Allstones Lake - Spring Backpacking (4/1/2017)

A rather unique addition this past winter to the repertoire of events organized through the EOC has been the inclusion of a number of backcountry camping events that have taken place during the winter months. Continuing with this trend, this backpacking event to Allstones Lake in the Nordegg region will be taking place at a time when the ground is still covered in snow. If there is sufficient snow on the ground, we may be able to complete this hike on snowshoes. If the snow has melted considerably, expect a muddy hike.

The Allstones Lake trail is located in an area along Hwy 11 (the “David Thompson Highway”) between Nordegg and the Banff National Park Boundary that is sometimes referred to “Bighorn Backcountry”. The local region surrounding Allstones Lake is managed as a Forestry Land Use Zone, under the jurisdiction of Alberta Environment and Parks. The Allstones Lake trailhead is located along the David Thompson Highway, beside Abraham Lake. The trail climbs steadily through a forest, gaining 450 m of elevation in 4 km. We will hike to the shores of Allstone Lake, where we will set up camp. There is no cost to camp at Allstones Lake.

After we set up camp, we should have time to complete a day hike, hiking up to the top of a ridge that provides an overlook down to Allstones Lake on one side and a fantastic vista over Abraham Lake on its other side. The trail leading to the ridge is rather steep – it is approximately 2.5 km in length, with about 250 m of further elevation gain.

How to Register for the Trip

If you would like to attend this trip, please add your name to the waiting list for this event. Please send an e-mail to me discussing your prior backcountry hiking experience – based on further discussion, I will be able to assess whether you have sufficient experience to attend this event. Please also indicate what gear you may be able to bring that could be shared with others in the group.

Under summer conditions, I would consider a backpacking trip to Allstones Lake to be an intermediate-level backpacking trip, due to the significant amount of uphill hiking involved (in other words, it’s not a trip that I would suggest if you’ve never been on a backpacking trip before). The trail is not significantly long, and a trip to-and-from Allstones Lake can be completed as a day hike (an EOC group drove to-and-from Edmonton to the trailhead and was able to complete a day hike to Allstones Lake under winter conditions this past December).

Overnight camping under winter/spring conditions does pose some additional challenges. An obvious difference is that a much warmer sleeping bag required than is necessary for summer backpacking trips. Another challenge is that meals need to be more carefully planned, given that food and water will freeze. A potentially unexpected challenge is that many types of backcountry camping stoves cannot be ignited if the air temperature is extremely cold. Fortunately, the weather conditions in early April will almost certainly be far less extreme than the conditions that were encountered on the EOC Jacques Lake winter backpacking trip this past January – my expectation is that the high temperature will likely be in the +5 to +10 range, while overnight lows will be in the -5 to -10 range. Regardless, winter/spring camping is not for everyone, and if you have limited backpacking experience and are unsure whether you can handle sleeping outside in the cold, I do not suggest joining this trip.