When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in Spring 2020, it drastically changed my summer travel plans so several Plan B’s started to develop. After travelling all across Canada in recent years to backpack some classic and off-the-beaten track trails, I decided I should check out the backpacking trail closest to where I live in my own province: The Western Uplands Backpacking Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. 

The Western Uplands trail consists of 3 loops that correspond to a short (~32km), medium (~54km) and long distances (~80km). The longest route (or 3rd loop) is over 80km long and is the one we chose to do this trip. When booking the campsites online, the system will only allow to book campsites within a certain distance away. If you are an experienced backpacker like myself, you may opt to call the park reservation agent and have them book campsites even further apart. We chose to do the loop in a clockwise rotation but you can choose to do it in either direction. From my experience it doesn’t matter which direction you travel. When we called to book many of the sites were taken so our choices were slim. If you must book Maggie Lake West like we did, it added an extra 4km to our total distance, which was 85km total!

Day 1 Wed August 12th : Trailhead to Maggie Lake West (14km, 1800ft ascent, 5 hours)

After a 3 hour drive to the Western Uplands trailhead, we were itching to get moving. We darted out of the car and across the bridge at 11AM, and chose the left trail at the first junction, sending us in a clockwise direction around the loop. The trail between the trailhead and Maggie is generally wide, well-travelled, and has some nice rolling hills. We found this part of the trail was the busiest that we encountered the entire trip and we started the trip on a Wednesday! One of the most surprising things was the disproportionately high number of all-female backpacking duos and groups.  I was so amazed, and also insanely happy to see this number of women out in the backcountry. Awesome!

We arrive at Maggie Lake and began our lengthy 2km detour to the west side of the lake to find our first campsite. The 2km (+2km back) detour may have been worth it as the campsite was awesome and the water was this awesome green colour that didn't come across well in any of the photos. The consistent breeze made the 31 degree humidex weather feel more tolerable and a dip in the lake felt amazing. We were able to dry out all our damp gear, eat a hearty meal and head to the tent at sunset.

Day 2 Thursday August 13th: Maggie Lake West to Islet Lake (30km, 3000ft ascent, 9 hrs)

Wake up time was 6AM as we knew this would be a long day distance-wise. Adding up the kilometres on the backpacking routes map we figured it would be a monster 27km day. I had only done a maximum of 23 km backpacking in the past so I was nervous and wanted to leave enough time to get to Islet Lake. Our average moving time including breaks the day before was 3.2km/hr so we figured it would take 9 hours to get there. 10 years ago I was backpacking with a 90L pack that weighed over 40lbs. In 2015 and 2017 I did backpacking trips with a 75L pack with pack weights in the 30lb range. On this trip (albeit shorter) I did this trip with a 55L pack with 27lbs. Lighter packs enable you to go further and get less tired in a day...well at least that was the theory that I was going to test out!

We were on the trail at 7:20AM and had to re-trace our steps back to the 2km to the main trail. We passed by many campsites with hikers still nestled in their tents. We handrailed Maggie Lake for some time before breaking away and heading north. This section of trail is fairly easy and before you know it you're at the turnoff to the first loop. We continued passed this turn off and for the next 7.6km or so the trail moves up and down over some hills (some are steep) and down through soupy mud puddles. Although our trip had 4 days straight of sun, it was apparent that the trail had recently been exposed to rain as the mud puddles were quite saturated meaning one misstep and you could end up with a soaker! The most prominent feature in this section is 'Bean's Boulder', a massive erratic that is parked right beside the trail that we conveniently used as an excuse for a rest stop. Soon after we came across two women about to pass us who had just gotten lost near Clara Lake by taking the portage trail instead of the hiking trail and wound up bushwhacking there way back to the trail. They had a long day ahead of them and had just added 3km to to their day. Yikes!

We arrived at Clara Lake in time for lunch and ate at the campsite right on the trail. This site is convenient with benches and easy access to water in case you need to filter some more water for your bottles. We noticed that on this site was also somewhat of a garbage dump laid with a heavy propane gas cylinder and random wrappers. I don't mind packing out garbage like wrappers but I draw the line at heavy objects. I wish people would just abide by the leave no trace principles and pack out what they packed in.

Leaving Clara Lake we passed over a beautiful ridge before descending down to the junction with the third loop. At the 17km mark for the day, Pincher Lake would have been a great place to set up camp and call it a day. It looks like a nice lake! We continued on and passed two male hikers who gave us a heads up of a tough climb ahead of us. This climb was to the lookout beside Stammer Lake. The climb was probably the longest and steepest climb of the trip, but wasn't anywhere as near as a steep and long as a Adirondack Peak. At the top of the ridge, you reach what feels like the height of land and can see into the distance initially and then it slowy drops down as you move through it. What we welcomed at this 'summit' was a breeze that had been absent all day in the sweltering heat. Once the descent was complete the march along Weed Lake and into Islet eases off and becomes fairly flat - something we were grateful for at the end of the 30km day.  Yes the GPS indicated we had done 30km, not 27km as per the map. We stayed on the southern most campsite on Islet which was good except for some slightly angled tent platforms. It was around that time when I notice that the bottom tip of my hiking pole was missing and the carbon shaft had cracked. I must have got it stuck in some mud puddle somewhere. My Black Diamond Carbon Cork Poles owe me nothing - they are over 10 years old and have been with me through thousands of miles on all my day hikes and backpacking trips. I was able to finish this hike and order a new lower shaft from Black Diamond for $9.95 USD. A 9 hour effort today was deserving of a cold drink, but one that would have to wait for another day. Instead we hydrated with Nuun tablets in our water bottles. Swimming was great on this lake and the loons put on a show!

Day 4 Saturday August 15th: Redwing Lake to Trailhead (14km, 1200 ft ascent, 3.5 hours)

Another early rising day we woke up to a chilly morning. Deb was already out of her tent and lowering the food hang. I hollered out "Is there snow out there?" and we all chuckled and wore a an extra layer getting out of the tent. The cool air was something we wanted to take advantage of so we were on the trail by 7:45AM.

Glenn's blisters had really grown in yesterday's heat and the blister bandages we brought did not stick to his feet.  Today I pulled out the roll of athletic tape and re-visited my taping skills from my athletic therapy days and taped up his heels. He was able to hike out the rest of the trip no problem which I was grateful for as he was contemplating wearing his crocs out! 

The section from Redwing Lake to the junction of the first loop seemed to go by quickly. Campsites were all full passing Lupus Lake, Thunder lake and Romona Lake. The difference in the trail in the first loop junction was incredible. The trail widened significantly and the rest of the way out was an easy march. We even saw a trail runner who was running the first loop! We were out just after 11AM, a fast and easy end to the trip. We high-fived each other, took a quick selfie and headed to the Mad Musher restaurant in Whitney.  Check out my video of the trip below!

Recommendations/Notes:
- Call to reserve sites with larger distance gaps as online booking limits distances
- If experienced and deciding to do the 3rd loop, booking 4 nights would be best
- Do not leave garbage behind on the sites, in firepits, or on the trail. Pack out everything you packing in.
- Booking in August or September would be better for avoiding bugs
- The trail is mainly in the woods, not many views
- Moose sign becomes more and more apparent in the 2nd and 3rd loops
- Trail is more overgrown in 3rd loop but still easy to follow
- Campsites can accommodate 1 tent for sure, some 2, and rarely 3.
- Larger lakes are more 'swimmable' as some smaller lakes are weedy and shallow
- If there has been recent rains, the muddy spots on the trail will be more soupy so gaitors would be recommended. 
-Even if all campsites are full the trail does not feel crowded and lakes don't seem busy
-Trail markers are Blue on the 1st loop, Yellow on the 2nd, and Red on the 3rd
-There is cell service at Maggie Lake (I use Bell Mobility)
-Buy your Backpacking Trail Map from Friends of Algonquin Park 
-Gear List for the Western Uplands
-Blog for food and recipes - coming soon!

Totals:
Distance: 85km
Ascent: 8855 ft
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Pukaskwa (pronounced Puk-a-saw) National Park is Ontario's only Wilderness National Park located on the shores of Lake Superior south of Marathon, Ontario. It protects 1878 square kilometers of land and 133 kilometers of rugged shoreline along Lake Superior's coast. The Coastal Trail, which spans over 60km along this shoreline, is a fantastic backpacking trip for the prepared backcountry traveler.

The trail encompasses sections of sandy driftwood covered beaches, moist moss covered mixed forests, and slippery lichen covered rock. The trail offers several scenic viewpoints and amazing camping in the small coves that are created by the landscape. Trail walking speeds vary from easy (on flat dirt trail) to difficult (wet boulder gardens and uneven terrain). Temperatures on our trip in early August ranged from lows of 5-10C and highs of 18-25C. This trail is characterized in other blogs as rugged and not to be underestimated. Although parts are rugged, I didn't find the terrain to be overly difficult. In comparison to the popular West Coast Trail located in Pacific Rim National Park, there are many similarities but I would affectionately call Pukaskwa the "little sister" of the West Coast Trail.

Our group of seven included Alpine Club of Ottawa friends that ranged in age from 38-71. All of us have previously completed multiple remote marked trail and trail-less backpacking trips in the past (check out my other backpacking trip reports). We all have extensive experience hiking the Adirondack 4000 footers, which are 46 technical hiking mountain summits in upper New York State. We did not find this trail particularly challenging based on our prior experience. There were sections that demanded your attention but there was also easier walking on well-defined trail.

To prepare for your hike: 
1. Download the park trip planner here
2. Reserve campsites by calling ($9.80/pp/per night) starting March 15th: 1-877-737-RESERVE (1-877-737-3783)
3. Book boat shuttle if going to the end at North Swallow through Keith McCuaig mccuaigmarine@shaw.ca 
4. To check out my packing list for the trip click here.

Pre-trip: Saturday August 5th, 2017 - Hattie Cove to North Swallow
Getting to the park is your first step. Located a 4 hour drive away from Thunder Bay or Sault-Ste Marie airports, you will need to budget in a travel day before and after your trip. We arrived at the park at 1PM, and checked in at the park office. The park will provide a 20 minute backcountry orientation. This should be review for all backcountry travelers with a few tips thrown in specific to the park.

We had time to waste before our ferry arrived so we checked out the park's visitor centre and did a short hike up a lookout nearby. It was evident that this park is used mainly for backpacking but also for coastal sea kayaking/canoeing trips as well.

Our ferry picked us up right at the visitor's centre at Hattie Cove at 4PM. The boat is impressive - 2 x 250 HP motors, interior seating, stern deck, and a bow platform that can be lowered. Our Captain Keith was a great source of local information and was a likeable guy. He drove at 30 knots and it took us 1.5 hours to reach our destination at North Swallow. Alternatively, you can choose to get ferried out early in the morning and start your hike right away.

As the bow platform lowered and we prepared to disembark, I felt like we were troops landing in Normandy on D-Day. That thought quickly faded as we noticed the park had left us some obvious creature comforts: Parks Canada red chairs on the beach! 

Campsites: All campsites are adjacent to beaches (or rivers) and are clustered in groups. They are marked with sign posts (however not numbered - which would be helpful). They all have a full size outhouse, a bear cache for food, and a firepit with grill. Other blogs have mentioned problems with rodents in the bear caches. Although I could see how they could get in, we didn't have any issues on our trip with rodents getting into our food.

Day 1 Sunday August 6th, 2017: North Swallow to White Spruce Harbour (11km)

We left camp at 8:30 AM and started the trail crossing the North Swallow Brook. We were surprised to see the well-defined trail as we had heard that some navigational work/trailfinding may be necessary. The trail isn't marked with standard trail signs, but rock cairns are present when trailfinding may be tricky (ie on rock). We never once got off route the entire 65km.

Footing on Day 1 was the most challenging, with the trail comprised mainly of uneven rocks, roots and moss at all angles. We gained and lost elevation a few times during the day, but nothing more than 100m at a time so it felt manageable. The forest provided a welcome reprieve from the sun as it beat down on us in the exposed rocky sections. We found out early that the exposed bedrock can be slippery with any moisture from water, moss, wet mud, etc.  We fell in love with the trail immediately as it seemed that every 20 minutes offered a view of inland lakes, cliffs, and Lake Superior.  

We ate lunch at Simons Harbour and arrived at camp at 3PM, enjoying a quick swim in the 11C water in the protected shallow cove. Our swims were quick, but we appreciated the dunk anyway. White Spruce Harbour (WSH1) is a well protected campsite with warmer water and is recommended.

Day 2 Monday August 7th, 2017: White Spruce Harbour to Fisherman's Cove (10.5km)

We set off at 8:40AM and began our day on a easy section of flat trail to White Gravel Beach. There was little to no elevation gained between White Spruce and White Gravel. Leaving White Gravel you travel inland for 7km with the highest elevation gain on the entire trail. There is little to no water to filter during this section so it is recommended that you have full water bottles before embarking on this segment.

The inland forest section did rise in elevation, but I found it quite gradual and therefore not difficult. This section offered very few scenic views and at about 5km in, it begins to descend down to Fisherman's Cove. We stayed at FC2 and I believe that this was the BEST campsite on the entire trek. It's a cozy private site with perfect swimming spots. We arrived at the campsite at 1:30 PM, making for a short day on the trail.

Thunder boomed around us during the evening, but we never had a drop of rain. That was until the middle of the night when a storm finally hit us straight on and rained on us for about an hour. 

Day 3 Tuesday August 8th: Fisherman's Cove to Fish Harbour  (13.75km)

We woke up to wet raindrops on the tents, but no rain falling.  We ate a quick breakfast and were on the trail again by 8:30 AM. Almost immediately on the trail, it started to rain and drizzle on and off. This continued all morning.  Within a few hundred meters of starting today's leg, we had to take off our boots and wade through a thigh-high river. Luckily the basin was sand and we could walk quite easily through it. Nothing like starting the day off with wet feet and pants!

The first cove after Fisherman's was a shoreline walk on large round boulders. This particular morning the rain had made footing treacherous and we all were silent as we focused intensely on every step. It would have been very easy to slip here and I can see why rescues could happen quite frequently. I brought the SPOT satellite device to activate assistance if needed, which luckily we didn't.

We continued to Nicols Cove, where we met our first humans. A couple with a dog were heading out to Fisherman's Cove. Coincidentally, they were also from Ottawa and knew some mutual people! Heading back through some forest, we came to Dampier Cove and then heard voices and a boat as we rounded the corner into Oiseau Bay. Keith, our ferry driver, was parked at the beach with local Pic River natives who were there to visit a trapper cabin (not on the map). They offered us muffins and watermelon which we graciously accepted and then had a great chat and a group photo!

It was still drizzling off and on, but blue skies in the distance gave us hope. We walked off the beach and started hiking inland onto a sand bar for 500m. The remainder of the day was on flat forested easy trail. We crossed what looked to be a brand new cedar bridge that appeared out of no where and then had to wade across a bay before reaching our destination for the night: Fish Harbour. We arrived at 4 PM.

We stayed at FH1 (which was a nice site), but if I were to do it again I would stay at FH3. Fish Harbour is not protected and this night was the coldest of the trip as a result. We met a sea kayaker who was staying at a site beside us who was interesting to talk to. We also found a bunny rabbit in our outhouse! This campsite is the bomb for sunsets!

Day 4 Wednesday August 9th: Fish Harbour to Willow River (12km  longer route)
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We left Fish Harbour at 8:30AM and began our day with some of the most awesome terrain on the trip. Rock scrambling! Starting through a cliff section, we scrambled down and across a rocky outcropping. I think this is the section people refer to having to 'pass your pack up' but as all of our group had rock climbing experience, we zoomed through this section without a thought of taking off our packs. It was super fun and I wish there were more sections like this! This scrambly section was followed by a picturesque section of shoreline rock, which we were happy was dry as we passed over it.

We followed some easy forested trail from cove to cove. We saw two girls packing up at a site at Morrison Harbour (wouldn't be my first choice for a campspot). We continued around Shot Watch Cove, scanning for Pukaskwa Pits (rocky circular ruins) that were created by natives some time ago. From this point north the trail is full of blueberries. We feasted on the first patch we saw, but later realized they are everywhere and can be easily consumed with barely a step off the trail. A welcome snack!

Just before the Willow River, the trail proposed two options: the direct forested route or the longer coastal route. We chose to do the longer coastal side trail en route to Willow River. This section was worth the extra effort: beautiful coastal views and more rock scrambling. Just before we got to the Willow River suspension bridge we met some rude hikers who were camped at our site WR1. They were booked into WR2 that evening, but seemed unwilling to move. After we crossed the suspension bridge, we popped out onto the beach and saw two Park Wardens. Apparently a hiker had broken a toe and needed evacuation. They were checking permits...but we didn't have ours as the park office had told us not to bother to bring it! They interrogated Deb for a bit wearing guns and backpacks! I guess they figured we were legit being in a large group and not ducking for cover. We had to tell them we were booked into WR1 and so the took it upon themselves to move the other group to WR2 as per original bookings. We waited 20 mins for them to move their stuff and arrived at camp at 2:30. WR1 was worth the wait - great site! We also saw a single woman staying at WR6 (not a recommended site) and another couple who were still moving onto Morrison that day. The north end of the hike is much more populated than the south end. Willow River seems to be the turning point as some hikers will start at the visitor's centre and return on an out-and-back trip.

WR1 and WR2 would be my recommendations for this area. We had warm water in the shallow sandy bay to swim in -  especially when the air temperature is at 25C!  That said, there was a feeling in the air that evening that the weather was changing again.

Day 5 Thursday August 10: Willow River to Chigamiwinigum Falls (9km)

We woke up to rain falling on our tents and were reluctant to get out. It had been raining for hours and everything outside was soaked. For the first time I threw on my rain gear and for the first time we didn't leave until 9AM. It was only 15C when we left and only rose to 18C today.

Our route today was the first time we headed inland for the entire day. This section is on easy forested trail. It drizzled all morning on us so the rocks were again slippery and there was mud everywhere. We had to watch our footing. Everyone in our group of 7 had slipped and fallen on some of the rocks at some point during the past 5 days. Even with our modern boots and experience hiking tough terrain, the coastal trail can be hazardous.

We made it to Hook Falls by noon and checked out the falls from viewpoint. We continued on down the White River, checking out more of the rapids and falls. Having to take the portage trail to our CHF1 campsite, we found it a good site for larger groups. CHF2 is very small. Both campsite are at the base of rapids and we met a father-son duo doing some camping and fishing there. 

We arrived at 1:30PM and set up our soaking wet tents. We also set up a tarp as it was still raining. We retreated into our tents after we ate lunch, napping and reading all afternoon while listening to the sound of the rain on the tarp and our tent flies.

Early to bed we went today again due to the damp chill in the air. In hindsight this section went by so fast that we could have pushed on, but it's hard to know that when you are booking campsites months in advance.

Day 6 Friday August 11th: Chigamiwinigum Falls to Hattie Cove (8km)

Our original itinerary had us also doing the Mdaabi Miikna Trail today. We were supposed to add this trail as an extension to the coastal trail and stay at PH2 before heading out on the Saturday. However, when we woke up it was still cloudy and threatened of rain. We voted at the trail junction and the vote was 5 people wanted to hike out and 2 people wanted to continue. I think we were tired of being wet and didn't want to spend another afternoon in a wet tent reading. Why do that when you can walk out and get some real food? 

The 8km hike out to Hattie Cove is mostly flat and easy. A long boardwalk (underwater when we were there) helps you cross the marsh at the end of Hattie. We arrived back at the visitor's centre around 11AM and headed to the town of Marathon for lunch! It remained cloudy and rainy so we were happy with our decision! We had completed the coastal trail!
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Totals: 65km with 1922m of total ascent
For a .gpx file of our track click here.

 The Donjek Glacier backpacking route is rated as Kluane National Park's most difficult hike. It is listed as a 8-10 day backpacking route, ranging between 100-120km in distance. There are no trails and no designated camping sites, just a general route description and recommended areas to camp. Expert navigational skills are mandatory, and all food must be carried in approved bear proof barrels. The idea of doing this trip was generated by my friend Deb (in green above) who organized the trip from start to finish. The six of us: Deb, Glenn, Mike, Ivan, Marc and myself participated, and have all had years of backcountry experience and skills and were a competent group for this trip. We are all members of the Alpine Club of Canada's Ottawa section. This is our tale from August 2-10th, 2015:

Day 1-Trailhead to Burwash Uplands Campspot (11km): Starting in Whitehorse at the highly recommended Red Door B and B, we were picked up by a local shuttle service provided by Up North Adventures who we hired to take our group of 6 to the trailhead and back 9 days later. Leaving Whitehorse, Yukon at 9:30 AM, we headed to Haines Junction where upon entering Kluane National Park, we had to register, obtain bear barrels, and permits. We paid a fee of $68.70 CDN each to enter the park. After a quick stop at the Haines Junction bakery (yum!), we set off to the trailhead. A couple hundred meters past the Duke River bridge outside of the small native hamlet of Burwash, we turned left down an old mining road. Rumour has it that you can drive 5.1km down this road but this road was in rough shape and so our driver seized an opportunity to turn around at 2.7km in. Here we started our journey. We hiked in on the road which turned into a ATV path over forested and mainly flat terrain for a total of 11km the first day. We noticed quickly the impacts mining has had on the area. There were marked stakes everywhere. I guess that's where the phrase 'Stake your claim' comes from! A perfect day for hauling heavy packs and a beautiful rainbow from the first recommended and well-used campspot at the foot of the Burwash Uplands. Campsite: Latitude:61.33951  Longitude:-139.29439 ​

Day 2-Burwash Uplands to Burwash Creek near Park Boundary (17km): Up at 6 AM temperatures were around the freezing mark. I had had a cold night pre-dawn in my sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees celcuis/32F (in hindsight I should have brought my -7C bag). Luckily the sun was shining and it was only a matter of time before we were back on the trail. We started again on the ATV path across boggy hummock land for about 4km before making a big decision: continue on easy terrain but add 6km to the day OR bushwhack across the bog up and over a hill and end up in the same spot. The group opted for the easier terrain. A toss up of pros and cons whether or not we made the best decision as our packs were still quite heavy. We chose our course and off we went. Descending down to the Burwash Creek, we ate lunch and crossed the freezing cold creek to the mining road on the other side passing by an old cabin and trailer. We followed the mining road over a chasm then down to the river again. We followed the riverbed for many kilometers viewing many signs of bear activity, encouraging us more and more to keep hollering out our bear calls at regular intervals. My call was "Heeeeey Bear!", while other group members called: "Yo Bear!", "Oi Bear!", "Day-O", "Hey Hey" and "Fuzzy Bear!". Heading past a recommended campspot on the creek, we tried to continue on to the park boundary and Warden's cabin. We stopped a few km short and set up camp in a flat grassy spot on the creek's bank. Our kitchen was down on the river bank and and proved luxurious with couch-like backrests and easy access to water. At 7:45 PM, our group had eaten dinner and finished cleaning up including moving our bear barrels another 100m upstream. We were relaxing by the riverside conversing when, only 10m away around a corner, I saw a hump and a silver-brown furry bum headed in our direction. I recognized the creature and jumped up and quickly shouted "Bear-bear-bear!" and within second there were 6 of us erect with bear spray in hand shouting. The lone immature male bear, approached us from upwind and downstream, was as scared to see us and we were of it. It bolted downstream 100m and turned back to look at us. Ivan set off a bear banger and when it went off, the bear bolted onto the bank onto a ridge. It saw us again looking at us and took off. We measured a paw print and noted the print was about 6 inches wide. Shocked and stunned we got so close to a bear without warning, we decided to set-up nighttime watches to look out for its return and allow others to sleep with both eyes shut.  Glenn and I took the 11PM-1AM shift which I labelled the "Land of the Midnight Sun Watch" as sunset and twilight lasted well after midnight. Just around 1 AM, we did see the eyes of a fox nearby but other than that, there was no sign of the bear ever again. That night was the coldest night of the trip with frost on the ground in the morning. Campsite: Latitude:61.32600  Longitude:-139.45670 ​

Day 3-Burwash Creek to Hoge Creek (12km): Waking up again after another cold night and 2 hours less sleep could have been a drag but at 6AM we were awokened by Deb to get up quickly and check out the caribou in our camp. Yes, two caribou had crossed the river and walked through our camp to graze on higher ground in the sun. We watched them roam for 10 mins and were undisturbed by our presence. A fantastic way to wake up!  We packed up and headed out at 8:10 AM after enjoying a morning campfire to warm up after a cold night. Almost immediately we say a family of Ptarmigan on the creekbed. Another 3km further, we arrived at the Kluane National Park boundary and 1km further, we arrived at the warden's cabin. Campsite: ​Latitude:61.28918  Longitude:-139.56737

The remainder of this day was challenging. Ahead was a huge ascent up Hoge Pass, the highest point on the route at 7100feet elevation, followed by a steep rock descent down to Hoge Creek. The first leg of our ascent we saw a beautiful golden eagle flying over our heads. Into the alpine zone, we saw our first flock of Dall Sheep. Glenn was elated as it's always been a dream of his to see this species in the wild. Just as we were snapping photos of them, we saw another 2 flocks in the distance. What a day for wildlife viewing! The ascent up Hoge Pass was very gradual and not intimidating in the least. At the apex of the pass, we trended left onto the shoulder of a nearby peak and ate lunch, looking at the stunning views of snow capped peaks ahead. After lunch, we ascended and descended over a few ridges before finally descending down a green drainage to the Hoge valley. The views here are among the most stunning of the entire trip. Get your camera out! Getting down the first part of the descent was tricky over loose rocky boulder and steep angles. Losing your balance here would have been consequential for sure. It wasn't long before we found the valley bottom and started down Hoge Creek itself. The afternoon sun rays made the day even more difficult: UV rays began to beat down on our skin and river levels began to swell and crossings became more difficult. Deb and I had a difficult time with Hoge Creek as our shorter strides couldn't span the banks like the 4 guys. This slowed our group's progress down immensely as we estimated that we had to take our packs and boots off, don our water shoes, and reverse the process over a dozen times for crossing this creek again and again. Exhausted and sunburnt, we finished off the day just as we were about to exit the canyon but not yet near the Donjek River. We found a great plateau that we used to set up our tents, and made sure we had long sight lines to spot bear activity early and prevent a repeat of the night before. Did I mention we saw a pine marten? An excellent day for wildlife viewing: Caribou, Ptarmigan, Golden Eagle, Dall Sheep, Ground Squirrels, and Pine Marten all in one day! At 8PM we retreated to our tents, hoping to catch up on some sleep. The inside of our tents were a balmy 33 degrees celcius and took about 2 hours to finally cool down once the sun lowered behind the hills. Latitude:61.22678  Longitude:-139.50682

Day 4-Hoge Creek to Donjek Glacier (12km):  Rising again at 6 AM, the dawn's temperature was warm and comfortable.  At 8 AM, we left the campsite and hiked the remaining 3km down Hoge Creek towards the Donjek River. We crossed Hoge Creek 2 more times in that distance, this time much more easily due to the lower morning water levels. Turning left and heading upstream on the river bank of the Donjek River, we marched 5km on river stones towards the glacier itself. Finding wolf prints and moose sign along the river bank, it was easy to notice that the riverbed must swell to 4 times its size in the spring runoff. Spirits were high the closer and closer to the glacier we got. We stopped at lunch near a gorge but continued on the riverbed another 500m to see that we could not follow the riverbank any further because of a cliff. Forced to backtrack to the gorge, we ascended up a rocky creek to a mossy forest and bushwhacked for about 20mins until reaching an old horse trail as recommended by the route description. I say 'old' because although it was well defined,  the horse trail was very overgrown, especially in the meadow areas and looked like it hadn't been used in years. We followed this horsetrail for the rest of the day making our way through the thick brush and sneaking peaks of the Donjek icefield on our right. We took advantage of viewpoints and attempted to snap shots of this massive glacier field although it was impossible to fit the entire size in one photo. At one break stop, I noticed that my GPS was missing from my hip pocket. Knowing that I had looked at it 20 mins earlier, I thought we should give it a shot and backtrack to see if we could find it. Within 10 mins of walking back, Glenn, Marc and I with bearspray in hand, found my GPS dangling from a bush branch at waist height having been snagged out of my pocket by the wrist strap. Lucky me! I made sure from this point on that the wrist strap was zipped up inside my pocket. Moving on, we crossed a number of dry creekbeds which made us worry a bit about where we were going to camp and replenish our water supply. The sun's rays were the most intense of the trip. We literally baked in the sun and couldn't put on enough sunscreen or find enough shade. We found a river bed to call home for the night and set up our tents above the horse trail on sloping ground. The views from this campsite riverbed were outstanding. We finally noticed at this point in the trip that our bear barrels were getting more easy to pack and had some extra room in them.  All 4 guys had 2 barrels on the trip, one large and one solo size. Suddenly we heard sounds that were alike thunder at this site. We soon figured out that this sound was not thunder at all, but the sound of the calving glacier below us which would continue on and on. Cirrus clouds overhead at our 8PM bedtime, we were predicting a change in weather and it came overnight in the form of rain. Campsite: Latitude:61.15591  Longitude:-139.38815 ​

Day 5-Donjek Glacier to Big Horn Creek (15km): Our 6AM wake up was noisier than normal this morning as rain spat down on our tent. We set up a siltarp in the trees and ate breakfast under it instead of on the river bed as we had eaten dinner the night before. We left camp at 8:10AM and continued on the descending horsetrail. We lost the trail a few times crossing creeks and had to spend a few minutes looking for where the trail continued on the other side. Light rain drizzled down on us and everyone wore rainsuits and packcovers. The trail trended downward towards a meadow where we could see great viewpoints on the glacier. We left the horsetrail and went up to a hilltop and took some photos and timer shots. We continued to follow the bumps along the shoreline, and missed an easy entrance down to the shore from the cliffs. Instead we climbed to an even higher cliffpoint and Mike found a descent route down the wet rocky faces down to the shore along the glacier. Finally we arrived at the foot of the glacier! This glacier is one of the largest non-polar glaciers left in the world and is 56km long! Standing at it's toe, it must have been 80-100ft tall. We took loads of photos and ate lunch, enjoying the view. Sitting beside the glacier was like being in a refridgerator-cool and damp. Every 20 minutes or so, we heard calving and Deb was able to photograph a ripple from one of the ice chunks that fell off. We walked along the rocky shore and beach following the glacier's toe, examining the ice chunks and observing birds feeding in the waters at its base. This, to me, was the highlight of the trip. How often do you get to see something that incredible? The next 9km we walked away from the glacier in easy grassy meadows in the sub-alpine. Arriving at Big Horn Creek, we saw many signs of hares and managed to see a few darting around. We set up camp on a floodplain and ate under the siltarp once again. The water from the Big Horn was very silty, and our water filters were in need of cleaning every few litres of pumping. Even though the weather wasn't the best today, the night was still warm.

Day 6-Bighorn Creek to Atlas Creek (17km): Knowing that this day was going to be the hardest day physically of the trip, we all took advantage of any extra rations we thought we had and ate them either at last night's dinner or at this morning's breakfast. The overnight rain had made the air damp, and the warmth of food and hot drinks were welcome. We had donned our boots and rain gear right from the tent this morning. We packed up and headed up Expectation Pass, a 2000ft climb up through a creek and canyon finishing on a grassy boggy saddle. The climb took us 3 hours and once at the top of the pass, the final views of the Donjek glacier were seen before moving into the next valley. At 6000ft elevation, we contoured around the valley towards Atlas Pass. The valley displayed magnificent views of the alpine wilderness and hosted flocks of Dall sheep and a Golden Eagle. The eagle even performed an acrobatic display for us diving and gliding like it was on a rollercoaster. On the lighter side, Ivan's poor eyesight lead him to think that every white rock in this valley was a sheep and every brown rock was a bear. We didn't get to pull any tricks on him but it was entertaining to say the least to hear him confirm whether or not the boulders in the distance were animals or not.  We managed to stay at the 6000ft contour thanks to Ivan's lead, and only had the final 900ft to climb to the top of Atlas Pass.The views from Atlas Pass were outstanding. The descent route actually started with a short ascent up and then down a soft muddy scree slope down to a saddle and a green patch of grass similar to a putting green. The soft soil underfoot made the descent fast and easy. One last steep scree slope and you are down on the valley floor once again on the shores of Atlas Creek. This creek was much different than the Hoge Creek with wide banks and easy narrow crossings allowing us to make time on the descent. We hiked all the way down to the Duke River finding a campspot described on the route on the right side and dived into our dinners on the banks of the Atlas.  Campsite: ​Latitude:61.22996  Longitude:-139.20918

Day 8-Atlas Creek to Cache Lake (13km): On the trail again at 8 AM, we followed a game trail past our tentsite along the Duke River shore and then had to bushwhack up and around a large beaver dam system and finally down to the river shore after 2km.  We followed the rocky Duke shore for another kilometer or so before finding a suitable crossing area. The Duke River crossing was to be our biggest crossing of the trip and the earlier we could get it done the better as rivers start to swell as the temperatures rise due to glacial runoff. We all donned our water shoes and rolled up our pants. Mike even removed his pants completely. Glenn and I went first, me holding on to the back of his pack. Up to the top of our thighs deep, freezing cold and tough current, we ferried over the deepest braid of the river. One step before hitting the shallow ground, we turned sideways and the current took my Croc water shoe and down the raging river. I accepted my loss, and hobbled onto the shore with only one shoe remaining. Glenn spotted the shoe downstream and decided to dump his pack and sprint 300m downstream and managed to retrieve it by jumping in the river once again (we were wet already). Yes! Ivan, Deb, Marc and Mike decided to hold a large 5 ft long piece of wood and ford the river as a group, crossing swiftly with minimal stumbles and falls. It took a few minutes after exiting to get the feeling back in our feet, dry off and let the sun help warm our bodies. It took me another hour or so before my pants felt dry again. Not following the instructions of the route and crossing about 4km away from the campsite proved to be challenging as we found ourselves doing multiple bushwhacks along the Duke river's left shore ascending countless feet and then returning to the river's shore. At the 8km mark from the campsite, we were to turn left on a difficult to find riverbed that led to a old road up to our campsite for the night at Cache lake. We missed the turnoff (our only navigational error of the trip), and noted that we were almost at the Grizzly Paw River confluence with the Duke before abruptly changing course. This 1km or so mistake was costly as we had to bushwhack, ascending 500+feet on a course backwards to where we were from. The only bonus of the bushwhack was that the hill was full of ripe blueberries-yum! After a slog of a bushwhack we found the road that led to the lake which was sunny and breezy. We set up camp on the shores of the lake overlooking snow capped peaks and dried out our wet tent and gear. Most of us went for a swim or bath in the lake. Glenn found 2 pairs of old shed moose antlers on the shores of the lake and there was ample moose habitat sign. Tonight's sleep was cold again as we were sleeping at an altitude of 5000 feet. This site, for me, was the most picturesque of the trip. The only thing that could have made it even better would have been to seen the Aurora Borealis but unfortunately that wasn't in the stars. I kept thinking how this route was the most stunning and scenic backpacking trip I have ever completed. The days did not disappoint. Ever. Campsite: Latitude:61.21035  Longitude:-139.06235 ​

Day 8-Cache Lake to Copper Joe Creek (13km): Another 6 AM wake up but the sky was blue and the reflection in the lake outstanding. Knowing that our route today was all downhill and the end in near, extra rations were consumed and our packs were the lightest they've ever been. Mine was probably 10lbs lighter than when we started. Setting off from the lake, we followed the old road and saw many signs of moose activity. Shed antlers, moose scat, and a moose carcass were all witnessed. We finalled reached Copper Joe Creek, and began descending its rocky shores down our final valley. At lunchtime, we were still in a canyon along the riverbed. Mike spoke up suddenly say "There's an animal down there". Sure enough, we stood up to see the back of another larger male grizzly bear about 75m away. It approached our quiet group from downstream and upwind. Once we stood up it stood on its hind legs to check us out and then decided to bee line for the steep forested riverbank. It stopped about 100m away from us when Ivan fired off a bear banger and it took off into the forest, never to be seen again. I am glad we were travelling in a group of 6, all with a bearspray within hand's reach. I was surely skeptical of the bear bangers before the trip, but am a convert of them now seeing how effective they can be in two incidences. We quickly packed up and headed through a narrow section of the river and then finally exited the canyon. We found an old gravel road that we could walk out the final 5km. It was 2pm, so we had time to complete the route but our shuttle wasn't coming until the next day. We set up a camp at the junction between the creekbed and gravel road and spend our last night eating any extra food an singing around a campfire. A great way to end a fantastic trip.

Day 9-Copper Joe Creek to Alaska Highway (5km): We tried to sleep in but breaking a habit is difficult. We spent our final morning leisurely eating breakfast and packing up. Oatmeal is a fast breakfast so before we knew it we were packed up and walking the final easy 5km out to the highway to wait for our shuttle. We did it! Yahoo! An amazing trip! The route turned out to be my longest backpacking trip to date. Trip totals: 118km, 11000ft of ascent! 

Thanks to Ivan and Mike for doing the navigational and routefinding work, to Deb for the logistics and coming up with the idea in the first place, and to Marc who let us stay in his house the night before the flight. Our group worked very well together and became closer through this journey. :)  A few adjectives come to mind when looking back on this route: rugged, diverse, scenic, and truly wild. The wildest place I've ever been. We didn't see another human being for 9 days! The Yukon definitely did not disappoint, and I'm sure I'll be back one day. 

What did I bring on this trip? Check out my packing list here. To access my .gpx file track for this route click here.

Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland is a recognized geographical area both nationally as a park and internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gros Morne is jam-packed with unique geological features such as an inland fjord,  the orange tablelands, sand beaches, coastal shoreline, and a large area of rugged wilderness. According to Parks Canada, it is visited annually by over 100,000 people. 

In July of 2011 my husband and I attempted to complete the longest backpacking trip in the park-The North Rim and Long Range Traverse. The Long Range Traverse is a popular backpacking trip, starting at the end of the Western Brook Pond Fjord boat tour. The North Rim starts at the dock of the boat tour and adds about 27km to the 35km Long Range Traverse. The North Rim is not a hike that is popular due to its unappealing rugged nature. In fact, when we did it, only 2 groups had been in before us all year.

The trip actually starts at the Visitor Centre where you pick up your permit ($122.60CDN). Before you get your permit, you must pass a written test to prove your navigation skills. Did I forget to mention this trip is trail-less? Good map and compass/GPS skills are mandatory skills for this wilderness trip. In addition to your permit, Parks will give you a VHF transmitter to carry in your pack in case they have to find you! We parked our rental car at the Gros More Mountain trailhead and hired a taxi to take us up to the Western Brook Pond parking lot. The drive takes about a half hour. For more planning tips, click here.

Day 1- Start to Snug Harbour:We hiked into the Ferry boat landing and took a boat cruise to start the trip. We knew that we would miss out on this by not doing the Long Range Traverse, so we wanted to explore the fjord and scope out some of our route for the first two days. Getting to our first campsite ended up being much more than we bargained for. With 3 days straight of rain before we started, the water levels had risen greatly including the outflow from the Western Brook Pond. The Parks staff had warned us of this, citing that the level might be 'above the knee'. My husband took the first pack across and sank into waist deep fast flowing water. He yelled at me to say he'd come back to get my pack and good thing he did. When I went across I sank to armpit deep and my feet left  the bottom and I ended up in a swimming position pulling myself over on the cable. Good thing I am a swimmer and a whitewater paddler and am comfortable in current. The rest of the journey to Snug Harbour displayed signs of moose activity everywhere, not surprising as there is an overpopulation of moose on the island.

Day 2 - Snug Harbour to Long Pond: Our first night at Snug Harbour was uneventful and then next morning we got early to hike the 1500ft up to the top of the rim. As soon as we reached the rim and then the weather turned foul. High winds, rain, and plummeting temperatures challenged our abilities. In addition, we learned how frustrating tuckamore can be. Tuckamore is the Newfie word for low-lying dense, stunted fir trees that, when hiking through, is akin to walking through a cedar hedge. We got to the Long Pond campsite in gale force winds and driving rain. It took the two of us get the tent storm lashed down onto the platform and once finished we jumped into our sleeping bags with clothing we brought that was dry and it took 3 hours before we felt warm. Temperatures felt like they were at the freezing mark. We ate handfuls of snacks for dinner as the wind and rain howled for hours and hours.

Day 3 - Long Pond: We woke up to freezing cold temperatures, wet gear and complete fog. We couldn't even see 50m out of our tent. We pushed back our start time and kept postponing until our cut off time of noon. We got to noon and the weather hadn't broken, and spent the day reading and keeping warm in the tent. We were storm bound! We stayed inside most of the day until we heard the sounds of a helicopter. Yes, that's right, search and rescue was checking in on us! We didn't give them any S.O.S. type signals and so it left. We thought other groups may have bailed with the extreme weather.

Day 4 - Long Pond to Bear Box: We rose on day four and the temperature was significantly warmer. That said the thick fog still lingered but we figured it would burn off and headed out. Navigation was extremely difficult as we had to check our GPS position on the map  every 100m to see if we were where we should be. Around 2 PM the clouds finally broke and we had our first sunbeams of the trip. The views opened up and we found the campsite no problem. We were able to find a boggy tent site and dry out our gear until the bugs came out. To escape the bugs, we jumped into the tent after dinner. We had just cleared our tent of bugs when my husband said "I need to go out and brush my teeth". I tried to persuade him to not go but he insisted. When he was outside brushing, he yelled at me to grab my trekking poles because he was looking at a bear. We watched the bear feeding for 45mins and in that time it kept getting closer and closer. Our food and stove was in the bear box (provided at each site) so we knew that wasn't attracting him. We returned to the tent to let him be and stayed quiet and wide-eyed for hours into the night. It started raining again and everything was soaked again. The next morning we got up and left as soon as we could. We called this site "Bear Box" as there was nothing at the campsite other than a bear box to distinguish it!

Day 5 - Bear Box to Hardings Pond (17km): Starting in the rain once again, we reached the end of the North Rim trail when we reached the viewpoint for the Western Brook Pond. Views weren't great and the famous photospot wasn't photogenic on that day (photo above). When we were hiking up the rocky slabs out of the valley, my hiking pole slipped on the rock and poked my husband just below the eye. A close call and lesson learned about following people up steep slippery slopes too closely. We continued on to Harding's pond for the night, where we found two other parties camped out on the tent platforms. People! We chatted with them for a bit before realizing that there was no third platform so Glenn and I had to pitch our tent on a small bit of sandy flat ground. As soon as we pitched our tent it started to rain, again. 

Day 6 - Harding's Pond to Finish (22km):  We woke at Hardings Pond, packed up before the other parties and began the day with promising sunshine. Finally! The undulating terrain took us up and over many rock outcroppings and past many view points and we saw two massive caribou! We hiked around many mud puddles and bogs. The day ended up being the best day for views and weather, but our toughest day physically. We descended the steep and sketchy Ferry Gulch to the Gros Morne Campsite and made the decision to march out the last 5km to the parking lot, a total of 22km for the day.

This wasn't the first National Park I had backpacked in and I found the infrastructure in the backcountry sites lacking. Each site was to have 3 tent platforms (only one of the sites we stayed on did), a green pit toilet and no campfire rings. We found campfire rings that had been used at almost every site even though regulations said othewise. We advised the park office of our disappointment having to sleep on wet bog more that once. This may have changed since 2011. The parks staff also said they closed down the trail after we got on as it was too dangerious to cross rivers, etc. No kidding! The conditions apparently were the worst in 87 years with the volume of rain and the cold temperatures. Another great adventure in the books! :)