How to Use this Book

There are three things you should understand about this guidebook.

First, it is written primarily for hikers. Equestrians and mountain bikers will have to do more research on restrictions and special use permits. As well, equestrians will need to find their own information on specific facilities such as horse camps, corrals or good areas for grazing.

Second, the route description is from south to north. In order to overcome this bias, the distance outline at the start of every section gives the cumulative distances between points for both northbound and southbound travellers. The trail descriptions account for a southbound trek as much as possible, sometimes giving details such as water availability at either end of a particular description.

Third, this guidebook is written for the thru-hiker. It describes a continuous route from the U.S. border to Kakwa Lake Provincial Park in central British Columbia. The book focuses on the main route of the GDT, alternative routes and accesses. It does not concentrate on loop trails or other trails that reach the Continental Divide.

Sections and Segments

Displayed on a continuous map, the GDT looks more like a centipede than a worm, with trails branching out in every direction to trailheads and other points of access. In this book, I describe the GDT in Segments, which begin and end with these access points. Segments are grouped into larger units, which I call Sections. Sections stretch between the most convenient resupply points.

Distance Outline

Each Section begins with a table that outlines the distances between key locations in that section—passes, trailheads, important junctures and campgrounds. The paragraphs in each segment of the route description correspond with the section’s distance outline for easy reference. By examining this table, you can evaluate the distances between high passes, campgrounds and accesses, and plan your itinerary accordingly. This outline also includes cumulative northbound and southbound distances. Cumulative distances will help the southbound thru-hiker mentally reorganize the northbound trail descriptions.

Jurisdiction

Each segment lists the land manager(s) with jurisdiction over the area, such as national parks or forest districts. You can refer to the Land Managers and Regulations section of the introduction for more specific information about each of these regulatory bodies.

Difficulty Rating

The general rating of difficulty for each Segment indicates major obstacles such as high passes, cross-country hiking or routefinding challenges. Consider the rating of the segment when you plan your itinerary. You may reconsider squeezing your trip into a weekend if a relatively short segment has a high degree of difficulty. The rating might also affect what kind of gear you decide to bring. For instance, you will need a good map and compass for segments that have cross-country travel and routefinding challenges.

Maps

National Topographic System 1:50 000 scale maps have UTM grids printed on them. They are widely available in outdoor gear shops, map stores, bookstores, information centres and government offices. GPS users should note that the latest edition of these maps uses NAD 83 as the datum. Older maps use NAD 27.

Access

Every Segment offers a description of the south and north access points. Some segments have intermediate access points. Look carefully at the access issues before setting out to hike a segment. Some access descriptions address a different start or finish point for segment hikers and thru-hikers.

Overnighting

Overnighting provides information about backcountry campgrounds as well as where to camp overnight en route to or from a trailhead. This description lists what is available—from roadside pull-offs to expensive resort hotels.

Information Sources

Every Segment introduction lists other sources of information for your convenience. These contacts should be able to answer many of your questions or refer you to someone who knows. Hiking guides to areas traversed by the GDT are listed in the back of the book.

Resupply Stations

This is a list of postal outlets, hotels and resorts to which you can send a resupply parcel in advance.

Special Notes

Information about a Segment that does not fit under one of the previously mentioned headings will be included here. You’ll find information about odd rules and intermediate resupply points, as well as hints and reminders to help you out.

Additional Reading

This book also includes other sources of information about the area through which the GDT passes. Generally, these sources describe other trails around a particular segment of the GDT. This is also meant as a resource for hikers who want to investigate alternative routes.

Route Descriptions

The route descriptions focus on navigation and routefinding and include distances, waypoints, elevations, alternative routes, maps, and photographs. Terms like spring, seasonal spring, seep, seismic line or handcut line provide useful information about the characteristics of the trail, reaffirming some obvious but important aids to navigation.

Waypoint data is indicated in brackets immediately following the location it describes. For example:

A steep ascent leads the route away from Blakiston Creek and after a gentle section the climb becomes steep again before attaining a saddle (2240, 1.9, a13) north of Festubert Mountain. A moderate descent on long switchbacks brings the trail down to the Lone Lake outflow (2015, 1.3, a14).

The Festubert Mountain saddle waypoint information immediately follows the keyword of that location, “saddle.” Similarly, the Lone Lake waypoint follows the keyword “outflow.” The order of information within the brackets is always the same except at the beginning of a section where there is no distance listed from the last waypoint. The first number is the approximate elevation in metres tallied in 5 m increments. The second number is the distance in kilometres from the last waypoint mentioned in the section. Therefore, Lone Lake is 1.3 km from Festubert Saddle. These values appear in 100 m increments. The third piece of data refers to a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate in the Waypoint Index at the back of the book.

Alternative Routes

The main route description incorporates alternative routes that leave the GDT at one point and rejoin at another. You’ll find alternative routes within the main route description, appearing in the text at their southern junction with the GDT. These routes generally provide you with an alternative to road walking. In some cases, by choosing to take the longer alternative routes, you commit your energies to hiking on rougher terrain with greater navigational challenges. Read the description carefully before deciding to branch off the main route. For the sake of southbound hikers, I mention the northern point where an alternative route rejoins the main route.

The Waypoint Index

Refer to this index for the UTM coordinates of each waypoint. You can plot the points onto your own maps or load them into your GPS before your hike. If your GPS can interface with a computer, you can download the waypoints from the Rocky Mountain Books website. I have measured all the waypoints by GPS in the field according to WGS84 map datum. For greatest accuracy you will need to convert from WGS84 to NAD27 or NAD83 depending on the datum of your topographical map.

Selected Hikes

This appendix will save you some time if you are looking for a day, overnight or weekend trip. I recommend route variations between convenient access points, alternative routes and access trails. These descriptions summarize details such as the length of the route, elevations and highlights, and then refer you to the main route description within the guidebook for further details.

Website

For more information regarding route updates, UTM coordinates and useful links visit this book’s companion website, www.rmbooks.com. You may also refer to the GDT section of the Rocky Mountain Books Outdoors Forum, a meeting place for individuals to ask questions and share their experiences online. You’ll find this forum at www.rmbooks.com.