2017 President’s Report

By Dave Hockey The following is the President’s Report as presented by GDTA President, Dave Hockey, at the 2017 Annual General Meeting on October 2nd as a summary of the GDTA’s activities over the past year.  November 2016 to April 2017 the GDTA held many great outreach events such as:…

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High Rock Trail – 2017

By Doug Borthwick This year, we increased our work on the High Rock Trail significantly, expanding to multiple scouting and trail building trips throughout the summer. A huge amount was accomplished thanks to the large number of hard-working and dedicated volunteers. Some of the key accomplishments in 2017: 27 km…

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Wildfires on the Great Divide in 2017

It was a hot and dry summer in the Canadian Rockies, and fire hazard conditions along the Great Divide were extremely high for most of the hiking season. Due to these extreme conditions, the summer of 2017 was one of the worst wildfire seasons on record in Western Canada and…

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Paula Duncan’s Great Divide Trail

Paula Duncan, one of the first women to solo hike the Great Divide Trail, entertained a sold out crowd at the GDTA AGM on October 2nd, 2017. Paula kicked off her talk with why she prefers solo hiking. “I like it for many reasons, the most compelling of which is…

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October 2017 Trail and Road Conditions

Trail Conditions Update – October 23, 2017 Fall colours are here, and so is the snow! Snow has fallen on most of the GDT and is accumulating at higher elevations. Expect snow above 1500 metres with wet, icy and slippery trail conditions, and wet and muddy sections at lower elevations…

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September 2017 Trail and Road Conditions

Trail Conditions Update – September 26, 2017 Cool, wet autumn weather has arrived in the Rockies. Expect fresh snowfall above 1700 metres and wet and muddy trail conditions. Be prepared for colder temperatures and shorter days when travelling on the trail this fall. WILDFIRES: With the recent wet and cool…

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August 2017 Trail and Road Conditions

Trail Conditions Update – August 22, 2017 WILDFIRES: Fire danger ratings in the Rockies are very high and trail closures and campfire bans are in effect. Wildfire smoke is occurring along much of the GDT and is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility. Read wildfire updates regularly and be cautious out there.…

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Pathfinder Newsletter – Summer 2017

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…

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GDTA Crew Leaders Training

By Jeff Gruttz Sure, we all ‘know’ trails BUT are our volunteers fully cognizant of how sustainable trails are built and maintained? When our focus is enjoying the scenery or getting to the next campsite it’s not an easy task to understand how those ‘been there forever’ trails were constructed.…

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July 2017 Trail and Road Conditions

Trail Conditions Update – July 29, 2017 Summer is in full swing on the Great Divide which means alpine wildflowers are blooming and wildfires are burning in some areas. Trails are mostly bare and dry, with some snow patches at higher elevations. Warm weather means rapid snow and ice melt…

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