2012 Best of Banff National Park Pack Trip
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This was a spectacular 13 day trip over 10 passes! There were 4 riders, 8 horses, plus one stalwart Jimmy-dog (who was supposed to be on a leash, but, um, obviously wasn't).
It was a loop ride from Pipestone River to Clearwater River, Peter's Creek, Divide Creek, Snow Creek to Panther River, Dormer River to Cascade, over to Johnson valley and out via Lake Louise. This trip was published in the March 2014 issue of Saddle Up magazine (page 60) as Best of Banff: 13 days, 260 km, 10 passes. Click the link or read the text below. To do this trip yourself, buy Pack'em Up, Ride'em Out |
Best of Banff: 13 days, 260 km, 10 passes
I’m always keen to hear about the favorite haunts of packing ‘old timers’. So when I met Peter Christenson – who packed in Banff National Park (BNP) and the Purcells for 25 years and wrote Wilderness Trails - I asked where his favorite trip was. He immediately rattled off a two week loop through Banff National Park following the Pipestone, Clearwater, Panther and Dormer Rivers. With descriptions of numerous passes and remote valleys filling my head, I couldn’t wait to follow his hoof prints.
The following summer - having organized the necessary permits - our group of four riders and eight horses met at the Pipestone River trailhead corral on the Icefields Parkway near Lake Louise. The first three days of our trip wound northeast up the Pipestone River and over (rocky) Pipestone Pass to the Siffleur watershed, then east through Clearwater Pass and down the Clearwater River. Highlights included moose sightings, exemplary scenery and an unmapped waterfall.
After a rainy rest day in the vast meadows of the Clearwater, we continued east beyond the BNP boundary before turning south across the Clearwater River and re-entering the park. The route then continued south up Peter’s Creek, criss-crossing the scoured creek bed, through narrow canyons and across slide paths. This 24 km and 10 hour day in the hot sun was one of our more challenging days - testing our trail finding abilities, horse skills and sense of humour. That night we camped south of Divide Pass, along Divide Creek. Day 6 brought a lost shoe – which was successfully replaced with an Easy Boot for the rest of the trip – and a short jaunt down to the Red Deer River.
The Red Deer River provides an east-west route though BNP between Lake Louise and Ya Ha Tinda Ranch – arguably the most popular rig riding spot in western Canada. We met day riders along the Red Deer who, apart from a horseback Park Warden, were the only riders we saw in the park. It was also where we started following the Cascade Trail fire road. This overgrown road formerly connected Lake Minnewanka to the south with the Red Deer River, providing Park Wardens with an access road from Banff to Ya Ha Tinda. Now de-activated, this former road provides good footing and fast (albeit dull) travelling for hikers and riders.
On Day 7 we followed the fire road south over Snow Creek Pass to the Panther River. After lunch at an idyllic Warden’s cabin, we turned east along the Panther River trail to a campsite downstream. Although the valley had burned in the past, both this section of the route and the Clearwater were my favorites: remote, scenic and seldom visited. The next day we continued east down the Panther then found the trail south through a narrow slot and over an un-named pass into the Dormer River valley.
Day 9 took us south up the Dormer on trails that didn’t match our map, past a campsite full of history, and over Dormer Pass – one of the most spectacular passes on a trip chock full of outstanding passes. We then continued south down Stoney Creek to a campsite at the fire road.
From here to the end of the trip at Lake Louise, we travelled through the popular south and west portions of BNP, encountering hikers and commercial outfitting personnel. The trails were easy to follow and served up some of the classic sights that BNP is renowned for.
Our route continued north up the Cascade River (and fire road) to Flint’s Park, then west and south to Sawback Lake. We had planned to cross Badger Pass – at 8,350’, the second highest horse-accessible pass in the Rockies – however, we changed our plans due to lack of information regarding conditions and the steepness of the route. From Sawback Lake we continued south over Forty Mile Pass, down Forty Mile Creek and west over well-known Mystic Pass to the Johnston Creek valley.
The final two days of the trip took us north up Johnston Creek, over popular Pulsatilla Pass and on to the Baker Lake area. Due to our tight timeframe, we ended the trip by heading west over Boulder Pass - our tenth pass - and down the Lake Louise ski hill. If we’d had more time, it would have been preferable to continue north through the Skoki Lakes area and down the Little Pipestone River, completing our loop at the Pipestone River corral. Fortunately, there’s always next time!
There are many loops through BNP that riders can choose from, ranging from days to weeks. This means that riders of all abilities can enjoy the trails and be entranced by travelling through hundreds of years of Canadian history. So plan a trip. It’s worth every minute.
I’m always keen to hear about the favorite haunts of packing ‘old timers’. So when I met Peter Christenson – who packed in Banff National Park (BNP) and the Purcells for 25 years and wrote Wilderness Trails - I asked where his favorite trip was. He immediately rattled off a two week loop through Banff National Park following the Pipestone, Clearwater, Panther and Dormer Rivers. With descriptions of numerous passes and remote valleys filling my head, I couldn’t wait to follow his hoof prints.
The following summer - having organized the necessary permits - our group of four riders and eight horses met at the Pipestone River trailhead corral on the Icefields Parkway near Lake Louise. The first three days of our trip wound northeast up the Pipestone River and over (rocky) Pipestone Pass to the Siffleur watershed, then east through Clearwater Pass and down the Clearwater River. Highlights included moose sightings, exemplary scenery and an unmapped waterfall.
After a rainy rest day in the vast meadows of the Clearwater, we continued east beyond the BNP boundary before turning south across the Clearwater River and re-entering the park. The route then continued south up Peter’s Creek, criss-crossing the scoured creek bed, through narrow canyons and across slide paths. This 24 km and 10 hour day in the hot sun was one of our more challenging days - testing our trail finding abilities, horse skills and sense of humour. That night we camped south of Divide Pass, along Divide Creek. Day 6 brought a lost shoe – which was successfully replaced with an Easy Boot for the rest of the trip – and a short jaunt down to the Red Deer River.
The Red Deer River provides an east-west route though BNP between Lake Louise and Ya Ha Tinda Ranch – arguably the most popular rig riding spot in western Canada. We met day riders along the Red Deer who, apart from a horseback Park Warden, were the only riders we saw in the park. It was also where we started following the Cascade Trail fire road. This overgrown road formerly connected Lake Minnewanka to the south with the Red Deer River, providing Park Wardens with an access road from Banff to Ya Ha Tinda. Now de-activated, this former road provides good footing and fast (albeit dull) travelling for hikers and riders.
On Day 7 we followed the fire road south over Snow Creek Pass to the Panther River. After lunch at an idyllic Warden’s cabin, we turned east along the Panther River trail to a campsite downstream. Although the valley had burned in the past, both this section of the route and the Clearwater were my favorites: remote, scenic and seldom visited. The next day we continued east down the Panther then found the trail south through a narrow slot and over an un-named pass into the Dormer River valley.
Day 9 took us south up the Dormer on trails that didn’t match our map, past a campsite full of history, and over Dormer Pass – one of the most spectacular passes on a trip chock full of outstanding passes. We then continued south down Stoney Creek to a campsite at the fire road.
From here to the end of the trip at Lake Louise, we travelled through the popular south and west portions of BNP, encountering hikers and commercial outfitting personnel. The trails were easy to follow and served up some of the classic sights that BNP is renowned for.
Our route continued north up the Cascade River (and fire road) to Flint’s Park, then west and south to Sawback Lake. We had planned to cross Badger Pass – at 8,350’, the second highest horse-accessible pass in the Rockies – however, we changed our plans due to lack of information regarding conditions and the steepness of the route. From Sawback Lake we continued south over Forty Mile Pass, down Forty Mile Creek and west over well-known Mystic Pass to the Johnston Creek valley.
The final two days of the trip took us north up Johnston Creek, over popular Pulsatilla Pass and on to the Baker Lake area. Due to our tight timeframe, we ended the trip by heading west over Boulder Pass - our tenth pass - and down the Lake Louise ski hill. If we’d had more time, it would have been preferable to continue north through the Skoki Lakes area and down the Little Pipestone River, completing our loop at the Pipestone River corral. Fortunately, there’s always next time!
There are many loops through BNP that riders can choose from, ranging from days to weeks. This means that riders of all abilities can enjoy the trails and be entranced by travelling through hundreds of years of Canadian history. So plan a trip. It’s worth every minute.
