GDT Completion / Best of Banff Adventure - September 2024
Prologue – The story of how what happened came to happen, and how what happened before what happened happened almost caused what happened, to not happen.
Aug-Sep 2022: I join Peter and Tina, as their #3, in an attempt to ride an equestrian version of the Great Divide Trail from Grande Cache to Waterton. Over 28 days, we make it as far as the Elk Valley, approximately 750km, before making the decision to call it quits.
Jul 2023: My friends, Jody and Angela, and I, attempt our first major, self-guided pack trip with our own critters, gear and skills: a Best of Banff tour covering 230km over 12 days. Due to some misadventures involving temporarily lost horses and a navigational error, we decide to take a pre-planned, alternate exit route and make it a 9-day, 150km tour.
Sep 2023: Peter brings a group of European clients over to do a multi-day adventure on the South Boundary Trail in Jasper National Park, with the assistance and horses of a local outfitter. Clients return home, calling it the “trip of a lifetime!”
Dec 2023: Peter is planning to bring another group of European clients over in the first part of September 2024 for a 10-12 horseback tour through Jasper National Park. After that, was I free to join him, and a friend from Switzerland, to do a ride somewhere in the last half of September? No specific plans at this point, but if I had any Bucket List ideas, they were interested.
Absolutely! My Banff tour idea that we’d attempted in 2023, but failed to fully complete, would be perfect for such an adventure; I’d love to give it another try! With a couple more tweaks of that planned route to make it even better, we ended up with a slightly enhanced version of the trip mentioned in Tania Millen’s book, “Pack Em Up, Ride Em Out” – a 13-day tour, covering 300km through some of the most spectacular country that Banff National Park has to offer.
Feb 2024: Peter’s Jasper plans fall through. The outfitter who was to provide horses for the trip is unable to confirm the September dates. Instead, Peter will bring his two horses up from Colorado. Would I be interested in completing the Great Divide Trail ride, starting in the Elk Valley, where we finished in 2022, and riding the final 285km south to Waterton. Oh, and by the way, one of the ladies from Europe who was to go on the Jasper trip might want to come with us. He needed to check her out a bit more, first.
Wow! September 2024 was going to be amazing! If Peter and I successfully complete both these trips, as planned, together we’ll have ridden the equestrian route of the Great Divide Trail from Grande Cache to Waterton! Even more significant, since he rode the northern section from Kakwa to Grande Cache on his 2014 Rocky Mountain Explorer trail, Peter would be the first person to have successfully ridden the entire equestrian route of the Great Divide Trail!
April 13, 2024. A sudden and abrupt change in plans as I break my leg very badly coming off my friend’s recently purchased Percheron mule – a supposedly safe, sane, experienced mountain trail mule who had a vigorous and violent objection to me asking her to turn left, away from her buddies. One exciting ambulance ride, four hours of emergency surgery and a 3 day hospital stay later, the surgeon tells me it’ll be 12 weeks before I’ll be able to start bearing weight and begin rehabilitative physiotherapy. Whatever plans I have for the balance of Spring and Summer – cancel them. Dammit!
May 5, 2024. My birthday. Peter posts a birthday wish on my FaceBook page, “Hey, Happy Birthday to the Phoenix of Canada. Get well soon and have a happy day…”.
The Phoenix… I like that. Maybe, just maybe, like the Phoenix, I can rise from the ashes of this broken leg fiasco and salvage a portion of my planned 2024 adventures. Maybe, just maybe, 2024 would not be defined by my broken leg, but by doing something epic in spite of the broken leg. A seed was planted…
May 28, 2024. My first post-surgery checkup with the surgeon. She can’t believe it; my leg is healing incredibly well. I’m easily six weeks ahead of schedule in my recovery. She gives me the green light to begin weight bearing (which I’d kinda already been fooling around with anyway) and start physio. And NO, I can’t start riding horses! She’d reassess at my next checkup at the end of June. I book my first physio appointment on the way home.
So began a relentless summer journey of pushing the envelope, trying to rebuild strength, flexibility, range of motion and stamina in my leg, without overdoing it. I’d go to be bed every night with my legs aching from the knees down; wake up in the morning, refreshed, and get back at it again.
Three days after the checkup with the surgeon, I picked up my dog from my friend, who had taken him into her home and family, caring for him as if he was their own. It was time to get my buddy boy back; our daily dog walks would be additional physical therapy.
June 26, 2024 – 10-week checkup with the surgeon. Excellent progress, she still can’t believe it. There’s nothing more she can do. Keep doing what I’m doing. She turns me loose. Yes, I can start riding my horse.
July 2, 2024 – With an oversized stirrup that fit my air cast, donated by a friend, I ride my horse for the first time in 11 weeks and one week earlier than the original prognosis of being able to actually start weight bearing. I begin conditioning my horse in the arena and on short, local trail rides.
August 3, 2024 – I’m finally able to get my left foot into a hiking boot. I celebrate by going for my first horseback ride with my regular stirrup and no air cast. I up the ante and start doing longer, more challenging, conditioning rides.
August 30, 2024 – I hook up the Adventure Rig, load my horse and gear, and hit the road to meet Peter for our September Adventures, just like we planned. We meet in Syncline Equestrian Camp in Castle Provincial Park in Southern Alberta, where we organize gear & groceries. I whip into Blairmore for a final grocery shopping trip, while Peter does other preparations. After a glamping steak dinner cooked on the BBQ, we hit the sack.
August 31, 2024 – With gear and groceries allocated across the various horn, saddle and cantle bags, we saddle and load horses, doing a dry run to ensure all is good for our first week on the trail. It is. Peter heads to Calgary to pick up Barb, who is flying in from Vienna, Austria; I putter, caring for horses, gear and camp, then prepping dinner for when Peter and Barb get back.
It’s a strange thing, meeting someone for the very first time and knowing you’re going to be spending nearly every waking moment: riding, eating and sleeping, with a complete stranger 24/7 for the next two weeks. You say a silent prayer to the Gods hoping they won’t drive you nuts and all will be OK. Peter returns with Barb and introduces us. A warm welcome and big hug; I can’t believe she isn’t jet lagged after her long, exhausting flight. The three of us enjoy conversation, laughs and shared excitement about our upcoming adventure over a steak dinner with potatoes & veggies cooked hobo-style, in aluminum foil, on my little portable barbecue.
Tomorrow we would start the first leg of our adventure, a relentless, up & down, 143km, 7-day traverse of the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains from Aldridge Creek trailhead in the Elk Valley to Atlas Staging Area north of Coleman.
I go to bed confident about three things: Peter, Barb and my horse, the Buckskin Wonder, but I’m still not sure if my gimpy leg and I will be able to pull this thing off. Regardless, I’ve prepared as best I can; I’m fully committed and going for it 100%. Bruce Willis said it best in Die Hard, my all-time favourite Christmas movie, “Yippee Ki-Yay M*****F*****!”
GDT Completion: Day 1
Up bright & early, we got a good start on the day. First things, first, so we hit the Tim Horton’s in Blairmore, just for Barb. I mean it’s her first full day in Canada, may as well start it off with some Timmie’s. Then it was back on the road to drop my rig at Atlas, as our pickup vehicle.
When planning all this, I used Google Maps to determine driving routes between various areas and trailheads. Google Maps recommended routes got me into trouble twice before we even unloaded the horses.
The first one, was the best route from Coleman to Aldridge Creek trailhead. Google recommended a route via Fording River Road, past a couple of coal mines on some sketchy looking Forest Service Roads, then enduring a steep 12-switchback descent down the mountain to Kananaskis Power Line Road and north to the trailhead.
The idea of going down those switchbacks with a truck, trailer, 3 horses and pile of gear just didn’t seem like a good idea to me, so I reached out to my friend Bill, a long-time backcountry horseman, hunter and conservationist who was very familiar with the area.
“Oh no! Don’t go that way. That’s nuts!” and he recommended a slightly longer, but much better route to the trailhead.
Whew! I’m glad I questioned Google’s recommendation and reached out to him.
I wasn’t so lucky on Google’s other recommendation. After driving north from Coleman to McGillivray Staging Area, I asked a camping ATV’er if this was the road to Atlas.
“Yup, but you won’t get through with that rig”, he responded dryly. “Ditch the trailer and you MIGHT make it with just the truck. Your best bet is to go back to Coleman and take the direct route north from the highway to Atlas.”
So, that’s what we did. At Atlas, we found a suitable spot to park my rig, then I piled into the back seat of Peter’s truck and we headed back to the highway. From there, we headed west, crossing the border from Alberta into British Columbia, then turned north at Sparwood towards Elkford. After Elkford, it was a slow, 2-hour, bumpy grind up the Elk River Forest Service Road to the turnoff Bill had recommended and then doubling back to Aldridge Creek trailhead.
We unloaded the horses, saddled and packed gear and were ready to go by 1:00pm, 2 hours later than planned, but sure felt good to finally be on the trail. Peter is riding Rodeo, a Kentucky mustang; Barb is riding Peter’s other horse, Ahi, a criollo from Argentina; I’m riding Charlie, a morgan, also known as The Buckskin Wonder.
We had a bit of a scare, shortly after hitting the trail. It was the first of several crossings of Aldridge Creek. I led the way and as Charlie was climbing up out of the creek, a portion of the bank gave way beneath him and he went down. He tried to get up, but couldn’t with my weight on top and his legs snarled up in now exposed tree routes. With a quick wish and a prayer, I bailed off as quickly as I could. Fortunately, I landed OK and without my weight, Charlie was able to regain his footing and scramble up the bank. Peter and Barb’s crossing were uneventful, so I climbed back on and we continued down the trail.
After that, we encountered a spot where a landslide had decimated the trail. It looked like there was an alternate route going back up the mountain. We thought maybe it would go up, across the top of the landslide, then back down to the river. After climbing more than seemed reasonable, we decided to head back town to the creek and just grind our way upstream until we connected back into the trail. Our logic being the trail had to cross the stream eventually as it made its way east towards Fording Pass.
Sure enough, we reconnected with the trail and from then on, it was decent trail, but quite steep in places as we worked our way up to Fording Pass and its stunning views. Lots of walking on the way down, as the trail was very steep, rocky and strewn with exposed tree roots in places.
I did OK, but it’s the downhill stretches and uneven, sketchy footing that are most challenging for me, so I was slow. We were about halfway down when Peter said, “No one would ever know you had a badly broken leg six months ago.”
I beamed, because my biggest concern going into this was that I’d be too slow on the walking sections and couldn’t keep up. “Thanks Peter, that’s great to hear, but it was actually only four and a half months ago!”
Eventually, we make it to the camp at James Lake. Camp was ok, but there was no decent spot to set up our portable electric fence corral. We hobbled the horses and allowed them to graze, while we set up camp and had dinner. I’d spent the winter down the rabbit hole of preparing homemade dehydrated dinners for our trip. Tonight’s pick was beef stroganoff, which received positive reviews after a long day on rough roads and steep trails.
All in all, a long day of travel, both on the road and on the trail. We’d ridden and walked 20km, crossing Fording Pass, elevation 2345m, in the process. It felt good to have the first day behind us. When the horses were full, we tied them to trees for the night, and rolled out our sleeping bags to sleep under the stars. This would be the first time in Barb’s life that she’d sleep under the stars.
GDT Completion: Day 2
I usually sleep very well on the trail, but not last night. I wasn’t sure if it was a busy mind, aching legs, or some combination of both, but sleep did not come easily, or well. Fortunately, I was alone in my deprivation; everyone else slept great.
We untied the horses and turned them out to graze, hobbled and belled, while we had breakfast and packed up camp. Grazing wasn’t great, but at least they’d get something in their bellies before starting the day. A mental note was made to take a healthy grazing break at the first decent patch of grass we encountered on the trail.
We were saddled and on the trail by 8am. Over the course of the day, we crossed three drainages: climb and descend 250m, climb and descend another 250m, then climb and descend a final 400m. Easy travel down low on wide, clear ATV and snowmobile trails. Much of the trail was in the trees while climbing and descending, so not many photo opportunities. Once we were up top though, the views are phenomenal.
After 8.5 hours on the trail, covering 21km, with a combined 900m of ups & downs across three drainages and allowing for numerous grazing breaks, we reached Lost Creek camp around 4:30pm. It was a beautiful spot near the creek, with plenty of grass. We hobbled and belled the horses and turned them loose to graze, fencing off a particularly good patch of grass with our portable electric fence for them to enjoy overnight.
Tired, stiff and sore, I took the opportunity to have a good stretching session and soaked my aching leg in the creek. Everyone enjoyed a refreshing wash/swim in the creek. DIY dehydrated lasagna with fresh grated parmesan cheese for dinner. Clear skies, so Peter and I slept under the stars again, while Barb tried out her new bivy bag. I was hopeful for a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow was a big day: the longest planned distance of this 7-day stretch.
Day 3: GDT Completion
Ahhh… That’s more like it. A great sleep had me waking rejuvenated and ready to tackle the longest planned distance of this 7-day stretch traversing the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Everyone was else was refreshed and ready to go, too. Judging from the amount of mowed grass, the horses had taken advantage of the freedom to feast and they, too, were recharged and ready to tackle the day.
The day started off with a big 350m climb, from 1850m elevation to 2200m, over the first 4km, which then undulated between 2200m and 2280m for the next 11km. We enjoyed excellent trail and spectacular views under a bluebird sky. We then descended to 2000m for a bit, before another climb back to 2200m elevation. That’s when things got interesting.
We’d travelled 25km and planned to camp at Soda Creek. The problem was we couldn’t find the camp spot and the creek was dry. Peter scouted on foot, while Barb and I stayed with the horses. We were in the Beehive Natural Area, at the base of Beehive Mountain; Peter followed a trail that went east, down the mountain, to the Oldman River Road in the valley below. Ideally, he’d find a great place to camp with grazing and water.
The horses grazed and Barb and I had a great visit, getting to know one another, while he was gone. Eventually, Peter came back. He’d found great grazing and a reasonable place to camp about a kilometer down the trail, but no water.
Fortunately, the horses had had a great drink at the last water source a little way back down the trail. The grass at the spot Peter had found was fresh and green, so there’d be water in that for them. They’d be ok, but we needed water for dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning. Peter took every water bottle and hydration bag we had, mounted Rodeo and headed to the last water source to get water for us. Barb and I took Ahi and Charlie and headed down the Beehive trail to the spot Peter had described.
Sure enough, we found it, just as Peter had described. We unsaddled the horses, hobbled them and turned them loose to graze. We set up the portable electric fence on the best section of grass, completely crossing the trail. If someone came up the Beehive trail that evening, or in the middle of the night, they were gonna be in for a surprise! But, the likelihood of that was low, so we did it anyway.
A nicker from the horses alerted us to Peter’s return with full water bottles. He unsaddled Rodeo, turning him out with the others. Rehydrated Spanish rice and chicken for dinner and another clear night, so we rolled out our sleeping bags in a cozy little corner for a great sleep under the stars, once again. We were tired. It’d been a big day.
All in all, a 25km day and 600m in elevation gain; add in the extra kilometer down Beehive Trail to our camp spot, we'd covered 26km in total. That said, Peter’s GPS is going to show well over 30km with all the on-foot scouting and water retrieval efforts. The man is a hiking machine. Respect!
