GDT: Reservations

A weight of anxiety settles upon all hikers at the arrival of this page. The knowledge that your spot in queue is a random drawing and could change your ‘perfectly’ planned adventure. Let Reservation day…Begin!

 WE DID IT

After a series of mornings, primed with coffee, breakfast burritos, and an abundance of internet browser tabs we managed to reserve all of our campsites necessary for the GDT. From our first site in Waterton Lakes National Park to our final paid reservation on the north end of the famous Skyline trail in Jasper National Park. Well, that's not actually all true. We didn't get ALL of our campsites.

We were unable to reserve our last site at Signal campground, the northern terminus of the skyline trail. The Skyline trail, famous for astounding views across the Northern Rockies landscape, alpine meadows, and windswept ridges is also infamous for its near-guarantee to be completely booked 7 to 8 months in advance. We found the latter to be true, I don't doubt the prior will come to fruition as well.

The total cost of our campgrounds and hotel reservations was a hair under $800 for the entire summer, or in terms of days on trail, 54 days. I know what you're thinking, $800 dollars for campsites and hotels?! I know, I thought the same myself, especially since the daily temperature today won't be above -15°C (5°F). Camping is a thing of the past or future, but not the present. To appease my penny-pinching mind I broke down the costs in terms of cost/day/person, a much more reasonable number. ($800/54 days)/2 people = $7.40/day

ahhh, now that's much more reasonable. A bonus is that, for most of the time we're out on the trail, there are no opportunities to spend any money!

How will we nab that last campsite? Great question! We are relying on the cancellation of a person who will have the goodwill to cancel ahead of time, preferably at Signal. A small handful of campgrounds along the Skyline trail will be acceptable substitutes although they will alter our mileage for a couple of days.

The mileage will be remediated in the town of Jasper where we are taking a double zero before we set out for the final bushwhack of a push to the northern terminus of the GDT, 357km (221 miles) over 14 days.

New Years Resolutions

The Kicking Horse River delivered lots of ice for new years.

New Years Resolutions, everyone has made one, but by this time of year, no one has carried out the haphazardly thought out agenda. But why? 

Is the idea of committing a whole lap around the sun while undertaking, or avoiding, a goal too much to handle? Or is it because time is a human construct and the fact that the calendar changes digits actually has little to no effect on your daily life? Forbes lists the top three reasons as:

1) It’s your consciousness that needs to change before your behavior can change-

This relates to the time is a human construct idea, the calendar changes, but you as an individual are more or less just as you were yesterday. 

2) You don’t have an accountability structure to help you sustain change-

Tracking your habits and visually recognizing where you are at in your plan has huge benefits. It doesn’t leave you questioning what days you achieved your goal last week

3) You are actually scared of, and completely resistant to, achieving this big goal and you won’t let yourself-

This is due to internal commentary and feelings, whether it be feeling flawed, worrying about leaving people behind, the new potential burden of success, or “outshining”. 

I have taken the New Years Resolution and rearranged some terms, that are more realistic and palatable. Rather than committing to 1 goal for 12 months, I have 12 goals for 1 month. What’s the point of this? Well, first off, relating to an earlier post, it is success in small bites. By accomplishing several small tasks, I have set myself up for success and gain confidence along the way by being successful. The saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” encapsulates the concept well. 

What are your 12 resolutions?! 

I will tell you, but first, there is one more caveat. Once a month has passed, and I have experienced what a month of doing whatever goal it is, there is the option to “Take it or Leave it”. If I enjoyed attaining the goal or I saw that it had great benefits, I will Take it. I’ll continue with that goal throughout the year, perhaps longer. If I didn’t find the benefit I anticipated or it wasn’t worthwhile, I’ll Leave it knowing that I did it for a month. 

The resolutions I am participating in this wonderful 12 month year are:

January - No alcohol

February - Floss every day

March - No THC

April - Daily mindfulness

May - Spend money on essentials ONLY

June/July/August - Daily Journal (On the GDT)

September - 15 minutes of yoga daily

October - Sober October

November - Stick to a morning routine

December - Vegan

So far, January has been great. By avoiding spending money on alcohol, we have saved at least over $100 (probably), haven’t had a hazy or hungover morning, and have been able to be productive on the daily. My biggest concern was social pressure to have a drink, but by bringing some flavored bubbly water, that worry was gone. It turns out that the feeling was more habitual than anything and by having a substitute in my hand I didn’t feel the urge to have a drink I anticipated. 

January is a TAKE. 

There are my 12 months of goals, each month is realistic and attainable, setting myself up for success. What are your thoughts? If you made a new years resolution like this, what would you include? 

Great Divide Trail: The Beginning

The journal for this lengthy and multi-tiered logistical event.

Our decision to hike the Great Divide Trail (GDT) has come somewhat naturally due to our life circumstances. As a soon-to-be permanent resident of Canada, but not yet, my life has been in a limbo-like state since mid April 2021. It has now been 17 months since the IRCC (immigration Canada) received our application, during that time there have been several instances where the absence of any and all communication has eviscerated our hopes. Hope takes energy. After so much time of no news or knowing, it is no longer a thought, just a circumstance we live with. Expecting to receive PR by at least June, for a celebration, we will be doing the GDT.

A thru-hike has been a life long goal of mine since I learned of the Pacific Crest Trail in 8th grade. It has been a hobby to follow people’s journeys, skim blogs, admire photos, and read books about the west coast thru-hike. The first thru-hike I seriously considered was the Te Araroa Trail, from the top of the North Island in New Zealand to the southernmost tip of the South Island. I had found myself in Rotorua and fresh out of a job. My budget was shrinking by the day and the timing was the slightest bit off, so, I didn’t undertake that journey. Upon reflection, I’m glad I didn’t begin the trail. During that time, I met amazing people, including my wife, lived with the best housemates and whole heartedly enjoyed my time.

Then, the global pandemic happened, my not-yet wife and I returned to our respective home countries in March of 2020. Unknown to us when we would be able to see each other again, we began to ruminate on any sort of half-crazed plan that would allow us to be reunited. This included the PCT. The Pacific Crest Trail Association warned dearly of the dangers of hiking the trail during the pandemic, how being a wanderer from town to town may endanger the lives of those residing there, and that if one were to get injured, would also endanger the lives of rescuers. Once again, it wasn’t appropriate to commit to a thru-hike.

The stars have aligned for the summer of 2022, we have committed and begun booking our hike from Waterton Lakes National Park to Kakwa Provincial Park, northwest of Jasper, Alberta. In total, the hike will be spread out over 54 nights and we will walk 1200km (745 miles).

It is here where we will post our pre-trip progress, trail updates, blogs, photos, and more. We are looking forward to be spending our summer outdoors in the heart of the Canadian Rockies.