Sample 2-month Itinerary for thru-hikers

Ultimately the guidebook caters to those intrepid backpackers who dedicate a summer to hike the whole length of the Great Divide Trail. If you are a thru-hiker, your first challenge is to plan and prepare for the long trek. To determine time constraints, your pace, permits, and the amount of food and equipment needed, you first need an itinerary. Even if you don’t plan to hike the entire route, you might find this itinerary very helpful for what you do intend to hike.

This sample two-month itinerary is an average travel plan based on some important factors that you should consider when you customize an itinerary for your journey.

  1. The prime hiking season only lasts 2 months in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
  2. Some segments of the GDT are difficult and will decrease your average pace.
  3. You must stay in campgrounds in nearly all Provincial and National Parks. There are numerous campgrounds not mentioned in this sample itinerary, which you could select. These are the best campsites for anyone using the two-month itinerary.
  4. You have arranged for all your permits and supplies in advance. You do not have to leave the GDT to obtain these items en route.
  5. You must travel off route at times and add an extra distance for camping or resupply.
  6. My itinerary follows the main route of the GDT and does not account for any alternative routes or side-trips.
  7. One out of every seven days is a rest day. Therefore, the two-month itinerary accounts for eight rest days, 6 entire days and 4 half days. My itinerary divides some rest days but favors whole, uninterrupted recovery days.
  8. Although I list entire rest days at the end of each section, you could use the rest days anywhere in that section. You need to account for rest days when you pack your rations.
  9. My itinerary uses campgrounds outside of the National and Provincial Parks only if they are convenient. However, each day ends near a suitable area for random camping near a water source.
  10. Lastly, the two-month itinerary assumes that you resupply at the end of each section, five resupply points in all. There are other intermediate resupply points that involve greater cost and preparation.
Section 1

153.7 km and 11 km off route. 7.5 days hiking and 1.5 rest days

You need to plan for a 36.8 km distance between Alderson Lake and Lone Lake Campgrounds in your itinerary in Waterton Lakes National Park. My itinerary includes starting from Goat Haunt Ranger Station in the United States. You could equally start in Waterton and backtrack 6.3 km on the Lakeshore Trail. You could arrange for an intermediate resupply at the Castle Mountain Ski Resort on Day 7.

Day 1. 20 km Goat Haunt to Alderson Lake Campground
Ride the tour boat to Goat Haunt Ranger Station in Glacier National Park. Hike 6.5 km to Monument 276 on the international boundary via the Lakeshore Trail.

Day 2. 16.8 km and 0.5 rest days. To Wall Lake Campground
Hike 14.3 km to the Akamina Pass Trailhead on the Akamina Parkway and then 2.5-km off route to the Wall Lake Campground.

Day 3. 25 km to Lone Lake Campground
Walk 2.5 km from the campground back to the GDT on the Akamina Parkway.

Day 4. 23.4 km to Unnamed Pass / Scarpe Creek
The water source is 500 m off route at the unnamed pass down to Scarpe Creek.

Day 5. 21.4 km to Jutland Brook Campground

Day 6. 22.6 km to West Castle River
You can random camp anywhere on the West Castle River Road

Day 7. 28 km to Lynx Creek Campground

Day 8. 27.2 km to Snowmobile Staging Area near Coleman

Day 9. Rest Day. 4 km to Coleman
Resupply in Coleman. The post office is en route.


Section 2

203.9 km and 4 km off route. 9.5 days hiking and 1.5 rest days

Outside of the short distance through Elk Lakes Provincial Park, you can camp anywhere on the GDT in this section.

Day 10/ Day 1. 21 km to Deadman Pass

Day 11/ Day 2. 23 km to prominent saddle beyond the Crown

Day 12/ Day 3. 20.5 km to Dutch Creek Campground

Day 13/ Day 4. 23.3 km to Cache Creek Campground

Day 14/ Day 5. 16.9 km to High Rock Campground

Day 15/ Day 6. 25.5 km to Mount Farquhar Ridge
You forego Lost Creek Campground to random camp over Mount Farquhar Ridge.

Day 16/ Day 7. 23.3 km to Fording River Pass Campground

Day 17/ Day 8. 18.5 km to Weary Creek Campground
The Weary Creek Campground is 1 km off route.

Day 18/ Day 9. 23 km to Lower Elk Lake Campground

Day 19/ Day 10. 13.1 km and 0.5 rest days to the Boulton Creek Trading Post
The Boulton Creek Trading Post is 2 km off route.

Day 20/ Day 11. Rest day


Section 3

221.4 km and 7 km off route 10 days hiking and 2 rest days

This is a difficult section to fit into any itinerary because you can only random camp over a short distance through the Height of the Rockies Provincial Park. In particular you must account for the 24.9-km distance between Ball Pass Junction and Floe Lake Campgrounds. You could arrange for an intermediate resupply on Day 4 at Assiniboine Lodge or on Day 5 at Sunshine Village.

Day 21/ Day 1. 23.9 km to Turbine Canyon Campground

Day 22/ Day 2. 21.5 km to Burstall Campground

Day 23/ Day 3. 20.7 km to Big Springs Campground

Day 24/ Day 4. 28.8 km to Porcupine Campground
Go to Porcupine Campground via the alternative route along the Simpson River Trail. This alternative adds a mere 200 m to the overall distance.

Day 25/ Day 5. 24.4 km to Healy Creek Campground
The Healy Creek Campground is 1.5 km off route but only adds another 1 km to the overall distance to Healy Pass if you do not backtrack. You should continue from the campground to Healy Pass on the Healy Pass Trail.

Day 26/ Day 6. 16.2 km and 0.5 rest days to Ball Pass Junction Campground

Day 27/ Day 7. 24.9 km to Floe Lake Campground

Day 28/ Day 8. 9.6 km and 0.5 rest day to Numa Creek Campground

Day 29/ Day 9. 19.2 km to Helmet Falls Campground

Day 30/ Day 10. 22.5 km to Float Creek Campground

Day 31/ Day 11. 19 km to Field
To resupply in Field, you must hike 4 km off route from Natural Bridge. Try hiking to Field for mid-afternoon to get your parcel from the post office before it closes. There is no camping in the town of Field.

Day 32/ Day 12. Rest day


Section 4

116.7 km and 4 km off route. 5 days hiking and 1 rest day
You can random camp on the Amiskwi River Trail in Yoho National Park and on the Howse Pass Trail in Banff National Park.

Day 33/ Day 1. 25.1 km to Otto Creek
You can random camp on the Amiskwi River Trail. This distance includes the 4-km hike from Field.

Day 34/ Day 2. 20.5 km to Amiskwi Pass
You can random Camp near the pass in Yoho National Park or in the Golden Forest District, depending on your permit.

Day 35/ Day 3. 27.6 km to Cairnes Creek Campground

Day 36/ Day 4. 25.1 km to Howse River
You can random camp on the David Thompson Heritage Trail near the Howse River.

Day 37/ Day 5. 22.4 km to Saskatchewan River Crossing

Day 38/ Day 6. Rest day


Section 5.

211.5 km and 0.9 km off route. 10 days hiking and 2 rest days

You can only random camp in the White Goat Wilderness Area.

Day 39/ Day 1. 18.9 km to random camp near Michele Lake

Day 40/ Day 2. 24.6 km to random camp along Cataract Creek

Day 41/ Day 3. 23.5 km to Boulder Creek Campground

Day 42/ Day 4. 25.4 km to Jonas Cutoff Campground

Day 43/ Day 5. 21.5 km to Avalanche Campground

Day 44/ Day 6. 22.1 km to Mary Schaffer Campground

Day 45/ Day 7. 23.8 km to Evelyn Creek Campground

Day 46/ Day 8. 17 km to Curator Campground
The Curator Campground is 1 km off route.

Day 47/ Day 9. 18.6 km to Signal Campground

Day 48/ Day 10. 19.1 km to Jasper Post Office
Old Fort Point is 2.5 km from the Jasper Post Office. The post office is 900 m off route.

Day 49/ Day 11. Rest day

Day 50/ Day 12. Rest day


Section 6

291.2 km and 0.9 km off route. 12 days hiking (24.3 km per day average) and no rest days

Note: The perfect itinerary only works on paper. This is especially valid here. This is a long section with a variety of trails and difficult terrain. I think that 12 days of supplies is the most that you could carry in a reasonably sized backpack. When you fashion your own itinerary, you need to account for the difficult conditions from Bess Pass, down the Jackpine River, and across to Big Shale Hill. Beyond Big Shale Hill, you can resume a decent pace on the good trail. The twelve-day itinerary for this section assumes that you are a northbound hiker who is already in excellent condition, sufficiently warmed up and prepared. As a southbound or section hiker, you would already need to be in excellent condition and ready for the backcountry challenges to meet the required pace.

Day 51/ Day 1. 30.3 km to the Miette River Trail junction
You have to random camp on the Miette River Trail.

Day 52/ Day 2. 25.7 km to Miette Lake Campground

Day 53/ Day 3. 23.9 km to Colonel Creek Campground

Day 54/ Day 4. 29.1 km to Calumet Campground

Day 55/ Day 5. 29.5 km to Chown Creek Campground

Day 56/ Day 6. 18 km to upper Jackpine River
You go over Jackpine Pass and descend to the gravel floodplain of Jackpine River. Find a place to random camp within 300 m downstream.

Day 57/ Day 7. 21.7 km to Spider Creek
Random camp near the Jackpine River and Spider Creek confluence.

Day 58/ Day 8. 18.2 km to Pauline Creek Campground

Day 59/ Day 9. 18.8 km to Morkill Pass Campground

Day 60/ Day 10. 27.9 km to Sheep River
You bypass the Casket Pass Campground and random camp near the Sheep River Trail.

Day 61/ Day 11. 30.1 km to Kakwa Lake, South Camp

Day 62/ Day 12. 18 km to Kakwa Lake Trailhead
This is a quick walk down the restricted access road to the trailhead. You could walk this in half a day.

Making an itinerary that works

  1. Do the math to figure out your average hiking pace. Divide the distance of the GDT that you want to hike by the number of days that you have available. The quotient is the average daily pace that you need to achieve including rest days. For example, I decided that I have 62 days available for a thru-hike of the entire GDT, which is 1215.5 km including the off route distances to five resupply points: 1215.5 km / 62 days = 19.6 km/day. If I want to take one rest day each week then my average hiking pace is 1215.5 km / 54 days = 22.6 km/day.
  2. Calculate how many days that you must hike to complete each section. Divide the entire distance of the section, including any extra distance off route, by your average hiking pace. The quotient is the number of days that you must hike to complete the section. For example, for the first section I must hike 160 km: 160 km / 22.6 km/day = 7.1 days. This means that I can expect to hike seven full days and a small distance on the eighth day into Coleman to get my resupply parcel.
  3. Plan the distance for each day in accordance to the distance between mandatory campgrounds and the difficulty of the terrain. Refer to the Distance Outline at the beginning of each section. The Distance Outlines indicate all campgrounds en route. Be sure to include extra distance if you select a campground that is off route. If you choose to random camp, refer to the route description to find a good location. Your National Parks permits require your selection of campgrounds and random camping locations en route. Use pencil. You will have to adjust this list several times.
  4. Decide where you want to take your rest days. Aim for unbroken rest days.
  5. Integrate the operating hours of the resupply stations into your itinerary. You could lose an entire weekend if you plan to hike a full day to the post office on a Friday and arrive just after it closes.
  6. If you really want to get technical you could devise a graduated pace that is slow for the first 10 days and fast for the last 10 days of your thru-hike of the GDT. You would consider this kind of itinerary if you need a warm-up period to get into shape or to get used to life on the trail.
When to start your hike: You should research the trail conditions before you start your hike. Easily monitor trail conditions throughout the year via the Internet. You should start your hike after the majority of snow has melted from the alpine trails, like the Rockwall or Skyline Trails. By starting too early, you are risking route-finding complications, impassable terrain such as swollen creeks and high passes, and avalanche dangers. The season may dictate that you start your hike as late as mid-July. During other years, you could start by mid-June in the south. The snow might start accumulating as early as mid-September some years but usually holds off until October. If you cannot make sense of the trail reports, you could contact any of the park information centres to find the precise answers that you need. Southbound hikers might have to wait until late July to start hiking. Keep in mind that trail reports given through the National Parks can be out of date and very conservative. Try to talk to someone who has recently hiked the trail in question.

Final comments: Be flexible. You are not a slave to your itinerary. You can always visit a Parks Canada information centre to revise your permits. You might decide to leave the trail for extended rests or flip-flop a section if the trail conditions are bad. Flip-flop means that you skip a section on your itinerary and do a different section of the GDT. You can always return later to hike the first section

Your itinerary is your way of setting obtainable goals to accomplish your overall trek, be it a section or the entire GDT. Be realistic. Know your limits and account for them in your itinerary. If there are other factors that affect your hike other than the ones that I have mentioned, be sure to include them in your plan. The more complete your itinerary, the more useful it is.