Every year, as the calendar flips from August to September, the flow of tourism that descends upon Canada’s natural wonders retreats back to urban comfort. As the wild returns to the wilderness, so do I for my annual shoulder season adventure. This has become an annual pilgrimage for me over the years. With all the wildfires that have been tearing through western Canada this year, my plans were more fluid than usual…and by fluid, I mean that backcountry plan after plan…
It’s shoulder season again – my favourite season – and we’ve just been chased down from the alpine of the Canadian Rocky Mountains by bad weather. The sky had been threatening all morning, but in the mountains such threats make no promises one way or another so we went ahead and hit the trail up to Sentinel Pass. Hours later, the weather finally materialized overhead and a cold wet snow blew heavy in our faces with the summit of the mountain pass only a few steep switchbacks…