Welcome to the r/UltralightCanada gear buy/sell thread!

Buying and selling gear from the US gets expensive for Canadians. This thread aims to allow Canadians to buy and sell between each other to avoid these added fees.

There are some simple rules that should be followed when using this thread:

• Top level comments should be ONLY for WTS (want to sell) and WTB (want to buy), and WTT (want to trade) posts.
• The first line of your post should make it clear what you are offering / wanting to purchase. Please format the first line of your post like this example: "[WTB] MLD Burn DCF".
• If you are posting a WTS, include an asking price and weight for the item, as well as photos if possible.
• If you are posting a WTB, be specific! Include things like sizing and colour if they are applicable.
• If your item or request has been sold or fulfilled, please mark the post as such. Edit your post and add some bold text to the top of your post that says sold or fulfilled so that other users do not waste their time.
• Include a reason why you are selling your gear. People like to know what the issues you had with the gear was, or why you are getting rid of it.
• Do not repost the same item in the same monthly thread. Wait for next month to repost.
• Do not attempt to sell purchased gear above its original selling price.
• Do not comment negatively on prices for posts not breaking any of the above rules.

Linking to other gear trade sites or cross posting is allowed.

Please post using CAD!

Any deals made on this subreddit are the responsibility of the participants. Please use your common sense and be careful when buying and selling gear on gear trade sites! We advise you protect yourself by using PayPal business for a small 3% fee.

Remember to sort by "new" to see listings in chronological order!

I posted here about ground backpacking quilts recently. After research and reading your advice, I ordered a custom made quilt, actually a hoodless mummy bag with quilt attachments, from Spirit West in Calgary.

Since then I found a good used LSOH quilt for sale locally, which I bought. It's down, but I have no idea of the temperature rating. It weighs around 700g and looks to be a regular size, so I'm guessing around -7C based on the size/weight/temp rating on the LSOH website.

The custom bag I've ordered is going to have a -7C rating. But now I have this quilt I'm wondering how best to update my order at Spirit West to give me the most versatility between the two.

I'm thinking possibly a warmer rated bag? What would you do?

Any easy way to order this in Canada? Or something similar?

Found this soft sleeve on aliexpress for like $6. The key is that the threads are compatible with my lifestraw (or your Sawyer squeeze) so you can fill this bladder up, screw your filter on, and filter all 500ml with one continous squeeze. No more crushing your bottles and straining your forearms!

I weighed mine at 21g. Definitely worth the quality of life boost on the trail. It's light and the quality seems good. It does not leak. And will let my Smartwater bottles last so much longer since they're not being crushed dozens of times every trip. Strongly recommend!

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNA9NQM

In store only at SportChek & Atmosphere locations (excludes Atmosphere stores in the province of Quebec, Whitehorse, YK)

Here I am again, with another big sportchek sale, if you look up the RFD post there's also a list of general discounts depending on brands. Last time I posted it the automod flagged the site as spam so that's why I'm doing it this way. I'd recommend that cause basically, the expensive brands (gopro, thermarest) don't tend to apply for this sale, no you don't know how much you get off until you're in store. Check my old comment for approximate discounts, further details are found on RedFlagDeals.

As mentioned before, they don't get to tell me how many friends (deal includes friends and family) I have so you can use my code too.

Show them this code and get some goods!

Code removed.

Let me know if you guys managed to get a wicked deal. I also accept payment in the form of dog pics.

There are quite a few of these "up to 70%" off sales at sportchek; military, CT Triangle mastercard, virgin mobile etc.

Note, there's a $4000 (after discount) limit on this, and it doesn't show how much is left on it (worker will tell you in store). You're welcome to share with your friends/family, but don't post it to other sites like RedFlagDeals (they have plenty of people who post theirs there) so more people here can use it.

I'm thinking about getting towards an UL system by getting a new pack and a quilt. I currently have an 80L Osprey Aether (I used to pack for myself and two kids) and -7 MEC down bag. I can replace these with a 40 L Durston Kakwa 40 L bag and a LSOH Serratus 20. Are the LSOH prices in cdn?. I typically backpack in July and Aug on the west coast and the rockies, and I've always found my -7 bag to be comfy so I don't think I want to go any cooler than that. My tent is an older BA Copper Spur and I have a thermarest NeoAir. My Big 4 would drop from 6.06 kg to 3.8 kg. I figure it would cost close to $1000 after taxes and shipping. That's $44 per 100 g. Seems like a lot but I guess that's what UL costs. Base mass goes from 8.71 kg to 6.45 kg.

Does that seem a like a logical path forward?

Any comments on the 20F (-7C) quilt for the coast and rockies, and trekking trips to places like Peru and Nepal (I can always rent a warmer bag at those places if needed).

Current pack: https://lighterpack.com/r/8e876p

Proposed pack: https://lighterpack.com/r/tk5y50

I know I know.. hammock..
So there are times I would like to sleep on a pad. Issue is I have had back surgery and it's tough. I have a 20" Exped and would like some recommendations for a pad. Something fairly light and could be used -10°C and warmer. Guessing 25" is the new 20" in width.

There are lot of recommendations for praNa Zion stretch pants. I decided to give them a try and I was happy with them. I wore them maybe 5 times just around town/home and washed them once or twice. When to undo the waist button and it broke off. I filled in a warranty form on their site and I’m learning that they don’t warranty their stuff for us Canadians! I can’t help but think there is some mistake and I emailed again and got the same message.

“at this time we are unable to cover warranty claims for international customers. I would be more than happy to provide this feedback to my team in hopes an option can be provided in the future. At this time, we would not be able to assist with the warranty of your item.”

Buyer beware!

Anyone else seen this of other companies? I’d like to know which other ones to avoid

Hey guys, wondering if anyone has bought from Katabatic quilts and what they paid for duty/taxes into Canada. I understand we pay HST regardless, but extra duty depends on where the quilt is made (Canada, US, Mexico or outside of those). On their website states quilt is imported, but “Designed, finished and inspected in Salida, Colorado”. Any experience is greatly appreciated!

I would like to buy a backpacking quilt that compatible with my therm-a-rest neo air xtherm max.

I would like it to be rated to about -5C. And good for a sleeper that moves a lot during the night.

(As an aside the therm-a-rest pad really hurts my shoulders when I side sleep, any suggestions to improve that would be amazing.)

I've been looking at a few brands, but usually they ship from the US and shipping is hugely expensive. Any advice on good budget quilts available in Canada?

Also, advice on which features are gimmicks and which are useful would be appreciated. I live near Calgary, so most of my camping is in that area. I am considering doing a long thru hike somewhere (TBD) next year.

https://durstongear.com/products/x-dome-1-plus-ultralight-backpacking-tent

Fully free-standing fly-first double-wall (ultra)light tent under 1kg.

This will be my first winter hiking and snowshoing in Alberta and basically my first time hiking in the snow (I used to ski cross-country, though). I'm fine wearing my GTX Mid trail runners until around -5°C, but after that, they start to get too cold.

I'm trying to figure out what kind of boots to go with for winter hikes, especially when it gets colder. I'm okay with temps down to -25°C since I used to nordic ski at those temps last winter.

I'm currently torn between getting boots with 200g insulation, 400g insulation, or something like the Baffin Borealis, which doesn't even mention their insulation weight. Active wear mostly, no sitting at the camp.

What are other people hiking in during the winter in the Rockies?

Welcome to the r/UltralightCanada gear buy/sell thread!

Buying and selling gear from the US gets expensive for Canadians. This thread aims to allow Canadians to buy and sell between each other to avoid these added fees.

There are some simple rules that should be followed when using this thread:

• Top level comments should be ONLY for WTS (want to sell) and WTB (want to buy), and WTT (want to trade) posts.
• The first line of your post should make it clear what you are offering / wanting to purchase. Please format the first line of your post like this example: "[WTB] MLD Burn DCF".
• If you are posting a WTS, include an asking price and weight for the item, as well as photos if possible.
• If you are posting a WTB, be specific! Include things like sizing and colour if they are applicable.
• If your item or request has been sold or fulfilled, please mark the post as such. Edit your post and add some bold text to the top of your post that says sold or fulfilled so that other users do not waste their time.
• Include a reason why you are selling your gear. People like to know what the issues you had with the gear was, or why you are getting rid of it.
• Do not repost the same item in the same monthly thread. Wait for next month to repost.
• Do not attempt to sell purchased gear above its original selling price.
• Do not comment negatively on prices for posts not breaking any of the above rules.

Linking to other gear trade sites or cross posting is allowed.

Please post using CAD!

Any deals made on this subreddit are the responsibility of the participants. Please use your common sense and be careful when buying and selling gear on gear trade sites! We advise you protect yourself by using PayPal business for a small 3% fee.

Remember to sort by "new" to see listings in chronological order!

Have the opportunity to get away for a 3-4 days in the coming week and there appears to be lots of availability along the Coastal Trail in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Can’t find a lot of specifics online other than general section descriptions from Ontario Parks. Window for weather looks like it could go either way but is generally warmer than usual but potential to be wet.

Haven’t been that way in about 6 years and then it was in June. Anyone hiked up there this time of year or hiked the trail in general recently who as some info?

I just bought a MEC VectAir UL 4S sleeping pad and inflated it at home. The one way valve leaked air until I realized that the valve was on the wrong side of the hole in the sleeping pad and needed to be poked through to the inside to work.

After this the sleeping pad inflated fine, but it made me worried about the longevity of the valve. Is there any way to replace or repair this valve if it breaks?

I'm about to set out for a hike at La Cloche silhouette trail loop, starting on Oct 19th. Do you know if we can have camp fires at the camp sites? Will we see any northern lights? Will there be any edible berries?

Guys, take a look at the new Garmin InReach plans, for those of you (like me) who only use their Inreach for check-in and emergency, there's a new plan called "enabled" : $10.99 cad per month but you have to pay extra for each message you send.

Bad news:  we no longer have the option to suspend service

Edit: we can suspend but there's a $40usd fee when you want to reactivate

Good news: no more annual fee ($50)

*USD in the picture

https://preview.redd.it/rzwexfi6m0rd1.jpg?width=865&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92417c223bdc6886900a4d9be95bb42bb8100b74

For those unaware, thelasthunt.com is altitude sports' clearance site. I browse it fairly often and have gotten a lot of good deals over the years. Wish I had held off on my recent tent purchase because they have a lot of them on sale now.

Hi fellow backpackers:

I just had a question related to accessing the North Swallow River end of the trail: is the boat shuttle the only way? Or are you able to drive (or near it) and leave a vehicle?

We want to use the shuttle but Doug is apparently the only owner/operator and he says he does not shuttle for our planned date of Oct 4th.

Thanks in advance and happy trails!

Links would be appreciated as well

Trying to buy some Frogg Toggs size women's small. The only option I can find on Amazon is neon pink and I'm not a pink kind of girl. I could go for a men's small, they seem to have more color options, but I think a women's small is already likely to be pretty big.

Is there somewhere other than Amazon that sells them?

Units are metric, and Canadian dollars unless specified.

#Overview:

The Salkantay (typo in title) (sel-can-tie) trek is a 4 day, 61km hike from Soraypama to Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu Town). People also do a beginning portion known of ~16km from Challacancha to Soraypampa, which includes the hike to Humantay Lake. Max altitude at Selkantay of 4629m (~15187ft).

Unlike the more popular Inca Trail, you can do this hike without a mandatory tour guide/group. We started and ended in Cusco, starting the hike from Soraypampa.

Country: Peru

Language: Spanish

Currency: Soles (sole-lez), shortened to sol. At the time was 1 CAD to 2.77 sol (1USD=3.77sol) many places used USD.

This is the first time both traveling and hiking in South America, as well as the first time hiking with another person. I mainly solo hiked in Canada (WCT, NCT, SCT, ECT).

#Language and Cultural notes:

I had absolutely zero knowledge of spanish, but I do speak french, which helped a little. I mainly used google translate for key words and combined it into a grammatically broken sentence that seemed to be mostly appreciated. Things like how much (cuanto es), camping (acampar), here (aqui), basic pronouns I/we/him/they etc. and your numbers were the most used. Of course lo siento and gracias for sorry and thank you because I'm not a goddamn savage.

Important to note that you do not flush TP here, so a kula cloth is super handy for those who sit to pee; many places don't even have toilet seats or provide TP.

This hike took place in Aug/Sep of 2024, and sunset is at like 1745. Average temps the whole time of 5-26C, UV index high of 13.

Their portions are smaller than western sizes, outside of the cities, a burger is like a 2in tall flatbread sandwich. They also have a lot of soup (sopa) which is wild cause it was so hot there haha

#Gear notes

I brought most of my camping equipment minus the tent+stakes, trekking poles and consumables (food/fuel/water); with a couple extra luxury items, base weight of 11lbs. Rented a 2p tent from El Viajero for a week for <20 CAD; there's another one called el Gato but the hours were more inconsistent and was more expensive (however I think they run together so I dunno), bought a fuel can for 30 soles (left it at my last hotel) and packed only one meal as that was what was I had at the time. It also was much cheaper to eat there, ~$5-15 per meal (including most sit down restaurants) vs like $15-20+ for freeze dried meals.

I would recommend a freestanding tent as a few places had really hard ground where you could not put stakes in.

#Admin and Logistics

I recommend reading this part over the actual hiking notes.

Money: I took out cash (effectivo) from ATMs using my EQ bank card (no forex fees), you can take out a max of 400-450 soles (~140 CAD) and it gives you 100s and 50s, which is hella inconvenient, so had to go into a proper bank to get smaller bills; not all banks do this but Caja Cusco does, I'd go in and ask for 10s and 20s (pequeño=smaller). Fun fact, there are a LOT of Scotiabanks there, so if you bank with that, I guess it's a plus? They had the highest ATM fees though. The downtown shops/restaurants usually take MC/visa, but for bargaining, camping and street food, you need that dolla dolla bill y'all. You gotta haggle for everything down there (except restaurants), even haggled for my fuel can at the proper camping store.

Rides: the bus is 1 sol (2 sol if boarding outside the main city), you can use the Moovitapp to help get around, or google the routes and remember the bus number. Instead of a prerecorded message for stops, you have a lady yelling out stops and collecting money. She goes, "sube! sube!" to get on the bus, and you yell "baja" to say you wanna get off (then pay when you get off). Technically there are bus stops around, but I've been able to flag them all down with no issues. Cabs are also negotiable for where you wanna go.

At Aguas Calientes you can book a bus for 30USD round trip, to the top of MP. You can also book one way and hike it in whichever direction suits you. It's recommended you show at least an hr before your ticket time to go up (lines up like crazy) and 25mins prior to go down (if you have a timing to meet).

For transport to the trailhead, we booked a 1 day tour (29USD/110sol per person) which would've given us a ride to/from Cusco, breakfast+lunch, and a guide to Humantay Lake, which is what we did minus the lunch and ride back (also needed 20 sol for entrance to Mollepata and the beginning of the hike entrance)

For the ride back to Cusco, we took the train. It's a monopoly of either PeruRail or IncaRail. We took the latter. Read LOTS of reports of folks being denied boarding due to their large bags (only ONE carry on allowed, no checked bags). The IncaRail 360 option has a luggage rack where you can see my Osprey Lumina 60 and my buddy's Mariposa 60 jammed together. I was paranoid we'd be denied bringing our packs but I'm thinking the ticket lady sold us this option on purpose for this reason, we still showed up an hr early and made sure to be the first ones on just in case. PeruRail according to their website allows checked luggage. The IncaRail 360 was 117 USD (the cheaper option was the Voyager) and the PeruRail one was 145USD. It's a 2hr train ride to Ollaytambo and a 2hr bus ride to Cusco. This is call "bimodal" transport as there is no train to Cusco proper. The PeruRail bimodal would've taken us to Wanchaq, which is the area by the airport, whereas the IncaRail bimodal took us to Ave El Sol, a block south of Qurikancha.

Phones: some people use the Airalo app to get a data eSim, but it would've been like ~40usd for like 6 GB. Once in cusco we got a proper sim card with calls/texts/6GB for <15 CAD and you could reload the data as needed in almost any shop we passed. Main companies were Claro, Bitel and Movistar. We went with Claro as based on cursory research and the shop person, it had slightly better service than Bitel (the two most popular options). I should note that like 90% of the country uses Whatsapp to message, which is how I negotiated for hotels/hostels and messaged businesses like the camping store.

Entrance tickets: You have to book tickets to Machu Picchu historical site ahead of time. There are various routes/circuits with different timeslots and prices. During peak season you should book months in advance. Circuit 2 is the popular one with the iconic views or w/e. We booked Circuit 3C (Grand Caverna) in Cusco at the official location for 200 sol/person.

In Cusco there's also a shitton of things to see, where you can get a 10 day multi site ticket for 130 sol (called BTC). 10 out of the 16 places are reachable by the bus system.

Lodging: while in the city, stayed in hotels, as mentioned, everything is negotiable. Mostly through Whatsapp, though also in person. Average price for a private room+bathroom, 2 bed was 110 soles. Some places you left the key with the front desk, others they let you hold onto it. Lowest was 70 soles but that was right by the airport, so plane noise until about 2200. I absolutely hate haggling, but when the price drops from 180 to 110, I can't not haggle! Most if not all these places will hold your bags for you after check out, if you have a day hike to MP planned or have a late flight out.

For campsites and hostels, anywhere from free to ~15-20 sol to camp. The hostel at Soraypampa was 30/person. I looked them up and they got some pretty bad reviews, but 90% was from folks having issues with booking ahead of time; the others were from weirdo entitled people who seemed to not understand how hostels work. Only one legit bad complaint there.

Laundry: tons of places will wash and fold your clothes, no coin/self operated places, but you do not need to bring detergent. They charge by weight and again, negotiable pricing, more negotiable if you can wait more than 2hrs.

#The Hike

Overall, you do not need to get a map or whatever for this. If you google it, some turn up from tour companies (however they're always depicted as a loop, even though it's more like South to North). There are a few maps of it on AllTrails (which they have a 7 day free trial) as well. It's impossible to get lost on this, unless you went the wrong way while going through a town, which you'd find out quickly anyway since you'd walk to someone's house lol.

Day 0: 2hr Bus ride with Machu Picchu Reservations from Cusco at 5am to Mollepata (stop for breakfast), then 2hr bus ride to Soraypampa. You pay 20 soles to get into Mollepata (looks to be similar to the BTC thing in Cusco). Hiked up from the entrance of the region to the Soraypampa hostel, which you can store your packs for 5 sol while you hike to/from Humantay Lake (free if you stay the night at the hostel). Dunno if it was the altitude, dehydration, lack of salt, overabundance of coca candy, I had a killer headache at the end of this hike. It's about 3000 ft higher than Cusco (and we stayed in the city for 3 days prior to starting this hike; as both of us live at sea level). There are no switchbacks to Humantay lake and it's just totally exposed and straight up for about an hr and a half. It's hella beautiful but I should note that you cannot swim there, drink from it, or fuck with it (like skip stones or fly drones). Hiked there and back down to the hostel where we must've had the only windy day cause it sounded like I was about to fly to Oz overnight.

Day 1: Soraypampa to Andenes

Basically a painful 4.5ish hr trek to the top of Selkantay (4629m) where my lack of cardio smoker ass would walk legit 5-10m up and take a 20 sec break. Did a lot of accordion-ing and flip-flopping between groups of hikers (every hiker we met did the tour group option where mules/people take their stuff to the campsite, so they just hike in small day bags and at their campsite their tents are set up and food is ready). Honestly watching them go, I was a bit jealous and would consider that option if I didn't feel so bad watching the horses/mules get whipped up and down the trail :( Camped at a place on AllTrails called Andenes where it was literally a dude's farm and an outhouse (running water and toilet though). Sheep shit literally everywhere but you can't deny that view. Also waking up to a bunch of sheep chilling by my tent was hilarious to me.

Day 2: to Sayhuayaco Beach

After Collcapampa there's an option to hike trail side or road walk. The latter is easier, however it's very exposed and I don't recall seeing any opportunities to get water until it links back up. Trail side is more narrow and more up/down but nothing too bad. Camped at Playa Sahuayaco and bought burgers there and got absolutely destroyed by mosquitos there. They looked like fruit flies, but that was a fruit LIE cause I legit am covered in hundreds of bites that still itch and make me look like I have smallpox (I regret googling those images now, it's not that bad). Roughly a half hr walk would've led into Lucmabamba, which has more amenities and hostels if you're into that.

Day 3: to Intihuatana

I thought I'd be done with the uphill portions. I was so wrong. Climbed another 700m up to Llactapata where there was an absolutely gorgeous view at the top of that mountain (and a hostel), got some coffee somewhere on the climb up, near the mountain swing. The unfortunate part was the 2hr, 1150m downhike from the top of that as it was very steep despite the switchbacks; quite painful on my bad knee. Was okay once we crossed the bridge (puenta) and a bit of road walking to the Intihuatana check point (you must sign in here for some reason, but it doesn't cost anything) and camped at the restaurant area by the train tracks (last train was about 1730, but that was a sunday so it may run later on weekdays). Price to camp included use of their bathroom and [cold] shower. 15 soles for dinner and 15 for breakfast.

Day 4: to Aguas Calientes

From here it was about 10km to Aguas Calientes (shows as Machu Picchu town on AllTrails), took under 2hrs of super casual and easy hiking as you follow the train tracks so it's very flat and chill. Got to the base of MP and about 100m further was the municipal campground, 15 sol to camp there and included toilets and showers. Possibly the coldest shower I've had in my entire life, my hiking buddy could hear me yelling from outside the building lol, luckily we had gotten there so early that it was still super hot out so I warmed up quick enough. Right next to the campground is the Mariposario (butterfly sanctuary) which is a pretty little place for 20 sol. There's also a museum at the base of MP where you can get in within 1hr before your MP ticket timing, or pay 22 soles for entry (or hit that up on the hike down after MP). This barely counted as a hiking day, in this community it would be a nearo day.

Day 5: Aguas Calientes

We booked our MP ticket with a lot of flinch room as my hiking buddy has little to no experience in hiking/camping (not even an overnighter), plus I'm lazy AF and hate the feeling of rushing. So just chilled in the city and did laundry/shop around. Booked the train ticket back. This is a very small town, could probably walk from one end to the other in 30mins. No cars/vehicles allowed. Only ones are the rare construction vehicle and the MP buses.

Day 6: Machu Picchu

As mentioned previously, we got Circuit 3C which takes us to Grande Caverna aka temple of the moon (the temple of the sun is in the main part of MP). Online it said you can only bring reusable bottles but I definitely saw folks with disposable ones. There's no place to fill up except at the entrance (and by that I mean the bathroom that you pay 2 sol to use) unless you politely/pathetically ask the site workers to fill with their hose like I did. I highly recommend heavily hydrating the night before and bringing a large water bottle though cause that was still not enough for me. Once you enter the site itself there's another entrance for Huayna Picchu (I'm told that's a 2hr round trip hike for that portion) and it's the same hike up towards that mountain until it splits off to the left to get to the Temple of the Moon. Seems like this is a less popular option cause there was hardly anyone there when we got there, and nearly empty about 30 mins later. Maybe we just were early for our "wave" and those were the earlier timings folks.

A challenging and absolutely mind-bogglingly stunning coastal route through the very remote northern Cape Breton’s Polletts Cove-Aspy Fault Wilderness Area.

When comparing to the Fundy Footpath, Cape Chignecto and Long Range Traverse … this “trail” is quickly gaining a reputation for eastern Canada’s most stunning and challenging trek. Don’t let the relatively short 45-50km distance fool you. I’m sure this hike will challenge even the most experienced backpacker. Elevation change of about 2500-3000m across the 45-50km (depending if you do the full southern section or not, as well as the option of Bear Hill in the northern section at Cape St Lawrence). Much of the challenge is that it’s mostly off-trail route-finding. Some footpaths are naturally starting to form in some areas, but they’re often hard to distinguish between animal paths or human paths. GPS is absolutely required (with a backup device and/or map and compass if your main GPS fails).

80% of this trail has no actual trail built yet. It’s technically a proposed route that will eventually be constructed into an actual trail in the coming years. It stretches from the northern tip of Cape Breton Island at Meat Cove, traversing south along the most remote and spectacular coast in the province to Pleasant Bay. Most hikers seem to start or end in Polletts Cove proper, but the actual true route circumnavigates the cove to the east to avoid that private land. I did the true southern section, which adds another 2 or 3 mountains to ascend and descend (~800m) and about 6km.

***Important to note: there are no bailout points at all along this route. Once you’re out there, you’re really out there. So if you’re planning on attempting this make sure your fitness level and backcountry navigation skills are very high, otherwise you’ll be getting rescued if you find you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.

I did this hike over 4 days, keeping in mind every 1km along the Seawall feels like 2 or 3kms on most other single-track trail. I’m used to doing 25-30+km days consistently on other routes/trails. On the Seawall, I was ready for camp after about 10km/day. That should give you an idea of the slow and challenging nature of this hike.

DAY ONE: 11.5km, 690m ascent/584m descent, southern trailhead to Polletts Cove River dispersed camp, H 22°C/L 8°C, full sun, light wind

-Southern Jajiktek-Seawall trailhead shares the same trailhead with the very popular Polletts Cove trail and follows that trail for about 6km right to the edge of the wilderness area border. Here is where the off-trail route begins. Bushwhacking ridge climb up to open ground and barrens, with sloggy sections of high tangled shrubs and grasses. The first epic views of Polletts Cove Mountain and surrounding river valleys reveal themselves. Steeply sloped drop-down to Polletts Cove River riparian zone dispersed camp. Two playful bats flew laps around the small pool near my camp for hours, likely feeding on the insects attracted by my headlamp.

DAY TWO: 9.4km, 693m ascent/705m descent, Polletts Cove River dispersed camp to Malcolm’s Brook dispersed camp, H 25°C/L 15°C, full sun, 40km/hr wind gusts

-First 2.5km is a lovely jaunt along the riparian zone until you come to your first ascent of the day up an unnamed mountain, dropping back down the other side to the Blair River. Easy shallow ford across the Blair. From here there’s almost immediately another ~370m ascent up Polletts Cove Mountain, with some short sections of steep scree slopes, one false summit and a spectacular panoramic view of Polletts Cove below, the surrounding highland plateau and the Atlantic Ocean. Here begins the northward traverse across the open highland barrens. Terrain varying between easy ankle-high barren lands, to chest-high grasses, short sections of tangled krummholz and tuckamore. Relatively easy drop to Malcolm’s Brook through a grassy slope. It seems most folks camp further up the brook, I made the decision to drop down closer to the coastline where I found a small grassy spot behind a large rock. Due to 40km/hr wind gusts and anticipating my next day (which was to be my most challenging of the hike) I did not sleep well at all. Ended up staring at the Big Dipper through my tent mesh slowly dipping into the North Atlantic for most of the night.

DAY THREE: 7.4km, 624m ascent/377m descent, Malcolm’s Brook dispersed camp to High Capes dispersed camp, H 26°C/ L 12°C, variable clouds, light wind

-the route I took out of Malcolm’s Brook was rough. Getting trapped inside a tangle spruce tree maze for longer than I wanted to. I lost the lower segment of my trekking pole in this area. Saw about 6 piles of bear scat between there and Upper Delaney’s Brook. No bear though, unfortunately. This next section, I believe, is the centrepiece of the route. The climb up Seawall Mountain out of Upper Delaney’s Brook was possibly the toughest on the route. Very steep scree slopes with shifting unstable rocks brings you up a spectacular ridgeline which you follow until dropping back down to Lower Delaney’s Brook. The views (and wind) will take your breath away all along this section. I got bogged down in very steep choked out area near Lower Delaney. When I do it again, I’ll be avoiding this particular section a bit more eastward. The vast, sloping grassy meadows after climbing out of Lower Delaney were so, so beautiful. One of my highlights. I did not make my intended camp location of Sailor Cove Brook this day. I ended up getting myself mildly dehydrated and, coupled with my terrible 2 hours of sleep I had the night before, set myself up for my weakest day on trail this trip. So I peeled off trail early near an unnamed stream in the High Capes. Mildly nauseous and no appetite, I choked down my pad Thai meal and crawled in my sleeping bag by 8pm managing to keep my food and water down, thankfully. I woke to the sound of branches snapping through the forest in the night. Moose or bear passing nearby, I’m sure.

DAY FOUR: 17km, 545m ascent/784m descent, High Capes dispersed camp to Meat Cove northern trailhead. H 20°C/L 14°C, overcast, scattered light rain showers, fog

-I woke feeling better rested but still slightly nauseous. I felt better after eating my couscous, coffee and hydrating. Nausea disappeared and felt great again. I knew some rain was forecasted and wanted to break camp before it started. Traverse across the rest of the High Capes wasn’t as difficult as I was expecting. Occasionally getting trapped in an evergreen maze, but it was fairly easy to find more open forest to easily traverse through. Reaching the top of Sailor Cove Mountain (aka Shit Mountain) I actually found the trail! Very, very steep drop down from Shit Mountain to the stunning Sailor Cove! Another amazing highlight of this route. Spectacularly grand 360° views here. Another evergreen maze before climbing up the other side and traversing through old growth hardwood towards Lowland Cove. I’ve been hiking around Lowland Cove for many years so the rest of this route I know like the back of my hand. Marked trail start here again, so I could turn my brain off and just enjoy the hike from here on out. I was originally planning to do the Bear Hill section as well, but because my bad day three set me back about 4-5 hours I didn’t have time because my drive was waiting in Meat Cove. I’ve been up Bear Hill several times though and it’s a wonderful spot. Instead, I took the alternate Cape St Lawrence trail back to the northern trailhead for expediency sake. EDIT: forgot to mention the Seawall Trail’s final bosses haha. Running the Cape St Lawrence “bull gauntlet” that hikers may or may not have to deal with. A Meat Cove local grazes his three giant horned bulls along the headlands of Cape St Lawrence, and at least one them is mean. The massive white bull that I’ve known for many years seems to be sick now; boney, docile and always laying down to eat. His younger buddies cannot be trusted, though. I had to drop down off the headland and go across a small section of cobble stone beach to avoid the mean one. Just an FYI!!! There’s often a couple of free-range horses wandering around the headlands as well.

—————-

I made the mistake of attempting to follow the precise proposed route. I found out there are a few sections along the official route that are easy to get bogged down in until a trail is built. Others who have done this multiple times have a more honed route, and I’m expecting as I do it a couple more times I’ll hone my own way through there in a more efficient manner. Particularly the Lower Delaney Brook area. Be prepared to route-find a bit if you get into challenging areas!

As far as animals, I saw a Red Tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle and a young buck. No moose or bear sightings, unfortunately. Lots of moose antlers, bones, scat and droppings though, so I know they’re out there!

My four days edited down into a five minute video. A rapid fire glance at the entire route, including the often unseen southern section. https://youtu.be/bDUjxaoSVhs?si=UVDOzUp6ZFoIZRrA

Hi! Hoping to find some recommendations for a 1 or possibly 2 day backpacking trip in southern Quebec, as I am hoping to explore some of the nature in the region. I've seen several trails and hikes that seem interesting, but wanted to know if anybody had first-hand experience camping overnight in the region. Thanks!

Salut ! J'espère trouver des recommandations pour une randonnée avec sac à dos d'une ou peut-être deux journées dans le sud du Québec, car je souhaite explorer la nature de la région. J'ai vu plusieurs sentiers et randonnées qui semblent intéressants, mais je voulais savoir si quelqu'un avait une expérience de camping dans la région. Merci !

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Just got back from doing the Pukaskwa Coastal Trail - wow, what a beauty! My wife and I really enjoyed it. There's just something special about Lake Superior.

Here's some photos I took: https://imgur.com/a/pukaskwa-coastal-trail-UcGW7Nk

We did it one direction (65 km) over 3 1/2 days. There's a few great trip reports on here already for the trail so I'll save the crazy details. But, the trail is awesome, has a lot of variety, and just oozes special. Big vouch for doing this one if you can stomach the drive!