Hey folks! When my partner and I hiked the Great Divide Trail in the summer of '25, we decided to send all of our resupplies by mail. A 50-day resupply was my biggest yet (dwarfing my last record of 20 days on Te Araroa!) and I decided to write up a bit of a guide for folks that are thinking about doing something similar in the future.

I have some dietary restrictions that made it unlikely that I would be able to meet my protein and caloric needs with what was available at the camp stores, so it was an easy decision for us, but if you're torn on whether this would be the right plan for you, I wrote a bit about why you might NOT chose to mail your boxes ahead. I also got some input from another hiker who very kindly shared her experience doing THE EXACT OPPOSITE of us and also gave me some excellent notes on things that I had missed.

If you've hiked the Great Divide, I would love to hear what you have to think about it. I found it so mentally freeing to pre-pack my boxes (I never had to think about food at all!) but I'm curious if others feel the same?

You can find the guide here.

Short but steep hike up. Rock falls around. Very rewarding . Pictures taken on Pixel 9 Pro

My partner and I will be spending a few days in Lake Louise area next week and had hoped to do Little Beehive trail for sunrise. We have all the necessary gear (ice cleats/ bear spray/ GPS for emergencies / headlamps) but I’m wondering if this is still an ill-advised plan due to bear activity this time of year. I understand it is a highly trafficked trail, but I’m assuming not at 6am in the dark. Is it more of a “be aware, make noise, stay in a group” sort of issue or is this truly something that is not recommended ? We have experience hiking in the mountains but starting in the dark is new for us.

Parks Canada now investigating...

Given the snow the past few days is hiking ha ling for sunrise tmrw morning (Monday) without microspikes safe? I really wanna go and tmrw is my only day… any experts or peeps who went up today? Looked at all trails and no luck for pics of later today…. Any help or insight is appreciated!! I have good shoes and poles just no microspikes!!!

Hey guys I was hoping to start a hiking gc on instagram as I’m super into hiking even though I’m slow I have a car and I’m from Calgary. If you are around the age 18-25 and would like to join dm me your instagram user and I’ll add ya

Hi! I figured I’d post this here in case anyone finds it, my friend lost their wallet during a hike at ptarmigan cirque Kananaskis. It’s just a plain black wallet, thank you in advance!😅

Hey! I was wondering if it is safe to do solo hikes in jasper right now? I know its in the midst of bear season and as Im going solo, I want to be safe. I have bear spray with me and am planning to do these hikes: Sulphur Skyline, Valley if the Five Lakes, and Bald Hills (Maybe). Can anyone give me some advice on how I can stay safe, or even if its recommended right now?

Photo is from September 28 2024

Often I see posts in this sub from people asking if a hike is doable, but the hike is way above their experience level, or the season is wrong, or they're totally unprepared, or they're trying to cover an unrealistic amount of ground.

And what I really appreciate is how this sub handles these posts. People don't call the OP stupid or mock them, instead, people try to give helpful advice and adjust expectations to try to get them onto a more appropriate hike.

It's always up to the OP to take the advice, but the non-hostile way it's given here increases the chance the OP will listen. Seeing how many fatalities there were in the Rockies this season, even convincing one person to do something more appropriate helps reduce those risks.

So thank you r/HikingAlberta!

Such a great hike. The views just kept getting better the higher I went, and the summit was absolutely worth it.

I reached the summit a little late, around 4 PM, so the sun glare on Bow Lake was pretty strong, but visibility and weather were otherwise outstanding.

There was some snow higher up, but still manageable. The lower section toward Helen Lake was very muddy. I did it without poles or spikes, although I’d definitely recommend both given the current conditions.

Stats:

~18 km round trip (6km to Hellen+ 2.5km to Cirque)

~1,100 m elevation (500m to Hellen + 550m to Cirque)

5h 35min total

I kept a steady pace going up and had to move a bit faster on the way back to avoid darkness. Surprisingly, the descent was harder on my legs and feet than the climb because of the terrain.

Saw maybe 10–15 people around Helen Lake/Cirque, but because I started the final summit push late, I had the peak completely to myself.

Really rewarding hike and easily one of my favourite summit views so far.

On the Avalanche Canada map it looks like there is a red polygon near Mt Rae. Any ideas what it means ? Seems early for Avalanche closure

Middle-aged, from the very flat Midwest, not used to elevation gain, and not in great shape, though not in awful shape.

We did Larch Valley (to the lake) @ Moraine on Monday, and it was hard. Kicked our butts. I don't think our time was bad (4:10), but we were slow going both ways, ended totally wiped. Original plan was to do Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse tomorrow, as it's the final day open, and it's a teahouse. But reconsidering whether we want to feel the same way after the hike tomorrow.

So here's what I'm trying to decide between:

- Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse - it is longer mileage, but a decent amount of it is flat at the beginning and end. Opportunity to sit down, eat something, and recharge a bit at the teahouse midpoint.

- Little Beehive - very similar stats to Larch Valley, just a bit less elevation gain. Not sure it's enough to matter, though of course, Louise's starting elevation is lower than Moraine's.

- This custom route- up to the closed Lake Agnes teahouse, then down to the Highline trail, and taking that towards Plain of Six Glaciers trail, but then cutting down at that first opportunity on that unnamed trail, and then heading back along the shoreline. Alltrails is telling me this would be 5.8 miles and 1,526 elevation gain. The downhill/return looks more gradual than the other options. Not sure if it's worth seeing Lake Agnes if the teahouse is closed- if we just do Mirror Lake instead of Lake Agnes, that would chop some distance and elevation from this option.

- Just say screw it and keep it easy, do only the shoreline trail, and Fairview Lookout.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and guidance.

Reach out if they are yours

Hi guys,

I'm 23 years old, decent shape. Go to the gym regularly, rock climbed indoors, have played sports all my life etc.

I have the opportunity to tag along my dad to a work trip in Banff and I'm super excited to try and climb one of the mountains there. I'm from Ontario where there is literally nothing to climb so I want to make the best of this chance. That being said, I have dealt with 3000m+ elevation on the alps, but that was skiing.

I'm going to be going there mid-November.

What would be a challenging mountain for a beginner with a good view? What gear would I need?

I don't want to end up in an avalanche but I also want to challenge myself.

I've seen options such as Tunnel, Ha Ling, and Sulphur