Parent category of all content that could be considered as news (as opposed to blog)
Back by overwhelming support is the 2025 GDTA Calendar. Featuring 14 spectacular photos of the GDT, showcasing our Photo Contest winners. These make great gifts!
They are $25 shipped within Canada and $30 to the USA. If you are interested please email Austin.Hager@greatdividetrail.com
These will ship around December 10th via Canada Post assuming the strike is over.
The 2024 GDTA Photo Contest was a huge success, with over 200 photos submitted. A huge thank you to everyone who submitted photos this year. Your entries help the Association as it works to protect, promote, and maintain the trail.
Our winners and honourable mentions are listed below, along with caption information provided by the photographer.
Morning Mist on the lake the morning we left Kananaskis, with super calm weather giving the lake a mirror-like quality. This picture is a combination of 4 individual pictures stitched into a panorama.
At Ball Pass on the Great Divide Trail, taking in the endless stretch of mountains and sky (with Rebecca Bradbury).
Arrived to the camp, I pitch my tent and let the tent breathe during the time (30min) I prepare the dinner et eat. I come back to my tent and a porcupine was eating my backpack. The hip pocket is fully destroyed, and the shoulder strap is half eaten. Luckily, it still hold the weight. During the night, he stays all the time at less than 4 meters of my tent. Nobody touch the backpack of a hiker. But porcupines doesn’t care at all.
With so many excellent photos to go through, it was nearly impossible to narrow it down. Here are our honourable mentions.
Hiking season is winding down, so it’s time to share the amazing things you’ve experienced along the Great Divide Trail! Spend some time reminiscing and go dig through all the photos you’ve taken. Then select your favourite(s) and submit them to the GDTA’s Photo Contest!
Submitting your photos is a unique and simple way to help out the GDTA! As the association works to protect, promote, and maintain the trail, we’re always in need of high-quality imagery. Who better to provide that then those of you who’ve lived it!
The GDTA will be awarding prizes for the top three submissions, as voted on by select members from our volunteer community. Please check back here as we’ll be updating this page with more info on the prizes.
Photographer: <your name>
Working Title: <one-sentence title>
Location: <specific location>
GDT Section: <A through G>
Detailed Caption: <longer caption, please include names of any identifiable individuals>
With this submission I affirm that I have read and agree to the terms and conditions of the GDTA Photo Contest. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. By entering this contest, you agree to the terms and conditions relating to this contest and you are responsible for understanding your rights.
Photos entered are considered licensed to the Great Divide Trail Association in perpetuity. By entering the photo contest, you are giving the GDTA the right to use your photos as we see fit to promote the trail and its protection.
You will retain copyright to any photograph you submit. You only grant the GDTA rights to your photograph royalty-free, in perpetuity, nonexclusively to:
Whenever possible, the GDTA will provide attribution in the form the photographer’s name and/or photographer’s website URL per GDTA’s discretion. Attribution will appear next to the photo or in the credits of the work product.
By entering, participants agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the GDTA, its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, volunteers, attorneys, agents and representatives, from any and all third party liability for any injuries, loss, claim, action, demand or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the competition (collectively, “Losses”), including without limitation any third party claim for copyright infringement or a violation of an individual’s right to privacy and/or publicity right. The Contest is void where prohibited by law.
Contest entrants are responsible for ensuring that he or she has the right to submit the photos that he or she submits to the contest.
1The concept and inspiration for this contest comes from the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s annual Photo Contest.
Monday, September 16th at 6:00 PM MST – ONLINE
Don’t miss this year’s AGM! We’ll be unveiling exciting updates on our strategic planning, and you’ll be the first to discover the path forward for our association and trail. Tune in to get the inside scoop and be part of the future!
The Annual General Meeting is open to all active GDTA members, and is where members receive updates and vote for new Board Members.
All of the information is available on the AGM 2024 page (member access only). Not a member? Become a Member Today!
Sections E and F:
Jasper National Park, remains closed. All permits and reservations in Jasper through March 31, 2025 will be automatically cancelled and refunds issued. Highway 16 and the Icefields Parkway (93N) are open but no stopping and services are limited. This means the GDT is open from Owen Creek trailhead (e1) to Cataract Pass (e12), noting hikers cannot enter Jasper National Park at Cataract Pass and have to backtrack and exit at the Sunset Pass trail junction (e6). There are no detours available.
The Blaeberry and Amiskwi valleys have reopened, meaning Section D of the GDT can be thru-hiked. The GDTA has assessed the section of the GDT impacted by wildfire north of Amiskwi Pass, and there is significant damage to the trail. The GDTA recommends hikers avoid the damaged section by following Ensign Creek Road between km 587.2 and the start of the Collie Creek Alternate @ km 593.3. BC Wildfire Service still reports the Blaeberry fire as “being held” but please check current status prior to attempting this section of the trail.
This was the most ambitious year in the field for the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee crews to date, with over 6,000 field work hours put in by 153 volunteers.
The season started with parallel trips into the Blaeberry: one, a basecamp trip to Collie Creek to complete the revival of an old trail to take the GDT off the logging road and the other a backcountry self-supported trip on the David Thompson Heritage Trail to complete trail repairs due to a major avalanche last year.
Work on the High Rock Trail between Alison Creek and Window Mountain Lake was completed over 6 backcountry trips, including a new trail completed to take 2 km of the GDT off steep ATV tracks. New signs were installed at key intersections along the route. Deadfall was removed between Window Mountain Lake and South Hidden Creek, and the South Racehorse Creek bridge was repaired. Some trail was rerouted to protect an environmentally sensitive area.
A new bridge was installed across Baril Creek on the Original GDT in Section B. A self-supported backcountry crew replaced the temporary log bridge and completed trail maintenance work up to Fording River Pass and from Baril Creek to just over the ridge to the south.
The first women’s only walking trip from South Hidden Creek to North Racehorse Creek took place in late July. Trail clearing, blazing, and an assessment for backcountry campsites were completed.
In Section A, a walking trip from Sage Pass to Scarpe Pass included trail maintenance and blazing along 14 km of trail, 600m of trail construction from Scarpe Pass to La Coulotte Ridge and an assessment of the campsite at Sage Pass.
Once again, the GDTA partnered with Friends of Jasper to clear and maintain the trail on Maligne Pass in Section E, clearing encroaching small trees and shrubs along 500m of trail east and west of Mary Schaffer Campground.
Two parallel trips were coordinated in Section G. Volunteers on a walking trip from Sheep Creek to Cecilia Lake completed trail clearing and maintenance that was started in previous years. The construction of a bridge at Cecilia Creek was done in parallel and both crews and tools were helicoptered in and out.
Two trips into the White Goat Wilderness Area were completed in collaboration with the Trail Protection and Advocacy Committee to set up and take down trail counters and wildlife cameras at the beginning and end of the trail season. This will help gauge activity along the Cataract Creek trail, to help convince the Government of Alberta to permit maintenance of that trail.
It was a successful season working in challenging conditions of heat and smoke. Thanks to all our volunteers and especially to our hard-working trip leaders who organized each of the trips.
December 1, 2023
Winter conditions are here. Snow is falling and accumulating on the GDT so expect wet, icy and slippery trail conditions. Boots, hiking poles, snow cleats or snowshoes are recommended. Temperatures are below freezing, so be prepared for winter conditions and short days when travelling into the backcountry this winter.
Remember that the GDT is not designed for snow travel and is not maintained in the winter. When the trail is covered in snow, finding it may be impossible so excellent navigation skills are required. Hiking or skiing on the GDT when it’s snow covered means exposing yourself to potential avalanche risk. In many places, it’s unwise to travel the trail during these conditions. While planning your hike, research snow conditions and check out the Canadian Avalanche Centre for the latest avalanche bulletins.
TRAIL CLOSURES AND NOTICES:
ACCESS:
National and Provincial Park Trail Conditions:
Banff National Park
Jasper National Park – NEW Submit a Jasper trail condition report
Kootenay National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Yoho National Park
Akamina‐Kishinena Provincial Park
Castle Wildland Provincial Park
Castle Provincial Park
Elk Lakes Provincial Park
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park
Kakwa Provincial Park
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
Mount Robson Provincial Park
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
October 1, 2023
Fall colours are here and so is the snow! Expect trails at higher elevation to be snow covered with wet, slippery and muddy trail conditions. Nighttime and early morning temperatures are below freezing, so be prepared for cold temperatures, morning frost and shorter days when travelling into the backcountry this fall.
TRAIL CLOSURES AND NOTICES:
ACCESS:
National and Provincial Park Trail Conditions:
Banff National Park
Jasper National Park – NEW Submit a Jasper trail condition report
Kootenay National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Yoho National Park
Akamina‐Kishinena Provincial Park
Castle Wildland Provincial Park
Castle Provincial Park
Elk Lakes Provincial Park
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park
Kakwa Provincial Park
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
Mount Robson Provincial Park
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
September 28, 2023
Cooler temperatures, shorter days and morning frost are signs that summer in the mountains is winding down. Cool, wet weather this week will include some snowfall at higher elevations so expect wet and muddy sections following periods of rain or snow.
TRAIL CLOSURES AND NOTICES:
ACCESS:
National and Provincial Park Trail Conditions:
Banff National Park
Jasper National Park – NEW Submit a Jasper trail condition report
Kootenay National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Yoho National Park
Akamina‐Kishinena Provincial Park
Castle Wildland Provincial Park
Castle Provincial Park
Elk Lakes Provincial Park
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park
Kakwa Provincial Park
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
Mount Robson Provincial Park
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
