Wilderness
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June 20, 2024 – Day 13 – Summer solstice, huge passes, more bears
November 6, 2024 Note: Given the events of yesterday’s election, I feel a higher sense of urgency to tell the story of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for this is the very spot where President-elect Donald Trump wants to drill… Continue reading
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June 16, 2024 – Day 9 – Into the Kaleidoscope
Today we left the desert Southwest and entered Iceland. Verdant, wild green kaleidoscope mountains capped with gray tops and snow surround our campsite this evening. Dark rain clouds move up the valley, dousing us briefly, and then disappearing as the… Continue reading
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Northern Wilderness: A 2019 Thru-Hike on the Great Divide Trail
In 2019 my wife Elaine and I hiked the Great Divide Trail from close to the U.S/Canada border to Kakwa Lake in British Columbia. We were unable to start at the exact Waterton National Park border due to the massive… Continue reading
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Jasper to Mount Robson: Mud, Mosquitos, and Magnificent Mountains
The short version of the last four days might go something like this: *squelching through shin deep mud* *slapping away gigantic mosquitos* *spending a whole day crossing rivers* *jaws dropping at the incredible Mount Robson* August 8th – 17 miles,… Continue reading
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Field to Saskatchewan Crossing: Walking Along Glaciers, Heinous Bushwhacks and Historic Crossings
The following is an account of Dan and Elaine’s 2019 Great Divide Trail journey from the U.S./Canadian border to Kakwa Lake. Field to Saskatchewan Crossing is the fifth segment of the journey, or Section D. Affectionately known as the “black… Continue reading
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The Rock Wall, Lighting Storms and Wild Strawberries – Sunshine to Field
We’ve entered the civilized part of our Great Divide Trail hike. Not that it’s not wild and remote and stunningly beautiful, but there is a bit of a different feel, thanks in part to that very beauty. This is world… Continue reading
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Into Wonderland: Kananaskis to Sunshine
Excitement pumped through the blood as we neared the trail again, the heady rush of embarking into a land that you know will blow your mind with the wild wonder of it all making us a bit punch drunk. We… Continue reading
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Coleman to Kananaskis: Forget-Me-Nots, Tornado Mountain and the Most Beautiful Spot on Earth
July 9, 2019 – 24 miles, 3,300 of climbing Aspirations for getting out of town quickly rarely go as planned. The pattern of the trail gets broken, conversations happen and breakfast places keep serving food – all delaying departure. Such… Continue reading
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“It’s Not Your Job to Think, It’s Your Job to Charge!”
It’s a bit of a miracle we started this trail at all. On June 5th, we had resigned ourselves to spending a summer working in Boulder, commuting the canyon in its nightmarish construction state, and making the most of our… Continue reading
Alta Backcountry 