Hiking in BC

Hiking Trips

In the Summer of 2005 I did two backpacking trips. The first one was the Stein Valley Traverse from Lillooet Lake to the Lytton trail head and the second one was the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island from Bamfield to Port Renfrew.

I wrote a diary for both hikes. If you are interested in doing one of them you might read it and hopefully get some information out of them. You might even download the Stein Valley GPS waypoint file with the complete route for the Stein Valley Traverse for free.

Stein Valley - infos, diary and photos
Stein Valley - diary as pdf file

West Coast Trail - info, diary and photos
West Coast Trail - diary as pdf file

Rockwall (Kootenay National Park)
Skoki (Banff National Park)
(GPS data is further down on this page)

Mt Adams (southern route) in Washington
(GPS data is further down on this page)

Mt Baker (Coleman Deming) in Washington
(GPS data is further down on this page)

Wedge Mountain GPS route

Stein Valley GPS Waypoints

Many websites offer GPS data files for money. I dont like that and that is why I provide the data I gathered on my trips for free.
In the Stein Valley I recorded an abundance of waypoints. I think the navigation in the alpine was not easy and I want others to have a safe and enjoyable trip. Nevertheless I have to point out that I am not responsible for possible mistakes in these files.

Download the Stein Valley Traverse GPS waypoint, route and track data files

The files are in Garmin MapSource (.gdb), G7ToWin (should also work with other receivers than Garmin) and one in the open GPS Exchange format (.gpx).

Drag the gpx file into Google Earth and get this beautiful overview of the whole tour:

Overview of the Stein Valley Traverse as seen in Google Earth.

Canadian Rockies GPS files

Similarly I am offering data for the Rockwall backpacking trip in Kootenay NP and a few waypoints for the Skoki area, including a tracklog for Fossil Mountain. The waypoints can only be seen as a coarse orientational help - follow your instinct and not the arrow on the display! I don't think it is really necessary to carry a GPS since the trails are all well marked and clearly visible. Nevertheless it might be helpful in bad weather conditions.

Download the Rockwall and Skoki GPS waypoint, route and track data file

The Rockwall from above. At places you can see the trail in Google Earth

Mt Adams, WA

I am also offering data for the southern route to Mt Adams. The waypoints can only be seen as a coarse orientational help - follow your instinct and not the arrow on the display! I don't think it is really necessary to carry a GPS, nevertheless it might be helpful in bad weather conditions. Depending on snow conditions there might be better routes.

Download the Mt Adams southern route GPS waypoint, route and track data file

Mt Adams

Mt Baker, WA

I am also offering data for the Coleman Deming Route on Mt Baker. The tracklog can only be seen as a coarse orientational help - follow your instinct and not the arrow on the display! Keep in mind that the glacier is on the move, crevasses can open at any time and our route might lead you straigt into a crevasse - so watch out. You either need experience or a guide for glacier travel.

Download the Mt Baker Coleman Route GPS waypoint and track data file

Wedge Mountain

There are several different ways to get to the top of Wedge Mountain. One of them involves a lot of bushwhacking (means there is no trail) and a steep scramble up the ridge of the peak. It took more than 14 hours roundtrip. You can get my GPS track for Wedge Mountain here.