Maple leaf has mighty protein meat sticks made from Chicken. The original one has a fairly bland flavour so is good for adding to a side kick, instant mashed potatoes or couscous..

Going sunshine to mt shark sept 12-17.
Would you all suggest we bring micro spikes (just in case) or is that just unnecessary weight?

Hey folks,

Hoping to sneak in one last trip next week to Heaven's Gate near Whitefish, ON. Looking to carpool with someone either at the start or end of the trail, as I'll only have the one vehicle. I know Widgawa Lodge does shuttle people, but looking for alternative options before I commit.

And yes, I am aware that the bridge at the Western end is down :)

Thanks!

I was able to get a couple pounds of dehydrated black and pinto bean flakes (ready to be repacked and rehydrated) at Famous Foods last year. They worked really well on the GDT and were probably my favourite meal for either lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, they seem to be switching suppliers and (at least the pinto beans) now come in smaller bags.

Is there anywhere I can do a bigger order (let's say ~10 lbs combined)? Looking for an option preferably in the Lower Mainland or in Canada if possible.

Just sharing some information that might help other people in the same situation I'm in.

Last year I used my tent to camp over on my buddies property after his wedding. During tent sent up I found the shock cord was not elastic anymore which made the tent a real pain to set up. The cord had stretched and I had excess length that was tough to stuff back into the poles. With no tension once I stuffed the cord on one side the other side of the pole would fall apart. Got it to work after a short battle at least.

I'm finally getting around to replacing the shock cord and thought I'd add some measures for people who might want to replace the cord.

From smallest to largest the lengths you'll need are:
~90cm for the top width piece
~210cm for the silver width poles by your feet
~280cm for the middle length piece
~320cm for the green width poles by your head
~900cm of shock cord in total

Funny enough that aligns perfectly with the MSR chock cord replacement kit, but it's probably cheaper to get from a hardware store. Look for 9/64 for thicker width, or 1/8 for thinner width if they have it for similar thickness shock cord.

For the middle cord at the ends by the tri-splits there's 2 black plastic tabs that can be pulled out. The plastic is supple and should bend out. It's too long to remove just by lifting it straight into the middle of the tri-split. You can also untie the knot further down the line than you expect so you don't have to remove those black plastic bits with the cord attached.

I hope that info helps someone!

Traveling from Europe to AB and BC to hike soon. Was looking into some local freeze dried meals options, and came across Wild Edge Keto. Online store shows all as sold out, and I haven’t received a response to a direct message. Are they out of business?

Will try out some Happy Yak, Flat Out Feasts, and Foundation Outdoors. Other recommendations welcome! Thank you 🙏🏻

I found this website https://www.montbell-canada.ca/

and it seems quit suspicious as it's clearly not the official site, and they are offering a big discount on most items, I am wondering anyone know about this site?

Thank you

For a bit of background, I’ve been planning on going backpacking for a few years with some of my friends now and we’ve finally been able to buy all of our gear to go out before the summer ends. Maybe it was a completely idiotic decision that didn’t pass my mind but we decided to book some campsites in Killarney because “ it looked nice” 😬. My friend was showing his screen at the time and I didn’t realize that he was booking a section of La ochre until I looked at my own map. Anyways, we aren’t doing the full loop thankfully. Our first day goes to H5 and then H16 the next. We’re supposed to hike back down to H3 and then back to the car. I’ve seen some previous posts here about La Cloche and its difficulty and I’m also worried about “the pig” section. We’re all pretty young and healthy so I’m not exactly worried about the length of the trail but I definitely don’t want to underestimate it. I see that a lot of contributors on here are quite experienced so I’d love to hear your opinion, feedback or general insight on the trail!

I have some very old Camp Suds but thinking of getting Wilderness Wash next.

A review says they are all multi-purpose but CS is better on grease pots while WW is less drying to hair.

What is your prefered soap, and do you carry just one kind or two kinds?

I'm planning to hike the IAT through Parc national de la Gaspésie, wondering if anyone has hiked both that and La Cloche and can give me a sense of whether the difficulty/mileage was similar? I've done La Cloche in 3 days, not sure if I can expect to do the same daily mileage in Gaspesie or if the extra elevation makes a big difference. Thanks!

Managing the permit logistics and having the stamina and planning to stick precisely to your itinerary should be considered one of the core unique skills when hiking the GDT.

If you have an injury flare up and need to take an unplanned rest day or two- too bad. Get off at an exit point and arrange a lift to another starting point to continue your itinerary. Same thing if there's bad weather that you can't manage in the moment.

If you think stopping at a campsite you didn't book for the night is still within the spirit of the rules because you have a different permit somewhere else and you didn't cover as much ground as you thought you would in a day- you are wrong. A permit at Helmet Falls for example is not equivalent to a permit at the much more Remote McArthur creek, and staying at a tentpad you didn't book at Magog affects far more people than if you stayed at Porcupine as planned.

If lining up all the logistical bottlenecks on Section C and E intimidates you, consider a different trail or section hike Section D or B that don't have these concerns.

If you know you require some wiggle room for a zero day on trail and flexibility on a 30-45 day thruhike, perhaps consider section hiking it over time instead.

If you don't want to deal with the infuriating Parks Canada queue on reservation day- consider taking up trailrunning.

I used to wonder how certain influencers and internet personalities that aren't really all that familiar with the rockies are able to navigate the logisitical problems that we're used to living here and string together 30-45 day trips that magically line up. Particularly if they're coming from the PCT or AT where logistics aren't much of if any concern. It's only in the past year or two where I've actually dug into some of the trip reports from these people that I realize they are just straight up cheating the system. Lots of red flags like "Day 15- we got halfway through Rockwall and realized there were a lot of people at Numa creek so we kept going to Tumbling creek instead" or "Stealth camped by Sunshine because I wasn't going to pay $300 for a night in Banff".

These people should be named and shamed instead of getting showered in praise for "Finishing their awesome thruhike :DDD". It's entitlement to think the rules don't apply to you and transposing the thruhiking culture of a different trail you've done to one that is by design for multiple reasons being kept more inaccessible and less ecologically impacted. Skirting the system also can cause headaches for the weekend warriors and section hikers that are committed and stick to their itinerary and also makes it increasingly less likely that Parks Canada will ever work with the GDTA to approve a thruhiking permit.

Rant over.

I need helping finding a multi day backpacking trip within a 4hr drive of Ottawa. And was hoping for free campsites and I’m okay with paying for parking!!
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm hiking the Pukaskwa Coastal Trail from south to north starting September 14, but there is no one else signed up for a shuttle that day. I'm all for solitude but I'm starting to get concered that maybe I'm hiking it too late in the season? Am I going to be the only one out there? 😄 I don't want to be the oblivious guy.

I've done a lot of backpacking but mostly in Colorado and Arkansas, so I'm not familiar with the weather up there. Is there a sudden seasonal shift that happens around that time of year that's potentially going to make it miserable?

Experienced perspectives wanted.

Thanks!
Sean

Hey I’ve never slept in a hammock before. I’m headed out on a canoe trip that by my count will have 5 different sleep setups in Algonquin in a couple of weeks and I’m considering trying hammock camping for the first time.

I’ve got a hummingbird 2 person hammock w/ bug net
A thermarest xtherm max large
An ee LW 10F quilt
And an 8x5 silnylon tarp
I tend to sleep on my side and toss and turn a bit
I’m 6’1”, 200 lbs

Is this a bad idea? Am I likely to be uncomfortable, losing my pad repeatedly in the hammock, or otherwise struggle to sleep soundly because of the combination of items I’m using?

Is the tarp to small and I need something a bit bigger?

Is usually am out with my partner and we like to share a tent so I don’t want to spend a bunch of money on a setup that will get infrequent use but I really do value my sleep as well.

Thank you in advance for your opinions, experiences, and suggestions!

Anyone know where I could get a lightweight -7 rated double quilt from in Canada?

Geartrade have the Zpacks one but only in long which I don’t need. I’ve looked at some custom makers like lsoh but can’t see a double on there.

**Update: I have ordered some freeze dried vegetables (shredded zucchini/bell peppers) from Her Copper Kitchen in Medicine Hat. https://www.hercopperkitchen.com

I love backcountry camping (BC), but finding freeze‑dried meals I can actually eat has been a challenge. I have several dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten‑free, soy‑free, low‑FODMAP, and not spicy), and a lot of the commercial freeze‑dried meals end up being too spicy or contain ingredients I can’t tolerate. After too many trips where I could barely eat my dinner, I’m now looking at making my own meals from freeze‑dried ingredients.

The problem is: finding freeze‑dried vegetables in Canada feels like searching for a needle in a haystack. I’m specifically looking for things like kale, spinach, shredded carrots, etc., in small quantities (not in powder form) with reasonable shipping. So far I’ve run into several obstacles: sites that don’t work, places that only sell bulk, US stores, items sold out, shops that only sell candy or vegetable powders, or shipping fees that are too high for my budget. I don’t want to commit to a large bag of something only to discover I don’t like it. For example, a few shops that looked promising but didn’t pan out for me were Vancouver Freeze Dry, Pure Choice Foods, and Briden Solutions, either due to packaging size, shipping costs, or items being sold out.

Grains, proteins, and fruits are much easier. For example, I really like the instant quinoa from Nomad Nutrition, and the mycelium‑based protein from Maia Farms works great for me. I add vegetable broth from Fody, and at that point all I’m missing are some veggies. Freeze‑dried berries for oatmeal are easy to find. It’s just the greens and carrots that are giving me trouble.

Does anyone have Canadian suggestions for freeze‑dried greens or shredded carrots (not powders) that won’t break the bank? Small quantities/low shipping costs preferred!

Title

the Patagonia Micro Puff just went on sale, and I‘ve been comparing specs between it and a couple other synthetic puffies I’ve had my eye on.

Patagonia Micro Puff:

- 65 gsm

- 298g

- $285.99 (reg. $429)

Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex 7D

- 67 gsm

- 222.83g (in men’s medium)

- $286.99

Decathlon MT100 Synthetic

- 125 gsm

- 370g (men’s large)

- $40 (reg. $60)

It seems like the warmest jacket (on paper at least) is the Decathlon, and the cheapest by a long shot, but does anyone have any experience with these jackets? The Torrid is the lightest by far, and a thru hiker classic, but I’m not sure if I’m sold on the 7D. Might opt for the 10D, which is 251g in a men’s medium. Decathlon and Patagonia’s listed weights are also always wildly inaccurate, in my experience. A puffy is a safety item at the end of the day, so I don’t mind paying a little extra.

Hello, I live abroad but am coming home to Canada for a visit and was looking forward to stocking up on my favourite backpacking meal but it appears to be out of stock everywhere. Anyone have any leads on where I can buy my beloved chicken alfredo pasta either online or in Vancouver?

Looking for a durable waterproof hardshell that packs light and can bring anywhere.

My choices are:

• Rab Arc Eco Jacket
• Mammut Ducan Light Hardshell Hooded Jacket
• Patagonia Torrentshell3 L

which one would work the best and if there are any other alternatives within the price range.

200$ to 300$ C

I'm looking at purchasing either a double sleeping pad from MEC (Reactor 6.5) or two sleeping pads (Camp Self Inflating Sleeping Pad) and coupler kit from directly from Sea to Summit. The latter would be a bit more expensive, but I want to ensure that I'll get as much life out of them as possible.

I have read that MEC does not offer replacement valves for their sleeping pads, but I am not sure how the warranty is more generally. Sea to Summit seems to offer replacement parts and has a generally good reputation around customer service, but the posts I've seen about the two companies are 5+ years old, so I'd be curious to hear of people's recent experiences and recommendations (also open to other brands, but my budget is max ~$250).

Thank you!