I Spent 3 Days Backpacking The Skyline Trail in Jasper NP

Join and support the channel:
Patreon Memberships: www.patreon.com/howesthehike
Buy gear and support the channel:
REI (USA)
alnk.to/58q3C1l
MEC (Canada)
alnk.to/btnkVxS
Sponsorships and other services: howesthehike.ca
The Skyline Trail is one of the most exceptional and amazing backcountry backpacking trails I have ever walked. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.
Notes, courtesy the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide:
Shovel Pass was named in 1911 when Jasper's Otto brothers packed Mary Schaffer and a boat over the range to Maligne Lake via this improbable route.
When the party encountered deep snow near the pass, the Ottos carved a pair of wooden shovels from trees below and scratched out a trail through the drifts for their horses. The shovels were erected near the summit and stood for several years as monuments to the arduous journey. (You can view the original shovels at the jasper Yellowhead Museum)
00:00
06:34 Trip Planning
10:40 Day Two
31:25 Day Three

[@sheripacori2097]

Thank you for your beautiful videos and your delightful presence. It is fun to tag along. I like your camera work. You balance selfie shots with nature shots well. You really share your surroundings and experience with your viewers. One last thing. Do some hikers really think that their camping fees and park passes cover hauling out their garbage ? I guess from their view it does. Too bad. Thank you parks canada and those hikers who pick up other people trash. This way the beauty is maintained for others to enjoy.

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you so much for the kind words!! And yes, some backpackers ruin things for the rest of us for sure. Our fees cover very little to be honest, so even more motivation to take good care of what we have!

[@lesaventuresdemonaetcie8241]

Your journey reminds me sweet souvenirs on that trail...Nice video (as usual). Next on the list is a very different treck to the Everest base camp.

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you for the comment. It is a stunning trail and I may hike it again just for fun. I'm pretty jealous of you heading to Base camp! Let me know if there's a place where I can see your video or picture when you're finished!!

[@lesaventuresdemonaetcie8241]

@@HowestheHike Our videos end up always on You tube: Les aventures de Mona et cie

[@lesaventuresdemonaetcie8241]

@@HowestheHike BTW feel free to join us...march 23 to april 16 2024

[@HowestheHike]

I'd LOVE to. But.... I will certainly look forward to seeing it on your channel!

[@jefflibbey]

Great video Stuart! I'm doing the same itinerary in mid-August. Doing 2 easy days and staying at Little Shovel and Curator. Then a long day out to the car. I would have booked Tekara or Signal for one more night, but nothing was available at the time. Watching this video reinforced my decision to just push through to the car (weather and blisters permitting!)

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks so much! And excited for you - it's an amazing hike!! Glad you saw what I saw regarding those campsites. The walk out was pretty easy to be honest. Enjoy!

[@traciburke3940]

Thanks for posting this hike! Your video brought back great memories of my Skyline hike in 2020. We had rain the first day, frost overnight, but the next day was so clear we could see for miles. I will never forget it. Very windy that day though, the weather changes quickly out there. My husband did this trail in 1994 and he warned me how difficult "the Notch" was, and I just thought he wasn't in very good shape. Haha, I found out! But it was all worth it. It was truly amazing. Thank you for the great videos and commentary.

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks so much for sharing! Yes, weather can change almost instantly - especially at that elevation. And I laughed at you comment about the Notch! It is a BEAST!!

[@fahimhossain1379]

Great content! You really should have more subscribers!

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks so much - I appreciate that!

[@andrewduncan7643]

Hi again Stuart! You took the words right out of my mouth so to speak when you said you take on the longer tougher Rockies backpacks rather then the shorter more compact treks like the Skyline for example when coming from so far away. Exactly why I haven't gotten around to Skyline and Tonquin so far. May combine them one summer to rectify that I think. About to get on with the Brazeau Loop finally this coming Tuesday with 3 friends from my meetup group here in Vancouver. Going to spend an extra night at Cataract Pass somewhere before hiking back out to the car. The bridge is still out at Brazeau Lake so the water crossing at the lake outlet should prove interesting. Apparantly the flow is quite low now according to a lady on alltrails a few days back so not to concerned. Anyhow, I'm rambling to much. Good to see you are back in the swing of things in the Rockies again. Never seen you smilling so much. I'd better get my duff up there soon to see what caused that perma grin at Skyline. Cheers Stu.

[@HowestheHike]

Exactly! Good luck on Brazeau - stunning. Love the idea of a random near Cataract. I've been out a lot of the last few weeks and will also be heading out next week myself and I can tell you water levels are very low except where glacially fed. So you should be in pretty good shape. Get out there and get that permit grin yourself Andrew turn life's too short for anything else :-)

[@andrewduncan7643]

You know it brother. Look forward to seeing what kind of mischief you get yourself into next week. 😁@@HowestheHike

[@HowestheHike]

Lots to come!

[@barryparris91]

Glad to see you back on the trail again, Stuart. You seem to be doing much better than you were a couple of months ago. Looking forward to many more videos.

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you so much! Yes life is wonderful at the moment and the trail has a lot to do with that. I am very lucky that I've been able to make the time and pretty excited about more to come. Stay tuned!

[@xoxXCutiepieXxox]

Yay Jasper!!!!⛰️🏔🌸🇨🇦 HOME!!!🇨🇦 I can't wait. I'm going on the 28th!!! Thanks for sharing, stw! 🇨🇦 nice to see u getting out and enjoying ur summer ☀️! Smoke is so bad today I'm keeping my windows closed 🙃 🔥 🌳🌲😢 hahahaa poo 💩 2

[@HowestheHike]

Jasper rocks! Smoky yes, but it's still rocks. Enjoy your trip and safe travels, maybe I'll run into you on the street!

[@ricklarry4212]

Another great hike, Stu. I really liked your campsite by the stream at Curator. Hope the marmot did not get into any of your gear but it was fun to see it scurrying about. Thanks for sharing and happy trails.

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you so much! No the Marmot was cute and just protecting her baby. Eventually she went on about her business. And yes, I do love that little spot at curator. Thanks again!

[@timreimer1286]

Great hike. Is on my plan for next year.

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks! Enjoy - it's amazing!

[@falcolf]

Hey Stu, my dad introduced me to your channel yesterday and I've been binging your wonderful content ever since! Love your kindness to other creatures; especially how in your video of the Clearwater/Red Deer loop how you never mentioned anything negative about having heard wolves (the poor things need all the neutral and positive media representation that they can get! Due to misinformation and fear they are still suffering genocide in many places.) When I day hiked to Shingle Flats a few years back I was so joyful at having seen fresh wolf tracks there (and smaller tracks with the adult tracks indicated pups!) that I CRIED. ❤ It was SUCH a special moment for me so I can't wait to get back into that backcountry where I might see tracks, scat, or hear a howl like you did. (And if I saw one? I'd probably break down sobbing with happiness once the sighting was over.) Anyway: as a solo female thruhiker I really appreciated your shoutout to us rare lone ladies and I wanted to offer something in return: in the thruhiking world, instead of using our real names, like soldiers in combat and fighter pilots we thruhikers often go by trail names instead. Some of these can be really hilarious (the best that I have heard is Giardian Angel 🤣) some are serious, and all have a great story behind them. My trail name, for example, is Songdog. What I am trying to get to here is that you should try asking for your fellow hikers' trailnames instead and using those for your shoutouts! (And absolutely ask any thruhikers you encounter their trail names; they may even bestow a trail name upon you!) I hope this helps, thank you for the wonderful content!❤

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you so much for this wonderful comment! I do love all creatures except maybe the mosquito :-) even the little marmot who looks scared to death when I walk by, I try to talk to in a soft kind voice. Hearing wolves is a privilege in my opinion and something That is a highlight of any trip. On the South Boundary Trail, we actually saw a large wolf in pursuit of a deer. It was amazing. I like the idea of trail names and have certainly played around with the idea over the years. I recently met someone on the trail who was called geezer. Not sure I want to end up with that one :-) Thank you so much for watching and for commenting and it's great to have you here and part of our community! I hope you'll keep in touch :-)

[@johnversluys]

Congrats on doing Skyline! Helen and I have done it twice, and it's our opinion that it's the best trail in the Canadian Rockies. We also did the Curator to parking lot part as well after bailing on Tekerra too. The views and diversity of scenery on the entire trail are incredible. Glad you had a chance to enjoy it.

[@HowestheHike]

John! So great to hear from you!! The girls and I still talk about you and Helen and our time on Brazeau together. Such great memories. I think ending the day we both do it makes a lot of sense. You are through the amazingness and just have a bit of a slog back to the car. It also feels good at a certain age to do 26 km :-) please give my best to Helen and I really do hope to run into you both soon!

[@kimchaffey9827]

What an incredible hiking season you are having! 26km on your last day. Wow! Another one to add to my list. I just have to cut some more weight from my pack. So hard. Not sure I'm brave enough to solo hike. Good on you. Will be waiting for the next one. It was sad to see that dirty campsite. The rest was spectacular!

[@HowestheHike]

So far it's been awesome and there's much more to come! Yes you want to add this to your list for sure it's extremely rewarding and I would suggest taking your time. There is certainly a calculation about weight but also about your pace. Solo camping takes time to get comfortable with, but on a trail like this you're never alone at night. Typically that's when people worry the most recent night not what they are walking on the trail. So if you wanna hike solo these types of busy trails are a perfect way to start. I know you've got this!

[@mikewanders]

This is such awesome scenery! I love your enthusiasm man. I’m the same way!!

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks a ton! Maybe we will run into one another out there some day.

[@mikewanders]

@@HowestheHike let’s hope so!

[@DanSmith-sq9qp]

Thanks Stuart. You seem like a very kind man with a posotive, uplifting air about you. Looking forwarde to the rest of your Rocky Mountain adventures. Any chance you are heading towards Devon Lakes and beyond?...I am sraying tuned

[@HowestheHike]

Hi Dan! Thank you so much for your kind comments :-) they are well received and much appreciated!! Yes indeed. Devon Lakes and beyond are on my radar - perhaps sooner than I think. That's been on my list for quite some time and I'm super stoked to get there. I'll probably be doing it solo which will be the longest solo hike I've done. Stay tuned and thanks again!

[@karenabel6218]

Wow what a great hike. Thanks for posting this. Looks like you had good weather.

[@HowestheHike]

It was! A little bit of smoke on my 26 km day but it certainly didn't dampen my enthusiasm! Thanks for the nice comment :-)

[@kcwins84]

Another nice video, Stewart. Thanks for sharing. Are you going to run into Joey up there? All the best, CTM

[@HowestheHike]

Thank you so much! I haven't seen Joey for a while or heard from him. It would be wonderful to run into him again because I think he's awesome.

[@kcwins84]

@@HowestheHike , me either. I’m pretty sure he’s been up your way recently. I hope to get back to the Canadian Rockies in 2024. I’ll be in the Beartooth range in a couple weeks. Take care and thanks again for putting these videos together. Really fun to watch.

[@HowestheHike]

Marty did tell me he's been in touch with Joey and that there was a trip they had planned that I was invited on but I've not heard anything since. So I'm not sure what they're up to but I find it a bit odd that Joey would not reply to my emails unless he has a new email address. I suppose that's possible for sure! He's an awesome guy and I hope I do see him out here somewhere remote. That would be serendipity!

[@samanthaur6335]

Great video! Makes me excited for my turn this summer! What are you using for carmera gear?

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks! It's a pretty stunning place and I may do it again myself at some point when I have the time. I used to double up and use my iPhone and a GoPro. This past summer I used my iPhone exclusively because the GoPro was unreliable. I have an iPhone pro version so and camera quality is pretty exceptional!

[@marlenemohle7945]

Hello! Thanks for a wonderful video! I am planning to hike this trail next week. How cold are the evenings and night?

[@HowestheHike]

Quite warm when I was out actually. But it can change quickly. Best be prepared for anything!

[@voges14]

Great video. I just snagged snow bowl and currator for mid September. Wondering your thoughts on something. Rather than doing the traditional route, I was considering staying at snow bowl night 1, going to currator on day 2 and setting up camp and then continuing on down the trail with a day pack, and then turning back before I hit Tekerra and spend the night at currator. And then day 3 back to maligne lake. That would save the fire road hike as well as a shuttle ride and see the trail from 2 different directions. Let me know your thoughts. Thankyou!

[@HowestheHike]

I think this is an excellent idea! One thing you might want to add is a quick hike up to the watch tower overlook. You will see the watch tower trail sign just before you get to curator. I would've loved to of walked up there and looked down that valley. Just something to consider!

[@voges14]

Thankyou!

[@HowestheHike]

You are very welcome

[@byronschmuland8912]

If you absolutely can't book campsites on the Skyline, you can always do it as a day hike. You have to start early, but you are only carrying a daypack so you can move faster.

[@HowestheHike]

At 40+ km it would be pretty long day hike but it absolutely could be done. That said, there was availability for a lot of people booking last minute Skyline trips this year perhaps due to the snowstorm in "Junuary" or even the smoke situation. Either way, it's an amazing place to explore

[@jasonegervari]

Great video as always, quick question I know you didn’t stay at signal but do you know if there was a good water source there? I can’t remember but saw a video of someone years back showing a tiny trickle with mostly mud. Just looking for heads up as doing next month. Thanks

[@HowestheHike]

Thanks for the compliments! So to your question, yes, the water source at signal can be a huge problem. Keep monitoring Facebook groups and calling Parcs Canada to see if they have any information. It is unreliable but depending on rainfall and things like that you might be OK. That said, the hike from Tekerra to the trail head is not a big deal so if there is no water at signal I don't think you'll have a problem. Just water up before you get to the climb to signal

[@jasonegervari]

@@HowestheHike thanks for the heads up, it is greatly appreciated. I guess I'll bring another bottle just to be safe as currently I will be heading from curator out so will be a long day. Mind you temperatures were hotter but most of the creeks in between waterfall campground and jonas cutoff were dry on poboktan creek trail we were just on, or not enough for us to get anything so we struggled because of it

[@HowestheHike]

Good plan for sure, unless it rains a bit before you get there. always best to be safe!

[@billbagshaw8209]

Is there a way to dm you?

[@HowestheHike]

Yes that sure is. If you dig around here in the about section (on your computer) there should be an email address :-)