Category: Trail Maintenance

After an amazing signature trail maintenance trip on the Aldridge Creek Trail in BC, five keen volunteers continued the trail maintenance spree on the Alberta side of the Divide from July 22-25. The small, but enthusiastic crew hiked for four days from Owen Creek Canyon to Pinto Lake and out over Sunset Pass, clearing trail that had seen recent fire, wind and flood damage and adding blazes and cairns to guide hikers through the wilderness. Covering a distance of about 40 kilometres on the Great Divide Trail, the trail crew hiked over four high alpine passes, along cascading creeks and next to classic Rocky Mountain rock walls, while they performed significant maintenance on about half of this section of trail along the way.

Our first day began with a thunderstorm wake-up call but fortunately the rain subsided by the time we were gearing up for the day. We began our work with a gradual climb alongside Owen Creek Canyon, clearing 6 km of trail from built up wind and deadfall from a previous wildfire in the area.

After a full day’s work the crew decided to put the saws and loppers away and hike to camp below the first of three passes ahead of us. After blazing a confusing junction at kilometre 6 (future hikers: go left at the junction and hug the creek!) we discovered the upper section of Owen Creek trail had been badly washed out. With a bit of rock hopping and scrambling alongside the creek we settled in an elusive alpine meadow camp with beautiful views.

Our second day was focused on hiking through the alpine where there is no trail to maintain. We made it over the first pass (2460 m) and down the other side to have lunch at the spectacular upper Michele Lake.

 

Michele Lakes, along with several other alpine lakes on the Great Divide Trail, happen to be some of last remaining refuges for the Golden Trout. The fish is a native of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and was introduced into the alpine lakes along the GDT. Now that it has been fished out down south, it makes our northern lakes all the more precious.

After lunch we made the trek over the second pass of the day to the highest point on the Great Divide Trail at 2590 metres!

There are a few cairns placed on this section to guide hikers and the route-finding is fairly straight forward. After running down the other side, we made camp at Waterfalls Creek. As we hung out by the fire in the former outfitters camp, we were treated to rainbow views as rain showers and sunshine took turns passing over us.

Our third day was a bit grey, but still saw us hiking through magical wilderness. We marked the crossing of Waterfalls Creek where the established trail continues and cleared the trail up until it fades away above the treeline.

After a morning of clearing trail in the subalpine, we broke through to alpine hiking over the third pass (2460 m) under the watchful eyes of two Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. After scurrying down the other side for lunch, the rain settled in as we headed towards Pinto Lake.

The rain continued all afternoon as the crew cleared deadfall and brush on seven kilometres of trail until they were soaked to the bone. The rain let up as we made it to the established campground at Pinto Lake and we spent the evening discussing with pride all we had accomplished over the past three days around a cozy campfire.

On day 4, we strapped on our packs for a final day of hiking out over Sunset Pass into Banff National Park. It was a lovely bit of trail up graded switchbacks over the pass. On the other side, we contended with overgrown willows, but barely noticed as we were struck by the mountains surrounding us. After a few more switchbacks down to the trailhead and a bit of car swapping, we said our good byes and headed back to civilization.

It was a productive trail maintenance trip with many scenic rewards to keep us motivated. Our three days from Owen Creek to Pinto Lake is typically completed by thru-hikers in a single day and we hope our efforts made it a little bit smoother for future hikers straddling the Great Divide. Happy trails!

From July 15-19, the Great Divide Trail Association partnered with the Hornaday Wilderness Society, the trail operator for the Aldridge Creek Trail. 18 volunteers worked to re-establish the trail from the Aldridge Creek trailhead to Fording River Pass, repairing and building trail tread, and removing brush and fallen trees. [Photos by Jean-Francois, Evan, Bill and Brad]

A washout on the Kananaskis Powerline Road necessitated a last minute relocation of our basecamp but the new site proved to be even better.

Dan, our kitchen coordinator and camp chef, thought that ice cream would be a good idea on this year’s trip. But when all of the ice cream started melting on Day 1, everyone chipped in to make sure none went to waste.

 

The lower section of the Aldridge Creek Trail was washed out in 2013 when a massive flood increased the flow of the creek exponentially. After the flood, only remnants of the original trail remained on the huge gravel floodplain.

Our crew cleared boulders and debris and re-established the trail in the lower valley. This work involved the use of shovels, mattocks, saws and loppers.

A new crossing of Mud Creek was built, good for hikers and horses.

The upper section of the Aldridge Creek Trail was overgrown with alder, often completely disappearing beneath the encroaching brush. Two Stihl brush saws and hours of sweat and hard work were needed to clear more than 3 kilometres of trail corridor.

We had expected it to take 2 days to clear the overgrown trail but it ended up taking 3 full days to re-establish the trail up to Fording River Pass.

On Days 2 and 3 of our trip, we were greeted by 4 happy thru-hikers, all excited to see us clearing and repairing what had been a notoriously bad section of the GDT. We met Gian and Laura on Thursday and Erin and Elizabeth on Friday. Check out Erin’s blog where she writes about her experience meeting our GDTA Trail Crew.

And at the trailhead we installed our first ever routered GDT sign!

Thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers who participated in this year’s GDT Trail Maintenance Trip. Your hard work and enthusiasm made for a hugely successful trip!

Special thanks to our sponsors for making our trip possible: The North Face, MEC, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Stihl, Spray Lake Sawmills and Superstore – Thank you!

Twenty-one volunteers spent four days (July 24 to 27, 2014) working to repair damage to the Great Divide Trail caused by the June 2013 floods and re-established the trail from Tornado Saddle to the ridge crest north of Hidden Creek. Two bridges over South Hidden Creek were built, trail and cairns were constructed up to Tornado Saddle and the entire 16 kilometre section of trail was cleared and re-blazed.

The trip got off to a rocky start on Day 1 when the Bobcat carrying much of the camp gear got stuck in a bog and took the work of a dozen volunteers and almost two hours to get it unstuck.

At the same time, it started to rain and the temperature dropped, resulting in some icy sleet and a cold, wet trail crew. But the situation quickly improved when the Bobcat returned with a load full of dry, warm clothing, a fire was started and steaks were grilled for dinner!

After tool use and safety orientation in the morning on Day 2, the volunteers were divided into three separate trail crews:

Bridge Crew – built two bridges over South Hidden Creek. This work involved strong backs and creative minds to get the logs across the 12 metre span over the creek. The logs were stripped clear of bark, secured to the sills, and covered in linseed oil and wire mesh.

Clearing/Blazing Crew – removed brush and fallen trees, and blazed the trail to the ridge crest north of Hidden Creek. This work involved using a chainsaw to cut fallen trees, polesaws and loppers to remove brush and re-establish the trail corridor, and painting blazes on trees to mark the route.

Saddle Crew – established the trail from South Hidden Creek to Tornado Saddle. This work involved using mattocks and shovels to build switchbacks up the steep slope below Tornado Saddle, piling of rocks to create cairns, and paint blazing of the cairns to mark the route.

Three GDT signs were placed on the trail at junctions with ATV tracks.
Thanks to all of our hard-working and enthusiastic volunteers who participated in this year’s GDT Trail Maintenance Trip!

Special thanks to our sponsors for making our trip possible: The North Face, MEC, Cervus Equipment, Stihl – Thank you!

Major trail work took place during July 2009.  A newly formed volunteer group dedicated to the ongoing maintenance of the GDT, the Friends of the Great Divide Trail, spearheaded the effort by recruiting new volunteers, obtaining permits from the Alberta Government, and arranging for donations of food and the loan of power tools and equipment.

The GDT route through the upper Oldman area had seen little or no maintenance since the mid-1980s and many trail users reported losing the Trail entirely near the old Galena Mine.  During a 4-day outing, ten volunteers from Alberta and BC constructed a new log bridge over the Oldman River, and carried out tread work and brush clearing for several kilometres in each direction. New paint blazes were also applied throughout. The weather was ideal, the scenery was fantastic, the bugs few, and the camaraderie was great! Everyone went home feeling a huge sense of accomplishment.

This slope below the Galena Miracle mine is a spot where hikers have often had trouble staying on the Trail.

In September 2006, members of the Great Divide Trail Association and the Alberta Wilderness Association, with help from several Pathway Connectivity employees, did bridge construction across Baril Creek and trail clearing up to Fording River Pass.  The entire Baril access trail was also re-blazed.