Donjek (Dän Zhür) Route

August 19-26, 2025. A long backcountry adventure featuring spectacular scenery and challenging terrain in Kluane National Park. “This is the law of the Yukon, and ever she makes it plain: ‘Send not your foolish and feeble; send me your strong and your sane-‘” From The Law of the Yukon by Robert Service The massive Donjek […]

Lys Ridge

September 21, 2024. A long, scenic ridge walk on the Autumnal Equinox. Lys Ridge is situated between 2 picturesque valleys in Castle Wildland Provincial Park. Grizzly Creek runs in the valley to the west of the ridge and the South Castle River runs in the valley to the east . The two converge around the […]

Drywood to Loaf Mountain Traverse

June 18, 2022. A scenic long-distance ridge walk in the Castle Wilderness. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations Distance: 30.4 km loop Total Ascent: 2127 m – there is substantial and repeated loss and regain of altitude along the route Elevation of Objective: 2634 m (the summit […]

Barnaby Ridge

September 24, 2021. A spectacular autumn scramble and ridge walk in the Castle Wilderness. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 19.9 km round-trip Total Ascent: 1712 m (there is substantial gain/loss/gain of altitude along the ridge, which is then repeated on the return trip) Elevation of Objective: […]

Whistler Mountain and Lookout

June 10, 2020. A steep on-trail ascent to a summit and abandoned fire lookout site in Castle Wildland Provincial Park. [September 2024 note – having recently revisited this route I can say that the information below remains up to date] Nearby the well-known and justifiably popular Table Mountain in the Castle Wilderness, is Whistler Mountain. Whistler […]

Byron Hill

January 27, 2020. A snowshoe trip to a low summit in the Crowsnest Pass. Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 8.2 km round trip Total Ascent: 643 m Elevation of objective: 1836 m Total Time: 4h 4m Safety and Disclaimer For my first summit of 2020, I decided to knock […]

“The Promised Land” (The Ptolemy Plateau)

August 24, 2019. A journey to one of the gems of the Crowsnest Pass. Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 7.5 km one-way to the lip of the hanging valley, 19 km round-trip including exploring in the valley Total ascent: 710 m to the lip of the hanging valley, 900 […]

Southfork Lakes

October 23, 2018. A chilly river crossing followed by a steep ascent to a trio of high mountain lakes. Region: Castle Wildland Provincial Park. Traditional Territory of the Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 10.1 km round-trip Total Ascent: 745 m Elevation of objective: 2026 m Hiking time: 4h 39m July 2022 update: I haven’t gone […]