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.

I PART WITH MY BACKPACK

       I had a very classy backpack for hiking. I didn't just go for an afternoon but for up to five days.

      I live close the the Canadian Rockies so there were excellent opportunities for backpacking. I once went into Mt Assiniboine (11780 ft.)which was a five day trip into the wilderness. We didn't climb the mountain as it's a very technical climb and I have no experience with that.

     In backpacking you must pack: food, cooking utensils, water treatment kit, clothing, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, tent and a few other goodies. Don't forget the rain jacket or the wind shell!

     So your backpack could weigh up to 50 lbs. For this weight you need a good pack that would make it comfortable to carry.

     I bought such a backpack that would hold 90 liters. My foresight wasn't that good as my backpacking days were ending. As a result I only used the backpack a half dozen times.

     I've kept the pack just in case I would go out one more time. But I realized that when downsizing the backpack could be sold.

    I advertised on Kijiji and never heard anything until a lady called two days ago. She came immediately and bought the pack as her son was going to Australia.

   Now she told me that when they were looking at my ad the son said isn't that funny how he got is Grandpa to model the backpack! When the lady gets home she will tell her son it was Grandpa's pack and he actually used it.

A Strenuous Backpack Trip

     I went along as a supervisor on many backpack expeditions. I got to go on a trip and people who needed and I provided an extra supervisor where needed.

     The longest trip I ever went on was in to Mt. Assiniboine in Mt. Assiniboine Park. Mt. Assiniboine is much higher than all peaks in the area and is a typical alpine shape. Mt. Assiniboine is 3618 m(11870 ft)  in altitude. No,we didn't climb it.

     A Venturer scout group ages 16 -17, wanted to do a five day backpack trip for one of their activities. We had nine Ventures and five supervisors...three man and two women. So off we went to Mt Assiniboine. Now these kids didn't need supervisors. They were super good kids. They were also in great shape.

     We started at the Sunshine Ski Resort which is a few miles west of Banff, Alberta. We found a pickup truck that was driving to the top and threw our big packs in and he took them to the top of the ski area. We walked up the 9 Km with our day packs. We found our packs at the ski lodge on top. By this time it was 5:00 PM  . We hiked three more kms and camped for the night. 

     The next day was a long hike over rough terrain. When they said Boulder Pass they really meant it. Boulders were the size of houses. We camped for the night and the next morning there was frost on the tent.

     The next day was a short walk to Mt. Assiniboine. We camped there two nights and enjoyed the area. We were at an elevation of 7000 ft. We were across from the mountain and in the late afternoon large chunks of ice would break off the glaciers and fall into the lake below. Some of these chunks would start off the size of houses and end up completely crushed by the time they hit the lake. the peak was about 5000 ft above us.

     Mt Assiniboine is one of the most difficult mountains to climb in the southern Rockies.

   On the way out we went over Wonder Pass which is a very good name for it. One more camp over and then a short walk out to where we were picked up.

    It was one of the most strenuous trips I was on but very well worth while. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

    The photos were taken by my friend Mike.

These kids would sing as they walked along.

MT Assiniboine is the peak on the right

Outdoor Education

      From time to time in my posts I have mumbled about being involved in Outdoor Education. Three of us taught the program and Mike was the guy who had the passion for outdoors and developed the program.

      We covered things like food, clothing, shelter, safety, first aid, map reading,orienteering, cooperation and a few other good things to know when you're enjoying the great outdoors. The highlight of the course were the two field trips each class took. We would take one trip that involved backpacking and a second that involved cross country skiing or snowshoeing. Usually we overnighted in a rustic hostel or tented.  For November tenting we didn't go too far away from home.

     We usually had about 35 students with two teachers and a couple of parents for supervision. 

     The photos are from the top of Coliseum Mountain. The leader would start the hike and make numerous stops for rest and water. My favorite spot was to be the last. Of course , I had the little guys who were incredibly slow and out of shape. I got most of these little guys to the top. Going down was the same except worse. By this time the little guys were more fatigued and became fairly weak. Sometimes the feet had started to blister.They were slower downhill than uphill. Sometimes the other kids had been waiting on the bus for a long time before I got there.  

    I've talked to former students about this course. They enjoyed it but one stands out in my mind. One of these people became a lawyer and was on the library board with me. One day he told me that Outdoor Ed was the "funnest " course he ever took. His Mom and Dad never took him camping. He found it hard as he said I was a little short, fat kid with a big pack and it was hard but fun!"

    I think I was up Coliseum Mountain 17 times and the sister peak 12 times.

On top of coliseum before going down one of the teachers would tell the kids that they did a very challenging activity that day and to be very proud of what they did. We then asked kids to go to a separate spot and meditate on the activity for two minutes and then we started down.

We always carried the school flag and had the mandatory photo.

A happy group.

    

Not All BackPacking Trips are the Same.

      Since I've been digging through my archives I've found some evidence of my backpacking trips. Not all trips are the same.

     I backpacked out of Canada only once and that was to Montana which is the state just bordering Alberta on the south.

    My friend wanted to do a trip to the southeastern part of Montana. He wanted to climb Flinch mountain which is a 9200 ft pyramidal peak. Montana doesn't have much for foothills so you can stand on a mountain or ridge and look far out into the flatlands of Montana.  The ridge we walked was bare, arid and open. The return trip was about 10 km ( 6 mi)

    We arrived in the area about 2 PM which gave us time to do a hike to the edge of the mountain and look out over Montana. It was a very hot dry day so it was tough going and the water went down quickly. We reached our goal, took the mandatory photo, had a rest and returned. Were we dry when we returned!

    The next day we planned to climb Flinch Peak. It was a long walk with a gradual incline. The last couple of kms were steep and the last 15 m (50ft.) of elevation was cliff like.

    Long before we got close to the peak , we ran out of water. Why did we run out of water? Where we hiked there were streams rushing down the mountain every 500 meters( 1600ft) so we could replenish our water anytime. We made the decision to go back. We rested before starting back. A lone female hiker came by and she was on her way back and had lots of water. She kindly gave us lots of water so we were able to finish.

    Now from the photo you will see that the last part of the peak seems to be a cliff. There was no trail. There was a nice chimney so I shinnied up the 50 ft. I was going to step out of the chimney on top. When I stuck my head over the edge there was nothing but space. There was a 2 ft ridge and there was no way I was going to stand up on that thing. By the time I got down my friend had found a very simple way to walk to the  top! The top being less than  1/2 acre of flat ground.

     We celebrated our climb with some photos and a break. We signed the register on the mountain top and started back. The views from Flinch peak were breathtaking in all directions.

    The return is always a long tiring walk. We did meet a rather scary hiker who was going out. We met and passed and never spoke a word.

    The campsite was in a valley lined with a 1000 ft cliff face that was a couple of miles long. All night you could hear pebbles, rocks and once or twice huge boulders that dropped off the cliff face and rolled to the ground. It's a good thing the campsite was 500- 1000 m away from the cliff.

    So, it was a great trip but a little different than our  usual trips.

Beautiful Flinch peak

The top gets steep

Old Man Lake

A rest on the peak with background scenery

Looking out over Montana to the east.

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