The Hiking / Backpacking Thread

[vegasbound]

I did Ptarmigan on Thursday and the larches were still definitely in abundance. It was snowing went I went though.

[Fuzz]

The report I had heard was from someone who did Burstall yesterday and it had snowed up there, so maybe it was just the larches higher up that were done. thinking this route up jumping pound might be good for us:


https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...nd-summit-road


or this, though I think jumping pound would be better.


https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...eer-ridge-loop

[Fuzz]

I did first consider Prairie view, but I think it ends up being a little long, and a lot of it is in the trees. The final push up the rocks might be to difficult, as we have some weak knees in the group.

[billybob123]

If people want to know trail conditions or e.g. Larch needles on popular trails, I would recommend just looking at photos on AllTrails, sort by date. We were at Arethusa last weekend and it was perfect, predicted entirely by the photos from AllTrails. Looks like the larches still have needles today but it clearly snowed.

[Fuzz]

Ya, the potential snow is more of a concern that larches, given the crew.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I did first consider Prairie view, but I think it ends up being a little long, and a lot of it is in the trees. The final push up the rocks might be to difficult, as we have some weak knees in the group.

You guys might like this area below Yamnuska...


https://kananaskistrails.com/below-yamnuska/2011/


It's a great dog area with a couple lakes. The aspens will be nice this time of year. If you haven't been there it's a bit difficult to find the loop that I like the best. But I'm sure you could muddle around to find a decent 6-8 km trip.



If you want the most current condition just follow Hike Alberta on FB. Very high dbag component in that group but you can get an idea of what things are like. Highwood pass is totally untenable right now. It's just completely over run with larch lookers. Burstall was really snowy yesterday.

[surferguy]

I had a friend ask me if You could drink the water from Elbow Lake. My initial thought was no but maybe I am wrong. Anybody have some proper insight?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by surferguy

I had a friend ask me if You could drink the water from Elbow Lake. My initial thought was no but maybe I am wrong. Anybody have some proper insight?

You should filter or treat all water. Giaradia and Cryptosporidia have been found in mountain lakes and streams. That said you are usually going to be okay drinking without treatment. Most cases of hikers and backcountry users getting stomach sickness are Self inflicted fecal contamination

I got crypto from well water when I was younger and it really sucked. It was hard to diagnose and long lasting so I treat water. That said I forgot my filter and my water bottles on my last hike and didn’t notice until I got to the trailhead. Luckily one of the kids had left a water bottle in the back so I filled it up at the first stream and took a chance.

When drinking water from the back country I choose streams/rivers over Lakes (no idea if this is valid or not). I also take a look at where the horse crossings are and make sure I am upstream from them.

I have one of these

https://www.amazon.ca/Products-SP129...38045187&psc=1

And just screw it to the top of a smart water bottle. You can also use chlorine tablets or bleach as other options

[flamesfan1297]

I hiked Prairie view trail/Yates Mountain today, up to the barrier lake fire lookout. Really glad we've gotten such great weather this late into the season

[djsFlames]

I traveled up to kayak Maligne lake and the temperature hit 25 according to my car. For a higher elevation glacial lake in october that's brilliant. Even got a nice sunburn.

Impeccable fall weather. This has pretty much been an extension of summer. If this could be how it is every year into October it would make living here a lot more appealing.

[Northendzone]

My wife and I were at lake Louise this weekend and we took the shuttle,to moraine to hike lark up to the base of sentinel pass.

The Parks Canada guy in the parking lot at moraine told me the parking lot at moraine was full by 5.30Am.

The initial part of the hike to larch was a pain and it was very busy. The mix of people hiking this trail is interesting. The hike up there was a little harder than I remembered it to be.

It was awesome to be hiking in October in shorts and a t-shirt.

I wish we would have had more time to hike up to sentinel

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

My wife and I were at lake Louise this weekend and we took the shuttle,to moraine to hike lark up to the base of sentinel pass.

The Parks Canada guy in the parking lot at moraine told me the parking lot at moraine was full by 5.30Am.

The initial part of the hike to larch was a pain and it was very busy. The mix of people hiking this trail is interesting. The hike up there was a little harder than I remembered it to be.

It was awesome to be hiking in October in shorts and a t-shirt.

I wish we would have had more time to hike up to sentinel

By the hard part, do you just mean the initial section with the dozen or so switchbacks before the trail junction? Or does the difficulty extend beyond there?

I've hiked the valley direction but not up to sentinel yet. Just for my own curiosity.

[flamesfan1297]

Does anyone in here snowshoe in the winter? I'm thinking about getting a pair and was just curious if anyone had any tips or advice on it? And what I should look for or avoid when buying a pair

[Torture]

Originally Posted by flamesfan1297

Does anyone in here snowshoe in the winter? I'm thinking about getting a pair and was just curious if anyone had any tips or advice on it? And what I should look for or avoid when buying a pair

Cross country skiing >>> snowshoeing

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Torture

Cross country skiing >>> snowshoeing

I’ve always wanted to say this: Name checks out with statement made.

Ha. Well I’d agree that ye ole misery stix (aka cross country) can be really awesome once you’re over the learning and fitness curve. That said classic is Much easier on the cardio than skate. As for ‘shoeing... it’s great fun and can be good social time cos well walking is walking. Although there are many trails around Calgary such as WBC, the truly awesome ones are more back country and or further away. So be prepared to travel to Chester Lake and down the Smith Dorian. Chester is fantastic views and climbs and best done in Feb/March... with poles. Don’t go too cheap but you want to be able to really cinch down the straps and rear attachment. Ideally your winter boots will also have that hard bump on the back to keep the rear strap on otherwise it’s a PIA. Similarly having gaiters keeps the snow out of your boots especially if your pants don’t go down far enough and/or have an elastic closure and/or clip for attaching to your boots D-loop. Just like XC skiing you’ll need layers as you generate good heat and a comfy backpack. If you do anything anywhere back countryish you’ll need to learn a bunch more and be more self sufficient.

MEC has a great selection of ‘shoes so look online plus goggle for basics. In my experience we have always done well with high end Atlas shoes. In fact I was looking at mine earlier today... after winning a brand new pair last night.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by RichieRich

I’ve always wanted to say this: Name checks out with statement made.

Ha. Well I’d agree that ye ole misery stix (aka cross country) can be really awesome once you’re over the learning and fitness curve. That said classic is Much easier on the cardio than skate. As for ‘shoeing... it’s great fun and can be good social time cos well walking is walking. Although there are many trails around Calgary such as WBC, the truly awesome ones are more back country and or further away. So be prepared to travel to Chester Lake and down the Smith Dorian. Chester is fantastic views and climbs and best done in Feb/March... with poles. Don’t go too cheap but you want to be able to really cinch down the straps and rear attachment. Ideally your winter boots will also have that hard bump on the back to keep the rear strap on otherwise it’s a PIA. Similarly having gaiters keeps the snow out of your boots especially if your pants don’t go down far enough and/or have an elastic closure and/or clip for attaching to your boots D-loop. Just like XC skiing you’ll need layers as you generate good heat and a comfy backpack. If you do anything anywhere back countryish you’ll need to learn a bunch more and be more self sufficient.

MEC has a great selection of ‘shoes so look online plus goggle for basics. In my experience we have always done well with high end Atlas shoes. In fact I was looking at mine earlier today... after winning a brand new pair last night.

Agree with this. There's a fairly wide range of shoe quality that impact weight, size and stability. Do some research and try a few on with the boots that you intend to wear with them. Having a comfortable, warm pair of boots makes a big difference.

[firebug]

Originally Posted by flamesfan1297

Does anyone in here snowshoe in the winter? I'm thinking about getting a pair and was just curious if anyone had any tips or advice on it? And what I should look for or avoid when buying a pair

Do you do a lot of off-trail hiking already?

IMHO snowshoes aren't needed for most people - you'd be better off getting a pair of microspikes as, unless your are up in Banff or off of the smith dorrien, snow isn't the issue, ice and slippery trails are.

Now if you are backcountry skiing or mountaineering certainly get snowshoes, but if you are a 2-season hiker who wants to become a 4-season hiker, spikes will get 10x the use for you.

I also recommend Nugara's Beginners guide to snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies as a terrific guidebook for the Calgary area.

[GGG]

I second the micro spikes advice.

And buy the Katahoola ones and not yak trax or any brand made for running.

These are the ones you want
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5017-3...raction-Device

For trails once you have spikes

Prairie Mountain, Chester Lake, Rawson Lake,, Grotto Canyon, Johnston Canyon are all a good start. Be aware of avalanche terrain, know what it is and how to stay out of it. For example going on the Fairview side of lake Louise is fairly dangerous and people have died.

The only caveat where snow shoes are needed is if you want to go off trail and play in the snow. Then snow shoes allow you to sink 1-2 feet into powder instead of 3-4 and it’s a ton of work. You can rent at MEC before you buy. I recommend the high end MSRs (if you plan on snowshoe peak bagging) or the cheap Mckinleys at atomosphere that come with poles for less than $100. I don’t believe there is value in any of the intermediate options.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6000-8...cent-Snowshoes
https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/...D=332938440_60
Those McKinley’s don’t come with poles but they should have a deal in the next few weeks at sportcheck or atmosphere

[firebug]

Originally Posted by GGG

I second the micro spikes advice.

And buy the Katahoola ones and not yak trax or any brand made for running.

These are the ones you want
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5017-3...raction-Device

For trails once you have spikes

Prairie Mountain, Chester Lake, Rawson Lake,, Grotto Canyon, Johnston Canyon are all a good start. Be aware of avalanche terrain, know what it is and how to stay out of it. For example going on the Fairview side of lake Louise is fairly dangerous and people have died.

The only caveat where snow shoes are needed is if you want to go off trail and play in the snow. Then snow shoes allow you to sink 1-2 feet into powder instead of 3-4 and it’s a ton of work. You can rent at MEC before you buy. I recommend the high end MSRs (if you plan on snowshoe peak bagging) or the cheap Mckinleys at atomosphere that come with poles for less than $100. I don’t believe there is value in any of the intermediate options.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6000-8...cent-Snowshoes
https://www.sportchek.ca/categories/...D=332938440_60
Those McKinley’s don’t come with poles but they should have a deal in the next few weeks at sportcheck or atmosphere

While I agree with most of this, and katoohlahs are awesome, we've several pair of ~$20 microspikes off of amazon that have well over 100km on them and are still going strong.

Unfortunately the yks 19 tooth model we bought is no longer listed but i suspect there are a dozen other types that would work just as well.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by firebug

While I agree with most of this, and katoohlahs are awesome, we've several pair of ~$20 microspikes off of amazon that have well over 100km on them and are still going strong.

Unfortunately the yks 19 tooth model we bought is no longer listed but i suspect there are a dozen other types that would work just as well.

Neat, I will have to check them out for kids as they grow.

Are they a knock off Katahoola or a different style altogether. My comment should have been you want spikes with chains with the full encirclement rubber attachment rather than other designs