Doug Borthwick isn’t a trail runner or even an “endurance athlete” for that matter. Canadoug (that’s his trail name) is a good, old fashioned thru-hiker. When I ask him about the MTU™ Showdown, he tells me, “I think it’s great. I’m gonna be a competitor.”
I’m a little surprised to hear that Canadoug’s into the MTU™ Showdown and in such a big way. Why would anybody who’s actually hiked the Great Divide Trail (GDT) and its American cousin, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), decide to enter a virtual race?
Apparently, it’s not about crossing the line first. “I’ll be the slowest pace(d) and… I’ll probably take the full six months, but it’s a great way for me to get in shape. Like winter comes along… especially with COVID, it’s tough to go to the gym.”
It usually takes Doug a few weeks to get back in hiking form, but by entering the Showdown, he plans to get a jump on the 2021 hiking season. He says, “It’s going to be a push for me to get out and do my eight MTUs™ every day, so that I can finish it.”
When he registers, he may be among the most uniquely qualified entrants in the Showdown. After completing the Pacific Crest Trail, Doug went on to thru-hike of the GDT in 2010. Now a board member with the Great Divide Trail Association and a trail maintenance volunteer, he got involved when he saw the differences in the GDT and the PCT.
“After hiking the PCT and then the GDT, the distinct differences in the organization of the trail, and how it was laid out and maintenance was what really struck me.” Crowsnest Pass was particularly memorable. “I just came through the most hellacious section which was just, just around the Coleman area, which (was) mostly road walking and wasn’t properly mapped and, and it was just… it was horrendous.”
American thru-hikes like the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail have the luxury of protection under the National Trail Systems Act, and their condition reflects it. But the Great Divide Trail, arguably Canada’s longest and most beautiful thru-hiking trail, is definitely a product of its grittier, more challenging history. It’s also very much a wilderness route.
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In 1966, the Girl Guides of Canada started talking about the idea of a trail along Alberta’s western border, and in 1970, park ranger Jim Thorsell developed the first provisional guide. Parks Canada endorsed the concept and set out to complete the Trail, but plans stalled.
The burden fell to volunteers who shifted their focus finding routes outside national park boundaries. In 1974, six students were hired under a federal grant to survey potential routes, and each of them walked over 800 kilometres that summer, looking for old trails to stitch together. In the 1980’s, grants paid for construction by trail crews and volunteers.
As a brief history shared by the Great Divide Trail Association shows, the next twenty years were tumultuous. Funding, government land policies and the ebb and flow of volunteers meant that development of the Trail was often a matter of two steps forward, then one step back.
But under the guidance of fresh volunteers, the Great Divide Trail Association was rejuvenated in 2013, and according to Doug, the new organization has made all the difference. He says, “We’ve got 13 board members full time. We’ve gone from one trail maintenance trip a year about 15 or 16 (trips).” He adds, “We opened the High Rock trail this year which is a 45 kilometers section, just north of Coleman, which we’ve been building for the last five years.”
Despite all their hard work, Doug believes it’s still a tougher route to walk than the PCT.
But is it worth it? Of the trail’s splendour, he says, “It’s just a wild moment all the time. All 1100 kilometers are ‘Wow, wow, wow’.” He adds, “It’s one of the only long distance it’s internationally recognized as one of the best long distance hike in the world. More international people know about it than Canadians.”
There are other reasons that the GDT should be important to Canadians. Next time, I’ll share a little bit about how the GDT also contributes to protecting wild and natural space along the spine of Canada’s Rocky Mountains.
Photo: Travis Schiller-Brown | Cataract Pass, AB, Waypoint# G6/7
Dave Robertson
Dave Robertson is an outdoors writer, trail runner, and Personal Peak Athlete from Calgary. Last fall, he interviewed half-marathoner, Rachel Notley for AlbertaViews, while on a run working from questions written on the back of his hand in Sharpie.
Email:dave@dave-robertson.ca
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