Category: Blog

Well, it was another busy year for the GDTA, and I would like to give you an update on all the progress.

First and foremost, I would to thank the Board of Directors for all the work they have done to make all this happen, it has not been easy, but everyone has pitched in to move the organization forward. The biggest highlight has been our work on the Strategic Plan, which is nearly done. We have dedicated half of our board meetings to this document that will clearly guide us for the next 3 years.

Our focus on building great relationships & partnerships continues to serve us well. Our Key Sponsors continue to show faith in our organization. Mountain Equipment Co-op needs to be highlighted as a long-term sponsor of the GDTA, and this year they more than doubled their financial support. I can’t thank them enough for this huge show of support. Teck, The North Face, Stihl continued their generous support this year also. Columbia Basin Trust and the Alberta Equestrian Federation are new supporters this year and we hope to develop a long-term relationships with them too.

Alberta Environment and Parks continues to support our trail building and maintenance especially in the Livingstone Public Land Use Zone. Their office in Blairmore lost two key supporters of our work and I was concerned but this year the support has been amazing, and we are so happy to have them as a partner. Recreational Sites and Trails BC has also worked hard to support our efforts to maintain and improve the David Thompson Heritage Trail.

Our work with the Jasper Trails Alliance on the Maligne Pass Trail is continuing to build and at the same time strengthen our bond with Jasper National Park. For the first time I am really hopeful for a breakthrough with a National Park, time will tell.

There are many more relationships such as the Willmore Wilderness Foundation whose equestrian users who do maintenance on remote sections of the GDT, we could not do it with out them.

To all of them and big Thank You!

As usual, our Outreach Team has been busy throughout the year. It started with talks such as the presentation to the Junior Forest Wardens and a busy winter with the Best of Banff Film Festival. We not only had booths in Calgary but Edmonton, Red Deer, Olds, and Lethbridge. Sounds easy but you would not believe in the logistics to make that all happen with volunteers. The successful events continued with Chasing Sunsets, Backcountry Emergencies, and the Dan Durston GDT Yo-Yo presentation. All great events that not only provide much needed exposure but contribute financially as well. Of course, their work continued with a great AGM in October. To all involved thank you!

Ensuring Financial Capacity is another committee that took off this year. Building on some of the long term grants we do, the committee brought in the Columbia Basin Trust and Alberta Equestrian Federation grants. They are also working on more grants with a plan for a solid financial future. I was very excited to see the application for Charitable Status submitted. This will be another big step forward for our organization, good work team.

It was also another busy season for the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee. With all the trips planned they hired a Trip Coordinator to handle most of the trip communications and logistics. This was a good decision as it can be overwhelming trying to keep up with all the emails and questions for 14 trips. The committee hopes to expand this position next year. We started with our largest scouting trip to date trying to increase capacity in this area followed up with 8 successful trail building trips on the High Rock Section. After two years of heat and fires we moved our trips to start earlier in the year, only to be met by a very wet and cold spring, mother nature always wins.

Next it was on to the maintenance side of things. We want to show that we can operate in many areas and take care of what we have already established. We held a maintenance trip on the original section of the GDT in the Lost Creek area and held two concurrent trips on the David Thompson Heritage Trail, installing much needed handrails on a bridge over Lambe Creek and improving tread as well. We also continued to work with the Jasper Trails Alliance and Jasper National Park to maintain trail in the Trapper Creek area. Dan Durston was able to put up reassurance markers in the Kakwa region and Alberta Parks were installing them in the Castle Parks as well. It’s great to see more of the trail marked every year.

One of my great takeaways of the season was reading the volunteer surveys and see the results of our safety committee, it seems as though the volunteers felt our safety focus was the best yet. And to wrap up the season another scouting trip confirming trail alignment and marking trees to be felled by Alberta Environment and Parks last week. 

Why do we do all this work? To support all who hike the GDT but specifically our thru hikers. This year was another record with close to a 100 thru-hikers. This continues our rapid growth trend and I can tell you there are way more coming, so let’s keep working to provide the best experience we can.

As this is my last President’s report I would like to again thank everyone on the board and the committees for all your efforts. To my mentor Wayne Marshall who in 2010 said to Brad Vaillancourt and myself that if we wanted to see the GDT survive, the organization needed to “grow up”, well in the last 9 years I think we have come a long ways.

Thank you!

Dave Hockey

By Barb Lauer

Lynnie and I once again hit the trail this summer, tackling Section C – SOBO, Field to Kananaskis. After hiking Section E (Owen Creek to Jasper) last summer, we were ready for something a bit longer and wanted to hike the best of the Canadian Rockies!

Probably the hardest part about hiking Section C is …. the planning.  The route goes through some of the busiest provincial and national parks in Canada and securing a campsite can be tricky. I booked us into the national parks when bookings opened in January but couldn’t book Assiniboine until 4 months before our date. This meant that we had to re-gig things a bit later; in the end it all worked out. 

My favourite section of the trail was through the meadows from the Bryant Creek turn off to Palliser Pass, over Palliser Pass and then down to Leroy Creek. We saw no one on this section of trail except for 10 toads, not including the one I stepped on… Be careful in this section – you look around because it’s green and beautiful and pretty flat as you go through the meadow and before you know it, SQUISH. I didn’t even realize I’d stepped on a toad until I looked back and saw Lynnie closely examining something on the trail. Apparently it looked like something from biology class. Walk carefully here!

Of course the scenery was spectacular along the Rockwall … really, really amazing but with heavy packs and the relentless up, up, up and down, down, down it was hard work! The walk from Healy Pass to Assiniboine and onto Marvel Lake was also spectacular! But our timing was a bit off and we went through there on a weekend with half of Calgary (okay, maybe not quite that many people).

This year we had to contend with a bit of rain and snow, which was a change from the smoke we had last year. It stopped raining at Floe Lake just before we woke up (so lucky!)….and then didn’t start again until we were on our way up Ball Pass. The ground was wet though and the first person through was taking a lot of the water from the plants onto their pant legs… not a nice feeling. And then it started to rain, slowly at first, lulling us into a false sense of security before it started to really come down.  At this point we took cover for a bit.. probably the best thing we did.  We were a bit bored with putting our rain gear on and off with a number of false starts but have to say that this is all good practice and when it really starts to rain, do not delay – layer up. If your partner looks like they are developing hypothermia (me), help them layer up but then don’t forget about yourself (Lynnie). It stopped raining just before we came over Ball Pass. The orange rock there is spectacular, and we soon forgot about the rain (except for the mud pit waiting for us at Ball Pass campsite).

We had frost on our tent at Ball Pass but it didn’t snow there like it did everywhere else in the area! The walk over Whispering Pass was wonderful. There was snow everywhere. And later that day we walked through Healy Pass and as we were walking through, plants were slowly popping up through the snow, pushing off the snow as it started to melt. It was like a very quiet symphony … a squish here, a plop there. Beautiful!

When we got to Assiniboine, we spend a few hours sitting around and taking in the views. We tried to buy a mid-morning coffee from Assiniboine Lodge but sadly it’s not possible. However, they do host an afternoon tea for campers from 4:00 that people raved about… sorry no information on price but it sounded great if you’re in the area. Later that day we hiked over Wonder Pass and onto Marvel Lake – the views are wonderful here, as you would expect!

The hike down from Palliser Pass to Leroy Creek is pretty straight forward, we were expecting more bushwhacking. It was a bit overgrown but completely manageable. The confluence at the bottom of Palliser Pass can be discombobulating, there is a lot of fast flowing, scary water. As long as you know that the Palliser River is actually a creek and the Leroy Creek is a very fast flowing, scary river at that point and that you do not cross Leroy Creek here, you will be fine. You cross Leroy Creek at the trail heading up to North Kananaskis Pass and onto Turbine Canyon or at the trail heading up to South Kananaskis Pass via Beatty Lake, depending on your route. [NB: maybe the Palliser River is bigger earlier in the summer? We hiked the third week of August].

We saw two bears, a black bear at the North Interlaken parking lot and a grizzly at the roadside as we were driving home. So on the trail, other than the toads, we saw very little wildlife….. probably because we were shouting HELLOOOO! And WHOOOO HOOOOO! at every turn. I did manage to scare a young fellow with one of my shouts. He had his bear spray out and was ready to use! Nice to see young people so prepared!

Overall, I’d highly recommend this section… navigation is very easy – you can rely almost exclusively on paper maps and trail signs; you can do it entirely in campsites if you miss out the random camping at Palliser Pass (saving the need for a bear hang), and the scenery is the best of the Canadian Rockies. However, once you get used to the adrenaline rush of working out “now where?”, it can be hard to go back to well-marked trails. I’m looking forward to going into the more remote, wilder side of the Great Divide Trail again next year.

Bit’sn bobs:

• We took 8 nights, 9 days to hike Section C. A Here was our plan: McCarthur Creek, Tumbling Creek, Floe Lake, Ball Pass, Healy Creek, Og Lake, Lake Marvel, Palliser Pass and out.  Favourite campsites:  Floe Lake and Og Lake.
• If you have an inReach and I would recommend it – do make sure you know how to use it. We had some fun arranging a ride from North Interlaken Lake parking lot because I had a brain fart and couldn’t remember how to send a text. Thank you to the family who drove me to the Fortress gas station and the lovely lady and her daughter who drove me back to the North Interlaken Lake parking lot. And thank you Stephen for coming to get us at such short notice.
• Weirdly, it always seems that the trail is harder in the opposite direction to the one you’re going. We had a number of people say to us that they were very happy to be going in the other direction and as we walked up the steep trail to North Kananaskis Pass, we thought the same…. “Boy are we glad that we’re not going in the opposite direct!”
• It’s going to rain, not something to fear but do be happy with your rain gear (I had a poncho and loved it; Lynnie really liked her rain pants and jacket)

If you hiked a section or an even smaller part of the Great Divide Trail, please consider sharing your story with us. Email: greatdividetrail@gmail.com

This year’s GDTA Annual General Meeting was a celebration of 45 years of the Great Divide Trail Association. It was exciting to see so many members of the original team that surveyed the trail and that started the Great Divide Trail Association in attendance. This included  Jenny Feick, Dave Higgins, and Mary Jane Kreisel (nee Cox), who were part of the ‘original gang of six’ who surveyed the route in 1974 and Jeff Gruttz, Lani Smith, Desmond and Peter Allen, and Chris Morrison who helped set up the GDTA in 1975/76. 

For those that missed the AGM, below is a summary of Jenny’s talk.

A Short Summary of “The Adventure of a Lifetime, Project: Great Divide Trails”; How the ‘original gang of six’ surveyed the Great Divide Trail route from Waterton to Banff in the summer of 1974

Jenny Feick shared the story of Project: Great Divide Trails and how it was an adventure of a lifetime for all six of the crew 45 years ago.  First, to provide some context, she took the audience on a trip back in time to 1974, playing music from the mid-1970s and reminding everyone about what was going on in the world and in Canada, politically, economically, socially, environmentally, and with regard to long-distance trails. She then described the first proposals for a Great Divide Trail in the Canadian mountain national parks made in the 1960s. This included the one developed by Jim Thorsell and approved in 1970 by Jean Chretien, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs at the time. Jenny told the crowd about how Jim Thorsell inspired Cliff White of Banff to promote the idea for a trail survey and feasibility study for a Great Divide Trail route linking Banff and Waterton Lakes national parks. She explained how she and the other young people got involved, and how they successfully obtained a federal Opportunities For Youth (OFY) grant to fund the project. The majority of the presentation focused on the project’s ambitious mission, challenging logistics, and the extraordinary amount of field work conducted despite enormous obstacles and without all of the communications and route-finding methods we take for granted today. Jenny shared a few of the hair-raising and funny stories about the crew’s adventures. She revealed the project’s findings, not just the 5000 km surveyed, 166 trails described and the options developed and mapped for GDT routes, but also how the crew brought to light the devastation resulting from resource extraction activities in the headwaters of the major rivers of western Canada. Lastly, she outlined how Project: Great Divide Trails led to the establishment of the Great Divide Trail Association and applauded the work of the current GDTA volunteers.

Jenny noted that her talk covered just one part of the history of the Great Divide Trail. The story of Project: Great Divide Trails is captured in Chapter Three of Tales from the Great Divide, which was launched at the GDTA’s AGM on September 30, 2019.

For more information on how to purchase the book Tales from the Great Divide, Vignettes on the Origins and Early History of Canada’s Great Divide Trail and the Great Divide Trail Association email jenny.feick@gmail.com.

The Collector’s Edition of Tales from the Great Divide, the compilation of stories about the history of Canada’s Great Divide Trail and the Great Divide Trail Association was launched at the GDTA’s AGM in Calgary in September 2019. By mid-November, all thirty copies had been sold. Jenny Feick, the book’s compiler and editor, supported by Jeff Gruttz, Dave Higgins, Mary Jane Kreisel and Lani Smith and desktop publisher Louise Beinhauer have been busy preparing a Second Edition that will be published this spring. The Second Edition will correct errors found in the first edition and add new material. It will be available in both print and pdf form. Anyone who purchased the Collector’s Edition will receive a pdf of the Second Edition.   

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the Second Edition of Tales from the Great Divide, Vignettes on the Origins and Early History of Canada’s Great Divide Trail and the Great Divide Trail Association, please contact Jenny Feick at jenny.feick@gmail.com.  

If you would like to view a copy of the Collector’s Edition, check the GDTA archives at the University of Calgary in the new Glenbow Western Research Centre, which is on the second floor of the Taylor Family Digital Library within the Archives and Special Collections. The reading room is open weekdays between 10:00 am and 4:30 pm and the curator is Annie Murray. 

At every AGM, we thank departing Board members for their contributions, re-elect members that desire to serve another 3 year term and welcome new Board members. 

This year, we say thank you to four Board members who are not returning to the Board.  Each of these four individuals made significant contributions to the GDTA over their three year terms and for that we say thank you!  The retiring Board members are: Barb Lauer (Outreach and Engagement), Darrell Aunger (Organizational Design), Dave Hockey (President) and Jean-Francois Cianci (Grants and Marketing). 

• Two existing Board members were re-elected: 

Brad Vaillancourt, President

Brad Vaillancourt thru-hiked the entire Great Divide Trail in 2006, and hasn’t stopped being involved with the trail ever since. When the GDTA was re-activated in 2013, Brad served as the organization’s president until 2016. From 2016 until present, Brad continues to serve on the GDTA Board of Directors, resuming the role of President in 2019. Brad’s various responsibilities with the GDTA have included being the lead for the GDT in BC, planning and implementation of the GDT Management Plan, design and maintenance of the GDTA website, development of GDT hiker resources, managing GDTA membership, chairing the Trail Building & Maintenance Committee, and leading at least one annual trail maintenance trip per year. Brad is very proud how much the organization has accomplished and grown in the past 6 years and is excited for the future of the Great Divide Trail. 

Jeff Gruttz, Chair

Jeff was a founding member of the GDTA in 1975 and served with the Board until 1983. From 1978 to 1980, he participated in field planning & crew coordination involving trail construction between North Fork and Fording River Passes. Jeff earned a MSc from the University of Calgary with thesis on hikers’ impact on day use trails in Yoho National Park. He retired from 22½ years with City of Calgary Parks as an Outdoor Coordinator and Liaison and has volunteered on the Alberta TrailNet Board for 12 years. Jeff received the 2003 Alberta TrailNet “Trailblazer” award and his passion is ‘doorstep accessibility’ to walking and bicycling opportunities everywhere. Jeff participated in most of the ‘Friends of GDTA’ multi-day volunteer work parties held in the 2000’s, and he continues to participate in trail building and maintenance trips as often as he can. Jeff has been a GDTA Board member since the GDTA re-incorporated in 2013.

• Two new members were elected to the Board:

Chase Holthe, new Director

Growing up on a farm in Taber, Alberta, Chase has enjoyed a lifetime of hiking, camping, horseback riding, and similar outdoor activities. The Great Divide Trail cuts through an area in the Crowsnest Pass with which he is very familiar and have many fond memories. Chase has practiced as a corporate disputes lawyer since being called to the Alberta Bar in 2012.Working at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, one of the world’s largest firms, has given him significant experience with corporate governance and problems faced by Boards of Directors. 

Robert MacLaine, new Director

Robert has recently graduated from Mount Royal University with a bachelor of Health and Physical Education, a major in Ecotourism & Outdoor Leadership, and a minor in Marketing. He is currently employed as a backcountry guide leading horseback trips in Kananaskis country. The skill set Robert brings to the organization is enthusiasm and passion for outdoor leadership as well as advocacy for conservation and trail development to ensure. His skills developed at MRU with a minor in marketing is an understanding of social media applications, best practices and campaign development. Through the major of Ecotourism/Outdoor leadership he has developed relationships with the ETOL community a group of people with a passion for the outdoors and conservation as well, sustainable development of parks, public lands and tourism attractions. Robert’s work as an outfitter provides him with an understanding of the lands the GDTA works on, through and some of the bureaucratic bodies the association works alongside. His position within the Equine industry also provides a perspective often under represented in outdoor organizations. 

Last April 7–13, organizations across the country celebrated National Volunteer Week. The thematic premise for recognizing Canada’s 12.7 million volunteers was simple: collectively, they lift communities.

We are no stranger to this phenomenon. Did you know that the GDTA is an organization run almost entirely by volunteers? It’s the joint work of 100+ individuals who give whatever time they have to help build, maintain, promote, and protect the trail and wilderness corridor we all cherish.

Our work is driven by a shared belief in the social, economic, environmental, and health benefits of sustainable outdoor recreation. We don’t just build and maintain trail, we partner with other organizations, businesses, and municipal governments to enrich local communities and foster environmental stewardship.

We’d like to thank again all our supporters, partners, and volunteers. There are no words strong enough to express how appreciated and critical your support and commitment have been to the growth of the GDTA.

Let’s build on this momentum together in 2019. Here are some ways in which you can help:

• If you are hiking the GDT, consider sharing with us your photographs, videos, writing, and/or other forms of art that put the trail and its experience in the spotlight. We’ll feature them on our website, social media, and/or official documents with proper credits.
• Submit trail reports (accompanied by photographs of trail conditions) to us by email.
• Participate in our active online communities: GDT Hikers and GDT Trail Builders.
• Join a trail building/maintenance trip.
• Become a trail crew leader, camp manager, safety officer, cook, and more on a trip.
• Help our equipment manager in Calgary to repair and maintain our tools and trailers.
• Join a committee to help organize outreach events and fundraisers, advocate for the trail and its protection, plan for trail building trips, apply for grants, recruit corporate partners, revise safety procedures, update hiking logistics information, and more.
• Become a board member.
• Share your legal, marketing, or accounting skills.
• Help us develop a youth stewardship program.
• Help produce and manage content for our website and social media.
• Become a corporate business partner and/or encourage your employer to support our work.
• Donate to the GDTA and/or become a member.
• Tell everyone you know about the Great Divide Trail!

If you’d like to help in these capacities or any other way, shape, or form, email us at greatdividetrail@gmail.com!

“We hiked Section E last summer and found the Guthook Guides App to be invaluable!  It allowed us to do the less travelled alternate routes with much more confidence.” Lynnie & Barb

 The Great Divide Trail guide in the Guthook Guides app is a GPS map-based hiking guide for your mobile device. If you’re out hiking in the middle of nowhere, you don’t have to worry! The app works in airplane mode, so even if you don’t have cell service or internet, you can still see your location and navigate your way on the trail. The app uses your mobile device’s internal GPS and downloaded topographic maps to make sure you don’t get lost. Other features that you can use offline include the map, elevation profile, waypoint list, and more. You can also stay informed about trail conditions ahead by reading other hikers’ waypoint comments, and let other hikers know about your experience by leaving your own comments.

The apps have some new features for 2019, such as the ability to create custom waypoints. The Android app has some new features that were already available in the iPhone version, such as an improved custom route creation tool and the ability to add private notes to waypoints.

Atlas Guides (creator of Guthook Guides) released a completely new and redesigned Guthook Guides app for Android in November 2018. Like the iPhone version, it has all of Atlas Guides’ trail guides in one app. If you have the “Great Divide Trail” Android app, you can transfer your old purchase to the new Guthook Guides app by downloading the new app here and tapping the “Restore Purchases” button on the list of all the trail guides.

Atlas Guides also recently updated the Guthook Guides user interface app for iPhone. It has a new design for waypoint clusters on the map and on the elevation profile and a simpler way to navigate around the app. Find the new iPhone update in the App Store here. 

If you need help using the app, you can watch Android and iPhone app tutorial videos on the Guthook Guides YouTube channel.

The Full Guide for the GDT costs CA$24.99 or you can purchase the section you are hiking for CA$5.49/section.  Search for “Guthook Guides” in the App Store and Google Play Store to find our newly updated app for iPhone and Android. Find all 1100 km (680 mi) of the Great Divide Trail and adventure through the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies this year! Follow Guthook Guides on Instagram @guthookguides and tag Guthook Guides in your GDT hiking photos with the #withguthook hashtag for a chance to be featured on its page!

Through its partnership with Atlas Guides, the Great Divide Trail Association receives a portion of every Great Divide Trail guide sale in the Guthook Guides app.

By Barb Lauer

For those without the time to do a thru-hike on the Great Divide Trail, you might want to consider a ~45k loop that travels on both sides of the GDT, crosses the divide over two passes, is not well known, is not well sign posted and is easily accessible from Calgary. Lynnie, Carol-Lynn and I did this loop last summer as preparation for our section hike in August.  It offers all that the GDT has to offer but on a miniature scale – remote, route finding, stream crossing and beautiful scenery!

The trail starts and ends at North Interlakes Day Use Area in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park on the Upper Kananaskis Lake Circuit/Three Isle Lake Trail.  We did the loop clockwise, heading past Three Isle Lake Campground over the South Kananaskis Pass into BC on the first day.  We stayed at a fantastic, small campground that is just past the South Kananaskis Pass in B.C.  – Beatty Lake Campground.  The next day we looped around to the North Kananaskis Pass, back into Alberta, to Turbine Canyon for our second night.  Our third day was an easy downhill walk back to North Interlakes Day Use area.    A bit more information on the route is provided below. 

The first day is very straightforward… there is a pretty clear trail all of the way.  Picture of South Kananaskis Pass.  We spend the night at Beatty Lake Campground in B.C., which is lovely!  It’s on the lake, there are bear lockers and a few tent pads. 

The second day was definitely more challenging.  Our first challenge was to find the trail out of the campsite, down a rockslide and across a scree slope. You can just about make out Carol-Lynn and Lynnie in the picture here, as they work their way down the rock slope.   It’s important to find the trail across from the scree slope, without it, I’m not sure how one would make it to LeRoy Creek.  Once you’re on the unmaintained trail, it’s relatively easy to follow it; there was blue flagging last summer. 

At one point there will be trail branching off from the main trail. Definitely take the time to explore this – it’s a beautiful rock water garden.  We sat there for a little while until we heard a growl of sorts and then scurried off!

Many different techniques were used in crossing the Leroy Creek including the epic pioneer approach of Lynnie’s (pictured here) and the not so elegant, wet feet approach that I took (sorry no picture available!). 

We got a bit messed up after crossing the creek, as my GPS route was washed out and no longer possible.  Generally, if you cross the creek when you first come to it and then stay on that side until you go above the cliffs and then back down to the creek you will be fine; at this point keep looking for the trail on the other side of the river that goes up to the North Kananaskis Pass and onto Turbine Canyon campsite.

The third day is a very easy walk, almost entirely a gentle downhill from Turbine Canyon campsite.   The three happy hikers are pictured here. 

The short weekend trip was definitely a great introduction to the Great Divide Trail.  If you enjoy feeling like you are the only ones out there, searching for the faintly marked trail while enjoying fantastic scenery, you will love this trip! 

If you walk a section of the trail this summer, no matter how short or long, please consider writing about it and sharing it with other GDTA members.  You can submit your articles to greatdividetrail@gmail.com