This trail lives up to all of the hype! Located atop mountain ridges in Jasper National Park, AB it belongs on everyone's to do list! A client from Kelowna, Ian, and I hiked the trail from south to north, pushing our physical limits along the way.  

We were lucky to start our trip on a Sunday. Two days of rain preceded us, leaving grumpy hikers and a lot of mud in its wake. We however, had glorious sunshine and smiles plastered across our faces. We were off to a good start!

Leaving the trailhead by Maligne Lake at 9am Ian impressed me. In preparation for this trip he had gone on a number of day hikes with a 40lb pack. His training was quite evident as we easily cruised along the mud laden trail. In no time, we reached the second campground, little shovel. This campground can't be missed as the trail passes right through it. Mosquitos had claimed this area as their territory so we quickly refilled our water bottles, ate a handful of trail mix, and continued on our way before the mosquitoes carried us away!

By this point we had already climbed 410m in elevation, along 8.5km, and still had 140m of elevation left to go before reaching little shovel pass. As we gained elevation the trail dried out and the views continued to amaze us. White ptarmigan birds, hoary marmots, and pikas were seen and heard along the way.

Reaching snowbowl campground around 1pm with lots of energy to spare, Ian requested that we continue on to curator. Having no objection, we finished our lunch, packed our bags and headed onwards. Climbing another 220m, in elevation, we found ourselves hiking through beautiful alpine meadows. Waterfalls spilled over cliff bands, pockets of snow laid in our path, and expansive views tantalized our senses. You couldn't help but feel connected to this grand landscape. 

Spending the night at Curator Campground we woke early to tackle the infamous 'Notch.' The Notch is a snow covered pass where you climb 300m in 2km. Many fear inducing stories have been told about this pass. Ian, however, was not phased and tackled it like a champ!

Blue bird skies were seen all around as we hiked along the maligne ridge. This is truly why the skyline is a 360deg view of the world. Snow capped mountains were seen in all directions! (From an emergency perspective; along this ridge is one of the only locations on the skyline trail that you can get cell reception). Descending off the ridge we hiked towards Tekarra campground. I would recommend not staying at this campground. It left us wanting. Now at a lower elevation the mosquitos and mud returned in full force! A lot of the tent platforms were full of mud and rounded; not the ideal place for a restful sleep!

18km into our day we finally reached Signal campground. This is a great campground to stay your last night on the trail. It allows you to take advantage of the lookout just south of the campground, but be prepared for the mosquitos. The temptation of a hot shower and a bed to sleep in proved too great of a temptation. We decided to push on and finish off the last 8km. In total it was a 25km day! WOW! What an undertaking! 

Although we finished the trail sooner than we anticipated, it was a great trip with lots of time to pause and enjoy our surroundings. It truly was a beautiful trail. Ian and I both were left with the desire to hike the trail again! Until the next trip!

Environment Canada was against us for the August long weekend. Looking at the weather forecast we did not hold high hopes. Heads held toward the sky we set out on Geraldine Lakes 
Trail in Jasper National Park towards our destination, Mount Fryatt. Mother nature took pity on us for the day and delivered beautiful sunshine allowing us to easily navigate the lichen covered boulders. 

Arriving earlier than expected to the base of the west ridge of Mount Fryatt we lazed around soaking up the sun and imagining shapes in the fluffy clouds that were forming. Rainbows formed around the sun foreshadowing the changes to come. 

That night the rain started. Waking at 3:30am the rock remained wet and we decided to sleep another hour to give the mountain a chance to dry off. 5am we set out and started up the west ridge. Our fitness made easy work of the scrambling. 2hrs into the "day" we climbed ~600m of the ~1000m needed to reach our goal only to be reminded of our mortal existence and chased off the mountain by bad weather. Retreating in the rain we returned to our camp, dismantled it and headed for the car. If we weren't wet before, we were certainly soaked now. Bushwhacking through willows left our rain gear looking like invisible objects, proving fruitless against the rain drops. Once back to the car we headed to the overflow campground (yes, we are cheap) to dry everything out. Our gear scattered everywhere we became a source of entertainment for the other campers. 

I guess I will have to wait until next year