Our final 5.5 days on the trail were weirdly emotional and varied except for one element…rain! We walked in wet conditions or were in the rain the whole time. Before Jasper we must have crossed into a different climate/environment zone as we noticed the natural conditions were wetter with clay soils, water tables that were close to the surface, and glaciers. This coupled with the end of the summer season created a muddy hiking experience. Needless to say, us fairweather hikers were out of sorts at times! We carried a mixed bag of feelings along with us: anger at the mud, wet muck, frustrated at the slippery roots, unhappy with constant wet feet, sad to be finishing the trail, empowered by the successful river crossings, joy with living outdoors, surprised by wildlife, elated to experience some of Canada’s special places, and loving being together.
When hiking through old wildfire areas there are lots of blown down trees on the path. Jobie has long legs and simply steps over most of them. Shorter legged humans must balance and shimmy their way over them. This log was just a bit too tall for my legs and I flipped around the log with only my knee holding on…and landed square on my back. Did I tell you how much I love my foamie??
The trail followed and crossed the Moose River 7 or 8 times one day. When on land, we often walked in moose tracks, poops and muck. At a noisy section of the river, Jobie, who usually walks ahead of me, turned a corner in the trail and came face to face with a Grizzly (10 meters away). His first thought was to take a photo and wave to me to catch up but when the bear stood up to its full height, Jobie grabbed his bear spray and began to backup. Fortunately Grizzly decided that Jobie was the scary one and he suddenly ran off into the brush.
After the mud and river crossings we come into Mt Robson Provincial Park and the trail conditions and weather improve. Then the majestic first sighting of the mighty mountain itself dissolves all negative thoughts and you are awestruck by nature again.
The Great Divide Trail officially ends another 150 km further at Kakwa Lake, but considering how difficult it is to access the true endpoint (75 kms along a forest road with little traffic) most hikers we met had also planned to end at Mt Robson visitor center.
We are fortunate and got picked up by our trail angel daughter once again and have left the trail….we miss it and the lifestyle already!!
Zip and Jobie Go Hiking 