The morning routine was setting in, but it won't stay for long. We are about three days from being on trail and that comes with a whole new routine. We chose to head out early in case the situation with the fire in Castlegar changes. We would be on the road in the cooler morning … Continue reading GDT Travel Day -2
Category: Hiking
GDT Travel Day -3
Toothless slept until 6am, which is a treat compared to his most recent routine at home (which also includes waking up at 5am and grabbing my feet through his crib). We had a calm and cool morning. The AC kept up last night and now the air outside is finally 22C (the lowest it was … Continue reading GDT Travel Day -3
GDT Travel Day -4
And..we are off..to head towards the GDT. We are driving out to Coleman, where we will leave our car for the duration of the hike. After staying in Coleman overnight we will get a ride to Waterton where we will start the GDT with Toothless on July 5. The drive out will be over several … Continue reading GDT Travel Day -4
SCT 2021 Day 2 – Confederation Lake to Tin Hat Mountain
Mileage: 13.5 km After a toasty night in the cabin, Toothless woke up ready to start the day bright and early just after 5am. We took advantage of the cabin and had a slow start and finally got on the trail around 7:30am. It was a nice sunny morning as we headed downhill towards Fiddlehead … Continue reading SCT 2021 Day 2 – Confederation Lake to Tin Hat Mountain
SCT 2021 Day 1 – Mowat Bay to Confederation Lake
Plan In preparation for our 2021 GDT hike with Toothless, we decided to do a shakedown hike on the SCT. Initially we planned a yoyo of the SCT, but due to COVID19 restrictions, and us being a little behind figuring out our sleep system, we weren't left with enough time to do the SCT yoyo … Continue reading SCT 2021 Day 1 – Mowat Bay to Confederation Lake
MYOG: Adding Nonslip to Exped Mat
I have been nagging Natasha about doing this for years and we finally broke down and did it. We sleep on a double pad and it tends to slide down even the gentlest of inclines. This sometimes means one of us gets pushed against the wall or our feet push against the mesh and push … Continue reading MYOG: Adding Nonslip to Exped Mat
MYOG: Hiking Umbrella Holder
We started carrying an umbrella when hiking with Toothless. With him in the front carrier, the umbrella helps keep the rain and sun off of him and minimizes how often we need to change his outfits to keep him comfortable. It is also is really useful at camp - in particular while eating. There are … Continue reading MYOG: Hiking Umbrella Holder
Gear Selection: Water treatment for the GDT 2021
Our water filter stopped flowing prematurely this season while on the SCT, forcing us to use chemical treatment on trail. As a result we started reconsidering our water treatment system. We have since cleaned the filter and it flows again, but we are still going ahead with chemical treatment on the GDT for 2021. Current … Continue reading Gear Selection: Water treatment for the GDT 2021
Gear Selection: Baby Sleep System 2
A while back I wrote about our initial plans for a baby sleep system for backpacking on the GDT. After some initial tests we found that our original plan wasn't going to work out and we needed to find something that worked for our baby Toothless. I wrote about our success when we camped at … Continue reading Gear Selection: Baby Sleep System 2
GDT 2021 Food
Alright! Let's talk food! In 2018 I had a pretty dialed in food plan. This worked pretty well for us, but I had some lessons I took away. Some specific to the GDT and some lessons more general about long hiking. Lessons I can eat a pretty low variety of food for a long time … Continue reading GDT 2021 Food
Backpacks & Bike Racks 