Best of the Rockies - Jasper Wilderness 7 Days/6 Nights - Detailed Itinerary

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1 Published on White Mountain Adventures ( Home > Best of the Rockies - Jasper Wilderness 7 Days/6 Nights - Detailed Itinerary Best of the Rockies - Jasper Wilderness 7 Days/6 Nights - Detailed Itinerary Cost Includes 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 or 3 dinners depending on itinerary 6 nights lodging in rustic backcountry lodges or out of town resorts Private transport in mini-van beginning and ending in Jasper with transfers from Banff, Calgary and Edmonton available Professional hiking/interpretive guide National park entry fees and sightseeing as indicated Cost Does Not Include Personal expenses Air fares Travel insurance Meals not indicated Tips 5% GST Itinerary A: 7 days/6 Nights For 2016, there will be two slightly different itineraries available on different dates. DAY 1 Arrive Jasper. Meet guide and group in evening at Becker's Resort. Shuttle from Edmonton, Calgary or Banff is available at a reduced cost of $50 per person. Shuttles from all locations leave once a day. Upon evening arrival at Becker's you'll have a chance to relax, meet the guide and group and get ready yourselves ready for a back country adventure. DAY 2 Today is an introductory hike to the Bald Hills or Opal Hills overlooking Maligne Lake the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies. It is a relatively easy 5 kilometres to the summit where you have expansive views of the lake and mountains in all directions. We will return to Jasper early in the afternoon, giving everyone some free time in town to wander, shop, or relax. Overnight Beckers Resort. (BL) Elev. Gain: 460 m. Distance: 10 km. Time: 3-4 hours.

2 DAY 3 We begin early this morning so that we can get a good start on our 19 km hike into the Tonquin Valley. This trip is the highlight of our Canadian Rockies adventure. It is pure wilderness with few people and incredible mountain scenery. We will arrive in the afternoon at the Tonquin Amethyst Lake Lodge. We will have all of our food and gear brought in on horseback and hot showers will be ready for us when we arrive! (BLD) Elev. gain: 450 m, Distance: 19 km. Time: 6-7 hours DAY 4 We have a full day of hiking in the Tonquin Valley area. The guide will choose which walk dependent on the on the group and on the weather. We will have options to hike along Amethyst Lake and to Moat Lake. (Elev. gain: 200+m. Distance: 15 kms.) or to the beautiful meadows located around the Maccarib campground (Elev. gain: 200+m. Distance: 10 kms.) or the best option will likely be a hike in the Eremite Valley to Arrowhead Lake (Elev. gain 200+m. Distance: 22 km). After our hike we'll return to our cabins where we can sit back and soak in the pure wilderness before sitting down to a great meal! (BLD) DAY 5 Today we hike back the way we came to the trailhead at Mt. Edith Cavell. Before returning to Jasper, we will add a short walk along the Path of the Glacier Trail so that we can fully appreciate the massive Angel Glacier that lies in front of us! A short drive south along the Icefields Parkway takes us to our lodging at Sunwapta Falls Resort. (BL) Elev. Loss: 450 m. Distance: 19 km. Time: 6-7 hours DAY 6 Today we'll head to the very popular Columbia Icefield and its massive glaciers pouring down the valleys. We have options today for shorter hikes to Parker Ridge, and some of the hidden gems in the area such as Stanley Falls and Panther Falls. Shhh! thousands of people drive by every day and miss them completely! After we return to Sunwapta Falls Resort we'll gather for a farewell dinner where we can look back on an amazing week of wilderness hiking. (BLD) Elev. Gain: 250 m, Distance: 8 kms, Time: 3-4 hrs. DAY 7 Tour concludes with shuttle to Jasper/Edmonton or Banff/Calgary. All transfers will leave at approx 7:00 AM, getting you to Edmonton or Calgary by 1:00 PM. (B) Itinerary B: 6 Days/5 Nights DAY 1 Arrive Jasper. Meet guide and group in evening at Beckers Resort. Shuttle from Edmonton, Calgary or Banff is available at a reduced cost of $50 per person. Shuttles from all locations leave once a day. Upon evening arrival at Becker's you'll have a chance to relax, meet the guide and group and get ready yourselve ready for a back country adventure!. DAY 2 We begin our Jasper Wilderness Adventure with a stop at the iconic Cavell Meadows and the Angel Glacier. In mid-summer there are fantastic displays of wildflowers and the Angel Glacier always makes a great backdrop. the walking is mostly above treeline and is a great way to warm up for the start of the next day's big adventure! We will return to Jasper early in the afternoon, giving everyone some free time in town to wander, shop, or relax. Overnight Beckers' Resort. (BL) Elev Gain: 500 m. Distance: 8 kms. Time 3-4 hours. DAY 3 Today begins our 2 day trek across the famous Skyline Trail. With over 25 km of the 44 km of this trail being above, heartstopping mountain panoramas become the norm. The route follows the Maligne Range of peaks from Maligne Lake all the way to the town of Jasper and over the course of the trip you'll have 3 mountain passes and peaks to ascend. The total elevation gain is 1400 m. Halfway along the trek we'll drop down to Shovel Pass where we'll

3 find a hot meal and cozy beds for the night waiting for us at Shovel Pass Lodge. NOTE: You will need a pack large enough to carry your overnight clothes and toiletries, as well as your regular hiking gear. DAY 4 After a hearty camp breakfast we'll set off on our 2nd day of Skyline Trail hiking. Once again we'll have lots of high alpine meadow and ridge hiking until we reach Signal Mtn and then begin a long descent down into the Athabasca Valley and the town of Jasper. From Jasper we head south a ways to our quiet lodging at Sunwapta Falls Resort. (BL) Total 2 day Elev. Gain: 1400 m. Total 2 day distance: 44 km. Total 2 day hiking time: 16 hrs DAY 5 We'll be tired after the last 2 days of trekking and so today's will be much shorter and easier! We'll head to the very popular Columbia Icefield and its massive glaciers pouring down the valleys. We have options today for shorter hikes to Parker Ridge, and some of the hidden gems in the area such as Stanley Falls and Panther Falls. Shhh! thousands of people drive by every day and miss them completely! After we return to Sunwapta Falls Resort we'll gather for a farewell dinner where we can look back on an amazing week of wilderness hiking. (BLD) Elev. Gain: 250 m, Distance: 8 kms, Time: 3-4 hrs. DAY 6 Tour concludes with shuttle to Jasper/Edmonton or Banff/Calgary. All transfers will leave at approx 7:00 AM, getting you to Edmonton or Calgary by 1:00 PM. (B) How difficult is it? How fit and experienced do you need to be? This program is designed for fit walkers. No previous mountain hiking experience required. This Canadian Rockies walking trip involves hiking for up to 6 to 7 hours per day, usually with distances of kilometres. The final walk may be longer with a possible distance up to 21 km. Elevation gains will vary from 300 m up to 800 m. (2,800 ft) on the final day. You will need to carry a daypack large enough for spare clothing, your camera, lunch and something to drink each day. Guides and Group Size Your guides are experienced professional hiking guides with certification from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and/or from the Mountain Parks Heritage Interpretation Association. They are chosen for their enthusiasm and interest in sharing their knowledge of these mountains. The minimum group size will be 4, maximum 10. Accommodation and Meals Accommodation is double occupancy. The backcountry lodges in both itineraries are comfortable but rustic in nature and do not have running water for toilets. Amethyst Lake Lodge does have hot showers. Both Amethyst Lodge and Shovel Pass Lodge were originally built to support horseback riding groups and they continue to do so today. Lacking in the more

4 modern comforts, they make up for this with their warm ambience, great food, and incredible backcountry settings. Both lodges are located in breathtaking wilderness settings miles from the nearest road. At Shovel Pass Lodge, accommodation may be in male only or female only cabins, depending on the number of guests. Both Beckers Resort and Sunwapta Resort have modern amenities and excellent dining rooms and are located along the Icefields Parkway, with Beckers being 10 minutes from Jasper and Sunwapta being 30 minutes. Again, both lodges are located in very quiet settings with Beckers lying beside the Athabasca River and Sunwapta being just 500 m. from Sunwapta Falls. We will be happy to book rooms for you before and after the tour. Please ask us for rates. All breakfasts are included as are picnic lunches and trail snacks. Dinner at the backcountry lodges is included and at Amethyst Lake Lodge your guide will be doing the cooking. The final night farewell dinner is included as well. Please specify any special dietary requirements you have on your application so we can incorporate them into our lunch menus. Getting to and from Jasper If you have a rental car Edmonton International Airport is the closest airport to Jasper and is about 4-5 hours driving time. Calgary International Airport is about 5-6 hours driving time. The towns of Banff and Canmore are approximately 4 hours driving time away. *We can arrange car rentals for you as well. If you do not have a rental car We can assist you with reduced fare shuttles from all locations. We will book your shuttle at a cost of $50 per person each way from any of the above locations. Edmonton: Sundog Tours is the only shuttle service between Edmonton International and Jasper. The shuttle leaves the airport at 3:15 pm and arrives Jasper at 8:00 pm. The shuttle leaves Jasper at 7:00 am and arrives Edmonton International at 12:30 pm. Calgary, Canmore, Banff: Your guide for the trip will be leaving Calgary at 1 pm, Canmore at 2:30 pm, Banff at 3:00 pm and arriving in Jasper at 7:00 pm. The guide will be leaving Jasper at 8:00 am and arriving in Banff at 12:00, Canmore at 12:30 pm, and Calgary at 2:00 pm. Climate This trip operates during the main months of summer, though snow can linger at high elevations until well into the season. Weather is unpredictable at any time of year, but is generally quite warm in July and August. Daytime highs range from C and nighttime temperatures can drop to 5-10 C. Temperatures in June and September can be cooler with nighttime temperatures occasionally dropping below freezing. As with alpine environments throughout the globe, the higher you go, the lower the temperature becomes. Ensuring that you have the correct clothing for an alpine environment is crucial. Please see below for information on clothing and equipment requirements.

5 Insurance in the National Parks Please ensure that your health plan will cover you in case of illness or accident whilst here. Obtain extra travel insurance if necessary.