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Northern Rockies Trail

The Northern Rockies Trail (NRT) is a proposed trail in the Hart and Muskwa Ranges of the Northern Rocky Mountains.

  • Length: ≈ 700 kilometers
  • Elevation Change: ≈ 95 kilometers
  • Maximum Elevation: 2342 meters, Sikanni Chief Pass
  • Minimum Elevation: 416 meters, Liard River

Goal

The goal of the Northern Rockies Trail is to guide explorers through the Northern Rocky Mountains in Northern British Columbia. The Rocky Mountains are mostly covered by the Continental Divide Trail in the United States and the Great Divide Trail on the border between Alberta and British Columbia. The Great Divide Route provides a way to hike North from Kakwa Lake to Kinuseo Falls in Monkman Provincial Park, and the Misinchinka High Route picks up there and continues North to Azouzetta Lake in Pine Pass. The NRT fills the large remaining gap between the Northern Terminus of the Misinchinka High Route, at Azouzetta Lake, and the Northern Terminus of the Rocky Mountains, at the Liard River.

Condition

The route for the trail has been planned, but no work has been done on the ground. No blazes, cairns, or other guiding markings have been put in place, nor has any work been done to receive approval from the appropriate authorities or landowners to put a trail in place. The trail is merely a proposal.

Difficulty

Without having gone out to hike the route yet, it seems evident that this route will be at least as difficult as the Misinchinka High Route, and probably even more difficult. The elevation change on this route is similar to that of Misinchinka High Route, and it is probable that there will be atleast as much bushwhacking.

Route

From Azouzetta Lake, the Southernmost section of the Northern Rockies Trail is in the Hart Ranges and continues North to the Peace Arm of Williston Lake. The trail includes a crossing of this arm of the lake, and continues Northwest into the Muskwa Ranges.

North of Williston Lake, the trail heads North to Graham-Laurier Provincial Park. The NRT goes North to Redfern-Kelly Provincial Park, and then Northwest through Kwadacha Wilderness Provincial Park, just to the west of Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park. North of that, the trail stretches to the Toad River and the Alaska Highway in Muncho Lake Provincial Park.

The Northernmost section of the Northern Rockies Trail goes North from the Toad River, parallels the length of Muncho Lake and the Alaska Highway, finally crossing the highway before coming back to it at the Liard River. The trail’s Northern Terminus is Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park.

Resupply

The Northern Rocky mountains are very sparsely populated, and as such there are few options for explorers to resupply. From South to North, a direct thru-hike would probably want to use the following points:

  1. Williston Lake, cached in advance
  2. Robb Lake, via the ATV Trail from the East
  3. Redfern Lake, via the ATV Trail from the East
  4. Highway 97 near Toad River

Pacing

In theory, this should be possible. When I hiked the Misinchinka High Route, I averaged about 1.75 kilometers per hour, though that includes a roadwalk in Monkman Provincial Park along the Imperial Creek Forest Service Road. I estimate that a hiker should be aiming to hike 1.5 kilometers on average for 14 hours a day, for an average of 20 kilometers a day. This provides the following steps:

  1. Azouzetta Lake to Williston Lake: 135 kilometers in 7 days
  2. Williston Lake to Robb Lake: 140 kilometers in 7 days
  3. Robb Lake to Redfern Lake: 85 kilometers in 4 days
  4. Redfern Lake to BC Highway 97: 240 kilometers in 12 days
  5. BC Highway 97 to the Liard River: 100 kilometers in 5 days

Clearly, the hike North from Redfern Lake would be a big challenge. The best option to resupply before hiking all the way North to BC Highway 97 would be the mining service road near the Magnum Mine. This option, though not a sure option due to questionable accessibility, would reduce the distance covered between resupply points from Redfern Lake by 50 kilometers, to 190 kilometers.

Travel

The NRT is relatively accessible, given its remoteness. Public transportation is available to Prince George by plane, train, or bus. The bus route from Prince George to Fort St. John includes a stop at Azouzetta Lake. As for the Northern Terminus, there are no public transportation options for Liard River, now that bus service has been permanently shut down. Public transportation to Fort Nelson is available by plane or bus, and from there it is necessary to hitch to the Liard River.

Resources

  • Keyhole Markup File: Meticulous route with periodic points labelling geographic features. The path formed by this route has been divided into days, none of which have a maximum slope of over 50%, or a total length of over 40 kilometers. Each day details the route to get to the next camp, which is often on a major creek or river.
  • Maps: Large file containing detailed 1:20,000 scale maps on the NRT route. Made using maps provided by the provincial government of British Columbia.
  • Northbound Text Guide: Text guide which puts the trail into plain English, describing the route day by day.