Noelle and I had been tossing around the idea of tackling the West Coast Trail for some time now. We realised that having never backpacked before, it might be a wise idea to start smaller to see if we actually liked it. With this in mind, we signed on for a 3 day trip in Kananaskis with the University of Calgary.
I arrived in Calgary Friday morning, and Noelle and I spent the afternoon buying food...which we would soon discover was not done well at all! But back to the story. That night we tried packing our backpacks. Very heavy!
Saturday morning we went to the university for 7am to meet the others on the trip. There were 10 of us, plus 2 guides. We loaded up more gear - tents, fuel, pots, etc and then headed out to the trailhead (~1.5 hours drive). Once there, we adjusted our packs one last time (I cannot believe how heavy that thing was!!) and then we were off!
Our route covered 40km and 1200m elevation gain. Why this didn't set off any warning bells for Noelle and I is beyond me! We started at Upper Kananaskis Lake, and then hiked to Turbine Canyon on the first day.
On day 2 we were woken up at 6:30am for an early start. ugh! This was what proved to be a very long and exhausting day. I have never been so physically challenged in my life. From Turbine Canyon, we took the North Kananaskis Pass into BC, then hiked via Leroy Creek and Beatty Creek. We climbed a couple scree slopes, which was pretty tough because if you didn't watch where you stepped the rocks would slide out from under you. Around 9pm we arrived at Beatty Lake, where we slept for the second night. At this point my feet and hips were insanely sore. We set up our tent on very lumpy ground, but I was so tired I didn't even care.
Day 3 was slightly more leisurely. I think I slept until 8! As usual, Noelle and I were the last ones out of camp. We headed for the South Kananaskis Pass back into Alberta, then hiked via Three Isle Lake and The Forks back to the trailhead. The last couple km's I found really tough. The terrain itself wasn't too bad, but I had no energy. We definately didn't bring the right kind of food for a trip like this. Next time, more calories!
Lessons Learned: