Whitegoat Wilderness
Dates Price Meeting Place & Time Itinerary Difficulty, Fitness & Prerequisites Guides & Group Size Accommodation & Meals Transportation Clothing & Equipment Booking Information
The Whitegoat Wilderness is a little-visited region of rugged mountains tucked into the NE corner of Jasper National Park. With few established trails it offers us the chance to hike in a very real wilderness setting of high valleys and alpine lakes. It will be strenuous and challenging!
2009 Dates
August 1 - 7
Cost
$1295 Save 10%
now with our new discounted price: $1165 CDN
Includes guides, out-trip meals, group camping gear and local transfers.
Not included: Canmore accommodation, Gratuities & 5% Goods and Service Tax (GST)*. Cancellation insurance available for $68.
Optional pre and post trip accommodation packages are available from $80 per person per night for shared room lodging ($160 for single occupancy). Purchase with booking. Subject to availability.
* a 50% rebate of the GST is available to non-residents of Canada.
Near Afternoon Peak.
Meeting
Place and Time
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Near Afternoon Peak. |
We will meet you at our Yamnuska Mountain Adventures office at 7.30pm the evening of Day 1.
Our office is located at 200, 50 Lincoln Park, Canmore. See this map for location.
For your greater convenience we offer a pre-meeting shuttle service within Canmore. Please let us know in advance where you will be staying if needing this service. Pickup will occur between 7.00 and 7.20pm.
Please ensure that you have your hiking equipment with you.
Program Itinerary
Day 1: At 7.30pm we meet at the Yamnuska Mountain Adventures office in Canmore. We'll go over the trip with you and check to see that you are properly outfitted.
Day 2: Nigel Pass Trailhead - Cataract Creek.
We will pick you up after breakfast, deal with last minute gear issues and food
packing then head off.
Driving north from Canmore on the Icefields Parkway we travel 190 km to the
Nigel Pass Trailhead which is just a few km from the Columbia Icefields.
Crossing the pretty limestone canyon of Nigel Creek we head upstream to Camp
Parker where carefully carved tree blazes date from early European visits in the
late 1800's to when the road arrived in the 1940's.
Gradually, we climb through
slide paths, forest and meadows to reach Nigel Pass and the Jasper Park
boundary. Here we veer south to cross Cataract Pass into the Wildgoat
Wilderness. We drop into Cataract Creek to camp.
Day 3: Cataract Creek to north of Cline Pass.
From Camp #1, we hike across high alpine meadows to a pair of lakes at Cline
Pass at the foot of the glacier clad Whitegoat Peaks. We then descend towards
the Brazeau River Valley and follow a treeline bench to a campsite on the west
side of Afternoon Peak.
Day 4: to "Valley of the Lakes" camp.
We begin with a hike across the high alpine terrain surrounding Afternoon Peak
and spend the day wandering across the expansive meadows of upper McDonald
Creek. We finish with a descent to the edge of treeline and the large lake that
marks the lower end of the Valley of the Lakes.
Day 5: Continue up "Valley of the Lakes", camp at upper lake.
From here we continue up the Valley of the Lakes. A series of 40 alpine
lakes and tarns are scattered across a sequence of ever more rugged benches,
separated by rock bands and waterfalls. Weather permitting, there should be time
to explore the lakes on each bench.
Day 6: Back to Cataract Creek camp.
We begin this day by hiking past the uppermost tarns in the Valley of Lakes,
before taking on the steep climb to the 2750m high col above Cline Pass. From
here you can look back across the expanse of the Valley of the Lakes and across
to the summit of the Whitegoat Peaks. A steep 400m descent takes us down to
Cline Pass and then on to complete the circle by returning to our campsite at
Cataract Creek.
Day 7: Back across Cataract Pass and return to Nigel Pass Trailhead.
We retrace our route of the first day, leaving the Whitegoat Wilderness and
returning via the Brazeau River in Jasper to the Nigel Creek trailhead in Banff.
Campsite near the Valley of Lakes
How difficult is it? How fit and experienced need you be?
This trip is rated strenuous and challenging due to successive longish days (14 - 19km) carrying full backpacks (20kg+) over rough and untracked terrain. Participants will be carrying personal clothing and gear plus a fair share of food and group gear (tents, stoves, etc). Please read our Travelling Light & Making Backpacking More Fun for information and suggestions for clothing and equipment.
Prior backpacking experience is a prerequisite. Participants must be in good physical condition and able to carry a backpack over hilly terrain for a succession of longish days.
The trails are generally non-existent and we will be hiking over rough and rocky terrain at times. We will hike at a regular and steady pace that conserves energy but you still must be in good hiking shape before you come. We cannot emphasize enough that training pays great dividends in enjoyment. We suggest you train by walking and/or cycling and/or hiking (ideally in hilly terrain).
Visit our Trip Difficulty Comparison Chart.
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Enjoying the sunset. |
Guides and Group Size
You will be joining two of our most experienced guides for this amazing adventure:
Yamnuska Director David Begg will be joined by legendary guide Alf Skrastins to lead this trip.
Yamnuska Mountain Adventure guides are certified through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. Our professional guides have extensive experience in the Canadian Rockies. Guides also have advanced wilderness first aid training and heritage interpretation accreditation. Guides carry emergency equipment including a first aid kit, bear spray and radio.
There will be a maximum of eight guests and a minimum of four.
Accommodation and Meals
On the trail you will be staying in modern, lightweight 2- and 1-person weather-proof tents.
The first and last night's accommodation in Canmore is NOT included. For your convenience we can arrange bed and breakfast hotel rooms for these and other nights at $160 per night. These will be at the recommended Westridge Country Inn. Double or single occupancy, the cost is the same. For those wishing to defray this cost we will try to pair them with other participants. This accommodation can be booked with the trip online or by calling us. Subject to availability.
You can also make your own arrangements. Check our links page for a range of Canmore accommodations.
Excess luggage can be left at your hotel or our office.
We supply all meals and trail snacks from lunch on Day 2 to lunch on Day 7. Groups generally go out for dinner in Canmore with the guide on the final evening (own cost).
Trail cuisine is constructed from lightweight ingredients including our Yamnuska custom-made dehydrated dinners. Please specify any special dietary requirements you have on booking so we can incorporate them into our menus. In case of more complicated diets a surcharge may apply.
Getting to Canmore and Transportation
Canmore is situated 100km (65miles) west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is well served by scheduled bus lines both from Calgary (airport and downtown), Banff (20km west) and points further west. Calgary International Airport is well connected to major cities throughout North America and Europe. Once in Canmore we will supply all transport needed for the trip.
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Hiking through the Valley of Lakes. |
Frequent shuttles connect Calgary International Airport and Canmore. Greyhound Bus Lines (1 800 661 8747) serves Canmore from points east and west along the Trans-Canada Highway. Call 609 8790, 609 0300, 609 1490 or 609 8505 for taxis in Canmore.
We supply transportation from Canmore to the hiking trails.
Clothing and Equipment
We supply group camping and cooking equipment plus a full emergency and first-aid kit. You will need to bring personal equipment (backpack, sleeping bag, etc.) and clothing. Yamnuska Mountain Adventures does have rental and retail equipment such as sleeping bags, mats, and backpacks. Rental Gear List. Contact us in advance to reserve.
What you bring will have a big impact on the quality of your experience, we especially urge you to read our notes on lightweight gear and clothing.
Please download the list below and make sure that you will have the items listed.
Clothing and Equipment List (pdf)
Contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Fishing
There is no fishing allowed in this area of the park.
Insurance
There is no charge for rescue. It is prudent to have adequate travel insurance or that your health plan will cover you whilst here.
To Book
Please book as early as practical to avoid disappointment. A deposit of $428 CDN (including GST) is required at time of booking. Final payment is due eight weeks before the start of the trip. To avoid unnecessary cancellation penalties we suggest you take our cancellation insurance for an extra non-refundable $68, this can only be purchased at the time of booking.
For detailed Booking Instructions and Conditions, click here.
Please note that you will be required to sign our waiver before commencing the trip. Click here for waiver copy.
Please don"t hesitate to contact us if you need to know anything else about this hike.
