British Columbia question...

[Sonno]

Are there any established trails running through BC, CAN from Washington (or NW USA) to Alaska? Just curious.

TIA!

[verasch]

The only thing from bc to Alaska that I know of is the chilkoot trail. It's only 33 miles though. I'm sure with some planning you could find trails that somehow connect them to Washington.

[Tipi Walter]

Ask Dewey on Trailspace.com

[fiddlehead]

Great Divide Trail (continues to follow the divide) up through BC.
I believe it's around 1,000 kms.

Looks like an awesome trail.
I remember that Walkin Jim had done it.
Chris Townsend too.
Sounds like a nice one.

I remember Jim telling me that they carried something that shot shotgun blanks to scare away Griz when they saw them.
Illegal in the US but they used them up there were griz was more prominent.

[JJJ]

The West Coast Trail is only 50 miles or so, but if I were in that neck of the wood, I'd definitely check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBVP4doS7go
Infamously difficult
and beautiful.

[Feral Bill]

You can connect trails through the Canadian mountain national parks for an extended trip. There is no established trail to the far north. As said above, Chris Townsend and others have made their own routes from the border to the Yukon, but thats serious business for real experts.

[Sonno]

Thanks all!

[BCPete]

There are no trails that run from Washington to Alaska through BC. There might be a few local trails that access the more serious backcountry from each side of the major wilderness areaa (from Whistler & Bella Coola for example), but nothing that would come close to covering the entire distance. I'm not sure if anyone has ever done that traverse during the non-winter months even. From the Bella Coola Valley, it's a heck of a long way to the most southern stretch of Alaska - and it's all rugged & remote mountains right through to Prince Rupert. Even then, you still would have a long ways to go to reach southern AK from Prince Rupert. Great place for week long excursions, but longer trips are an expensive & logistical nightmare - and that's not even close to a proper description of the hardships that would be involved trying to hike the entire distance.

I've read a few accounts of skiing through from Whistler to the Bella Coola Valley, but not much more than that to be honest. Even for skiing, it's pretty remote & rugged country if you're sticking to the coastal mountains.

[BFI]

Some of the trials I know of are the West Coast Trail , Chilkoot Pass(both previously mentioned), there is a trail that goes from Whistler up and over Rainbow Lake and onto the Elaho Glacier, this trail was used in several extreme wilderness races. There is a trail that runs from Banff to Grand Cache and beyond through Banff Park, Jasper Park, Wilimer Wilderness ( the Wilimer has a large Grizzly Bear population) and North. There is the Kettle Valley railway path that runs from Hope BC to Lethbridge Alberta. This is a more of a bike trail but lots of hikers use it as well. I heard that the old coal train line from Fort St. John to Prince Rupert is now a hiking/biking trial. There are several that start form the Gold Bridge area (Mt Tyax) and run south to north possibly to Prince George. There is several more on Vancouver Island as well. There are hundreds of old mining trails and roads that traverse east to west and north to south.
You can also check with Mountain Equipment Co-Op in Vancouver for books on BC trails and hikes. I know there’s more but just can’t recall them right now. I lived in BC for 40 years and hiked a lot of them.

[fiddlehead]

There's another one in the nearby Northwest Territories: The Canol Heritage trail.
I went to a talk from Steve Queen after he and some friends did this trail back in '98.
It sounded amazing and I was impressed with some of the techniques they used to get across some of the big rivers up there.

Anyway, you can find out about their trip here: http://www.longtrails.com/canol/

Looks like a beauty.

[Sonno]

Great Divide Trail (continues to follow the divide) up through BC.
I believe it's around 1,000 kms.

Looks like an awesome trail.
I remember that Walkin Jim had done it.
Chris Townsend too.
Sounds like a nice one.

I remember Jim telling me that they carried something that shot shotgun blanks to scare away Griz when they saw them.
Illegal in the US but they used them up there were griz was more prominent.

That looks like the ticket!

[Sonno]

Well, it goes 1/3 the way to Seward, AK anyway

[Spirit Walker]

Sonno - there is a guidebook to the GDT written by Dustin Lynx. If you want to walk from Washington, you could take the Pacific Northwest Trail to the CDT to the GDT. The Great Divide Trail is a beautiful trail - but very difficult in places. We have some info on hiking the trail (e.g. logistics re resuppy and campsites) on our website and our journal as well. http://spiriteaglehome.com/GDT.html

Chris Townsend's accounts are good - he did one hike along the divide and another starting on the Chilkoot and heading north from there. Karsten Heuer's account of his Yellowstone to Yukon trek "Walking the big Wild" is also a very good one .

[BFI]

http://www.summitpost.org/ogre-canyon-falls/361736 and an index of other trails

http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Skyli...Jasper-AB-1515 The Skyline joins the Overland Trail which joins the Oger Canyon Trail which joins the Wilimer Wilderness trail .... The Skyline will join the Fortress Lake Trail to the south and or the Columbia Glacier trail.

[Papa D]

there's another one in the nearby northwest territories: The canol heritage trail.
I went to a talk from steve queen after he and some friends did this trail back in '98.
It sounded amazing and i was impressed with some of the techniques they used to get across some of the big rivers up there.

Anyway, you can find out about their trip here: http://www.longtrails.com/canol/

looks like a beauty.

this trail is on my short list. Would you be into doing it next summer?

MY KIND OF PLACE:

The Canol Heritage Trail is certainly not for anyone who is not prepared to survive in remote wilderness conditions. Three difficult river crossings (and many others of lower difficulty), including one which must crossed by raft, await anyone who attempts the trail. Bears populate the area in and around the trail, so hikers and bikers must use bear-proof containers and/or bear bag their provisions. (Although it should be noted that there are few places along the trail with trees that can be used for bear bagging.) Carrying pepper-spray or other bear repellant devices is also recommended. While some hikers do carry guns protect themselves against bears, most do not. Mosquitos are thick on the lower portions of the trail within 100 miles of Norman Wells, so bring bug spray. While the trail is generally considered to be not difficult to follow, using a compass requires a large amount of correction because of the proximity of magnetic north. Above all, you must be self-sufficient. You are miles from nowhere, and attracting the attention of potential rescuers is a dubious proposition.It should also be noted that if you are rescued, you will have to pick up the tab, which will likely run into the thousands of dollars.