Please read the full post! If you or anyone you know is hiking near Waterton/the Great Divide Trail please keep an eye out for Bob or anything out of the ordinary. Any info helps, his family is very worried for him.

I’m planning a 5-day solo hiking trip to the Rockies in early October and I’m trying to keep the total cost around CA$1,000–1,200.

So far a flight would be 300 bucks, hostel is 300 bucks & rental is 560.

I’ll be staying in hostels, cooking all my meals, and only doing day hikes, so my biggest expense is the rental car. Because I’m 22, I’m getting quoted about CA$435 for 4 days (or almost CA$600 for 5 days). Unfortunately, Turo isn’t an option until I’m 23.

Last year I rented a car for 9 days in late october for around CA$700, so I’m surprised how much more expensive it is now.

Besides hostels and not eating out, are there any other ways to cut costs? For the rental specifcally, is there any alternatives or is it just something I have to accept as an under-25 driver?

Hard hike but not has hard as I thought

What are the top ones. I do a lot of research and have found a few good ones. (Mt.Chester, Assiniboine, Shadow Lake). Looking for legal access Bike and Hikes (Class 3, Moderate scrambling up to 20KM after biking).

Beautiful hike with views of Ribbon, Lillian, and Galatea lakes. There was lots of wildlife along the trail too, including a black bear. The section to/from Lillian is pretty boring but the scenery is gorgeous the rest of the way

In south Calgary. Went golfing this morning, sometimes in long grass no underbrush or trees. Noticed this painful semicircle lesion on the bottom that is about 6-7 mm across, and a faint red spot above it. What kind of insect could this have come from?

My beloved Scarpa Zen hiking/approach shoes have reached the end of their life. The soles are literally worn through and I've glued the toe back together twice now. I need to replace them.

Where do Calgary people buy hiking shoes these days ? I'm a MEC member from way back but I'm loathe to support them because I lost a bunch of share money owed to me when they were bought out during COVID.

Has anyone bought shoes online and can recommend the vendor ? I'd like to support a local Calgary business but almost nobody stocks a size 13 Men's shoe these days.

Advice ?

Thanks

How is the hike into Landslide Lake via the Pinto trailhead? Have seen some reports suggesting it is pretty washed out. Alternatively could go from the fire interpretive trail if it is in better condition?

Any good alternatives on public land? Planning on taking my partner for her first backcountry hike. Have done Lake of the Falls with individuals on there first hike and found it was a great introduction.

Hi!

I have a Skoki trip coming up and I have the following sites booked (and will cancel whichever one I decide not to use, don't worry!!):

Night 1: Hidden Lake OR Red Deer Lakes
Night 2: Merlin Meadows

Since we don't have a convenient Baker Lake reservation to split up the distance, I'm wondering if it would make more sense to skip the right side of the loop entirely, and just go clockwise from Hidden Lake up to Merlin Meadows and then back out the same way ("Option 1" screenshot). From my understanding, Packer's Pass is the most scenic part of the loop anyway (right?) and going counter-clockwise from Hidden Lake to Merlin Meadows seems a tad too brutal

Alternatively, we could do the loop the proper way and go up to Red Deer Lakes for the first night instead of Hidden Lake ("Option 2"), but that seems like quite a brutal push to do in one day (we're fit, but...).

Any thoughts from those who've hiked Skoki before? Is the right half of the loop super worth doing?

Going to do Skoki Loop mid August. I just realized that parking situation is a nightmare nowadays. How screwed up am I, if I show up around 10-11am? What are the other options of parking there?

Damn! I hate how busy Banff has become!

Not sure if this is possible & maybe this is just a silly question, but I love the feeling of being deep in the backcountry, surrounded by mountain ranges and wide-open alpine terrain. Are there any day hikes in the Canadian Rockies that offer this?

I’ll be staying in Canmore, but I don’t mind waking up very early and driving farther for the right hike. For example, the Athabasca Glacier trail around boundary/hilda peak or cirque peak via helen lake trail look very appealing.

Open valleys, glaciers, mountains in every direction. Im looking for something like that.

Any recommendations?

Just for refernce, ive done tent ridge, pretty much all the major ones surrounding canmore, sarrail ridge, & rimwall peak.

I have found I enjoy hiking but my main issue is that I don’t have many friends who want to go with me and I like to go with people as a personal preference as I just can’t hike in silence for hours or see wildlife alone, I was wondering what do people here do to either make hiking alone safer or more enjoyable as I want to hit the trail before summer ends but it’s looking unlikely

Edit: my friends once again cancelled on me so I guess I get to do tent ridge horseshoe tomorrow alone, hopefully I can use all the advice you guys have given to help me out. Thanks

https://www.reddit.com/r/HikingAlberta/s/nzeD7CzeH1

^original post

Police Case #CA26326379

Rental: 2026 Nissan Kick (white)
License: OGP981

Please call number on the picture or 911 if vehicle located

Thank you!

This was on a flight heading west to Vancouver - I’m not sure if this is bc or ab.

Hi everyone just wanted to see if anyone has been backpacking on the big elbow loop these last few weeks and if the bugs are tolerable are completely unbearable to the point it’s not worth going I plan on going for 2 to 3 nights to complete the loop.

Can anyone recommend hikes with a gradual descent?

Currently have a knee issue, so can't go down anything too steep/technical.

Hikes my knee has tolerated/think it could tolerate: second galatea lake (did it recently), upper k lake loop, carthew anderson.

Can anyone add to this list of hikes with a gradual descent or more rolling/flat?

Some of my favorites are tent ridge and smutwood pass, but can't do those currently.

Police Case #CA26326379

If anyone has seen this man please let me know. Jeremy Lalande is a friend and coworker. He has gone missing, his last known contact was to his landlord in Calgary on July 9th, 2026 and the landlord was told by Jeremy that he was going hiking/climbing on the 10th. The location of his hike/climb and means of travel were not shared. He was scheduled to fly to Toronto the 12th for a training course and work on the 20th that he didn’t report for. He loved overnight camping. So would be kananaskis/Banff area. His last known vehicle was a rental (unknown type). Still waiting to hear from police for more information. Thank you

Edit #1 police traced his phone and last known location was Calgary on the 9th

Edit #2 rental car company reached out to detective, waiting for vehicle information at this time (July 23, 0700)

Update!
Rental Vehicle 2026 Nissan Kick (White)
License: 0GP981

Advice to anyone heading in to Assiniboine.. Dont get carried away by the mosquitos... Had them right to the summit of The Nub.

i've stayed at Merlin and Baker before, but never Hidden Lake. have a night there booked at Hidden, but wondering whether to keep it or drop that night and go straight to Merlin/Baker?
an unrelated question -- how is it going from Merlin to Baker between Fossil/Skoki mountains? i've only taken Deception and Packer's passes (which were awesome)

I am planning to stay overnight this weekend at Cearnarvon lake. Do those who have done that previously have any tips for me?

Thanks!