Category: Blog

The Great Divide Trail Association is a 100% volunteer run organization.

As presented at our 2018 Annual General Meeting, we currently organize our activities around five committees or volunteer teams. Most meet regularly in Calgary but it is possible to Skype or call into the meetings.  If you are interested in joining one of committees, please email: greatdividetrail@gmail.com

 

 

Organizational Excellence

• Ensures that the GDTA has applicable policies, procedures and strategic plans in place to grow and protect the organization. 
• Ensures the continuity and sustainability of the organization through the individuals involved, including the Board, members and volunteers. Ensures that the roles and responsibilities of the Board, members and volunteers are clearly understood and are consistent with the mission and vision of the organization.
• Leads the Board nomination process, engaging potential candidates and ensuring that the Board includes an optimum mix of skills and characteristics that align with our values.
• Champions the Volunteer Recognition Awards and other mechanisms used to honour members and volunteers.

Ensuring Financial Capacity

• Ensures the longevity of the organization through securing robust, diverse revenue streams to support and expand our capacity for operations.

Outreach, Engagement and Education

• Builds awareness of the Great Divide Trail and GDTA.
• Ensures that the mission of the GDTA resonates with a broad audience of users, volunteers and funders through effective communication strategies and programs; robust and thriving outreach and education programs.
• Engages the GDTA members in order to strengthen the community of volunteers that support the Great Divide Trail.

Trail Building and Maintenance

• Ensures an outstanding wilderness experience for current and future users that is consistent with the conservation and preservation of the scenic and wilderness value of the Rocky Mountains of Canada.
• Fosters quality trail design, construction, management, protection, and maintenance, that ensures an excellent trail experience for current and future users.
• This committee is currently full, but there will be opportunities to volunteer on a trail building or maintenance trip next summer. More information on these trips will be published in February/March.

Protecting and Advocating for the Trail

• Pursues formal recognition and protection of the Great Divide Trail.
• Develops and maintains alliances with key governmental agencies and stakeholders, provincial or federal.

by Dave Higgins

Amazing and improbable as it is, Howse Pass is one of the gentlest crossings of the Continental Divide in the southern Canadian Rockies, yet somehow it has managed to escape the fate of other passes in the region. No road or rail line disfigures it. This despite its favourable geography, at first, for a transcontinental railroad (it was CPR surveyor Walter Moberly’s chosen route, rather than Major A. B. Rogers’ successful recommendation of Kicking Horse Pass), and in more recent times, for a fourth major highway across the Divide between Alberta and British Columbia. Intense lobbying by central Alberta chambers of commerce for an extension of the David Thompson Highway between Saskatchewan Crossing and Golden (to save commercial traffic a couple hours of travel via Calgary) was, happily, unsuccessful.

In the twenty-first century, however, Howse Pass could barely lay claim to a discernible footpath, let alone any sort of road. An ancient trail across the pass, linking the Columbia and Saskatchewan River basins, had been allowed to deteriorate to the point that bushwhacking was often the easier choice. Despite being a crucial link on the Great Divide Trail between Yoho and Banff National Parks, relatively few thru-hikers attempt the route, many preferring to bypass the area by way of the Icefields Parkway.

It wasn’t this way historically, though. Archaeological evidence shows that the connecting river valleys on either side of the Divide, the Blaeberry in present-day British Columbia and the Howse in Alberta, hosted a substantial traffic of Ktunaxa (or Kootenay) people from west of the mountains, who established the trail and travelled the route for centuries, hunting bison on the Kootenay Plains and trading with other indigenous groups. The first European to cross the Divide here, “The Great Map-Maker” David Thompson, walked the trail in 1807 on his journey to the mouth of the Columbia River, hoping to establish it as the primary trade route between fur-trading posts on the prairies and forts along the Columbia and Pacific coast. In this he was thwarted by the plains-based Piikani (or Peigan) people, who were accustomed to having control over the Ktunaxa’s access to European trade goods, most importantly firearms (This would not be the last trans-Rockies commercial dispute!). The Piikani effectively blocked access to the pass and, ultimately, by 1811 it was abandoned by the fur traders in favour of the more northerly Athabasca Pass.

A very good story! Good enough for the Canadian government to designate Howse Pass as a site of national historic significance, but, sadly, not good enough to provide for any possibility that Canadians (or others) might actually want to visit the site.

So the intrepid hiker with an abiding passion for Canadian history has been faced with the choice of a 13-km slog through the almost impenetrable upper Blaeberry, with choking undergrowth throughout, many washed-out sections and two treacherous glacial creek crossings … OR an ordeal twice as long up the Howse River valley, with literally hundreds if not thousands of blow-downs to crawl under, over or around. But wait, it gets even better – a combination of both for the hapless GDT thru-hiker!

Full marks to the BC government, however, for recognizing the value of their portion of the route and designating it the David Thompson Heritage Trail. This acknowledgement was accompanied by the last recent maintenance work, carried out in 1993. The trail was cleared of brush and deadfall, both creeks bridged, and signs erected. The access road from Golden was even in driveable condition all the way to the David Thompson trailhead at Cairnes Creek. 

Alas, the Blaeberry valley is renowned for its vegetation producing capabilities and before long the trail was becoming overgrown and obstructed once again. A knockout punch was delivered in 2013 when severe flooding destroyed the bridges and the raging river carried away entire sections of trail. The access road suffered the same fate, rendering impassable the last 14 kilometres to the trailhead. At this point the David Thompson Heritage Trail began to literally disappear from the landscape.

The story on the Alberta side, in Banff National Park, wasn’t much rosier. Flooding didn’t affect the trail so much as official indifference; Parks officials decided the Howse Pass trail was no longer deserving of attention, and that it would be left to revert to a natural state – i.e. to disappear. Strong winds, not unheard of on the eastern side of the Divide, seemed to be in agreement with this strategy and long stretches of the trail soon resembled a giant’s game of pick-up-stix.

That pretty much sums up the situation GDT hikers faced by the summer of 2018 – at least those brave (or foolish) enough to attempt the Blaeberry/Howse Pass route. Enter the GDTA! Over the past several years our organization has been cultivating relationships with government departments, private companies and individuals, and other volunteer groups. The short-term objective is of course to get the Great Divide Trail completed to an acceptable standard throughout, but as experience has shown, trails need ongoing attention to keep them in usable condition, and partnerships are an essential element in the success of this effort. So bridges need to be built not only over creeks and rivers, but also between the GDTA and myriad other parties who have an interest in the places traversed by the Trail.

This bridge-building effort has resulted in several successful trail restoration events recently, one of the most recent being on the David Thompson Heritage Trail. I’ll let you know how that trip worked out in the next edition of the Pathfinder. Stay tuned!

As you may already know the GDTA is a volunteer based organization that relies on the work and passion of people like you.

Every year we recognize the efforts of volunteers who go above and beyond to help us achieve our objectives. This year has been an exceptional year for us with a total of 10 successful trail building trips. This couldn’t be done without the help of dedicated volunteers like you and as a result we want to recognize the efforts of nine individuals who have contributed across all areas.

Peter Labastide: Peter was an all-star volunteer this year, participating on the first two back to back Hybrid trips and even staying over the weekend to solve some tricky trail reroute issues. He also helped out the bridge crew with some chainsaw work. During the trips he assisted in so many roles that he was defacto assistant trip leader. Back in Calgary, from loading the trailers to cleaning up and reloading, Peter was always there when needed. And finally, he capped the trail building season by leading the charge up the steepest section on our September scouting trip.

Lani Smith: Lani was our camp attendant, the glue holding all the trips together and keeping them running smoothly. Camping out on location for 7 trips, fetching and filtering water (just like last year), as well as assisting cooks, communicating with trip leaders, and keeping a watchful eye on our camps. He was there to do anything needed to keep the work moving forward. He took on a huge role relaying the History and Soul of the GDTA to many of our new volunteers. He also helped coordinate an Original member meeting where they documented much of this history for the future builders and maintainers.

Doug Borthwick: Doug started our trail building year off with a huge help, when he sold his tandem axle trailer to the GDTA at a significant discount, enabling us to solve both a storage and logistic issue. This was followed up by driving all the way to Coleman to assist with the inaugural Crowsnest Chapter meeting.  He continued the year participating on many of the trips all the way from Kelowna. He also took a leadership role on 3 of those trips ensuring they happened in a safe and successful manner. His patience and teaching ways were appreciated by many of the new volunteers and leaders too.

Vikki McGuire and Shannon Budiselic: Vikki is new to the GDTA and this was her first trail building experience. Shannon is a veteran trail builder and was joining the signature trip after just completing the walking trip on the original GDT. When the signature trip kitchen and food coordinator had to cancel last minute due to illness, Vikki and Shannon were handed the menu and told they were in charge. Both Shannon and Vikki not only worked the trail every day but stepped up in managing the kitchen and cooking the meals. Their help was instrumental in keeping 20 workers happily fed and watered. Thank you.

Kathy Plachta: Kathy is a very active volunteer with the GDTA. She manages the bookkeeping, accounts, membership renewals and is part of the Outreach Committee.  This is all in addition to taking care of Dahlia, who is just over a year old and is one of the youngest members of the GDTA!  We really appreciate Kathy’s dedication, attention to detail, creativity and her commitment to making the GDTA an even better organization.

Carol-Lynn Darch: Carol-Lynn stepped up to chair the Outreach Committee this past year and with this took the lead on introducing our first ever pub night social events and organizing the Pathfinder Newsletter.  She’s an avid backcountry hiker and took to hiking parts of the Great Divide Trail this past summer and is now planning trips for her and her 2 young children to explore the trail.  We are grateful to Carol-Lynn for taking a leadership role this past year, generating new ideas and helping to get things done.

Debbie Yanchula: We want to thank Deb Yanchula for her hard work and dedication to the GDTA on the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee, in particular for helping draft the Safety Manual and organizing food for the signature trip.  Deb was part of Food committee and she impressed us from the beginning with her incredible organizational skills and attention to detail – feeding 20 hungry volunteers for 5 days is no easy task, nor is preparing the menu and buying all that food! But Deb managed this without a hitch as though she’s been doing it for years – and it was her first time. She also spent countless hours drafting the GDTA Safety Manual needed for this year’s trail building trips. As if that wasn’t enough, she was a diligent member of the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee, and volunteered her time and manpower (and gas) on 2 trail maintenance trips.  For a volunteer who just started helping with the GDTA, Deb did an incredible amount of work in her first year – we look forward to seeing what’s to come.

Dan Durston: Dan is being recognized for his important contributions to the Great Divide Trail Hikers Community. In 2017, Dan, along with his wife Tara, were the first hikers to Yo-Yo thru-hike the GDT. In 2018, Dan decided to give back to the trail that he grew to love the previous year and he became a huge contributor to the GDT Community. Dan provided trip planning advice to dozens of prospective GDT hikers via email, social media and in person. His friendly and knowledgeable advice was welcomed by all and contributed to the success of several GDT hikers in 2018. Additionally, Dan participated in the “Original GDT Walking Trip” where he single-handedly cleared more than 100 trees off the trail. Dan shared his knowledge and love for the GDT with the other volunteers on the Walking Trip and inspired a few of them to return next year to continue section hiking the GDT. The positive impact Dan had on the GDT Community in 2018 cannot be underestimated and deserves recognition!

by Barb Lauer

Having volunteered with the GDTA for the past few years, it was definitely time to walk a section of the Great Divide Trail this summer. My hiking partner was the formidable Lynnie Wonfor who some of you may have met on a maintenance trip. So you get a sense of our abilities, we affectionately describe ourselves as two middle aged moms who love hiking and are up for an adventure! 

Inspired by the updated Guidebook by Dustin Lynx and feeling well supported by the GDT App by Atlas Guides or Guthook, we chose Section E – Saskatchewan River Crossing to Jasper northbound, which according to the guidebook “is a joy for anyone who likes trekking above timberline.” And that it was!! We had an absolutely amazing time! I won’t bore you with all of the details but do want to encourage anyone thinking of hiking Section E to consider hiking the Six Passes Alternate Route. It was a high point of our trip for us. It’s far more remote than other parts of section E; there is no trail, no route markings, no cairns. We saw no people and definitely followed more animal tracks than footprints. The remoteness and the feeling (rightly or wrong) that not many had hiked this area made it special for us. 

Throughout the first few days of our trip, we did research on the alternate route – we asked everyone we met who was thru hiking whether they had done the decommissioned trail along Maligne Lake or were considering doing the Six Passes Alternate Route… not one person had done the Six Passes Alternate Route and the thru hikers going northbound were going to have a look but didn’t sound too convinced to me. And those that had hiked the Maligne Lake trail, didn’t really have any good things to say about it. Spurred on by this feedback and the GDT Guidebook, “This is one of my favourite hikes of the entire GDT, a real gem.”, we thought we had no choice, we had to give it a go.

So on our sixth day, we made our way up to Maligne Pass from Poboktan campsite and at the pass looked hard to line up the six passes, which according to the Guidebook is critical. Well for the life of us, we couldn’t see the six passes. We saw only one pass and were hoping that the trail went to the right towards a grassy slope. It didn’t.

So we made our way up the scree-like pass, got good traction on the incline and got to the top of the pass without any problem. This first pass was a high point of the trip for us… we felt a great sense of excitement and adventure and the views from the top were spectacular. We were on our way onto the alternate route. 

We spent the next two days walking the alternate route, going up and down the six passes. We’d point our phones with the GDT App to get the general direction, pick something to walk towards and then check again in a bit.  For some this is sacrosanct – we didn’t rely on a map and compass but used GPS. At the end of the day, wouldn’t have been able to hike the alternate route without the App. I have a poor sense of direction. So we are both very grateful to River Taig and everyone at the GDTA who worked on the App, it opened up a section of the wilderness to us and for that we say THANK YOU!

Here are few more pictures from the hike up to the sixth pass and along the ridge to meet up with the Bald Hills trail. This section of the route is particularly spectacular! Some are a bit hazy due to smoke from forest fires.

The down scramble from the peak after the sixth pass is not that bad. We went to the summit and then peeked over to find a reasonable place to go down. We headed down the spot that had a few ledges, which made it feel like there wasn’t any exposure. The place to be really careful is just after this scramble. The rocks are deceptively loose, it is really easy to innocently set off a few rocks towards your hiking partner. 

For those going onto the Skyline, the shortcut mentioned in the Guidebook is still accessible. If going southbound, the trail is sign posted from the Skyline to Bald Hills and if going northbound, we’re not exactly sure where the trail starts from the Bald Hills trail, we went a bit early into the trees afraid that we might miss it. I don’t think you can miss it, it’s a double tracked huge trail at the south end. 

I think that the most significant challenge with hiking the alternate route (that is in addition to going up and down more than 2,000m) is random camping. There are lots of flat places with access to water but limited places to hang a bear bag. The trees just aren’t tall enough. We camped just before going up the second pass and between the fifth and six passes. The first night we couldn’t find anything tall enough to tie our food to, which is a problem. The second night, there were big boulders that worked well for us.  However, our bear hang did get visited by small rodents in the night, as the string had been played with. Luckily, mighty Lynnie did a fantastic job tying the food up and the little guys were unable to get it down. You will need a random camping permit from Jasper National Park to camp in the area. Note that they won’t issue you one during times that are sensitive to caribou, i.e. during the calving and rutting seasons. 

Overall, we would definitely recommend hiking the Six Passes Alternate Route over the decommissioned Maligne Pass Trail. 

 If you had a favourite hike on the GDT this summer, please consider sharing your story with us.  Please email us at greatdividetrail@gmail.com

by Dave Hockey

Well, I thought last year was busy, but this year was the busiest so far. We got off to a good start in November researching membership software and implementing it. This took countless hours and although we found out that the program did not meet our needs, many valuable lessons were learned and hopefully it will be our foundation for a future program to streamline our membership process. Our largest committee, the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee was in full swing looking ahead at potential new safety regulations we felt would be implemented by our government. We put money aside for chainsaw safety courses and approved all of our trips for the upcoming trail season. We also hired some interns to help with some grants and investigated charitable status but determined we just don’t have the organizational capacity to implement it, yet.

Throughout the winter we spent time building relationships with Parks, exploring a relationship with the Army Cadets. We also signed a partnership agreement with Recreation Sites and Trail BC, to become the official trail operator of the David Thompson Heritage Trail in the upper Blaeberry valley.

We also spent time talking with some of our corporate sponsors like the North Face who moved our organization up from the local level to National, including not only support with clothing for our Board Members and Volunteers, but hard dollars for trail work. We also applied and received the largest grant to date from Mountain Equipment Co-op, another long-term supporter. We also did some grant writing and many hours were spent by our Outreach Committee getting ready for our big spring fundraising event with Brian Keating, and our first ever pub night. We also took time to survey our board members and started working on long term strategies. Although our membership has leveled off, our email distribution list now reaches 825 people.

The Brian Keating event was a huge success, hard not to be when you have the most exciting speaker in town, raising $8,000 for the GDTA. This was great timing as it was budget time and the trail work planning was in full swing.

The late spring also came with good news at the Castle Parks Management Plan was finalized ensuring permanent protection for our trail within the new parks. During the summer months Alberta Parks even had trail crews working on the GDT in the park and installing our new reassurance markers. Big thank you to Julie MacDougall and the rest of the team at Alberta Parks! The good news kept rolling as the Livingstone and Porcupine Hills Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ) was also finalized, protecting our trail within it. The new recreation plans look great and work has already started to change this part of the province.

Spring was also busy trying to get the Crowsnest Chapter off the ground with an information evening in Coleman drawing over 50 people. Then jumping right into the madness of complying with Alberta Occupational Health & Safety requirements and Parks approval of our safety plan at the last minute. This couldn’t have happened without some extreme work put in by our volunteers on the safety committee and the heavy lifting by the Greater Bragg Creek Trail Association.

Summer – ready, set, here we go! 11 trips involving over 100 volunteers. Think about that for a moment, an organization with 250 members gets 100 volunteers out working for it, pretty impressive I have to say. We had 7 trips along the new section called the High Rock Trail, including building a 38-foot natural timber bridge as well as another engineered timber bridge, built with the support of Alberta Environment and Parks. Kudos to Brad Jones and the team down in Blairmore for your continued support. Then a walking trip on the original section of the GDT from Fording River Pass to Tornado Pass, maintaining the centerpiece of our trail, clearing 300 downed trees, installing new reassurance markers, and assessing future trail maintenance priorities.

Next up was the first ever trail maintenance trip in a National Park, working with the Jasper Trails Alliance to clear a section of the Maligne Pass Trail in Jasper National Park.

Then, we moved on to the David Thompson Heritage Trail near Golden BC, 8 kilometres of this historic trail were restored to its former glory. Following that, a 4-day scouting trip was completed to ensure we are ready for another busy year in 2019. And finally, the very first Crowsnest Chapter trail building trip near Window Mountain Lake.

Our GDT Trail App was also updated with more accurate route data and new alternates. You can’t believe the number of hours this takes to make it look so simple and easy to use!

We had another summer of periodic trail closures due to a bad wildfire season, but that did not stop record numbers of thru-hikers, estimated at more than 50 in 2018, along with hundreds of section hikers. As well the 3^rd edition of Dustin Lynx’s ‘Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail’ guidebook was released in July.

I can’t say enough thanks for the support of our board members, sponsors, parks partners and of the volunteers who made this all happen.

Thank you!

 

Welcome spring, from the GDTA!

It has been a slow and soggy start to spring, but the hiking season will soon be upon us. We’re excited about this summer season as we are offering more opportunities to connect with the wilderness of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and contribute to the building and maintenance of the Great Divide Trail than ever before! This edition of the Pathfinder includes:

• 2018 Trail Building & Maintenance Trips – Additional Call for Volunteers
• GDT Route Updates for 2018
• Brian Keating: A Walk in the Mountains
• Volunteer Spotlight
• Donor Recognition
• Spring Trail Conditions
• Backcountry Kitchen
• Upcoming Events
• GDTA Board of Directors Opportunity

You can view the latest edition of Pathfinder here.

While the trail is hibernating beneath the snow, we here at the GDTA are busy preparing for another exciting year of building and maintaining the most spectacular wilderness trail on the planet. Keep reading to learn more about our upcoming trail trips and fundraising events. Included in this issue:

• 2018 Trail Building & Maintenance Trips – Call for Volunteers
• Brian Keating: Conservationist, World Traveller and Nice Guy
• Trail Tales
• Donor Recognition
• Trail Permit Reservations
• Upcoming Events
• President’s Message

You can view the latest edition of Pathfinder here.

Summer of 2017 one of the most successful and productive summer’s the GDTA has ever had! Despite the intensely dry and burning conditions in British Columbia and into Alberta, the GDT was busy as ever with more recorded thru-hikers on the trail this year than ever before. This Autumn edition of the Pathfinder Newsletter will provide a summary of our efforts including:

• Trail maintenance and building trips
• Trail Tales
• Wildfire on the GDT
• Backcountry kitchen
• Annual General Meeting
• New GDT Logo
• And some well-deserved recognition!

You can view the latest edition of Pathfinder here.

Canada is celebrating its 150th year and the GDTA is celebrating another trail building season in the Canadian Rocky Mountains! The arrival of summer also brings the beginning of the 2017 hiking season on the Great Divide Trail. Determined thru-hikers are already beginning their adventures South to North (and back again) as the weather warms, snow melts and wildflowers bloom. Check out the latest edition of the Pathfinder Newsletter to learn more about adventuring on the Great Divide Trail and the work of the GDTA, including:

• Trail Tales
• 2017 Trail Maintenance Trips
• Skill Building
• Sponsor Spotlight
• Trail & Road ConditionsUpcoming Events

You can view the latest edition of Pathfinder here.

Happy Spring from the Great Divide Trail Association. We’re very excited about this upcoming summer and trail building and maintenance season. There is plenty of opportunity to connect with the wilderness of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and contribute to the protection, promotion and maintenance of the Great Divide Trail. This edition of the Pathfinder includes:

• 2017 Trail Maintenance Update
• Volunteer Spotlight
• Trail Tales
• Outreach Recap
• Trail & Road Conditions
• Upcoming Events

You can view the latest edition of Pathfinder here.