The Hiking / Backpacking Thread

[Wormius]

I have an old pair of Vasque Light Breeze that I bought on sale at MEC about 5 or 6 years ago for under $100. Not heavy, breathe really well, and are nice and grippy.

[GGG]

Did the Rockwall this weekend. Awsome hike but much more greuling then the elevations and distances each day make it seem.

We did it in 3 days from the floe lake side camping in Numa Pass and Helmet falls. Rockwall pass still had a lot of snow but the trail was easy to follow and the snow was a good relief from the heat. Helmet falls and floe lake are amazing. If I were to do it again I would go the other direction and add an extra night. Floe lake, tumbling falls and helmet creek are really nice campgrounds with great views whereas numa creek is deep in a forested valley.

Overall just as good of scenery as assinaboine, egypt lakes, or skoki but the trail is always either ascending or decending so you dont get the rambling through the alpine meadow feeling.

We had the whole trail to ourselves only seeing about 5 other hikers over the 3 days and only shared the last campground with one other group.

[GreenHardHat]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Little side project, nothing serious, at least right now. If we move forward with it I will provide more details for sure.

I did the survey as well. It would be interesting to see the results if someone suggests a new or unexpected trail selection method.

[Regulator75]

Banff Norquay Climbing Via Ferrata – Banff’s Newest Adventure Activity.

Italian for “iron road” via ferrata is a protected mountain route equipped with fixed cables, rungs or ladders and bridges. Originating in the 19th century, the roots of via ferratas are most commonly associated with the First World War.

http://traveltalesoflife.com/2014/07...ad-to-the-sky/

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Folks,
I have a survey related to hiking that if you have few minutes it would be great to hear you input.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RXKZ6YL

Bump - we just need a few more responses to get to our target. Help us cross the finish line CP!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Bump - we just need a few more responses to get to our target. Help us cross the finish line CP!

done

[Lanny'sDaMan]

I have a metric poopton of pics uploading, but here's a small taste of our camping last week in Jasper (lmao)

Spoiler!

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Bump - we just need a few more responses to get to our target. Help us cross the finish line CP!

Just filled it out for you Jiri. Hope that helps.

[Wormius]

Did Turbine Canyon today. What an absolute gem of a hike.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Bump - we just need a few more responses to get to our target. Help us cross the finish line CP!

Still looking for more?

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Did Turbine Canyon today. What an absolute gem of a hike.

Wow just looked at some pics on trailpeak and that looks awesome.

2 day venture?

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Still looking for more?

No we hit our target. Thx all

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Wow just looked at some pics on trailpeak and that looks awesome.

2 day venture?

No, we started early morning start and made it a long day hike. We originally intended to only go to up the hill after Forks, but the scenery just kept getting more and more beautiful. The pics on trailpeak don't do it justice. It was easily the most gorgeous scenery I have seen in a long time, with lakes, ponds, rivers, water falls, and little bridges all around; and only a short drive to get to.

It was a pretty easy trail overall though; just long. I wish we could have made it to Haig Glacier, but we stopped short as it started getting late.

Camping would have been a good idea, there were some other decent hikes you can do from Forks. Now that I have scouted it out, I think I could probably take my family, since there is minimal scree. No signs of bears, but noted some wild raspberry bushes along the side of the trail were just beginning to bud, so it probably won't be long before bears move in.

Next adventure will be Iceline Trail, which sounds spectacular, but I will definitely be camping in Field for that one.

[shane_c]

Just got back from a week in the Yukon. Hiked both Caribou and Nares mountains while there. The Yukon is such an amazing place.

[fleuryisgod]

Just wondering if anyone has done Ribbon Lake. Specifically what I would like to know if a border collie would be able to handle it if he was harnessed to me. I've never done it but I've read that there is one cliff section with chains you have to get up. Would love to head and explore the area for a couple days but if the dog can't make it then I'll need to find a new area to go to.

[stampsx2]

Hiking alone:

Have any of you had any close encounters with wolves/cougars/bears etc. For those days where it's beautiful out but friends are tied up at work an can't go till Tuesday when it's suppose to rain, would you hike solo? Or are you basically asking for trouble. I'd like to try some hiking on my own but have to admit wildlife or a sprained ankle along the way is always in the back of my mind.

[RatherDashing]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Hiking alone:

Have any of you had any close encounters with wolves/cougars/bears etc. For those days where it's beautiful out but friends are tied up at work an can't go till Tuesday when it's suppose to rain, would you hike solo? Or are you basically asking for trouble. I'd like to try some hiking on my own but have to admit wildlife or a sprained ankle along the way is always in the back of my mind.

Go for it! Hiking alone is much better than sitting around. Make lots of noise to keep bears alert to you, and try to stay aware. Carry a SPOT device or something similar if you are going anywhere remote. If you do a fairly popular hike there will probably be a lot of people around anyways.

I go out solo a lot (trail running) and have never had any real issues. Just do a bit of planning to make sure you are confident of your route, and that you'll have plenty of daylight to finish if things take a lot longer than you think. Also a good idea to leave your itinerary with somebody in case you get stranded.

[JiriHrdina]

Hey folks
Follow-up question from the survey many of you did (thank you!). Several people stated that getting accurate elevation figures is a problem.
Can any of you expand on what the issues are here? Is it inaccurate numbers? Like of a reliable source? Or is it more than elevation figures don't provide enough insight into how "hard" a hike really is?

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

would you hike solo? Or are you basically asking for trouble.

Personally I'd be more worried about spraining/breaking something than wildlife. Even an easy hike can turn into a miserable outing if you have to hobble back down a summit with a broken ankle. But certainly not un-doable (RatherDashing's advice was all great).

If you're ever looking to hike and can't find anyone feel free to PM. As long as I'm in town I'm usually up for hitting the mountains.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Hiking alone:

Have any of you had any close encounters with wolves/cougars/bears etc. For those days where it's beautiful out but friends are tied up at work an can't go till Tuesday when it's suppose to rain, would you hike solo? Or are you basically asking for trouble. I'd like to try some hiking on my own but have to admit wildlife or a sprained ankle along the way is always in the back of my mind.

If you are going alone make sure to tell someone where you are going, how long, and when to call search and rescue to look for you. You dont want to 127 hrs yourself. A spot or a PLB is a good safety device but it doesnt take theresponibility off you to be prepared.

Always go out so you can survive an unexpected night out. The most likely is probably spraining an ankle or getting lost. I carry a blizzard bag.

13 oz, size of a video tape, EN rated to 7 limit so you should survive until about -10

http://www.blizzardsurvival.com/prod...d-survival-bag

The more challanging part of going alone is psychological. Keeping hiking is much tougher alone than with others.