''The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide'' by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson, describes 225

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and

backpack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...

ing

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

, including in

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

and

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park, in Alberta, Canada, is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains, spanning . It was established as Jasper Forest Park in 1907, renamed as a national park in 1930, and declared a UNESCO world heritage site ...

. The first edition was published in 1971, with subsequent editions in 1978, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2007, 2011, and 2022 (10th edition). The book is published by Summerthought Publishing of

Banff, Alberta Banff is a resort town in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Calgary, east of Lake Louise, Alberta, Lake Louise, and above Banff was the first municipality to incorporate within ...

. Trail updates are supplied by the book's authors on their Canadian Rockies hiking blog. The Trail Guide is one of the best-selling non-fiction books in Canada, often referred to as a "bible" by hikers. Its first seven editions sold more than 230,000 copies. For the first edition, the two authors hiked 108 trails with a custom-built trail

odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

, which allowed them to measure trail distances more accurately than the

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

trail signs. For each trail, the book lists: * the length of time normally required to complete the trail * the amount of elevation gain or loss, in metres and feet * the maximum elevation in metres and feet * the topographic map(s) covering the area * how to get to the trailhead including GPS * distances, in kilometres, to notable features along the way * detailed description The Whyte Museum hosted a retrospective exhibit for the book's fortieth anniversary in 2011.

References

External links

Canadian Rockies hiking blog
1971 non-fiction books Canadian Rockies Canadian travel books Hiking books Books about Alberta {{travel-book-stub