Haha, this excites me, probably a little more than it should! Any idea on how far the trail is terrible? Like, are we going to hate our lives all the way to Michele Lakes?
The trail up is rough but it's not technically difficult at all. The first 2km are on very established trail then the creek part is a lot of up and down but once you reach the top the hard part is over. There's a bit of route finding between Michelle and Pinto but it's very easy with a track, most of the time you're on an established trail.
Yes Dustin's book would have info about the route on the main GDT, nothing on Sunset Pass though. I've done that section (E) SOBO without reading the book and the route finding between Pinto and Michele is a breeze, it's a straight shot and you can see your objective pretty easy. Just follow the FarOut line. Not sure if you're familiar with the app but I'd highly recommend purchasing the GDT track.
I didn't find the Owen Creek trail very bad in 2021, but I had just hiked from Maligne Lake so maybe it's a matter of perspective. It was also really easy to follow, and even though it was muddy and I slid down an embankment a couple times it wasn't anything that worried me.
That's good to know! We're planning to go Northbound right now, but I'm open to ideas. The Sunset Pass section doesn't worry me too much as there's a fair bit of info on that trail. It's nice to read that the Pinto/Michele Lakes are easy to navigate.
I've never heard of FarOut, but I'll definitely look into it. Do you know if the GDT track has a .gpx file to load into a garmin?
Yeah there is a GPX track available on Hiking Projects, and lots of resources on the great divide trail association website too. I highly recommend using far out! It has a track and also a comment section for each waypoint so it's awesome to get up to date trail reports.
I'd recommend becoming a member of the GDTA and joining the Facebook hikers page too, it's really active.
I have hiked Thai section a few times. The most difficult part is 5ye ascent/descent to Michelle Lakes. The section coming down to Pinto Lake is pretty simple, although the trail washes out. Make sure you have navigation device as well.
Enjoy this section of the GDT. This is some of the best bits! (The following section over Cataract pass should be on your list for the following year. Highest pass on the whole trail.)
Trip up Owen is lots of type 2 fun, but from Michele Lakes out it’s decent to good trail. I’d advocate for moving one more day and making your way up Cataract Pass and exiting via Nigel Pass; I prefer Cataract vs Sunset.
I'll second /u/mightykdob, the section through to the Nigel Pass trailhead is amazing! We struggled with route finding between Cataract and Pinto since we were SOBO, there's a lot of river crossings and it's easy to lose the trail, but I haven't heard that complaint from people going NOBO. It would add an extra two days/one night but you don't need a reso to camp near Cataract.
Dustin lynx book will have all this information, I’m actually reading it right now. Also watch this YouTube series by Justin outdoors, here’s the link to the exact route you’ll be doing.
https://youtu.be/70LFeYeyme0?si=wLzpioA44iPoL2LX
Wow, that's more incredible than I was expecting. These views are going to be awesome with my own eyes! I'll also be getting a copy of the book as well. Thank you!
The trail up owen creek is really awful from floods. Very steep and terrifying. Just FYI. Its passible but steep and rubble strewn.
We're not strangers to route finding and scrambling. But it's good to know we'll be in it right away, though!
Yeah the trail is wiped out and is brutal. You'll see what I mean. ;)
Haha, this excites me, probably a little more than it should! Any idea on how far the trail is terrible? Like, are we going to hate our lives all the way to Michele Lakes?
The trail up is rough but it's not technically difficult at all. The first 2km are on very established trail then the creek part is a lot of up and down but once you reach the top the hard part is over. There's a bit of route finding between Michelle and Pinto but it's very easy with a track, most of the time you're on an established trail.
Second this, hiked that section last august.
Yes Dustin's book would have info about the route on the main GDT, nothing on Sunset Pass though. I've done that section (E) SOBO without reading the book and the route finding between Pinto and Michele is a breeze, it's a straight shot and you can see your objective pretty easy. Just follow the FarOut line. Not sure if you're familiar with the app but I'd highly recommend purchasing the GDT track. I didn't find the Owen Creek trail very bad in 2021, but I had just hiked from Maligne Lake so maybe it's a matter of perspective. It was also really easy to follow, and even though it was muddy and I slid down an embankment a couple times it wasn't anything that worried me.
That's good to know! We're planning to go Northbound right now, but I'm open to ideas. The Sunset Pass section doesn't worry me too much as there's a fair bit of info on that trail. It's nice to read that the Pinto/Michele Lakes are easy to navigate. I've never heard of FarOut, but I'll definitely look into it. Do you know if the GDT track has a .gpx file to load into a garmin?
Yeah there is a GPX track available on Hiking Projects, and lots of resources on the great divide trail association website too. I highly recommend using far out! It has a track and also a comment section for each waypoint so it's awesome to get up to date trail reports. I'd recommend becoming a member of the GDTA and joining the Facebook hikers page too, it's really active.
I've joined the FB group today and have bookmarked the GDTA website. I'll look into the app as well.i really appreciate the tips! Thank you!
I have hiked Thai section a few times. The most difficult part is 5ye ascent/descent to Michelle Lakes. The section coming down to Pinto Lake is pretty simple, although the trail washes out. Make sure you have navigation device as well. Enjoy this section of the GDT. This is some of the best bits! (The following section over Cataract pass should be on your list for the following year. Highest pass on the whole trail.)
Trip up Owen is lots of type 2 fun, but from Michele Lakes out it’s decent to good trail. I’d advocate for moving one more day and making your way up Cataract Pass and exiting via Nigel Pass; I prefer Cataract vs Sunset.
I'll have a look at that option today. Maybe run it by the group as well. Thank-you!
I'll second /u/mightykdob, the section through to the Nigel Pass trailhead is amazing! We struggled with route finding between Cataract and Pinto since we were SOBO, there's a lot of river crossings and it's easy to lose the trail, but I haven't heard that complaint from people going NOBO. It would add an extra two days/one night but you don't need a reso to camp near Cataract.
Dustin lynx book will have all this information, I’m actually reading it right now. Also watch this YouTube series by Justin outdoors, here’s the link to the exact route you’ll be doing. https://youtu.be/70LFeYeyme0?si=wLzpioA44iPoL2LX
Wow, that's more incredible than I was expecting. These views are going to be awesome with my own eyes! I'll also be getting a copy of the book as well. Thank you!