Wednesday, July 23, 2025
End: Meadow on the Approach to Weaver
Route (km): 19.6
Total (km): 102.3
Hours: 13.7
Total (hrs): 54.1
Difficult Climb Leaving Warner Lake
The Great Divide Route doesn’t have a lot of climbs that I find to be overly difficult, but I think that the climb to leave Warner Lake and head North qualifies. It was tall grass and plants for some distance before I was able to access a more rocky area where the footing was more clear. I was a bit disheartened that the going was so difficult here, as I was expecting it as I drew near Tuck Lake, but not this early on.
Route-Finding Around Gusty Lake
I found it difficult to get around Gusty Lake, which I just called “Tarn”. The route seemed to go along the shore at some point, but there was no real shore, just thick trees. I actually had to take my backpack off at one point to squeeze through. There were open areas visible on the East side of the lake, but there was no obvious way to use those.
Wapiti Stream Crossing
I was disappointed to find that I had to get my feet wet to cross Wapiti Stream. I had hoped that there would be a spot to hop across a rock or tree, but though I scoured the bank for some distance upstream of the spot where the route crosses over, I found nothing.
Reprieve At Wapiti
Thankfully, there are ample meadows, though swampy, all along Wapiti Stream. The hiking is not so bad in this valley, even when the open meadows end and the climb begins to a small tarn. Up at the tarn, I opted to go around on the South side, and the climb up afterwards wasn’t bad either. Unfortunately, that’s where the positive points ended for the rest of the day.
Tuck and Framstead
This area is well-known to contain the thickest bush and forest on the Great Divide Route. Going into the day knowing that, I didn’t let myself get frustrated by the terrain or my lack of progress. I couldn’t tell you exactly what the forest was like. GPS in hand, my eyes were almost constantly glued to the screen, ensuring that I stayed on the route and kept moving forward. Perhaps the best advice I can offer is to do the same. I don’t think there are going to be much better ways to get through this area. The best thing to do might be to just stick to the route and keep making progress. It won’t last forever, and when you get through Framstead Creek, you are on your way up towards the Weaver shoulder, which is better.
That being said, I can advise not making the mistake I made when crossing Framstead Creek, as I crossed the wrong branch and had to cross a second branch to rejoin the route, in the pouring rain to boot.
Finally, I think it is important to note that there is absolutely nowhere to camp between Tuck and Framstead, as far as I can tell. I was very happy to be able to climb up high enough away from Framstead to make it to the meadows which are on the approach to Weaver-Limeston Pass.