Storms & Grizzly Bears in Jasper National Park - Great Divide Trail ep3
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Spanning 1,200km (or 750mi) across the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Great Divide Trail is one of the most premier long distance hiking trails in the entire world. Following the divide very closely between Alberta and British Columbia, along the mountain range crest. They call this hike the wildest thru hike for a reason, it's extremely remote, and the conditions are truly challenging given the high elevation and extreme landscape. Similar to how the Continental Divide Trail was 10 or so years ago, the GDT is a collection of existing trails, strung together with cross country and off trail sections to make one long footpath.
My top gear picks for the GDT:
- Patagonia Rain Jacket - bit.ly/3ua4k7H
- Ursack Major XL Food Bag - amzn.to/47nbfIM
- Mosquito Head Net - amzn.to/46bpiAv
- Satellite Communicator - amzn.to/3SFnxbt
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My guide on how to hike the GDT (pictures, stats, gear, and info!)
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The Great Divide Trail at a glance:
- 1,200km (750mi) in length, depending on end point
- Grizzly and moose country the entire way
- 5 National Parks (Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Waterton, and Yoho)
- 9 Provincial Parks, 4 Wilderness Areas, 4 Forest Districts
- 2,590m (or 8,500ft) is the high point @ an un-named pass in Section E
- 1,055m (or 3,500ft) is the low point @ Old Fort Point outside of Jasper
- Peak hiking season is from July to September,
- 30 to 60 days is roughly how long this hike takes depending on experience and fitness
Overall the GDT is one of the most amazing thru hikes you could ever do. Unparalleled scenery, glaciers around every corner, grizzly bears, moose, pika, marmots, exposed alpine meadows and lakes. Ridge walks on loose scree and talus. Off trail travel, bushwhacking, and adventure. Hiking through popular national parks such as Banff and Jasper. It truly is an incredible beast of a hike.
In this video we hike through sections E and F along the Great Divide Trail.
Leaving the Sask River Crossing where we last resupplied we headed north towards Jasper. Up and over the high point of this trail on an unnamed pass at 8,500 feet, though not nearly as tall as something like Mt Whitney on the PCT at 14,000 this still felt quite dramatic given the alien landscape surrounding us. This far north in the hemisphere the treeline is much lower in altitude, so getting views far off in the distance even at lower elevations is really cool.
A freak storm caused us to take an on trail zero where we were almost struck by lightning while in our tent! Just 40 feet away from our camp, a tree had been struck overnight, exploding and scattering debris all over. Come morning we found that it had also been snowing a lot at higher elevations, making for a very cold hike to start the day.
Visibility was low in the snowy sections, and as I stopped to say something to my partner I just happened to SPOOK A GRIZZLY that neither of us had noticed nearby. Again no more than 40 feet away from us was this grizzly bear, which was now startled, and running away from us fortunately. For the next couple miles we saw massive bear prints in the snow along the trail.
The weather didn't stick around, and we hiked into Jasper National Park where we would see two moose, a mother and baby in the Maligne Valley. A short stop at the Maligne Lake Cafe for some food before beginning the world famous Skyline Trail in Jasper which would take us up and over the mountains, and into town. A very popular hike most take three days to do, while some runners do it in a single day.
In the town of Jasper I got new shoes (altra lone peak 7) and we prepared for the final two sections of our hike. An extremely remote and difficult stretch, more so than any other. Dangerous river fords, off trail travel, a lot of navigating via gps, Bushwhacking, and no easy way out. Section F and section G are for sure rough.
Section F finishes at Mt Robson Provincial Park, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies at 3,954m or 13,000ft. Since we are continuing on, we didn't get the chance to hike any of the Berg Lake Trail, but have heard it's spectacular. Into Section G where things really get difficult. More of everything that made F hard, and some extra fun stuff thrown in as well!
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High point of the GDT, a friendly very large grizzle, and Jasper National Park!! A very eventful week 😊 if you want more GDT info, check out my guide here jupiterhikes.com/2023/11/15/how-to-thru-hike-the-1200km-great-divide-trail/
I was in a similar lightning storm at Philmont in 2015. It felt like we were in a cartoon and each time the lightning came it was like we stuck our finger in an electrical socket and could see the other’s skeleton. 😅. Didn’t get a wink of sleep.
Jupiter, I'm lost for words which is very rare... beautiful narration, perfectly choreographed footage. Again, thank you for taking us along!
Wonderful documentation about Sprocket walking the GDT :)
Oh my goodness what a beautiful trail. The colors and the shapes sometimes take my breath away.
Thanks for your videos:) its a very good way, to tell the story of the trail with a voice over, better than a silent hiking video or a influencer style filming the face for a couple of minutes. It was very enjoyable to watch. Nice scenery. All the best for your upcoming adventures:)
Stunning landscapes. Beautiful video. Thank you for sharing. 👏
Thank you for sharing…this must be some of the most raw and beautiful landscape ever!
When I did the AZT, camping along the north rim there was a monsoon that came in. I was SO scared, there was lightning hitting so close I thought for sure it would strike the metal tips of my pole sticking straight up. Hearing the lightning echo through the Grand Canyon is something I will never, ever forget though, you could hear it go on forever.
Glad the grizzly encountered turned out so well. It was an amazing photo seeing the bear take off in the fog.
wow, a significant amount of work went into that. amazing.
Really beautifully done. Your voice is so soothing, even describing a lightening storm.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us, Jupiter. So amazing!
Great video, Jupiter. I like how you tell a story. Most videos document the journey, which I also enjoy, but your take is different and very enjoyable. Cheers.
6:19 that mountain looks like Ron Perlman lying down. That’s all I came to say. Great video!
Love you two and your adventures! Bummer about the lighting scare, this GDT section looks rad.
Absolutely Stunning! 🙂
this is so beautiful!
The end of this video, does it mean there's going to be an episode 4? I hope so. Your vid's are the best, on many levels. :>)
There will be!
Now that's hiking!
What? Not a Zero ever 18 hours. You are right as rain. "Now that's hiking" Must be why I admire Jupiter and now Sprocket so much. Great comment
Sure makes me wanna do it again!
Thanks for sharing this spectacular content! I've read a little and seen a few photos, but your video really brings home the impact of this trail. The through hike is out of my league, but this inspires me to visit Jasper so that my wife and I can hike around that scenic area.
I'm curious if that lakeside campground, was indeed Pinto Lake? That grizzly encounter and the mistiness is super cool.
It was indeed pinto!
So nice, Love Alberta Rockies, BUT the Northern Rockies are even wilder.....if u need another challenge
I plan on doing the CDT soon, so we will see!
Damn. Just beautiful!
Love your hiking videos been watching you for years now thanks for making them. But, have you ever considered another mode of transportation? Like cycling across America or paddling the Missouri or Mississippi river etc. or is hiking just your thing?
Yeah absolutely. I have aspirations to bike north to south across Japan. Maybe next year. Paddling sounds cool too
Sweet man good to hear, can't wait to see those videos. I'll be paddling the Mississippi River next year with my dog
Looks familiar 🤔
Thinking bout you ❤️
Nice video as usual! Can't wait to do this next summer! Question... I hiking in long pants, but I keep hearing that I will regret not bringing some. When/where did you feel like pants were absolutely necessary?
Section G! Anyone will regret not having pants in G. Next up would be F, then some small parts of D
Someone vandalized the moose pass jasper boundary sign? @12:28 :( i was there Aug. 14th this year and the "Free Beer" crap wasn't on there.
Must have been someone in between you and us then, as we certainly didn't do it
@@JupiterHikes so sad someone that far from a trailhead... What date did you go through? Pretty rarely visited.
Not long after you, we finished the hike sept 1st, so I'd assume august 23 or something
❤
I admire your courage to do this hike. I'm wondering how you do such a long stretch, equivalent to the length of the JMT, without a resupply.
They want to reintroduce Grizzly's to the Pacific Northwest. They want to do the same thing in Northern California, but I don't want them to. I can deal with black bears, but not Grizzly's.
The light gear helps for sure, otherwise going faster means less food and often that's what I'll do. Though that's not always an option or something desirable. Knowing how much you need from past experiences so you can carry both lighter food, and not have too much extra. Then of course.... Shoulder strength, as in the end it will always weigh quite a bit regardless of strategy 🙂 a good attitude is nice as well to laugh off the weight
I feel the same way about the grizzlies in the PNW which is where I hike. Although I’ve hiking in the Rockies too but I’m definitely more scared of bears there!
Amazing. Did you guys get lost ever?
Yeah all the time lol but usually just minor lost and not big lost. A lot of small navigation and off trail, it's hard not to stray
@@JupiterHikes That's interesting. What did that do to morale?
@@JupiterHikes Yup it’s like ‘wow look at that beautiful mountain ….uh oh where’s the trail?!’ Thank goodness for GPS whew
Awesome video! Really enjoying the GDT series
Thank you!
The helicopters during the fires are doing water drops / fire control. They may also have taken a look at ya to mark the sighting in case of rescue need if the fires surrounded you. You may not even know it if it were to happen (this happened to my cousin many years ago).
2:25 Do Americans call those stonemen too? That's what we call them here in Italy-Austria.
No words. 💙
How did you reseach the trail? Is it part of the trans American trail? James Thorsell my cousin and another fellow wrote a book on it in the very early 60's. Jim, was a ecologist and ended up as the head of world parks for the UN. He was educated at the UofA Edmonton. Sadly he passed this summer. I liked your work, too bad there was so much smoke.
A lot of googling, looking at the resources the GDTa has put together, asking a friend who had done it years ago what his experiences were. Not too much out there about the GDT, so not the easiest compared to other long trails
Just beautiful.
👍🐿👍
Such an amazing trail. I can't wait for the last section.
Take care!
It sucks that Altra got rid of their "foot-print" outsole. :-(
I would imagine it will come back, it seems like a large part of the brand identity being a 'foot shaped' shoe. Then again it's kind of LNT to see little foot print designs all up and down the trail
I feel you on the lightening, caught in a storm on the TA earlier this year, bolts hitting the peaks all around me, scariest experience of my life. Looking to do the GDT this summer with my girlfriend, looks beautiful, can't wait. Keep hiking bud
EVERYTHING about this is beautiful! ❤From the scenery and your trail tales to the music and your frank honesty. So glad that you have each other to share the journey with!
wow, this is so beautiful and inspiring! ❤I hope to be experienced enough at some point to take on a trail like this
congratqs