It’s early in the morning on the third of four days of hiking the Skyline Trail, and Michelle and I are preparing to begin the toughest section of the trip: today we climb 3 km to reach The Notch, the highest pass in Jasper National Park, followed by a 14 km hike to our next campsite. The hike is going to test our endurance, especially since we are expecting rain sometime during the day. Michelle and I both have experience running marathons and we expect today’s effort to feel comparable.
At the Curator campsite, we quickly pack the tent and sleeping bags before having breakfast and a cup of coffee at the picnic tables. We stop and talk to a couple that arrived late yesterday evening and learn that they had hiked the entire 22 km in one day. The woman, an experienced hiker, had convinced her boyfriend who had never backpacked before, to do the entire 46 km in two days. That’s two tough days of hiking for a novice.
After breakfast, we pack the rest of our gear, and before leaving I apply moleskin on the back of my heels. I’ve developed painful blisters on previous hikes and today isn’t a good day to be hobbled by pain. As we’re leaving the campsite, Michelle and I spot the boyfriend of the hiking couple at the bear lockers smoking a cigarette. Michelle and I look at each other in disbelief—it’s like watching a runner lighting up at the start line of a marathon. We’re impressed: new to backpacking, hiking the Skyline Trail in two days, and a smoker!
To our relief, there’s blue sky as the sun rises. The night before we had decided that if the weather made the pass impassable, we’d take the emergency exit—the 15 km Wabasso Trail to the Icefields Parkway — and call a cab to get to our vehicle. After hiking for two days to reach The Notch, it would’ve been disappointing to abandon the hike when we were so close.
We first hike one kilometer to make up the elevation we lost by descending to the Curator campsite. When we make it to the main trail, it’s two more kilometers to The Notch. It is a steep trail, etched high on the mountainside. There are sections of loose rocks and large boulders as well as an overhanging mass of snow at the precipice (cornice). We’ve had a good night’s rest, our packs feel light, and with a sunny morning, we’re feeling optimistic as we begin the challenge of conquering The Notch.
The first kilometer is easy, except for the talus field. The terrain is undulating and we must step around, between, and over boulders of various sizes. Michelle and I take our time, making sure we position our poles to not lose balance and fall while carrying a full backpack.
After we exit the talus field the trail becomes steep and our pace slows. At the midway point, we stop and take a break to admire the view, Michelle comments that the climb is not as hard as she had expected. When I hear that, I suspect she didn’t pay close attention to the video I made of the hike last year, and doubt she’ll be saying that when we get closer to the top.
The sheer slope makes the last kilometer to reach The Notch a challenge. We must kick our boots into the scree and use our poles to prevent us from sliding backward. The wind starts to pick up and we fight our way through intermittent gusts. At the end of each switchback, we stop to catch our breath. At one switchback, Michelle comments on the last kilometer’s difficulty compared to the lower half and expresses her concern when she looks upwards and sees that it gets more difficult.
After a few more switchbacks, we reach the steepest part of the climb, just before the pass. When I look at Michelle, I see that she is uneasy. She’s in no danger but must overcome her fear of falling to finish the climb, so I coach her to concentrate on climbing and keep looking forward while I climb behind her for reassurance.
There is no set trail that will allow us to avoid the cornice that is overhanging at the precipice as we approach The Notch–hikers must stay high on the right-hand side and then hike towards the pass. Some hikers angle their way up the steep slope but I decide to turn and face the mountainside and we scramble straight up the slope, using our hands to pull ourselves up; when we have climbed high enough, we can turn towards the cornice and hike towards the top of the pass. We’re fortunate that we are hiking later in the season and most of the cornice has melted. At this point, our hearts are racing and we’re breathing hard, but the hard work is done: we’ve almost reached The Notch.
We are elated when we arrive. We’ve conquered The Notch! The view is majestic: we can see Big Shovel pass and mountain ranges stretching to the horizon. I’m so happy that the weather cooperated. Meanwhile, Michelle is both enjoying the view and feeling relief that she didn’t suffer a tragic accident on the way up. I’m proud that she overcame the anxiety that gripped her towards the end and finished the climb.
The celebration doesn’t last long. There’s a howling wind and ominous rain clouds on the horizon, so we need to get off the mountain. However, we have to hike another 3 km along the ridge before we can begin our descent. The wind is relentless, — the strongest I have ever experienced hiking. On top of an exposed part of the ridge, the wind blows us off balance and takes our breath away. I have visions of the wind blowing us off the mountain, so to keep our balance, I hold onto the straps of Michelle’s backpack until the mountain offers us some protection.
After an hour of hiking the ridge, we start our descent. We find a protected spot and take a much-needed break. We’re relieved that we’re off the mountain –hiking against the wind is exhausting and there was a real danger of getting caught in a storm.
After a bite to eat, we begin the hike to the Summit campsite. We have seen no other hikers the whole day, including the couple that we met that morning. We’re concerned because it has started raining and they could be hiking in a blizzard if the rain turns to snow.
When we reach the Tekarra campsite, we take a half-hour break, and just as we’re leaving, we hear a man yelling. Michelle thinks someone is being attacked by a bear. I figure it’s another hiker yelling to scare off any bears hanging around before he enters the campsite. It turns out it’s the couple from the campsite, and the boyfriend is NOT HAPPY. The effort of the hike has caught up with him and he is suffering.
We continue on our way to Signal and for several kilometres we hear him behind us, swearing at the top of his voice and shouting in pain. Eventually, his girlfriend hikes ahead of him and catches us — she says she not hiking beside him because he’s mad at her. There is still 14 km remaining to reach their vehicle, and the rain and the wind are not helping his disposition. We sensed she didn’t want to chat long enough for her boyfriend to catch up to us, so we went on our way, wondering what she was thinking when she convinced him to complete the hike in two days.
Finally, ten hours after we started our ascent up The Notch, Michelle and I hobble our way into Signal campsite. We’re exhausted, and our shoulders are sore from carrying our backpacks. It’s still drizzling, we’re hungry, and we’ve hit the wall, making it an excruciating task to set up camp. Huddled at the picnic table, I cook a dish of curried lentils with basmati rice. Before trudging to the tent to take refuge in my warm sleeping bag, I swallow two ibuprofens. Michelle is already curled up in her sleeping bag. The day is over.
The next morning, we wake up with our tent covered with ice from the freezing rain. At the higher elevations, a deep layer of snow covers the mountains. It’s hard to leave our warm tent but our car is an easy 8 kilometre hike, so we brave the ice and cold, shake the ice off our tent, and pack up. After eating breakfast, we gingerly head down the trail. It’s a pleasant morning for hiking—the rain has stopped and we are warm—but we are both eagerly watching for the end of the trail. And suddenly it’s there—the parking lot where we started our journey — and our beautiful Subaru waiting to take us home.
When we arrive home, we order out for supper and have a much-anticipated bath. I feast on a big juicy hamburger loaded with cheese and bacon, with a side of deep-fried onion rings, and a pint of Scotch Ale.
Would I do the hike again? Absolutely.
Michelle?
One Last Kick 
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