For Those Who Come Next : Part I
“… I stand before this faceless crowd
And I wonder why I bother
So much controlled by so few
Stumbling from one disaster to another
… I've heard it all so many times before
It's all a dream to me now”
Blue Rodeo, Lost Together
Fort Saskatchewan to Whitehorse Itinerary
Why This Section of the TCT is Different
From the Atlantic to the Pacific, we shared our Trans Canada Trail journey day by day. Each stage had its own entry, a ton of photographs, and its own reflections written in the moment they were lived.
North of Fort Saskatchewan, that rhythm changed.
By the time we stepped back onto the trail in 2024, the Trans Canada Trail had already been part of our lives for a long time - years of planning in addition to 4 years hiking on the national pathway. The distance behind us was long. The distances ahead - across northern Alberta, into northern British Columbia, and the Yukon - were longer still.
Across our time on the TCT, it seemed that the pace of life on the trail had shifted, and along with it so had our capacity to document it in real time.
The online criticism and commentary we had regularly received after years on the trail had drained us and filled us with doubts. More bluntly put, we were tired of trying to be constantly positive and trying to convince people to be curious while being told off daily. We admit, this inability to handle the situation is entirely our own failing, but it nevertheless would define how we continued.
Added to this was the fact that as we moved through northern Alberta, northern British Columbia, into the Yukon, the logistics grew tougher, the distances longer, and the challenges felt greater. Connectivity was unreliable. Our energy levels collapsed and days soon blurred into one another. Some nights ended wherever the shoulder widened or the ground allowed a tent to be pitched. Writing became something we did in fragments, scattered notes, and scribbled journals rather than in published posts.
At the time, on the trail, we still thought that one day we would publish our daily journals online. Ultimately we didn't.
What follows, then, is not a conventional trail blog. Given the time spent planning and energy expended on the trail we feel that it is necessary to share at least the final itinerary that defined this section of the Trans Canada Trail. Perhaps these notes can help those who might come next.
It is a day-by-day listing of our northbound walk from Fort Saskatchewan, AB to Whitehorse, YK. It is drawn from journals, maps, memory, and fragments written at the end of long days. Dates, locations, approximate distances, and camps are presented as best as possible, with the understanding that precision is not always possible in landscapes this vast and as we relied on a Garmin GPS that no longer kept accurate kilometer counts.
This record exists for those who may be considering a similar journey - not as a template, and certainly not as a guide - but as a glimpse of what one possible passage north looked like during one particular year.
With that said (and this is very important) - Routes change. Conditions change. People change. Circumstances vary – day to day and year to year.
But sometimes knowing where someone once stood at the end of a hard day can make the idea of
setting out feel a little less abstract and a little more manageable. Certainly, for us knowing that Dana Meise and Mel Vogel along with Malo had completed these same tough stages and endless sections made a world of difference in our moments of extreme doubt.
A Note on Distances and Camping
As noted already, kilometre estimates throughout this listing are approximate. In many cases, daily distances shifted due to terrain, weather, fatigue, wildfire detours, or the simple reality of where it was possible - or safe - to stop. Some camps are established campgrounds or communities; others are informal roadside pull-offs, unmarked clearings, or quiet stretches of gravel set back just far enough from the highway to hide us for a night.
All were part of the same long thread of walking north.
Dates and Stages
May 25, 2024 – Fort Saskatchewan → Fort Saskatchewan (Return to trail) – 0 km
May 26, 2024 – Fort Saskatchewan → Gibbons – 29 km
May 27, 2024 – Gibbons → Halfmoon Lake Campground – 40 km
May 28, 2024 – Halfmoon Lake → Tawatinaw – 36 km
May 29, 2024 – Tawatinaw → Colinton – 45 km
May 30, 2024 – Colinton → Athabasca – 14 km
May 31, 2024 – Athabasca (Day off) – 0 km
June 1, 2024 – Athabasca → Forest (Athabasca Country Connector) – 27.5 km
June 2, 2024 – Forest → Peace River Trail (Wild camp) – ~30 km est.
June 3, 2024 – Peace River Trail (Wild camp → Wild camp) – ~30 km est.
June 4, 2024 – Peace River Trail → Smith – ~20 km
June 5, 2024 – Smith → Hwy 2 Wild Camp – ~30–35 km est.
June 6, 2024 – Hwy 2 Wild Camp → Hwy 2 Wild Camp – ~30–35 km est.
June 7, 2024 – Hwy 2 Wild Camp → Slave Lake – ~30 km est.
June 8, 2024 – Slave Lake (Day off) – 0 km
June 9, 2024 – Slave Lake → Marten River Campground – 30 km
June 10, 2024 – Marten River → Wild Camp (North Shore Trail) – ~25 km
June 11, 2024 – Wild Camp → Marten River (Backtracking) – ~25 km
June 12, 2024 – Marten River → Slave Lake – ~25 km est.
June 13, 2024 – Slave Lake (Day off) – 0 km
June 14, 2024 – Slave Lake → Canyon Creek Campground – 23 km
June 15, 2024 – Canyon Creek → Faust – 38 km
June 16, 2024 – Faust → Joussard Campground – ~25 km est.
June 17, 2024 – Joussard Campground → Grouard – 36 km
June 18, 2024 – Grouard (Day off) – 0 km
June 19, 2024 – Grouard → Wild Camp – ~28 km est.
June 20, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp – ~32 km est.
June 21, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp – ~24 km est.
June 22, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp – ~28 km est.
June 23, 2024 – Muskeg Trekking (Wild Camp → Wild Camp) – ~25 km est.
June 24, 2024 – Wild Camp → St. Isadore – ~20 km est.
June 25, 2024 – St. Isadore → Peace River – 18 km
June 26, 2024 – Peace River (Day off) – 0 km
June 27, 2024 – Peace River → Grimshaw – 31 km
June 28, 2024 – Grimshaw → Last Lake (Roadside Pond) – 38 km
June 29, 2024 – Last Lake → Unknown Pond – ~38 km est.
June 30, 2024 – Unknown Pond → Wild Camp – ~25 km est.
July 1, 2024 – Wild Camp → Worsley – ~21 km est.
July 2, 2024 – Worsley → Clear Prairie – 33 km
July 3, 2024 – Clear Prairie → Before Cleardale – 25 km
July 4, 2024 – Cleardale → Clear Campground – 13 km
July 5, 2024 – Clear Campground → Beyond BC Border – ~30 km est. (into Northern BC)
July 6, 2024 – BC Border → Clayhurst Ecological Reserve – ~25 km
July 7, 2024 – Clayhurst Area → Wild Camp – ~25 km est.
July 8, 2024 – Wild Camp → South of Rolla – 29 km
July 9, 2024 – Rolla → Dawson Creek – ~22 km est.
July 10, 2024 – Dawson Creek (Day off) – 0 km
July 11, 2024 – Dawson Creek (Town day) – 0 km
July 12, 2024 – Dawson Creek → Wild Camp – ~30 km est. – Day 600 on the TCT
July 13, 2024 – Wild Camp → Farmington – ~22 km est.
July 14, 2024 – Farmington → Taylor – 32 km
July 15, 2024 – Taylor → Wild Camp (Peace River) – 11 km
July 16, 2024 – Wild Camp → Fort St. John – 16 km
July 17, 2024 – Fort St. John (Day off) – 0 km
July 18, 2024 – Fort St. John → Charlie Lake – 16–17 km
July 19, 2024 – Charlie Lake → Wild Camp – ~30 km est.
July 20, 2024 – Wild Camp → Mile 80 Rest Stop – ~30 km est.
July 21, 2024 – Mile 80 → Wonowon – ~28 km est.
July 22, 2024 – Wonowon (Day off) – 0 km
July 23, 2024 – Wonowon → Wild Camp – ~30 km est.
July 24, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp – ~30 km est.
July 25, 2024 – Wild Camp → Pink Mountain – ~30 km est.
July 26, 2024 – Pink Mountain → Sikanni River Campground – 30 km
July 27, 2024 – Sikanni River → Buckinghorse River PP – 23 km
July 28, 2024 – Buckinghorse River → Wild Camp – 20 km est.
July 29, 2024 – Wild Camp → Mile 202 Rest Stop – 21 km
July 30, 2024 – Mile 202 → Wild Camp – 21 km est.
July 31, 2024 – Wild Camp → Prophet River – 23 km est.
Aug 1, 2024 – Prophet River → Mile 384 Rec Site – 20 km
Aug 2, 2024 – Mile 384 → Borrow Pit 8 – 32 km
Aug 3, 2024 – Borrow Pit 8 → Muskwa – 30 km
Aug 4, 2024 – Muskwa → Fort Nelson – 8 km
Aug 5, 2024 – Fort Nelson (Day off) – 0 km
Aug 6, 2024 – Fort Nelson → Wild Camp (Northern Rockies) – ~30 km
Aug 7, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp (river corridor) – ~21 km
Aug 8, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp (mountain climbing) – ~21 km
Aug 9, 2024 – Wild Camp → Testa River Regional Park Campground – 13 km
Aug 10, 2024 – Testa River Campground → Wild Camp – ~18 km
Aug 11, 2024 – Wild Camp → Summit Lake Campground – 26 km
Aug 12, 2024 – Summit Lake → Wild Camp – ~20 km
Aug 13, 2024 – Wild Camp → Wild Camp – ~20 km
Aug 14, 2024 – Wild Camp → Toad River Lodge – ~29 km
Aug 15, 2024 – Toad River → Wild Camp (Mucho Lake Park) – ~30 km
Aug 16, 2024 – Wild Camp → Mucho Lake (south shore) – ~25 km
Aug 17, 2024 – Mucho Lake → Salt Lick Viewing Area (Wild Camp) – 27 km
Aug 18, 2024 – Salt Lick → Wild Camp – ~20 km
Aug 19, 2024 – Wild Camp → Liard River Hot Springs PP – ~20 km
Aug 20, 2024 – Liard Hot Springs → Wild Camp – ~10–12 km
Aug 21, 2024 – Wild Camp → Smith River Falls PP – 17 km
Aug 22, 2024 – Smith River Falls → Coal River Ecological Reserve – ~28 km
Aug 23, 2024 – Coal River → Wild Camp – ~25 km
Aug 24, 2024 – Wild Camp (Yukon crossing) – 0 km
Aug 25, 2024 – Wild Camp → Lower Post – ~32 km
Aug 26, 2024 – Lower Post → Border Wild Camp – ~18 km
Aug 27, 2024 – Border Wild Camp → Watson Lake – 12 km
Aug 28, 2024 – Watson Lake → Baby Nugget RV Park – ~22 km
Aug 29, 2024 – Baby Nugget RV Park → Big Creek Gov. Campground – ~38 km
Aug 30, 2024 – Big Creek → Rancheria River Rest Area – ~21 km
Aug 31, 2024 – Rancheria River → Wild Camp – ~27 km
Sept 1, 2024 – Wild Camp → Continental Divide Lodge – ~25 km
Sept 2, 2024 – Continental Divide Lodge → Wild Camp (BC return) – ~24 km
Sept 3, 2024 – Wild Camp → Swan Lake Pull-off – 22.5 km
Sept 4, 2024 – Swan Lake → Helen Lake Lookout – 32 km
Sept 5, 2024 – Helen Lake → Morley Lake Recreation Site – 10 km
Sept 6, 2024 – Morley Lake → Wild Camp (Yukon) – ~26 km
Sept 7, 2024 – Wild Camp → Teslin – 14 km
Sept 8, 2024 – Day off Teslin
Sept 9, 2024 – Teslin → Teslin Lake Government Campground – 15 km
Sept 10, 2024 – Teslin Lake Gov. Campground → Wild Camp (near Brooks Brook) – 26 km
Sept 11, 2024 – Wild Camp (Brooks Brook area) → Squanga Lake Campground – 31 km
Sept 12, 2024 – Squanga Lake Campground → Wild Camp – ~25 km est.
Sept 13, 2024 – Wild Camp → Tagish – ~25 km est. (Stayed at Six Mile River Resort)
Sept 14, 2024 – Tagish → Carcross – 33 km (Carcross Tagish First Nation Campground)
Sept 15, 2024 – Carcross (Day off) – 0 km (Carcross Desert exploration / resupply)
Sept 16, 2024 – Carcross → Robinson Flag Station (Wild Camp) – 33 km
Sept 17, 2024 – Robinson Flag Station → Carcross Cutoff / Caribou RV Park – 20 km
Sept 18, 2024 – Day off Carcross Cutoff
Sept 19, 2024 – Carcross Cutoff → Above Whitehorse (Wild Camp, Copper Trail)
Sept 20, 2024 – Above Whitehorse → Whitehorse Arrival – 15.6 km
End of Year 5 on the Trans Canada Trail
For Those Who Come Next
“…And if we're lost
Then we are lost together…”
Blue Rodeo, Lost Together
In 2024, it took us 119 days to walk approximately 2,291 kilometres from Fort Saskatchewan to Whitehorse.
This section represents the first half of our northern push - from the Prairies into the boreal forest, through northern British Columbia, and onward into the Yukon. It was a year defined by endurance, adaptation and learning - once again - how to move patiently through a landscape that does not bend to schedules.
If you are reading this because you are considering walking north - whether for weeks, months, or years - we hope this listing helps in some small way.
Not because it tells you what to do, but because it shows what was possible under a specific set of circumstances, at a particular moment in time.
Your journey will not look exactly like this. It shouldn’t. Weather, wildlife, wildfires, construction, health, timing, and luck all shape how the north reveals itself. Some days will go farther than planned. Others will end early. Some will feel almost effortless; others will ask more than you expected to give. Some will end in the joy of that day’s achievements, others will end in doubt and tears.
What matters, in the end, is not matching someone else’s itinerary, but learning how to move through this landscape with humility and care. If this record helps you plan, adjust, or simply imagine your own path north, then it has done what it was meant to do.
We wish you safe walking, a curious mindset, and the grace to take each day as it comes.
See you on the trail!
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