Offline GPS mapping

(Courtesy of Backcountry Navigator)

Typically, smartphones are only useful useful if you are in range of the nearest cell tower. However, the Backcountry Navigator app provides offline GPS mapping. Even if you are outside of cell phone service range, the GPS on your Android (in theory) will continue to work anywhere you have a wide, clear view of the sky. With a bit of pre-planning, Backcountry Navigator lets you download maps and aerial photos of the areas you plan to explore while you are still in cell range and then use your Android’s GPS to find your position on these maps when you are in the wilderness.

(Courtesy of Backcountry Navigator)

Map sizes can get very large and the GPS can be a drain on your phone’s battery. Backcountry Navigator allows you to turn off the GPS when it is not in use to conserve your battery. Depending on the length of your trip you should consider taking a spare battery, or a solar/hand-crank battery charger.

Get more information about Backcountry Navigator at http://www.backcountrynavigator.com/.

Sea to Sky Expeditions is proud of our commitment to sustainability, professionalism, learning, and cooperation with local communities. Our commitment to these principles has won us recognition as one of the top adventure companies in the world by National Geographic. Sea To Sky Expeditions has been providing quality wilderness experiences for our customers since 1988. Join us for a 8 or 9 day hiking trip along Vancouver Island’s famous West Coast Trail, North Coast Trail or its Wilder West Coast. Or enjoy 7 days of hiking in the Southern Chilcotins of BC’s Interior. All our hiking expeditions feature certified guides, excellent meals, and top of the line equipment. We look forward to providing you with the adventure of a lifetime.

Sea To Sky BC Hiking Expeditions:

• North Coast Trail – Remote Coastal Hiking
• Hiking in the Southern Chilcotins Wildflower Heaven – Photo Essay
• Wilder West Coast Backpacking – Photo Essay
• West Coast Trail – Graveyard of the Pacific – Photo Essay
• West Coast Trail – IBD Adventures Charity Hike – Photo Essay

Exploring the Rockies On Foot

To say that there are hiking opportunities in the Canadian Rockies is an unbelievable understatement.

The Canadian portion of range stretches for nearly 1,500 km from the border with the USA up into northern British Columbia. In total, the Rockies cover approximately 180,000 square kilometers and you can find nearly any terrain or landscape you could want. There are river canyons, rolling foothills, craggy peaks, glaciers, forests, lakes, wetlands and more.

Some of the best places to go hiking and backpacking in the Rockies are in any of the National and Provincial Parks that run along the length of the mountain chain. Some of the larger ones are the Jasper National Park, Banff National Park, Glacier National Park, Wells Gray Provincial Park, Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park and the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park. This is by no means a full list of parks, as there are literally several dozen in the region.

Outside the parks, areas such as Canmore, Golden, Kimberly and Kootenay Lake offer even more wilderness to explore.

Abbotts Ridge, Glacier National Park of Canada - Photo courtesy of Parks Canada

You can choose whatever hiking trail you wish, and tailor your wilderness time to just a few hours or all day long. Most parks will provide a rough idea the time it will take on their trails so you can plan your day.

If you are looking for a longer adventure in the Rockies, there are many places where you can camp but the specific details will vary from park to park. You usually have to pitch your tent in a designated camping area, rather than just any place by the trail. There are parks that permit “backcountry camping” in some areas, where you can just settle down wherever you wish. Either way, there may be fees associated with overnight stays.

You don’t necessarily have to tackle the Rockies on your own either. Many tour operators offer guided treks that can range from a short nature walk, to a full day of hiking.

There aren’t that many dangers when out on a trail, but when you are spending time away from civilization, you should always take care to be safe. Depending on where you are hiking, there may be bears and the danger they pose should need to explanation. Any bears you see while hiking are wild animals and should never be approached for a photo op.

Moose and caribou may not seem too threatening, but they have been known to charge if provoked. Again, keep your distance if you should see any.

Given the size and scale of the Rockies, there is no easy way to summarize the climate or weather. Snow is expected during the winter months, and longer if you are at higher altitudes. There have been reports of summer snow. Nights can be cold in spring and fall, and rainfall can sweep in without much warning. If you plan on being on a trail for more than an hour or two, it’s a good idea to plan for a possible change in weather.

With a solid pair of broken-in hiking shoes, a backpack with some basic supplies and a bottle or two of water is all you need to see the Rockies firsthand.

Overview

Jasper National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Rocky Mountain Range of Alberta and is spread out over 10, 000 square kilometers (4,200 square miles). Set against the Rocky Mountain Range is the Athabasca Glacier, Miette Hot springs, gorgeous waterfalls, pristine forests and sparkling lakes. Visit the wonders of the park by road or be whisked away on the Jasper Tramway to enjoy any of the wonderful sites and activities this incredible park have to offer.

Water Trips

White water rafting is possibly the most popular summer sport in the park. Many companies offer you a chance to plunge through the foamy water in exhilarating day trips or longer overnight trips. There are trips available for all experience levels and on site lessons for beginners. Swim in a secluded lake after a day of trekking around the foothills or just bask on one of the beaches for nap before dinner.

Whitewater Rafting in Jasper Park - Photo courtesy of Jasper Raft Tours

Motorized Tours

Van and van-assisted or motorcycle tours are available for sightseeing in the park. They offer you a chance to get out and closely explore areas you may not have seen otherwise. A helicopter can be hired for incredible sight seeing above the park or to deposit you in a private spot for a heart pounding heli-hiking experience. Choose a local company to take you on a guided tour of the Athabasca Glacier in one of their Ice Explorers.

Muscle Power

Guides can be hired for many of the activities you want to experience however, self guided tours are also popular. Spend some time walking, hiking or backpacking over some of the 1,200 kilometers of trails available. Many of these routes were used by Indigenous people and later by explorers as they traveled through these areas. There are climbing and mountaineering options, cycling and mountain biking expeditions and horse back riding tours available everywhere. Be sure to register or get any of the permits required for your chosen activity.

Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park - Photo courtesy of Jasper Adventure Centre

Spend The Night

Whether you prefer the comfort of a lodge or hut, a tent amongst the trees or a primitive site off the beaten track, there is something for everyone. Spend a couple nights in one of over 1000 sites campsites to choose from. If you wish to have a fire to brighten up your campsite be aware that they are not allowed at all sites and pay attention to any fire bans that may be in place in your area.

Historical Sites

When it became clear, in 1907, that two railroads would be built through the Athabasca Valley the Canadian Parliament declared valley as a forest reserve. In time the reserve became known as the Jasper National Park and besides the scenery and wildlife the park also holds four National Historic Sites. The Jasper Information Centre was built in 1914 and showcases the value of building with local resources. This was the first substantial building built in Jasper and is the first to greet visitors arriving by train. The Athabasca Pass, Yellowhead Pass and Jasper House are also National Historic Sites within the park.

Trail hiking in Canada’s BC Mountains is the exercise of the gods. There’s something particularly magnificent about a craggy mountain top, a painted cliff or an iceberg filled lake that you have discovered for the first time. It is spectacularly inspiring to reach the great divide and have a view that stretches a thousand miles without another person in sight or to photograph a Dall sheep on a steep outcrop of granite. What could be more fascinating than to discover a mother grizzly teaching her cub to fish for salmon or arctic char at a crystal clear waterfall?

It is hard to choose between the panoramic mountain top views, tranquil lakes, thick west coast rain forests, spectacular waterfalls, and breath taking alpine scenery you will find along the hiking trails of British Columbia or the migrating herds of Caribou, arctic fox and soaring Peregrine falcons you will find hiking in the arctic tundra of the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Odegaard Falls - Photo courtesy of Mike Wigle

As long as there have been hiking trails, people have felt compelled to explore them whether it’s to test themselves or to be awed and inspired, to be with friends or to be alone. For years I thought there is nothing better than challenging days of hiking culminating in relaxing evenings around the campfire sharing gourmet backcountry fare and great stories with like-minded adventurers.

I once thought that nothing could match the sense of accomplishment of being able to carry on your back everything you need to enjoy a full week in the wilderness and finding your way with an old fashioned map and compass. Then I was introduced to Michael Wigle.

Michael Wigle (http://mwigle.zenfolio.com) is one of the most respected nature writers and photographers in British Columbia.  His photos have appeared in BC Outdoors magazine and the book “British Columbia”. He also co- wrote Bella Coola, Life in the Heart of the Coast Mountains so when he offered to take me into the Great Bear Rainforest, the most pristine and beautiful  2.7 million acres of old growth forest on Canada’s west coast  to photograph Grizzlies and Black Bears up close, I was absolutely hooked.

Michael is an amazing photographer that believes the only way to save our wilderness is to have more people love it. He says people protect what they love and if you experience the Great Bear Forest even once during the salmon spawning season you will never let anything happen to the rivers that flow through it or the animals that call it home.

The forest is a temperate rain forest and is home to an estimated 6,000 to 14,000 grizzlies. British Columbia has some of the highest bear concentrations in North America. Its floor is covered with giant sword ferns, devil’s club and tangles of huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, salmonberries and thimbleberries.

Grizzly and Salmon - Photo courtesy of Mike Wigle

Bears love berries and salmon so he was confident that since it was the fall spawning season we could find some spectacular opportunities to get very close and photograph the Grizzlies and Black bears when they were intent on their fishing and getting fat for the coming winter.  Whenever the rivers are full with spawning salmon the bears and bald eagles are not far behind and in addition the forest itself would provide some spectacular shots with waterfalls cascading from the glaciers and the Coast Mountain Ranges rising all around .

We will drift down the river in a non motorized Mackenzie river boat and not disturb the bears to safely get up close and personal. Then we will disembark and literally walk the trails in the footsteps of the bears and investigate their day beds, claw marks on trees, tufts of bear fur, and of course lots of bear scat.

There are more than 20,000km/12,000mi of coastlines, 25,000 lakes and tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams in the BC area.  In the Bella Coola Valley the rivers are teaming with all five species of salmon.  Tweedsmuir Provincial Park is the largest provincial park in British Columbia. The scenery is stunning and encompasses the Coast Mountains, pristine river valleys and the remote Chilcotin Plateau.

There are plenty of Grizzlies, Brown bears, Black bears, Wolves, Mountain Goats, Moose,  Cougar, Moose, Mule Deer, Mountain Goats, Cougars, Wolves, Coyote, Red fox, and River Otter. The Atnarko river has a multitude of small rapids and falls where we could watch the bears scooping salmon from the river. It flows from Charlotte Lake to its junction with the Telchako River where the Bella Coola River begins. The Atnarko is approximately 100 kilometres long and flows through the southern end of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The river has cut a fairly steep-sided valley through a landscape characterized by a complex geology of volcanic activity, sedimentary folding and granite intrusions. .

If you want adrenalin pumping awe inspiring vacation you couldn’t do any better.