American/Canadian Wilderness Areas

[rancar]

Hello Friends....

One of my favorite vacation trips is to wilderness areas that exist in various locations thoughout the U.S. I usually go for 1-2 week periods and backpack into these areas. I have been to Uinta Primitive Area in Utah, Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, Adirondacks in upstate New York, Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine, and believe it or not the Pine Barrens of New Jersey (yep, I still consider the Pine Barrens marginal wilderness....hard to believe since NJ is most densely populated State in the US). I would like to plan another trip for this coming summer/fall and am looking for recommendations.

Does anyone have any favorite wilderness areas they have backpacked into, either in the U.S. or Canada other than the ones I've mentioned above? If so, would you be so kind to share a bit of your experiences. What would you recommend. Any thoughts or contributions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Regards,
Bob Ancar
Cambridge, NY

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Boundry Waters canoe area between Minnesota and Ontario as well as the Voyageurs National Park in nothern Minnesota are the best areas I have ever been. Cyrstal clear water, otters swim past your canoe, bald eagles, it's just great. Quetico Provincial Park is the Canadian part. Check out the outfitter called Canoe Canada, used them five times for fishing and hunting trips.

A co-worker has suggested Isle Royale National Park. This is a large island in Lake Superior off the Keweenaw in Michigan's U.P. This park says it's they way this continent used to be. Resident wolf pack, deer, moose, etc. The park caters to backpackers, low impact camping. Check out pasty.com for links and other information.

 

[Wingnut]

anywhere in Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba would be considered extreme wilderness. Anywhere north of Lake Superior is great - the Canadian Shield is an old, old, old mountain range worn down to the nubs ... and not much there outside of a few indian villages and a rail line.
Anywhere in Northern British Columbia is great wilderness, especially if you want to include some mountain climbing with your hiking.
One of my favorite places is to drive along any of the "resource roads" in the foothills of Alberta (western side of the Rockies) and pick a trail. Wilderness as far as you can go in a month of sundays.
So I guess a first question should be ... how "formal" of a wilderness area are you looking for? Real wilderness ... or an area set aside by the governemnt and NAMED a wilderness area?

 

[rancar]

<font color=blue>One of my favorite places is to drive along any of the "resource roads" in the foothills of Alberta (western side of the Rockies) and pick a trail.</font color=blue>

Thanks Peter for the suggestion. In fact, I had been thinking of Alberta....was out in Lake Louise and Banff in 1999 oin a family vacation and always said to myself, "I want to come back to this country....most beautiful scenery I think in North America.

I'm not particular about a government sanctioned wilderness area or a 'real' unspoiled area. One thing I don't want though is to run into other hordes of backpackers and hikers. In 1999, I had stayed overnight in a motel just outside Yoho Natl Park on the way to Lake Louise...liked this part of the Canadian Rockies alot. Do you know of any good trailheads in this area or within a couple hours drive where I could park a car and be sure it's still there when I come back a week later?

Thanks....

Bob

 

[Egon]

Yoho has a real nice set of trails. There is a Hostel where one could leave his car.

Other recomended hikes:
Mt. Assinaboine A few different ways to do this one.

The north boundary trail at Jasper is about a week hike.

Portal creek up to the Ramparts and then out to Mt. Edith Cavelle. This can take up to a week if you enjoy it.

Lots of others that can be day hikes or overnighters. Best to look up "Parks Canada" and I'm sure you will find all the information. Access is changed from year to year by the parks so it's best to get all your information beforehand.
I've been on the ones mentioned either by bike or skis. Some all the way. Others only partial as bicycle access was restricted or my body told me it was turnaround time if there was to be any diesel left in the tank when the campsite was reached.

Waterton park also has some terrific hiking trails and is usually much quieter than Banff or Jasper.
And the list could go on and on.

Egon

 

[Wingnut]

Have to agree with Egon ... get current information as mine is outdated by 5 years ... the areas will still be excellant wildr\erness areas ... but the access andf amenities will have changed.
Waterton is definittely nice, specially if you want to do some mild mountain climbing and have less heavy timber.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

I think the North Cascade Wilderness area in Washington state is pretty special.

The hike from Holden to Darrington is about as pretty as it gets. (Search Glacier Peak, Holden, Bonanza Peak, Lake Chelan)

 

[Buck]

Anywhere north of Lake Superior is great - the Canadian Shield is an old, old, old mountain range worn down to the nubs ... and not much there outside of a few Indian villages and a rail line."

I concur. A lot though depends on what you like. The north shore of Lake Superior, I am convinced, will take over as a premier vacation spot once people realize how valuable the Great Lakes are as a world resource. It is an area that our recent ancestors forgot to settle. It really is a great place to go now while so many people are enamored with the western US. It is fairly inexpensive to fly into remote lake areas via pontoon planes to islands and rivers that have had very little exposure to humans if you are willing to drive 200 miles north of Superior. If you are into boating, take your boat to Lake Superior in August. The weather is calm and waves aren't too big. Most of the shoreline is still wilderness. If you like fishing, you won't go wrong anywhere in the area. Here is a shot of a smallmouth my son caught in Lake Ontario, which is relatively populated. We caught 18 smallmouth in about 1.5 hours. Lake Superior can offer much more.

Buck

 

[Golfgar4]

Hello Bob,

How are you? Haven't been around much lately - so much going on. Just getting back again now. How's that beautiful homestead of yours doing? I bet you've got a TON of snow, don't you? We're bone dry here. Have only had a few flurries now and again.

Well, I better get back to the topic at hand. I'd agree with L3650 about the Boundry Waters in Minnesota. I used to take my Boy Scout Troop up there for an annual high adventure trek. It was absolutely great! Pristine waters, beautiful woods. You can find exceptional hiking/canoeing/camping/fishing anywhere you go up there. Of course, it's been just a few years /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif since I've been up there, so things could have changed. But it is a protected area, so I don't think there'd be any problem.

And I'll make you a deal. IF you decide to visit there this summer, and you drive out, I'll buy you lunch. You see, unless you go the northern route up through Canada and come over that way, you'll literally drive by within a couple of miles of me in Janesville. Just let me know when you'd be coming through, and I'll meet you and buy you lunch.

Oh, one more thing. In case you're wondering, I still haven't figured out what "color" I'll be getting /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif. I am going over to an AGCO dealer tomorrow about 20 miles from here that I just found out about. I'll be test driving an ST40 with a powershift shuttle transmission. I'll get some prices then. Should be fun, if I don't freeze first!! /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

Hope all is well with you. Talk with you later!

 

[Thomas]

New Hampshire has a couple of breath taking places..Mountain Washington area,but my favorite place so far has to be South Dakota..Black Hills etc..one sure can get back to the basic of what living use to be.