Kelly lives in Canmore. Ray and Mark from nearby Calgary often join him for hikes.
Sue, Steve and myself rendezvoused at the trailhead. May 24th, this was the first really good weekend for hiking out of Canmore.
Steep and longer than I expected, the only major difficulty comes at the very top.
Kelly, our fearless leader, decided to post hole us up this snow chute.
On top we got a good view of Canmore in the Bow River valley. It started to snow.
Spray Lakes Road.
We opted to descend on the precarious looking ridge.
It’s not nearly as exposed as it looks.
Some snow. We were happy to have brought gators.
Our over ambitious original plan was to run up adjacent Ha Ling Peak from the same parking lot. … Instead we headed for the pub. FREE glass with a pint of beer. 🙂
… You are almost guaranteed mountain sheep on the Spray Lakes Road. … There are restrooms at the Goats Creek Trail head parking area.
Red Tape- There are no permit requirements to enter, climb and/or park in Banff National Park or Kananaskis Provincial Park. This is active grizzly country however. Take bear spray. …
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But have you heard of the new alternative, the 6-day Black Cat Track?
The Black Cat Track is closed, and no one—not Koyu up in Kaisinik or anyone in Lagui—thinks it will open anytime soon. The region remains tense. …
Last September, a trekking company’s guided trip through the wilds of Papua New Guinea was shattered when machete-wielding men attacked the native porters, killing two on the spot and injuring many more. The motive appeared to be robbery, but Carl Hoffman knew something else was at work—ancient tribal patterns of violence that, he knew, would inevitably be avenged.
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The Snow Leopard (1978) is one of my favourite books. I’ve just downloaded the audio version to read, once again, when I return to the Himalaya in November. It’s an account of his two-month search for the snow leopard with naturalist George Schaller in the Dolpo region of Tibet.
Although he saw himself primarily as a novelist, Peter Matthiessen, who has died of leukaemia aged 86, became best known for his non-fiction writing, a phenomenon he once described as “being pushed so far into a pigeonhole I now doubt I will ever get out”. Indeed, Matthiessen’s non-fiction earned him an important place among conservationists worldwide. His writing encompassed nature and travel, and its spiritual insights about nature, man, and himself, turned him into a sort of new-age guru. Even the careful craftsmanship of his fiction reflected an approach to writing that echoed the Zen Buddhism he practised. …
Once you’ve decided on the destination, here’s our advice for best hike for independent trekkers:
1) Annapurna – Annapurna Circuit 21 days
2) Everest – Three Passes 20 days
3) Langtang – … various options 5-15 days
If you insist on going with a guide, consider the trip fastest gaining popularity, the Manaslu Circuit, near Annapurna. Guides are mandatory on Manaslu.
If you are short on time, go to Langtang. It’s close to Kathmandu. Easy and inexpensive to organize.
I did 16 days in both Annapurna and Everest by pushing some long hiking days. That’s minimum, I’d say. I wish I’d had more days on both trips.
You really don’t need a guide in any of these 3 highly developed destinations, but you may want to hire a guide and/or porter(s) to enhance your holiday. My advice is to do that as you go in the villages of Nepal. Almost any Guest House can arrange those for you with just a few hours notice. This way all your money goes directly to the local people. (You might want to hire a porter just for a day or two, for example.)
Recall that you can carry a very light pack in Nepal. Sleeping bag, clothing and personal essentials are all you need. And a stack of Nepali Rupees, of course, to pay for your bed and meals each day.
I saw independent hikers at Everest Base Camp who had never before done an overnight hike. (Tolerance for smelly, freezing pit toilets is the main “talent” required. Not high altitude trekking experience.)
It’s awesome. The best day hike into Blyde River Canyon.
Starting at the excellent Blyde Canyon Forever Resort there are at least three short routes (1–4 hours) that can also be linked together as a 5 hour walk. Each trail is marked by a different symbol. You won’t get lost.
Of many different possible day hike variations, I did the one recommended to me at Forever Resorts registration.
Leopard Trail descending from the Worlds End viewpoint. Switching to Loerie Trail, a fun, rough scramble back up the creek.
(Easier, but longer, is a return via Guinea-foul trail.)
At Worlds End you get a great vista of famed Three Rondavels, thought to look like the houses or huts of the indigenous peoples.
Three Rondavals
It’s all beautiful heading down into one of the biggest canyons on Earth.
The day I was there was quiet. The only others gawking at the natural scenery were these guys.
My route did not take me all the way down to the river, though you can get down there, if you wish.
It’s free to enter Forever Resorts. (I wished I’d stayed there. The Taj Mahal of campsites.) But costs $5 to hike if you are not a guest. You must check in and out of the hikes. At registration will give you a hand drawn map and details on each trail.
While visiting the must see tourist attraction of Bourke’s Luck Potholes in Blyde Canyon, I checked details on the not-so-popularBelevedere hike.
You must register at Bourke’s Luck. Pay a trail fee of about $5 in addition to the parking fee of $5. Start the hike before Noon and be back by 4pm.
I talked them into letting me start well past 1pm, promising to do a trail run to make up the time. I ended up checking out at about 4:30pm.
The trail down into Blyde River canyon is easy to navigate.
Follow the blue footprints.
Promoted as “strenuous”, I’d more call it “overgrown” and “non-maintained“. Only the most agile will be able to avoid all the spider webs.
It is pretty, though.
Not many tourists get down off the rim into the canyon. I saw nobody else on the trail this day.
The now defunct Belevedere hydro-electric power station is 400m below the Bourke’s Luck Potholes. Built in 1911, it was once the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
besthike.com 