GDT Day 2: Into Waterton National Park

Thursday, July 4th, 2024, 1130-1800
Waterton to Akamina campground, off mm 16
13 miles, Gain: 4154′, Loss: 2560′, elevation 5800′

I woke to a soggy tent on the outside but dry on the inside, save for the typical condensation. I slept the best I had in 4 nights, but still woke with a migraine. I was locked into a pattern with the rebound effect that would probably last a few days more. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up to walk the town. Vince and Georgie had already packed and were gone, but I didn’t feel in a rush since the total distance for the day was only 13 miles…only. I got coffee and a bagel at a shop, then went to Starbucks to charge my phone. After 2 hours of working on my blog, I decided I better buy something. I got a fancy caramel macchiato and the price was over $9! That’s Canadian money, but still.

I needed to get out of town before I spent more, so I went back to pack and hit the trail. My tent had dried by then, which made me happy. I didn’t start hiking until nearly noon, so I wasn’t as pleased about that. There was a nice waterfall at the beginning, reminiscent of my most recent hike on the Foothills Trail. Then the trail climbed and climbed, through a large burn and all the way up into the alpine. In 2017, the Kenow wildfire burned much of the park, thankfully sparing most campgrounds and the town. It took a lot of work to repair the damage, and this trail (Carthew\Alderson) was pretty immaculate. It went up past several alpine lakes and over a pass. The views were very grand, similar to those in Glacier national park. I saw a bald eagle perched on a rock near one of the lakes but that was it for wildlife. There were quite a few people on trail, from day hikers and guided groups, to trail runners and backpackers. It seemed like some were doing a one way trip down from Cameron Lake, back to Waterton. It made for a fantastic day hike.

I hiked alone most of the day. Just before Cameron lake, I caught up to 2 women GDT hikers: Helena and Ricky-Bobby. I took a break to match theirs, then hiked down the rest of the way with them. Ricky-Bobby and I talked about how much we loved and hated the PNT, as she had just done it the year before.  We also talked about the upcoming hike, learning that our schedules aligned for the next 3 nights…suddenly our tramily grew even more. We all joined up again at the lake, where there was a small rental store selling overpriced snacks. I bought a $4 soda, but it was worth it.

We walked as a group of 6 for the remaining few miles to a campsite. We crossed the line into BC and the site was in the middle of a burn, plus a mile off route. But it wasn’t too bad considering. The privy was pristine with toilet paper, there was a good running stream close by, and the tent pads had a gravel base…not ideal but not terrible either. There were 7 of us there, all GDTers, so it was pretty quiet. Everyone was in bed well before hiker midnight. A pee-habituated buck roamed the campsites as we settled into sleep. He ended up chewing on Vince’s trekking pole handles. I hid my spare pole under my tent luckily…I was wise to such deer antics. All in all a really great start!