nthbndry1

North Boundary Trail in Jasper National Park,
Alberta, Canada

The North Boundary Trail is a 180 kilometer (110 mile) hike. Traveling east to west, it begins at Celestine Lake on the east side of the Park just north of Highway 16 and ends at Mount Robson Provincial Park, named for the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and unsurpassed anywhere for beauty. The trail follows the Snake Indian River to the Snake Indian Pass. Then it descends to the Smoky River when it climbs to the pass in Mt Robson Provincial Park. Several days are spent hiking in trees. The trail has been called a "bush walk" for good reason. The passes are outstanding walks in beautiful long valleys. There are bear, wolves, and moose in these environs. There are also side trip options into even more wilderness territory. It is challenging and outstanding.

At this point there are not a lot of exhilarating views. This one is of the Snake Indian River on Day 2 between Shalebanks and Seldom Inn Campgrounds.

On Day 1 between the trailhead parking lot and Shalebanks I'd hiked 19 km in pretty un-spectacular environs. It was long and tough with 17 days supplies on my back. Today is only about 8 kms.

Seldom Inn Campground. It begins raining as I arrive and continues all night and all the next day. I can't bare the thought of packing up in the rain and carrying all that wet gear. I spend Day 3 under my tarp.

At about 3 pm I stand up and see a big brown bear exiting the clearing just to the left of the tree. My heart pounds as I watch him. He stops and looks back at me. I think I'm not breathing. He casually resumes his journey and I begin to breath again

It is gray overcast but Snake Indian Falls is impressive anyway. And after 36 hours of rain the sun is trying to make an appearance. The creek on the left drops into the bowl across from the falls. It is more quiet and quite pretty.

Previews Index GPS Locations Checklists Links Email Marv Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10