Thursday, July 12, 2007

GDT Great Divide Trail--Lynx Revised Guide


If you plan to continue your CDT hike into the Canadian Rockies you need this book. I used it during my 2001 thru-hike and it saved me many mis-steps.
Hiking Canada's Great Divide Trail (Revised and Updated), by Dustin LynxAt 1,200 kilometres, the Great Divide Trail is among the longest of North America's continuous hiking trails, not to mention one of the most spectacular. Following the Continental Divide, the GDT passes through six national parks, seven provincial parks and several wilderness areas, stretching from the U.S./Canada border to Kakwa Lake north of McBride, B.C. As such, planning to hike the entire distance presents a formidable challenge in terms of logistics.In this revised and updated version of Hiking Canada's Great Divide Trail, Canmore resident Dustin Lynx, who hiked the entire trail in 1996 and continues to hike sections, has broken up the daunting adventure into manageable portions.Divided into six distinct trail sections, beginning at the Canada/U.S. border at Waterton Lakes National Park with breaks at Coleman, Kananaskis Country, Field, the North Saskatchewan River, Jasper and ending at Kakwa Lake, Lynx provides backpacks full of information as indispensable as a good sleeping bag and comfortable boots.With each section further broken down into one-day distances between campsites, Lynx provides detailed information on alternative routes, crucial junctions and GPS waypoints. As well, each section's introduction explains the unique nature of that portion of the trail, including cautionary advice on various land use regulations and historical anecdotes.As the definitive volume for anyone planning to hike the GDT, this thoroughly researched and meticulously laid out guidebook offers hikers everything they need to know about access, navigation and where to re-supply, whether they plan to tackle the mega trail in one full-summer push, or weekend sized distances over a lifetime.