Once more I've made some updates to the site. Since my guidebook of Waterfalls Alberta is circulating around and I'll be swept into the military life soon, and won't be able to track waterfalls in Alberta for a while, there seemed to be a need to make a minor update.
On my maps pages I included names of some of the waterfalls that I have on my long list of those to accomplish. It may be a while before I can tackle these, however no need for me to hold you back on your adventures.
Once I'm back in the exploration mode again, I'll be sure to also open up new areas, such as Lundbrek Falls, Willmore Wilderness, Kakwa Wilderness, Castle River & the Crowsnest Pass.
I'm excited to finally release this amazing news! Over the past two+ years I've been diligently working away at completing this guidebook and my work has finally come to fruition!
I first commenced this book back in the fall of 2013, scraping together some of my trips and attempting to form what then later became the guidebook. With an ambitious goal to get this all together in time for Christmas, I had a task ahead of me. First I needed to make sure to complete a bulk of my unfinished trips from past years. This also led to my need to do a return trip in Waterton Lakes in 2015 to expand my small variety of hikes I attempted on my first time down to the south of the province. I also made a great effort in pushing exploration in David Thompson, turning what was three completed trips into many.
Though I had many other goals this past year, once I had a response from a publisher on picking up my book and making this dream a reality, everything changed. Priority Printing has become a great place to help guide me through this journey, and full credit to them for putting up with this stubborn adventurer.
I will soon release information on how and where I'll be distributing the book. I'll be making the first issues available within and around the parks, for the local communities. For those that end up purchasing a copy, I hope you really enjoy what has taken me so long to produce.
For the year of 2015 my biggest exploration was Waterton Lakes National Park, by growing that map tenfold. Sadly my last two years of attempting ice climbing has resulted in uncompleted tasks; though I did start updating a map of ice climbing locations in the province!
The coming year will spur further what I started last year by opening up map locations more remote regions of the Rockies. Some regions such as Rock Lake, Whitehorse Wilderness & Ghost River have many trails to be sought and explored!
2015 was one of my more difficult years; not in terms of hard trails, but in terms of getting out to explore. I had a large number of events occur over the year that held me back from heading out to the Rockies. As a result my list of goals for 2015 was mostly left undone.
There was a silver lining thought! By the end of the summer I managed to kick my trips in high gear. I explored a great deal over the months of July & August. During this time I managed to cover Waterton Lakes in great detail, marking that as my most major achievement of the year! A second positive to the year is the two new map locations I've opened up; Rock Lake & Ghost River. Though I barely even scratched the surface on the waterfalls in these regions, nonetheless I felt it was time to branch out into more territory for the site.
Sadly, though I eventually did managed to kick the trips into high gear, I still didn't get out as much as the years prior. This means the video compilation of the year-end may be a little lack luster compared to years past. However, another new attribute to my trips this year was the addition of Loki! My furry companion made many video cameos over the year and has become another pest in the house (like his father), nagging for more trips to the Rockies.
Sadly I was planning to set off on a trip to explore the foothills of the Rockies and came down with a terrible cold. Nevertheless I did muster up the strength to make some needed changes to the site's designs.
There will now be a showcasing of a featured waterfall on the website's left side! I'll be sure to alternate this on a regular interval offering a new waterfall monthly.
I've also removed the GPS coordinates on the maps pages in favour of trail names; as these are most preferred by those looking to head out. Not to worry as these GPS Coordinates are not lost, and will be soon re-distributed in the New Year.
I'm once again registered for the Walk for Wildlife with +Canadian Wildlife Federation! It was a success last year; raising $100 for the Species at Risk. As such I thought I should give this another try! This year the CWF are dedicating their proceeds to 20 different affected species across canada.
This year I have a couple different plans for my walks. The first one will be this month in and around Canmore & Kananaskis! The second should take me to the new territory around Ghost River and will be done on a bike/hike trip in May.
Thanks for those that are supporting the species at risk!
Its that time of year again and I'm declaring my intentions for the year ahead. Like years past I'll list out my (potential) plans for the year to start discussion from those exploring the site & to help myself properly plan for the year 2015.
The past year was used as a successful follow up to a list of waterfalls I've been attempting (in some cases) numerous times. Some major goals were achieved; such as the completion of Snake Indian Falls in a day as well as further exploration within the chain of trails around the David Thompson Highway.
The coming year will have only three repeats in my "to-do" list, though most importantly will have the inclusion of some new Rocky Mountain territory for me. I hope to branch out into this new turf and map while exploring these regions. However, don't worry I won't forget my favorite locations from the last couple years!
For me 2014 will be labeled a success on a number of levels. Although I didn't manage to film quite as many of my trips, nor did I get out and explore new terrain; I did however make some pretty successful achievements.
This year marks the first for me completing Snake Indian Falls in a day trip (an 11-12 hour trip no less). Though I didn't manage to get a full video there, or during my canoe trip in Jasper, I did collect enough to store in the compilation!
Staying true to how I did this last year; the following is a compilation video of all my trips from 2014:
I'll soon release the plans for 2015, which (spoiler alert) might end up being my biggest and most bold year yet.
I've made some minor adjustments on the site again. This time I've added the province as an interactive Google Map for waterfalls I've tagged across all of Alberta. There is a small map off on the left hand side; however I've also included the same map (though larger) under the maps section. I hope with this interactive map you are better able to browse the site for waterfalls in your area.
Another minor change; the recent videos has been bumped from the bottom of the page to the side bar (just below links to videos). This was done to be more user friendly while looking for videos in relation to the hikes.
Enjoy the slightly changed and added features!
October 05, 2014
Another update for the website coming soon! I'll be taking a break before my much anticipated return to the Rockies in late October. Although during this time I've found some new artistic photographic talent that I'm excited to implement! In late October, for the first time I will be exploring Photo Spheres / 360 Degree Panoramic photos. I hope to put this to good use in providing more visual exploration of the waterfalls in the Rockies!
As I've been asked a few times now for my favorite or my "must see" destination hikes in the Rockies, I decided to put together a short list. As I've surpassed 50 waterfalls and collected information on at least 60 of them here, I thought this might be a fair enough time to provide my assessment of the "best" trails thus far.
My runner-up is none other than Moonlight Falls and the Evan-Thomas Creek trail. This is a contender as, for no better reason, the waterfall itself is a absolutely stunning waterfall to marvel at in the winter. The contrasting colour of blue in the surrounding blanket of white snow; it's no wonder why it's a "must-climb" and talked about in ice climbing circles.
My plans in April to hike in the David Thompson Highway (Bighorn Backcountry) region, have taken a stronger purpose. I've decided to take part in the +Canadian Wildlife Federation and their #WalkForWildlife event. The proceeds go towards the Species at Risk and supports those Canadian species affected or threatened.
So far I've registered my hike on the Corral Creek trail, and will try to get out more often. I have full plans to record my hike and will hope it helps further support the CWF and this event.
If you're interested in joining or supporting the Species at risk feel free to follow the link:
On an aside; I've also updated this site to hold a CWF banner at the bottom of the page; in support of all the efforts they do in protecting Canada's Wilderness.
Over the past couple years of recording my adventures on camera, I noticed that there were times where I do/say or act in a silly way. As a result I decided to collage some of my moments and showcase them here as a behind the scenes look as to what goes on.
Going forward with extra batteries and chargers in hand; as well as an additional camera, I will be keeping the video flowing in between scenes. Hopefully over this year I might have a few more outtakes for everyone to enjoy.
I did this last year, and it worked really well for helping me plan for the year ahead. It also helped start conversation from those viewing the site, as some people were intrigued by some of the locations mentioned. I felt like it was a no-brainer for me to announce my intentions for the coming year. However just like last year some things didn't change as some of my goals went uncompleted. Although my main goal was achieved by being able to reach a new waterfall each month of the year in 2013. I look forward to carrying this achievement with me in 2014.
Some of my goals got a little more creative, and thanks in part to your comments on my videos and pictures. This helped bring about a bit more adventurous side of me in order to locate waterfalls in remote and hard to access locations.
The situation in the Alberta Parks chain, known as Kananaskis Country, is still in desperate conditions. Things are looking up on a daily basis, thanks in large part to volunteers in the area! If you want to help out and are living nearby, please follow this link and take part where you can!
The good news is the towns in the area have begun their rebuild phase. This means Canmore and Banff are open and looking better as days go on. However if you plan a trip in Kananaskis this summer, stay tuned to the Alberta Parks site as you may need to make alternative plans, though the road (highway 40) to Peter Logheed Provincial Park is open.
Just in time for your Canada Day long weekend, however sadly I have some somber news. The flood damage in the K-Country region is still significant, and at the point of writing this, the roads are closed.
The safest bet is to continually follow the Alberta Parks website (below) or follow them on twitter, as they give you updates regularly. Most other Provincial Parks in the Rockies are a safe bet; Although if you have a trip in mind keep following the park site for any changes.
The current situation with Banff and Canmore are still ongoing, however slow access is beginning to be allowed East of the towns. The speed limit has been reduced to 60Km as road works are underway on the highway to repair the damages from the floods. Please keep in mind that bicyclist are not going to be allowed on the highway between Banff and Canmore at this time (Being enforced by the RCMP).
Hope everyone can still enjoy their weekend, and those affected can rebound quickly.
Over the past month I've been considering doing a weekly or bi-weekly segment on Alberta Rocky News. I'm not sure if this is relevant enough for a regular viewing, however my idea was to cover some of the following topics for the Alberta Rockies.
Area closures
Events/ festivals
Weather
Seasonal park or road openings/closures
This is an idea at this point, and I'll continue to mull this over for some time. I'll gladly take suggestions for news topics; so feel free to comment below or contact me to let me know your thoughts.
The idea originated as I've joined twitter and notice I'm following an array of feeds from various parks (National/Provincial) for updates on closures. I also seek information from The Weather Network for my "good news" across various towns that surround the mountains. This made me consider consolidating this information on one YouTube video so everyone can be kept aware while traveling Alberta on vacations or weekends. As living in Edmonton and being over 3 hours from the Rockies I know it hurts sometime when plans need to change at "last minute".
After watching some documentaries on Mount Everest (courtesy of +Netflix), I found myself interested with the sport of ice climbing. As a result I decided to investigate the options available to me here in Alberta. I'm nowhere near crazy enough to think I can do Everest on my first try. Especially since I picture my first attempt to be more comical than adventurous or manly.
In long before discovering Travel Alberta, I thought I would start there, and as expected, they had just what I was looking for. After all, if I were to climb frozen ice, I'd also be discovering waterfalls in a very different way.
I'll come right out and say it; the price is a little steep for me to consider this at the moment, especially with all the trips I have in mind this summer/fall (Goals of 2013). Although I'll be putting my mind towards this for early 2014.
I feel as though this could be a fun adventure by bringing you along for the tour, and my failed attempts at doing this for the first time. So if it's possible I'll try to bring you along, via +GoPro so I can share my comical failures.
Since January this year I've decided to revamp the look and interactions on the website. As a result I've added a Twitter button, for everyone to interact on social media for this website; or use it as a tool to contact me.
I've also added more information on the about me section, including a picture from my hike in Dec 2012.
Third I've added a Google translate option for those wanting to view in French or other languages. Although I caution that it isn't the most perfectly sound translator.
Fourth, I've included a search box for you to look-up words or sentences mentioned on any of the posts I've made.
Finally, and my most favorite addition, I've embedded Google maps to the "Maps & Locations" section. This is designed now to give you a better visual look at the locations of the waterfalls in those areas. Such as, Jasper, Banff, David Thompson Highway & Kananaskis.
