well both ways. 
 
Since last August when James Tweetie and I rode this section, many more trees have come down, and the chainsaw was not taken as the battery packs were not useable! Perhaps another trip to clear the downed trees. Same for the Soda Creek trail to the high GDT trail. 
 
Once we got to High Rock campground (the hiker camp at the old outfitters camp), everyone flew into a flurry of activity. One person took on hand sawing all the old broken corrals up for future firewood. Several others de-nailed the aluminum roofing sheets and folded them so they would fit into the horse pack boxes. The old cache area was cleaned up including large tarps, gas cans, a winter horse blanket, cooking pots, paper plates, a lantern, ripped top garbage bags, aluminum cans uncovered, full food cans, and wire and nails pulled from trees. This was completed in one hour with the six of us.  All of this was weighed and balanced into horse pack boxes and canvas bags. 275 pounds of garbage came out back to our base camp at Memory Lake.  

On the third and final day, with the limited horse power from Memory Lake to horse pack back out, due to everyone’s camp gear needing to go back to the vehicles on everyone’s personal packhorse, only 40 pounds of garbage came out to the valley where the vehicles were, on the only extra packhorse. The sick horse was OK to travel out the last day and finally drank some water. 

I had already talked to both Alberta Parks and SRD/Forestry as to what our mission was, and they both wanted to help by bringing the rest of the garbage out with either a quad/side by side, or fly it out. It sounds possible that it will happen in the next 2 weeks (as I write this in early September). I encouraged them to do it ASAP as there was a large grizzly in the area and he/she may rip into the bags and make a mess. (There were the old food cans we chopped open to empty and they had a smell about them!) 
 
All I could find out so far about that old outfitters camp was it belonged to Leverne Blocks of the CNP. He hunted/guided for many years out of there and killed a lot of sheep. The #2 ram came out of Oster Creek, but not sure what year that was, or who the guide or resident was. Perhaps it was one of Bert Riggall’s ‘Three Musketeers‘!?  My neighbour said he also used that camp to hunt out of it for game. Pretty sure no one hunts like that anymore in that area with horses. I will keep asking around. Leverne Blocks was killed when he went to light his smoker at home, when it blew up.  
 
The next mission is to find out how much horse camp garbage is at the Hidden Creek GDT campground and go in and clean it up. 
 
If you have any info about these old outfitters/hunting camps or have a copy of the ‘Three Musketeers‘, I would love to hear from you. My email address is wendydav@shaw.ca  I saw the written story by Bert Riggall at the Whyte Museum, but did not have a copy made. I still could. I checked online with the Willow Valley Trophy Club to see if they had a copy but did not find it. Perhaps someone will know of the story or more on the Beehive area old outfitters camps and hunting. Unfortunately all the old timers are gone! 

Each year we recognize the efforts of our volunteers who have gone above and beyond to help us achieve our objectives. This year has been an exceptional year for us on many fronts, and as a result we want to recognize the efforts of these 8 individuals whose hard work and dedication were a big part of our success in 2020:  

Jim and Annette Schieck  – In recognition of their important contributions to the 2020 GDTA Trail Building Trips. Jim and Annette participated in multiple trail building crews this past year. Whatever job they chose, latrine, water, fire pit etc. they did with great enthusiasm. Jim and Annette were very helpful to others and willing to go above and beyond. Jim’s work as a biologist enabled us to get a bird survey done so that work on Hail Ridge could be completed this summer. Both their knowledge of White Bark pine came in particularly handy on the heavily populated south slope so that we were able to keep our trail work from damaging any of this endangered species.  

Dave Higgins  – In recognition of his leadership and important contributions to the 2020 GDTA Trail Building, Maintenance and Bridge Building Trips. Dave led multiple trail building, trail maintenance and bridge building trips this year. In fact, Dave built not one but two much needed temporary bridges over Cairnes Creek. Dave has been the main person responsible for the rebuild of the David Thompson Heritage Trail and is leading the charge to get a permanent bridge built over Cairnes Creek.    

Peter Labastide – In recognition of his leadership and important contributions to the 2020 GDTA Trail Building and Scouting Trips. Peter assisted multiple trail building trips this year. Peter was a major part of the organization of all crews and logistics. Peter took on the role of secretary of the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee (TBMC) very well and has been the lead for budgeting and procurement for the TBMC. He is always available for cleaning and organizing the tools and equipment.      

Jud Virtue – In recognition of his leadership and important contributions to the 2020 GDTA Trail Building Trips. Jud was a first time trip leader this year and co-led multiple trips. Without Jud’s volunteering to lead a last minute trip on Section E, we may not have been able to do enough to open the High Rock Trail this summer.    

Dan Durston – In recognition of his leadership and important contributions to Improve the Great Divide Trail and Support the GDT Hikers Community. Dan was a trip co-leader this year. He has been the driving force behind the improvements to notorious Section D resulting in a much more desirable hiking experience. Dan has been extremely helpful in planning and giving assistance to any and all aspiring thru hikers. He has made enormous contributions to the GDT community and continued improvements to the trail.   

Dave Hockey  – In recognition of your leadership and important contributions to 2020 GDTA Trail Building and Scouting Trips and Protecting and Advocating for the Great Divide Trail. Dave was the main person responsible for procuring some major grant money in a year that we thought all grant money was going to dry up. Dave was a leader on the TBMC and trip leader for multiple trips. Dave was the main person responsible for tools and supply storage and procurement for the TBMC. Dave’s incredible work was key to getting the High Rock Trail completed and opened this year despite exceptionally challenging circumstances. 

Kathy Plachta – In recognition of her dedication and important contributions to GDTA Membership, Financial Reporting, Outreach and so much more! Kathy has done a superb job in managing GDTA membership and keeping GDTA finances in order over the years. Kathy has served the GDTA faithfully behind the scenes for numerous years and has been integral in maintaining and strengthening the financial health of this organization. In her positions as Treasurer and Co-Treasurer, she was responsible for keeping the books, budgeting, providing financial updates to the Board, updating corporate returns, preparing year-end statements, and administering membership renewals and donations. All of this was done efficiently and to a high standard. Thanks to her work, the GDTA is in an enviable position of being in great financial shape to weather the “COVID-19 storm”.   

By Brad Vaillancourt, President of the Great Divide Trail Association

To call 2020 a historic year feels like an understatement. 2020 has been one the most unusual, most challenging, most stressful years ever… and yet unexpectedly, 2020 has also been one of the GDTA’s most successful years ever. Early in the year while the world was shutting down to deal with the growing pandemic, the Great Divide Trail Association was considering what was best for the health and safety of the trail community that we served. In March, the GDTA cancelled all in-person events, activities, and meetings, including all trail building trips. Our Outreach Committee had been poised to host a number of exciting events, but chose to cancel them before they were cancelled by health restrictions. We are hopeful we will be able to provide new outreach opportunities for the GDT Community in 2021.  

But the lockdown didn’t stop us from continuing to work behind the scenes. The GDTA Board and committees started meeting virtually every month, ensuring the GDTA would be prepared when the world moved into the next phases of living with COVID-19.  

Thanks to the huge amount of work by Mary Jane and our Ensuring Financial Capacity Committee, on April 1, the Great Divide Trail Association obtained Charitable status. This means that the GDTA can now issue official tax receipts for charitable donations. This is a big step for us and we quickly set up a system to accept online donations and administration of charitable receipts through Canada Helps. Even in this time of pandemic, we have received a steady number of donations from generous supporters. These donations have become especially important as many of our past grant providers and sponsors halted their grant programs and support in 2020. We want to thank all of our supporters for their past and ongoing support, we couldn’t do the work we do without you. A good example of this is the Alberta Equestrian Federation which generously awarded us an $8,000 grant to go toward our trail building activities this past summer. 

Other GDTA committees continued to work hard behind the scenes in 2020, including our Organizational Excellence Committee, organizing a Board of Directors Strategy Session, developing policies and organizational improvements to create a more robust and nimble organization enabling the GDTA to better navigate this new challenging environment. 

Meanwhile, our Protecting and Advocating for the Trail Committee worked hard to get and keep the GDT on the map by representing the GDTA on the Livingstone Porcupine Hills Castle Recreation Advisory group, working with CPAWS and Alberta Hiking Association to start a Crowsnest Coal working group, and attending Spray Lakes Sawmills Forest Management Plan reviews for the new 5 year operating plan.  

Our Trail Building & Maintenance Committee and Safety Committee refused to give up hope of a trail building season and worked quickly to develop a modified plan that adhered to public health restrictions and guidelines. In June, as provincial and national parks re-opened, we announced a new schedule of modified trail building & maintenance trips and put out a call for volunteers, not knowing if anyone would be comfortable coming out to build trail under the pandemic conditions.  

The volunteer response was incredible, showing us that people were looking for opportunities to leave their pandemic lockdowns, get out in nature and build some trail. Like last year, we hired a Trip Coordinator which proved invaluable with very short timelines and challenging logistics due to the modified pandemic trip plans. Against the odds, by mid June we had volunteer crews out on the High Rock Trail, working hard to attempt to complete enough trail construction so that we could open the new High Rock Trail this summer, something we thought would be impossible only a few months ago.  

As you may know, we started construction of the High Rock Trail in 2016, as the first new section of GDT built in more than 30 years. 5 years, dozens of trail building trips and hundreds of volunteer hours later, we celebrated the soft opening of the 45 km High Rock Trail on July 24 and saw the first thru-hikers on the new trail only days later. While the trail isn’t actually 100% complete yet, it is completely hikeable and totally awesome. 

In total, we did 7 trail building trips on the High Rock Trail this summer, 1 trip on the Original GDT, and 3 trips to the Blaeberry, with almost 100 individuals volunteering over a span of 50 days on the Great Divide this summer, including groups from the Junior Forest Rangers and the Outdoor Council of Canada. And all of this done under pandemic restrictions without a single incident, other than maybe a blister or two.  

Only a few months ago, as the world locked down, it looked like there wouldn’t be a hiking season this summer. But as things opened up, people quickly began looking for opportunities to staying active in the outdoors as an excellent way to keep their bodies and minds healthy. To limit the potential transmission of the virus between GDT hikers and others, the GDTA encouraged hikers to be self-supported on GDT outings, stay local, bring everything they need, avoid side trips from the trail to resupply, and always Leave No Trace. 

While it may not have been quite as busy as previous years, day hikers, weekend hikers and thru-hikers were on the GDT in large numbers this summer, and for the most part, everyone did their part observing 2-metre physical distancing on the trail and minimizing interaction with people in communities along the GDT. Thank you to all GDT hikers for being responsible and taking precautions to keep yourself and others safe out there. While we don’t know what next year will look like, we feel confident that we can continue to adapt to ensure the health and safety of the trail community that we serve. 

At last year’s AGM, we said thank you and farewell to four board members Barb Lauer, Darrell Aunger, Jean-Francois Cianci and Dave Hockey. We welcomed two new board members as Chase Holthe and Robert MacLaine joined our existing board of directors, Jeff Gruttz, Deb Yanchula, Mary Jane Kreisel, Doug Borthwick and me. Later in the year, we welcomed three ex officio board members Donna Rutherford, Doug Whiteside and Peter Claghorn, who put their names forward for election at the AGM. I would like to personally thank each of the directors and ex officio board members for all the work they have done to not only allow the GDTA to operate successfully during the pandemic, but also make some significant improvements along the way. It has not been easy, but everyone has pitched in to move the organization forward. 

And finally, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the life blood of our organization, our dedicated volunteers. The Great Divide Trail Association is a membership organization built by the support of people like you. Your hard work and positive energy are what keep us doing this every year and were a huge part of what made 2020 such a success. 

Thank you!

This edition of the Pathfinder Newsletter includes articles showcasing GDT and other wilderness adventures, information to help (re)plan your 2020 summer on the Great Divide – hiking and/or volunteering, announcements, conditions, GDT literature news, and general interest articles. Enjoy!  

1. GDTA COVID-19 Update: An important message from the GDTA regarding the COVID-19 situation.
2. Trail Building and Maintenance Trips Update: COVID-19 is not stopping trail work. Modified trips have been planned to safely continue.
3. Trail Conditions Update: Notices and links about current trail conditions.
4. The GDT: Its History, Its Founders, Its First Hilarious Book: A glimpse into how the GDT happened.
5. GDTA Charitable Status: Exciting announcement on the GDTA’s status, what it means, and how donations are used.
6. Trip Report: 3 Weeks, 300 km in as-sin-wati, Part 1: Hiking Section C with a special message.
7. This Summer, Hug a Tree and Listen to the Plants: Trail routing tips from the plants.
8. Gone Batty: Bats can be somewhat disruptive to normal daily life.
9. Her Odyssey: Introduction: From the southern tip of South America to the Arctic Ocean.

By Mary Jane Kreisel

The GDTA has Charitable Status!

On May 5, the Charities Directorate let us know we are now a registered charity. This means that The Great Divide Trail Association can issue official tax receipts for charitable donations. This is a big step for us and we hope that individuals and corporate donors will take this opportunity to contribute to our organization.

There are many reasons to donate to the GDTA – most of which support the organization’s mandate to maintain, promote and protect the Great Divide Trail.

One of the GDTA’s main purposes is to provide a public amenity by planning, designing, constructing and maintaining the Great Divide Trail. We have many worthwhile programs and projects to fulfill this. Here are some priorities:

• Build 45 km of new trail in the High Rock Section of the GDT north of the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta. We have built 15 km to date, are maintaining 17 km of existing pathways, and have 13 km left to build.
• Construct a large new bridge spanning a treacherous portion of Cairnes Creek along the historic David Thompson Heritage Trail section of the GDT in BC.
• Clear overgrowth along the Maligne Pass Trail section of the GDT in Jasper National Park in collaboration with the Jasper Trails Alliance.
• Provide ongoing trail maintenance of 100 km of the Original Great Divide Trail between Fording River Pass and North Fork Pass in Alberta.

To do this, we need funds for tools and equipment, contractors, camp supplies, insurance, signage, training, and transportation. As trail building and maintenance activity grows and extends to far reaching sections of the GDT, the budget also grows. Last year, we spent over $22,000 on these activities.

Another GDTA purpose is to educate the public about the Great Divide Trail and encourage its use consistent with the scenic and wilderness values of the Canadian Rockies. This is no small task. Here are some of the things we do on an ongoing basis to inform trail users and promote the trail to the general public:

• Provide regular updates on the GDTA website and social media to provide trail users with current trip planning resources.
• Present outreach and education programs including workshops on hiking and safety as well as guest presentations featuring long-distance hikers and wilderness enthusiasts.
• Prepare seasonal newsletters to inform and update about trail topics, events, and volunteer opportunities.

These activities require funds for website costs, marketing, venue rental, merchandise, and presenters. Last year, we spent almost $5,000 on these activities.

One purpose that can’t be over-emphasized is the GDTA’s work in advocating for the formal recognition and protection of the GDT. We believe that the GDT is a significant long-distance trail worthy of preservation for its own sake and for the wilderness experience it provides to its users.

Here are what some hikers have said about their experience on the trail:

This trail was so much more than I could ever have imagined! More wild. More scenic. More difficult. More sacred. MORE WONDERFUL.

I savored the experience of the GDT and count it among one of my better choices made in life.

It is a one of a kind trail unique from others in its remoteness, challenging terrain, weather, and rewarding scenery. It was all worth the challenges and is now my favorite trail. What a journey!

GDTA activities provide benefits to a wide group of people – hikers, equestrians, volunteers, and those attending our various educational functions and events. We serve trail user communities in two provinces and people who come from all over Canada and the world to hike the GDT.

We have set up our Donate webpage in association with CanadaHelps, a charitable organization that works with other charities to provide fundraising tools and assistance in processing donations. Using this service will significantly decrease our administrative workload and provide us with highly professional and secure donation forms and quick turnaround for charitable receipts. The cost for using CanadaHelps is low in consideration of the level of service it provides – averaging less than $.04 for every donated dollar.

Donations to the GDTA are always welcome. This is particularly true in the uncertain times brought on by the COVID-19 situation. Understandably, some of our main funders have had to hold their grant programs in abeyance due to the pandemic. This has resulted in a shortfall of $12,500 in our budget this year.

If you are interested in donating, check out the Donate page on our website at: https://greatdividetrail.com/get-involved/donation/

With the support of our donors, we can preserve the GDT and its wilderness experience for generations to come. 

Its History, Its Founders, Its First Hilarious Book

By Sue L. Blanchard in collaboration with Jenny L. Feick, PhD 

The history of the Great Divide Trail and the Great Divide Trail Association is in many ways the story of six young adults with the energy, determination and vision to explore a vast 5,180 square-kilometre area of Canada’s Rocky Mountain wilderness, to chart a route for the proposed Great Divide Trail in what was called Project: Great Divide Trails.

Like Canada’s early pioneers, Jenny Feick (rhymes with hike) and her colleagues (Mary Jane Cox, Chris Hart, Dave Higgins, Cliff White, and Dave Zevick) identified, described and mapped potential routes for the 1,200-km trail along the continental divide in the summer of 1974. They did this work long before the days of Google Earth, GPS, the internet, cellphones, satellite phones, drones, or lightweight backpacking gear.

Funded by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s Opportunities for Youth employment program, armed with clipboards, pencils and topographic maps, they became surveyors and cartographers in their own right.They made good on an idea first proposed by the Girl Guides of Canada in 1966 and advanced to Parks Canada by Jim Thorsell in 1970 after his extensive trail surveys in 1968-69: Build a trail along, across and adjacent to the border of Alberta and British Columbia.

After the project, Feick, Higgins and Cox interested others in this grand idea, including Lani Smith and Jeff Gruttz.  All five are still involved with the GDTA today.  By April 1976, they founded the Great Divide Trail Association with Brian Prior as first President.  Smith, Gruttz and others began to establish the Great Divide Trail that summer, despite 32 consecutive days of pouring rain.  

Fast-forward to “Tales of the Great Divide”

Today, Feick and her GDT friends meet for reunions to recall the good old days. Their exploits as intrepid blazers of the Great Divide Trail are covered in a sweeping hefty volume called “Tales from the Great Divide, Vignettes on the Origins and Early History of Canada’s Great Divide Trail and Great Divide Trail Association”.

Edited by Dr. Jenny Feick, now retired from her 36-year career with Parks Canada and the BC Ministry of Environment, “Tales from the Great Divide” contains humorous stories and anecdotes from the early days of the trail. It’s also an emotional account of the various trying and daring exploits or “misadventures”, as Dave Higgins notes in Chapter 3.

The ‘Misadventure’ of the Broken Volkswagen

In one misadventure described in the book, a tree skewered the Project: Great Divide Trails crew’s 1962 Volkswagen. Chris Hart had kindly loaned the blue notchback sedan he bought for $75 to Higgins and Feick for their week of trail survey work.

“To us, it was a treasure,” notes Feick, “because the way they built Volkswagens back then, they could go anywhere. This car could go places a four-wheel drive pickup couldn’t go.”

The story goes that Higgins and Feick drove down a steep hill on an abandoned mining road and parked in the wilderness. Later, after completing their day’s trail survey work, when they drove up the road, a dead, leaning lodgepole pine dented the roof of the sedan and then broke through the top of the windshield, spraying glass everywhere and ‘shish-ka-bobbing’ the car!.

“(The pine) went right across my shoulder and ripped my jacket,” explains Higgins in the story. “We instinctively ducked.”

After ascertaining that they were both unscathed and extricating the car from the tree, they had to drive back to their base in the Crownest Pass without a windshield. When it began to rain, they turned on the windshield wipers so it looked to onlookers as if they still had a windshield. Dave remembers that whoever sat in the front passenger seat could stand up through the windshield and wave at the other traffic. “It was a lot of fun,” he notes.

Other Life-threatening Moments

As you read “Tales from the Great Divide”, you discover that every one of the Project: Great Divide Trails crew members faced a life-threatening experience during the course of their trail survey work during the summer of 1974. Cliff White, the project’s leader in 1974, describes how he unexpectedly emerged from a forested trail into an overburden pile just as a giant mining truck began dumping its next load of massive rocks. “Making Molehills of Mountains” tells his sad and scary story of the Erickson Creek Valley in BC.

The History of the Great Divide Trail 

The 1960s to mid-1980s looked like a promising time for the GDTA trail crews and the trail they surveyed. Dr. Jim Thorsell, the pioneer of the concept in the mountain parks, no doubt understood the GDT’s great future when he penned a provisional trail guide in 1970. In 1971, Brian Patton and Bart Robinson included Thorsell’s provisional trail guide in the first of several editions of their widely used “Canadian Rockies Trail Guide”. From 1976 to 1988, GDTA volunteers in organized work parties, supported with funding from the Alberta government, cleared and maintained over 110-km of the GDT and associated access trails on the Eastern Slopes between Banff and Waterton Lakes national parks. Higgins maintained his dedicated involvement in establishing and mapping the GDT throughout this time. Gillean Daffern included descriptions and maps of the GDT in her Kananaskis trail guides, and Gem Trek Maps put the GDT on their maps.

Everything changed in the mid-1980s. By 1987/88, GDTA volunteers became discouraged by the changes in government policies favouring resource extraction and motorized recreation over watershed protection and non-motorized outdoor recreation in the headwater areas along the Great Divide. Logging companies made clearcuts over the GDT, or just left a narrow strip of trees along the trail that fell over during the first major windstorm. The Line Creek Mine in the Elk Valley of southeast BC annihilated the series of historic trails, wagon roads and routes selected in 1974 as an ideal means to get from North Fork Pass south to Highway #3 in the Crowsnest Pass. The GDTA Board decided to put the organization into a state of administrative dormancy. Higgins, Feick and others continued with informal trail maintenance.

Meanwhile, people began rediscovering and backpacking the GDT. After losing their way along an unmaintained segment of trail in 2003, Dan Wallace and Wayne Marshall, who worked at SAIT in Calgary, decided the GDT needed TLC, and so formed the Friends of the GDT.

In 2000, Dustin Lynx released his first guidebook “Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail”. Although volunteer-built sections of the trail were missing in the guide’s first edition, the third edition, published in 2018, pieces together the six major routes that form the continuous trail and notes its official length by GPS as nearly 1200-km. One also learns about the Great Divide Trail Association, and how settlers and Indigenous groups once traveled the trail while hunting and trading.

In 2012, the Friends of the Great Divide Trail met to discuss how best to continue trail maintenance, and to begin approaching government for formal protection of the Trail. Although maintenance had been quite successful, the informal nature of the volunteer group made obtaining the necessary permits increasingly difficult. A decision was made to charter a new organization dedicated to the Trail. In the course of investigating a new charter, the group learned that the Great Divide Trail Association was dormant but not extinguished. They were able to file Articles of Continuance and resurrect the GDTA by 2013. Brad Vaillancourt of Vancouver BC, who thru-hiked the GDT in 2006, served as first President.

The GDTA Today

At a talk she gave in mid-May 2020 via Zoom teleconference to the Alpine Club of Canada in Victoria, BC, Feick remarked “The new GDTA brings together the pioneering work of Jim Thorsell in the mountain parks, with the work of Project: Great Divide Trails, and the first iteration of the GDTA, to create a 1200-km route that to thru-hikers across the world has become the epitome of long-distance hiking trails. They have become a vibrant, professional, health & safety conscious, and tech savvy not-for profit charitable organization… I’m very pleased to see so many others who still share this dream over 45 years after we did Project: Great Divide Trails. I applaud the Great Divide Trail Association’s efforts to continue to build and maintain the Great Divide Trail and a protected corridor.”

How You Can Relive the GDT’s History

On September 30, 2019 in Calgary, Feick launched the first edition of “Tales from the Great Divide” at the GDTA’s AGM. By mid-November, all 30 copies of the so-called Collector’s Edition sold. Since then, Feick has been working to complete a second edition, which corrects errors found in the first edition, and that contains new material, other improvements and refinements. People interested in purchasing a pdf of the second edition should contain her at jenny.feick@gmail.com, or check on Amazon’s Kindle Direct service this summer to get a print on demand copy. The University of Calgary’s Archives and Special Collections contains a copy of the Collector’s Edition of “Tales from the Great Divide” within the GDTA fonds. Anyone interested in viewing it can contact the archivists at archives@ucalgary.ca to set up an appointment. As you read it, imagine you’re around a campfire hearing stories of pathfinding and trail work in an era before GPS and lightweight gear, as the GDT “originals” share their memories.

By Jenny L. Feick, PhD

Every spring, I take great delight in getting reacquainted with my friends in the plant world. This year, especially, with the social distancing required to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, I’ve had to resort to hugging trees instead of embracing my family, friends, and colleagues. This spring in the vicinity of my home on Vancouver Island, I appreciated witnessing the emergence of each wildflower species. Enjoying the display of alpine wildflowers in the Rockies along the GDT provides a source of joy and inspiration that I look forward to each year. I sincerely hope that 2020 will be no exception despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Plants are important not just for their beauty, or their values as food or medicine. Plants provide clues to the environment that can inform trail route selection. Everyone involved in trail work can benefit from learning to recognize certain plants and the stories they tell about soil, drainage and slope conditions. Knowing the difference between which plants grow in certain conditions can make the difference between choosing a route that will create erosion or other issues with perpetual frustration for GDTA volunteers and hikers or one that poses minimal maintenance requirements and provides an enjoyable hiking experience.

Some plant species prefer well drained soil. Others grow best in wet, poorly drained areas. Certain plants amazingly eke out a living in the most rugged, inhospitable conditions along high windy alpine ridges. Certain plants are resilient to human disturbance and can withstand trampling. Others are heartbreakingly fragile. Several seem to grow back with more vigour the more they are pruned! Some species are abundant; others rare or endangered and even protected by law, with prohibitions against damage or destruction.

While building trail, it is easy to view all plants as obstacles, something to clear away. Instead, listen to what the plants can tell you and you will gain practical knowledge that will make your trail building efforts more effective and enjoyable. Here are a few examples to help get you started.

Needles in Five; Keep them Alive!

Be sure you know how to distinguish a whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) from a lodgepole pine (Pinus contortus var. latifolia) when you are out on the GDT. As of 2012, the federal Species at Risk Act lists whitebark pine as Endangered on Schedule 1. Cutting or damaging a whitebark pine is illegal and could jeopardize the GDTA’s ability to continue to build the GDT.

Whereas whitebark pines are relatively rare and easy to route trail around, lodgepole pines are extremely common and many of them need to be cut to build and maintain trail. So, how do you tell the difference? The sure-fire way is to check the bundles of needles emerging from a twig or branch. Whitebark pines have needles in groups of five, whereas lodgepole pines have needles in groups of two. Usually, you find whitebark pine along high subalpine south and west facing ridgetops, in well-drained to dry sites with poorly developed soils or rocky talus, in other words, ideal places to locate the GDT. Lodgepole pine tend to grow at lower elevations, but sometimes they survive on the same rocky ridges where whitebark pine thrive.

The long-lived but slow-growing whitebark pine rely on Clark’s nutcrackers for seed dispersal. In turn, their “pine nuts”, which are more calorie-rich than chocolate and have a higher fat content than butter, help feed those birds, as well as other animals. White Pine Blister Rust, an Asian species introduced via European imports in the 1900s threatens all North American five-needle pine species. Climate change, mountain pine beetle, fire and fire suppression interact to compound or accelerate adverse effects. Let’s do whatever we can to identify and maintain these attractive denizens of high places.

Willow Thou Go, the GDT Shan’t Go

Shrubby vegetation along the GDT often poses the greatest challenge for trail builders. The tendency is to call everything a willow (salix sp.) or an alder (alnus sp.). While both exist along the GDT, many other shrub species do as well, including white-flowered rhododendron (rhododendron albiflorum), false azalea (menzisia), grouseberry (Vacciniumscoparium), buffaloberry (Shepherdia Canadensis), bearberry (arctostapahlous uva-ursi) and juniper (juniperus sp.). Why does it matter? Knowing if a shrub really is a true willow is extremely important, especially species that need wet soils like the diamond leaf willow (Salix planifolia). When routing the GDT, do whatever you can to avoid low-lying areas containing these willows, which quickly become muddy quagmires. Go upslope where the shrubs preferring drier, more well-drained conditions live.

Admire their Beauty from Afar

Several species of attractive and sometimes fragrant wildflowers prefer very moist subalpine or alpine habitats, including fragrant white-rein orchid (Platanthera dilatata), northern grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), and pink monkeyflower (Mimulus lewisii). These forbs are often accompanied by sedges, horsetails, and ferns. While you want to provide opportunities for hikers to enjoy seeing wildflowers, please stay out of wet alpine meadows containing these indicator species. Generations of future trail volunteers and thru-hikers will thank you.

Jenny Feick took all of the above pictures during GDTA work parties in 2018 or 2019. 

A Little Bit of Knowledge can be a Dangerous Thing

When assessing the plants in an area for the clues they can provide for trail routing and maintenance, check reliable guides to Rocky Mountain flora and seek advice from someone with botanical knowledge. Not all willows prefer wet areas. Vegetation differs depending on whether you are on the drier Eastern Slopes of Alberta or in the moister valleys on the B.C. side of the Great Divide. One volunteer inadvertently cut down a big patch of cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) in a meadow along the High Rock section of the GDT, thinking that it was devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus), a spiny understory shrub that grows in wet areas along with old-growth Western red cedar and Western hemlock.

Considering that bears (both grizzly and black) seek cow parsnip as a favourite food source, it may make sense to route the GDT away from extensive patches of this tall herbaceous plant. Many park agencies and communities in bear country like Canmore, Alta. now choose to locate hiking trails away from places containing high concentrations of prized bear food plants to promote peaceful co-existence between bears and people.

Although the leaves look somewhat similar, the spiny shrub devil’s club grows in wet areas shaded by old-growth cedar-hemlock forests whereas the herbaceous perennial cow parsnip thrives on avalanche slopes and other open or partly shaded areas. (Photos by Jenny Feick)