Times have changed so much. Weather in alberta used to be so different growing up. Cool summers with occasional warm days. Bright sunshine days with alot of blue skies. The sun was warm not sizzling like it is now. No smoke, I don't remember alot of forest fires. And lots of chinooks in the winter. We could always count on them for warmth. Good video, good company as usual. Thank you.
I don't know why these hikes are done more often. I rode a horse over this in the early 1990's. No GPS in those days. The tricky part (with a horse and pack horse) was taking the high line on the north of the pass. Straight forward if you nail that. But it is a beautiful trip. The Panther is wonderful.
I don't know why they're not done more often myself, the rewards are pretty epic as you know! I have plenty of other areas in the general vicinity I'd like to explore this upcoming hiking season, so hopefully more to show soon :-) On another note, I can't imagine, taking a horse and pack horse on that steep section of the pass, that you referred to. Yikes! Thanks for watching, and for the comment!!
Oh I did Northfork southbound a couple years ago and I see it's the same! Those willows... The absolute Houdini of that trail.. I think it made me a stronger person today lol. I also had a hard time finding that Horse camp. I ended up just camping sort of kitty corner to the Warden's cabin there and finding the horse camp the next morning too when heading towards Northfork. It was nice to see this area well documented, I was feeling weirdly nostalgic!
So cool! I can't imagine doing that in the opposite direction! That said as we were climbing up North Fork, I could've easily camped there by the cute little little waterfall. The non-panther side is pretty impressive as a meadow and a place to camp potentially. Glad I wasn't the only one struggling out there ha ha! And good for you for going to these crazy places. That's where the experiences are!
You really got some great hiking in this summer! I’ve not visited Banff NP since I was much younger in 1967 but I can still recall the beauty. Thanks for sharing. It’s too sad about the tragedy there over the weekend.
Thank you. It has been an excellent summer! So glad you are watching and perhaps going down memory lane :-) and yes, it was an extremely tragic weekend. All of us that do this in that area are reeling and in shock. Incredibly rare, sobering, tragic, and sad.
Thank you! A few more to drop before the end of the year. I have some really epic stuff in mind for next year as well and I'm glad these have helped you start to think about your plans for next year!
When you get to the North Fork pass there are two trails (coming south to north). The upper one (right hand) is the least obvious but it is straight forward on horses. Hikers tend to take the more obvious (left) route. That's why you don't take horses down there
AH - gotcha! That makers perfect sense. I will admit that it was a bit sketchy up there, trying to find the right route, so we probably missed that. Obviously the weather didn't help and we were in a hurry because of it. In any case, this is a stunning, stunning, STUNNING area. And if I can get permission at some point point, I'm going to camp on the south side of that pass. It's way too epic not to spend a night.
Thanks Bob. Elkhorn should be this summer. Badger Pass I did a number of years years ago with my daughters. That video was here somewhere. I think it's called Sawback Circuit?
Beautiful country Stuart. The more I see of these "random camping" areas the more I want to explore. If the weather holds in mid-October I'll be out there for a few days, but not the 10 that you had planned. That would have been an epic trip. Perhaps you'll be back there next year? Random camping avoids the gong show that is the backcountry reservation day every year, so there's that to consider. Not much for amenities, if any, but that scenery, wow. Thanks for posting this. Hopefully your Yellowstone adventure is going well.
It sure is. And I agree with you that the random camping opportunities in both Banff and Jasper national parks is epic. And I absolutely will want to complete all of the front ranges of Banff in the very very near future. Guaranteed. I fell in love with it this summer, and there is so much more to explore.
Oooohh. My condolences on getting low lying clouds in North Fork pass. Last year I had that in Divide, Clearwater, and Pipestone passes on my loop. That's as far as I am so far in the vid.
Well, we can't always have sunny days can we! But I would like to get back there and see it with a bluebird. Hopefully no smoke even with the low hanging cloud I found it very wild and remote, and I thought the cloud added to that feeling of being "out there". This is a stunning area that I am eager to return to as soon as possible.
Another great hike amongst good companions, Stu. Sorry for the turn of events but it's good to be flexible in your planning. Also good to have communication devices to alert you of the unforeseen. Still you managed to capture some beautiful areas, particularly liked the waterfall on day 4. Thanks for sharing and safe travels.
Thanks again for the kind words! It is a stunning area and demands far more explorations :-) yes carrying a communicator device is incredibly helpful and in this case made quite a difference to my good friends. Good company indeed!
Great video Stu! Thanks for an epic adventure. It’s interesting how the steepness of a trail doesn’t show on video, nor did the dozens of river fords on the upper panther..when the trail sucks there’s no time to video. That was quite the “trail” 😆 For those noticing my taped up hand…. It was broken from a fall early on day 5. Too much swelling to see the breaks in Banff ER, but follow up X-ray shows it now. And an update on the fire at home…all of our neighbours and homes were safe. Lots of fences and range land damage for the local ranchers however. We were on order for another week during which time Jim and our neighbours fought alongside the BCWFS to keep the fire from spreading towards us. As of today (sept 17) it’s been 8 weeks since the fire started, and we finally have a “being held” status. So, being flexible, adapting to circumstances on and off trail, persevering through awful weather extremes and injury, having a good first aid kit and some knowledge of how to use it and what to do for suspected fractures and sprains etc, and having options for an exit strategy is key (thank you Stu).
Thanks for updates. so glad you faired well in the fires. so scary this summer. well, a broken hand. you must be some tough! such an epic hike. I only started backpacking this year at the age of 61. I cannot believe how much I enjoyed it. No remote areas this year. Goal for next year.
Another great trip sorry that you didnt get to go where you intended but i love that you talk about making alternative plans. I find that one of the hardest parts is making the right choice when things change. Personally in my mind i always want to push on but i had a experience in waterton in August doing section a of the gdt. I was on an exposed ridge all day in +40 weather and suffered some heat stroke. But fortunately i had planed some alternatives and was able to easily get out instead of pushing on and possibly getting in serious trouble. I cant wait to see you make it to southesk. Its on my list but i cant talk anyone in to going with me. Keep up the great video's and i might end up messaging you about part of one of your other trips. Cheers
Hi Chris! Thanks so much for all of your kind words. But my goodness, 40° , exposed... SCARY! Glad you made it out safely. Always good to have a Plan B and as you probably know, I always air on the side of caution. There's always another day :-) Speaking of that, please do be in touch as you make plans for this upcoming summer. Southesk is still on my radar! Let's hope they don't burn it down first like they had planned to do last year.
Hey Stu, Catching up on some youtubes this week having a staycation week at the moment and all. Was to tired to backpack anywhere lengthly and knew I would be after completing the Tahoe Rim Trail thru hike in California and Nevada a couple weeks back. Highly recommended I might add. Anyhow, to bad about the weather conditions and such obscuring what I'm pretty sure would have been stunning views in various locations like North Forks in particular. Oh well, I'm sure you'll get back up that way once again to complete that 145k version or Plan A originally scheduled. Been wondering about all those gigantic loop potentials myself for a few years now. Seems it just wasn't meant to be this time with all those "interesting events" occuring. You had a great summer all in all. My next visit to the Canadian Rockies will be the Dolomite Loop I believe it's unofficially called taking in Devon Lakes from Mosquito Creek then out towards Siffluer Wilderness exiting down at Helen Lakes with Cirque Peak scrambled and one other which alludes me right at the moment lol. Can't wait for that one. Anyhow, hope all is good and looking forward to more from the Rockies next summer. Cheers from Vancouver.
Hey Andrew! Pretty jealous of your epic trips! Amazing!! One of my kiddos is in Vancouver, so perhaps when I'm out there again I'll send you a note. It would be great to meet and chat about the backcountry. Yes, it was the summer of adapting... Lots of different things occurring, but you have to adapt and have plans to get out if you need to. I typically plan my hikes with escape routes if needed and when possible. I absolutely fell in love with the front ranges this summer, and there is so so much more to explore there. And I absolutely have it on my mind to make sure I complete every inch of those trails. I also want to do the dolomite circuit which is a bit different than the hike you are discussing, but I have this geeky nerdy need to complete all of these circuits and long trails in the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide at some point. Question for you - are you talking about Quartzsite col? Just curious.
My apologies for SPEED reading.... I've only have a couple of days between hikes this summer and I try to catch up on everything, so I will simply blame my old age :-) now, southesk! We were supposed to be there this year during this exact timeframe until the big June snow blew all the trees down and we got good reports from back channels in Jasper about how bad things were. And also reports from other hikers on some of the forums who had tried it. Southesk is on my list for sure, having wanted to be there years ago when Joey and I invited Marty and Evan along for the hike. Parks was supposed to burn a section of it this year, which is why we tried to do it, but the snow knocked down for too many trees. That said, it sounds like with the exception of that one trail out to southesk, the rest has been, or is being cleared. If that is true, the southbound, a trail will be in the best condition it's been in for perhaps 15 years. Fingers crossed! And yes, I would love to hike out there with you.
Thanks so much! Yes, this is a stunning part of the park and there is so much more for me to explore here. Can't wait to do it! And to answer your question, I guess I did "move" for the summer now that I think about it!!
Hey Stu:-) What time of the summer did you do this trip? I cant see any wildflowers at North Fork Pass even though it looks like a pass with many wildflowers:-) Another question: How many people; hikers or horse-travellers did you meet in the random camping area? I am considering the Banff Front Ranges for a willderness trip but I dont want to meet a lot of people; I want to feel all alone in the wilderness. If there are to many people I will go to Jasper instead; I have written a bit with Marty Up North🙂 Thanks in advice and regards from Denmark - Nikolaj.
Hello Nikoaj! Greetings from Canada!! I did this in August. You are correct that the wildflowers had already had their time. We had a very early spring last year and that had a lot to do with it. We didn't meet anyone AT ALL except the first night and then not until we exited basically. It's very very remote once you get past the bookable campsites. Also check out my other video of the Clearwater/ red deer circuit. Same basic Front Ranges area - just a little bit off in a different direction. On that hike, I only saw a horse party near the Clearwater crossing. Obviously you're going to see people if you do my route on that hike at Fish Lakes, and again at Molar Creek. But I felt completely alone expect for the day and a half with Phil. I plan to be out there again myself this summer at some point likely coming in from Ya Ha Tinda. I want to make sure I see the trails I missed on this hike that we're commenting on, when my friends had to go home early due to wildfires. Dormer pass, Elkhorn Summit, and that sort of thing. Look for my email here in the About section - or go to my website and please keep in touch! If we're in the same vicinity around the same time, maybe we could have a coffee and chat about these amazing remote places!
@@HowestheHike I will be looking forward to it! I have lots of plans too; but I have difficulties in finding anyone to hike with - friends and family cant this year. So I am wondering if I should try and travel alone; I have never tried hiking alone in the deep backcountry. I am thinking about two options: 1. Banff Front Ranges or 2: Jasper-Willmore wilderness (with some of the route inspired by Marty up North).
Hey Stuart - Can you clarify something for me? I've ridden my horses through much of the area on this video but haven't been over North Fork Pass. There's a good horse camp at the SW corner of the Cascade/Panther junction (west across the Cascade from Windy cabin) which you may have missed. There's good trail west from that camp on the south side of the Panther R, which I always thought was the trail towards the North Fork Pass. But I see you came down the north side of the Panther and a steep section which doesn't look horse friendly then crossed the Panther to get to Windy cabin. Any insight? Thanks
Hi Tania! We actually visited that the horse camp in the video at 47: 16 My recollection is there was a trail that left the horse camp, not rejoining the main trail, but don't hold me to that. I'll have to look at the footage and see if it's there. We thought maybe it went to a privy of some sort, but it did not. You are correct however, I would not suggest taking the horses down past the falls the way we did to get into the valley. We would've gone down there and made an immediate left to head to scotch camp, but had decided to take a near zero down the panther from the windy cabin after the crazy day we had previously. Given we had to exit early due to the wildfires in BC, impacting Anne and Jim, I plan to get back there next summer. I'll probably come in from Tinda, head up to Scotch Camp, then over to windy and then perhaps camp at the horse camp near dormer pass, day, hike to Dormer Pass, and then back over Elkhorn Summit to Linda. This would pretty much close off the front ranges for me, exploration wise, at least within the park. I've also linked the GPS tracks below if you'd like to have a peek at those. Let me know if you have any other questions, and I hope this helps!
Ya, I saw your tour of the horse camp you went through at 47/48 min. It's a different one from the one I'm referring to that's just west of Windy. But no worries :) If I can figure out how to attach a screenshot I'll send you the location
Ok gotcha. Hmmmm..... Wonder where you mean...? I have your email from our chats about JNP in May. Just emailed you. Should be able to send a pic that way.
At least you saw some signs! Looks like I’ll have to head to the panther/red deer river area next year and give them a look. Maybe I’ll see you next year if you decide to do the dormer river loop again!
@@HowestheHikeHopefully I see you out there! I live in Alberta so if you ever need anyone to join you for these more remote hikes I’ll gladly tag along!
Times have changed so much. Weather in alberta used to be so different growing up. Cool summers with occasional warm days. Bright sunshine days with alot of blue skies. The sun was warm not sizzling like it is now. No smoke, I don't remember alot of forest fires. And lots of chinooks in the winter. We could always count on them for warmth. Good video, good company as usual. Thank you.
Thanks so much! Yes, the summers are hot and smoky now... I'd prefer the old days!
I don't know why these hikes are done more often. I rode a horse over this in the early 1990's. No GPS in those days. The tricky part (with a horse and pack horse) was taking the high line on the north of the pass. Straight forward if you nail that. But it is a beautiful trip. The Panther is wonderful.
I don't know why they're not done more often myself, the rewards are pretty epic as you know! I have plenty of other areas in the general vicinity I'd like to explore this upcoming hiking season, so hopefully more to show soon :-)
On another note, I can't imagine, taking a horse and pack horse on that steep section of the pass, that you referred to. Yikes!
Thanks for watching, and for the comment!!
Oh I did Northfork southbound a couple years ago and I see it's the same! Those willows... The absolute Houdini of that trail.. I think it made me a stronger person today lol. I also had a hard time finding that Horse camp. I ended up just camping sort of kitty corner to the Warden's cabin there and finding the horse camp the next morning too when heading towards Northfork. It was nice to see this area well documented, I was feeling weirdly nostalgic!
So cool! I can't imagine doing that in the opposite direction! That said as we were climbing up North Fork, I could've easily camped there by the cute little little waterfall. The non-panther side is pretty impressive as a meadow and a place to camp potentially.
Glad I wasn't the only one struggling out there ha ha! And good for you for going to these crazy places. That's where the experiences are!
You really got some great hiking in this summer!
I’ve not visited Banff NP since I was much younger in 1967 but I can still recall the beauty. Thanks for sharing.
It’s too sad about the tragedy there over the weekend.
Thank you. It has been an excellent summer! So glad you are watching and perhaps going down memory lane :-) and yes, it was an extremely tragic weekend. All of us that do this in that area are reeling and in shock. Incredibly rare, sobering, tragic, and sad.
Another great one! Hope we see you out here again next Summer for some epic hikes. you have put some good ideas in my head for next year.
Thank you! A few more to drop before the end of the year. I have some really epic stuff in mind for next year as well and I'm glad these have helped you start to think about your plans for next year!
When you get to the North Fork pass there are two trails (coming south to north). The upper one (right hand) is the least obvious but it is straight forward on horses. Hikers tend to take the more obvious (left) route. That's why you don't take horses down there
AH - gotcha! That makers perfect sense. I will admit that it was a bit sketchy up there, trying to find the right route, so we probably missed that. Obviously the weather didn't help and we were in a hurry because of it.
In any case, this is a stunning, stunning, STUNNING area. And if I can get permission at some point point, I'm going to camp on the south side of that pass. It's way too epic not to spend a night.
It is a great trip though and well done for you guys. Let me know when you do Badger Pass, Block lakes. and then later Elkhorn summit
Thanks Bob. Elkhorn should be this summer. Badger Pass I did a number of years years ago with my daughters. That video was here somewhere. I think it's called Sawback Circuit?
Beautiful country Stuart. The more I see of these "random camping" areas the more I want to explore. If the weather holds in mid-October I'll be out there for a few days, but not the 10 that you had planned. That would have been an epic trip. Perhaps you'll be back there next year? Random camping avoids the gong show that is the backcountry reservation day every year, so there's that to consider. Not much for amenities, if any, but that scenery, wow. Thanks for posting this. Hopefully your Yellowstone adventure is going well.
It sure is. And I agree with you that the random camping opportunities in both Banff and Jasper national parks is epic. And I absolutely will want to complete all of the front ranges of Banff in the very very near future. Guaranteed. I fell in love with it this summer, and there is so much more to explore.
Oooohh. My condolences on getting low lying clouds in North Fork pass. Last year I had that in Divide, Clearwater, and Pipestone passes on my loop. That's as far as I am so far in the vid.
Well, we can't always have sunny days can we! But I would like to get back there and see it with a bluebird. Hopefully no smoke even with the low hanging cloud I found it very wild and remote, and I thought the cloud added to that feeling of being "out there". This is a stunning area that I am eager to return to as soon as possible.
Another great hike amongst good companions, Stu. Sorry for the turn of events but it's good to be flexible in your planning. Also good to have communication devices to alert you of the unforeseen. Still you managed to capture some beautiful areas, particularly liked the waterfall on day 4. Thanks for sharing and safe travels.
Thanks again for the kind words! It is a stunning area and demands far more explorations :-) yes carrying a communicator device is incredibly helpful and in this case made quite a difference to my good friends. Good company indeed!
Great video Stu! Thanks for an epic adventure. It’s interesting how the steepness of a trail doesn’t show on video, nor did the dozens of river fords on the upper panther..when the trail sucks there’s no time to video. That was quite the “trail” 😆
For those noticing my taped up hand…. It was broken from a fall early on day 5. Too much swelling to see the breaks in Banff ER, but follow up X-ray shows it now.
And an update on the fire at home…all of our neighbours and homes were safe. Lots of fences and range land damage for the local ranchers however. We were on order for another week during which time Jim and our neighbours fought alongside the BCWFS to keep the fire from spreading towards us. As of today (sept 17) it’s been 8 weeks since the fire started, and we finally have a “being held” status.
So, being flexible, adapting to circumstances on and off trail, persevering through awful weather extremes and injury, having a good first aid kit and some knowledge of how to use it and what to do for suspected fractures and sprains etc, and having options for an exit strategy is key (thank you Stu).
Hey Anne, good to hear you guys are okay! Greetings from Switzerland, Markus
It would be hard to keep those two down!
Hi Markus! Nice to be okay frankly!!
Thanks for updates. so glad you faired well in the fires. so scary this summer. well, a broken hand. you must be some tough!
such an epic hike. I only started backpacking this year at the age of 61. I cannot believe how much I enjoyed it. No remote areas this year. Goal for next year.
She's very tough!
Another great trip sorry that you didnt get to go where you intended but i love that you talk about making alternative plans. I find that one of the hardest parts is making the right choice when things change. Personally in my mind i always want to push on but i had a experience in waterton in August doing section a of the gdt. I was on an exposed ridge all day in +40 weather and suffered some heat stroke. But fortunately i had planed some alternatives and was able to easily get out instead of pushing on and possibly getting in serious trouble. I cant wait to see you make it to southesk. Its on my list but i cant talk anyone in to going with me. Keep up the great video's and i might end up messaging you about part of one of your other trips. Cheers
Hi Chris! Thanks so much for all of your kind words. But my goodness, 40° , exposed... SCARY! Glad you made it out safely. Always good to have a Plan B and as you probably know, I always air on the side of caution. There's always another day
:-)
Speaking of that, please do be in touch as you make plans for this upcoming summer. Southesk is still on my radar! Let's hope they don't burn it down first like they had planned to do last year.
Hey Stu,
Catching up on some youtubes this week having a staycation week at the moment and all. Was to tired to backpack anywhere lengthly and knew I would be after completing the Tahoe Rim Trail thru hike in California and Nevada a couple weeks back. Highly recommended I might add. Anyhow, to bad about the weather conditions and such obscuring what I'm pretty sure would have been stunning views in various locations like North Forks in particular. Oh well, I'm sure you'll get back up that way once again to complete that 145k version or Plan A originally scheduled. Been wondering about all those gigantic loop potentials myself for a few years now. Seems it just wasn't meant to be this time with all those "interesting events" occuring. You had a great summer all in all. My next visit to the Canadian Rockies will be the Dolomite Loop I believe it's unofficially called taking in Devon Lakes from Mosquito Creek then out towards Siffluer Wilderness exiting down at Helen Lakes with Cirque Peak scrambled and one other which alludes me right at the moment lol. Can't wait for that one. Anyhow, hope all is good and looking forward to more from the Rockies next summer. Cheers from Vancouver.
Hey Andrew! Pretty jealous of your epic trips! Amazing!! One of my kiddos is in Vancouver, so perhaps when I'm out there again I'll send you a note. It would be great to meet and chat about the backcountry. Yes, it was the summer of adapting... Lots of different things occurring, but you have to adapt and have plans to get out if you need to. I typically plan my hikes with escape routes if needed and when possible. I absolutely fell in love with the front ranges this summer, and there is so so much more to explore there. And I absolutely have it on my mind to make sure I complete every inch of those trails. I also want to do the dolomite circuit which is a bit different than the hike you are discussing, but I have this geeky nerdy need to complete all of these circuits and long trails in the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide at some point. Question for you - are you talking about Quartzsite col? Just curious.
Great video!
Thanks! Are you back or yet to head out?
@@HowestheHike southboundry is for next year. Or southesk if your looking for someone to tag along. I did the brazeau loop 2 weeks ago
My apologies for SPEED reading.... I've only have a couple of days between hikes this summer and I try to catch up on everything, so I will simply blame my old age :-) now, southesk! We were supposed to be there this year during this exact timeframe until the big June snow blew all the trees down and we got good reports from back channels in Jasper about how bad things were. And also reports from other hikers on some of the forums who had tried it. Southesk is on my list for sure, having wanted to be there years ago when Joey and I invited Marty and Evan along for the hike. Parks was supposed to burn a section of it this year, which is why we tried to do it, but the snow knocked down for too many trees. That said, it sounds like with the exception of that one trail out to southesk, the rest has been, or is being cleared. If that is true, the southbound, a trail will be in the best condition it's been in for perhaps 15 years. Fingers crossed! And yes, I would love to hike out there with you.
WOW, what a hike!!! You're just pumping out great videos all summer long... did you "move" out here for the summer or something!? :)
Thanks so much! Yes, this is a stunning part of the park and there is so much more for me to explore here. Can't wait to do it! And to answer your question, I guess I did "move" for the summer now that I think about it!!
Hey Stu:-) What time of the summer did you do this trip? I cant see any wildflowers at North Fork Pass even though it looks like a pass with many wildflowers:-) Another question: How many people; hikers or horse-travellers did you meet in the random camping area? I am considering the Banff Front Ranges for a willderness trip but I dont want to meet a lot of people; I want to feel all alone in the wilderness. If there are to many people I will go to Jasper instead; I have written a bit with Marty Up North🙂
Thanks in advice and regards from Denmark - Nikolaj.
Hello Nikoaj! Greetings from Canada!!
I did this in August. You are correct that the wildflowers had already had their time. We had a very early spring last year and that had a lot to do with it.
We didn't meet anyone AT ALL except the first night and then not until we exited basically. It's very very remote once you get past the bookable campsites.
Also check out my other video of the Clearwater/ red deer circuit. Same basic Front Ranges area - just a little bit off in a different direction.
On that hike, I only saw a horse party near the Clearwater crossing. Obviously you're going to see people if you do my route on that hike at Fish Lakes, and again at Molar Creek.
But I felt completely alone expect for the day and a half with Phil.
I plan to be out there again myself this summer at some point likely coming in from Ya Ha Tinda. I want to make sure I see the trails I missed on this hike that we're commenting on, when my friends had to go home early due to wildfires. Dormer pass, Elkhorn Summit, and that sort of thing.
Look for my email here in the About section - or go to my website and please keep in touch! If we're in the same vicinity around the same time, maybe we could have a coffee and chat about these amazing remote places!
Hi Stu:-) Do you know there is a bridge over the Red Deer River? Have you made your hiking plans for the upcoming summer?
There IS a bridge near Scott camp.
@@HowestheHike Thanks, Stu:-)
Any time!!
And yes, lots of plans for this summer. I'll have a video out next week talking about a bit of it.
@@HowestheHike I will be looking forward to it! I have lots of plans too; but I have difficulties in finding anyone to hike with - friends and family cant this year. So I am wondering if I should try and travel alone; I have never tried hiking alone in the deep backcountry. I am thinking about two options: 1. Banff Front Ranges or 2: Jasper-Willmore wilderness (with some of the route inspired by Marty up North).
You didn't need to add the musical excerpt. As soon as you said "Into The Mystic" the song started playing in my head.
HAHA! Well, don't watch our Sawback Circuit video - it would drive you crazy!!
Hey Stuart - Can you clarify something for me? I've ridden my horses through much of the area on this video but haven't been over North Fork Pass. There's a good horse camp at the SW corner of the Cascade/Panther junction (west across the Cascade from Windy cabin) which you may have missed. There's good trail west from that camp on the south side of the Panther R, which I always thought was the trail towards the North Fork Pass. But I see you came down the north side of the Panther and a steep section which doesn't look horse friendly then crossed the Panther to get to Windy cabin. Any insight? Thanks
Hi Tania!
We actually visited that the horse camp in the video at 47: 16
My recollection is there was a trail that left the horse camp, not rejoining the main trail, but don't hold me to that. I'll have to look at the footage and see if it's there. We thought maybe it went to a privy of some sort, but it did not.
You are correct however, I would not suggest taking the horses down past the falls the way we did to get into the valley. We would've gone down there and made an immediate left to head to scotch camp, but had decided to take a near zero down the panther from the windy cabin after the crazy day we had previously.
Given we had to exit early due to the wildfires in BC, impacting Anne and Jim, I plan to get back there next summer. I'll probably come in from Tinda, head up to Scotch Camp, then over to windy and then perhaps camp at the horse camp near dormer pass, day, hike to Dormer Pass, and then back over Elkhorn Summit to Linda. This would pretty much close off the front ranges for me, exploration wise, at least within the park.
I've also linked the GPS tracks below if you'd like to have a peek at those. Let me know if you have any other questions, and I hope this helps!
Ya, I saw your tour of the horse camp you went through at 47/48 min. It's a different one from the one I'm referring to that's just west of Windy. But no worries :) If I can figure out how to attach a screenshot I'll send you the location
Ok gotcha. Hmmmm..... Wonder where you mean...? I have your email from our chats about JNP in May. Just emailed you. Should be able to send a pic that way.
Great video as always! I’ve wanted to head up the cascade fire road/panthers river to try and find the bison! Did you see any signs of bison at all?
Thanks so much!! I saw a tremendous amount of bison patties all over the place in the area. But, I the herd was nowhere to be seen!
At least you saw some signs! Looks like I’ll have to head to the panther/red deer river area next year and give them a look. Maybe I’ll see you next year if you decide to do the dormer river loop again!
I saw LOTS of it. And YES - I plan to finish that area off - Dormer included!
@@HowestheHikeHopefully I see you out there! I live in Alberta so if you ever need anyone to join you for these more remote hikes I’ll gladly tag along!
That would be great!