HIKING DAYS

      At one time I did quite a bit of backpacking and hiking with my buddies and with school outdoor ed field trips. After I retired I went on very few   outdoor ed trips. My buddies wanted to go on much more challenges mountain climbing and I wasn't going to do that with my skills and age.

      Now I follow two blogs that bring pleasant memories of my outdoor activities. DJan goes on a rigorous hike once a week in the coast mountains around Bellingham Washington.  Linda from, Linda's Lens, goes on many challenging hikes and backpacks to get great photos of plants and mountain vistas. Now these are excellent blogs that bring back the pleasant times I had in the Rockies of Alberta, Canada.

    The first extended back pack trip I took was  what we called Jonas Pass. We took the trail stating at highway 93. this trail took us over Nigel Pass. We had to cross a swift cold stream . We then met up with the Jonas Pass trail at Four O'clock Creek. Jonas pass was the big one. It was a long steady climb tot he Jonas shoulder. We then took the Pobotkan trail back to highway 93. One of us hiked back to get the car from where we started.

    We camped the first night at Four O'clock Creek. The second night we camped at Pobotkon creek.

    Most of the area is above the treeline so you are in mountain meadows. Mountain meadows mean lots of flowers and birds.

    I like the photos found on different websites but Ill show you mine.

This stream crashed down out of the rocks. Of course we had to take off the shoes and cross it.

     This is July 7 and this huge snow bank blew well into the valley. At places the snow bank was 20 ft deep.

 We are crouched behind rocks watching a small heard of caribou. You can see them in the middle right.

 Rock scrambling. All we could do is hop from rock to rock.

 A strange rock formation and cloud.

 We had to walk over several miles of snow. We are climbing up Jonas Shoulder.

 Nice bridges! You wouldn't catch Red on this one today.

The going was tough through these rocks.

     I would do this strenuous hike over in a heart beat if I was physically able.

Eat Yer Heart Out DJan

       DJan has two very well written blogs: DJan-ity and Eye on the Edge.  DJan-ity tells about her physical activities to keep healthy and physically fit. Eye on the Edge deals with a heavier deeper  issue of where she came from, what she was and what she's going to be before she dies. Both blogs are interesting and well worth following. 

       DJan lives in the coastal mountains in the northwest corner of Washington state. It's a beautiful place to be outdoors. Each Thursday, without fail, Djan goes for a hike with 10-15 other seniors. Each Thursday there is a vivid account of the hike. I find out how long the hike was, how much altitude was involved , trail and weather conditions and social interactions along the way. Photographs are always included.

      Now I admit I get a tad envious of her hiking activity as at one time I was a hiker backpacker. I have lived every experience she has lived . I love the great outdoors.

     I live about 120 km(80mi) from the Canadian Rockies. The Rockies were my hiking and backpacking territory. I taught outdoor ed. and took many school classes to the Rockies where we backpacked, snow shoed or skied.

    I also went with friends on more strenuous trips.

     I've been scanning photos and found some of my backpacking activities. That's why this post is aimed at DJan. Most of my hiking was done well above the treeline which to me is the best area to be. The meadows are carpeted with flowers. Ground nesting birds are abundant

    The photos are from a four day trip over Jonas Pass in Jasper National Park , Alberta. The hike is about 72 km(45 mi). So off we go with 50 lb packs that carry food, clothing, tent and sleeping bags. It's back country and any facilities are primitive.

     Many people are familiar with the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park.  Jonas Pass takes you through the next valley east of gorgeous Athabaska pass(Columbia Glacier). The Icefield's Highway was built in the 30's. It wasn't built before that as the Columbia Glacier filled the whole valley and you couldn't put a road through a glacier. Horse traffic went through Jonas Pass. Nowadays 10 - 15 hikers a year go over Jonas pass following the old horse trails.

    The trip I took was in the first week of July. The 2 or 3 km over the Pass were completely snow covered. There were areas where snow had drifted and the snow bank was 10 m (30 ft) deep.

    Any backpack trip I've ever taken , I would do over in a heart beat. This was a great one.

I don't know where this creek was coming from but we had to wade across it.

That big deep snow bank

Watching a small herd of mountain caribou in the valley below.

There were many large boulder fields to cross.

The exact top of the pass

Moving toward the pass through the snow field

One of the 2 or 3 primitive bridges