2026 Nova Scotia and PEI Expedition

Between 12 and 21 of September 2026, a thirteen persons strong, elbows-up, "expedition" of the Polish Men and Women Mountaineering Club of Edmonton explored Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in the Maritimes of Canada. During the trip we visited Halifax, explored Cabot Trail and PEI. 

If interested, you may see the semi-humorous photo stories posted on Facebook by the Leader.  

Day 1 - 12 September - arrival to Halifax

Day 2 - 13 September - from Halifax to Baddeck

Day 3 - 14 September - from Baddeck to Ingonish (Cape Smokey Trail)

Day 4 - 15 September - from Ingonish to Cheticamp (Mica Hill Trail)

Day 5 - 16 September - Skyline Trail

Day 6 - 17 September - from Cheticamp to Charlottetown (ferry)

Day 7 - 18 September - Anne of Green Gables Centre and Greenwich Dunes Trail 

Day 8 - 19 September - Confederation Bridge, Jourimain Island, Fundy Tidal Wave 

Day 9 - 20 September - Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg 

New Zealand (2025)

 

Between 23 November and 8 December 2025, an eight person "expedition" of Polish Men and Women Mountaineering Club of Edmonton explored the South Island of New Zealand. During this trip we visisted: Christchurch, Edoras, Mt.Cook/Aoraki National Park, Lake Wanaka, Queenstown and Fiordlands National Park. 

The members of the expedition were: Piotr Rajski (Leader), Dragan Radovic, Andy Rutkowski, Ewa Stroemich, Mike Trzecieski, Barbara Walter, Jolanta Wroblewska-Wilk and Marianna Zaremba

If you are interested, below you will find links to the semi-humorous posts on Facebook giving some account of what took place:

Day 1 - Travel to NZ and Christchurch

Day 2 - Edoras (Mt. Sunday)

Day 3 - Mt. Cook/Aoraki

Day 4 - Mt. Cook/ Aoraki

Day 5 - Lake Wanaka

Day 6 - Rob Roy's Track

Day 7 - Queenstown

Day 8 - Fiordlands NP (Lake Marian)

Day 9 - Fiordlands NP (Milford Sound)

Day 10 - Te Anau

Day 11 - travel back to Christchurch

Day 12 - Christchurch

Asulkan Valley (Hut) Trail

 31 August 2024

On that day the five of us: Mike, Bożenna, Barbara, Piotr and Anna, we hiked to Asulkan Hut in the upper part of Asulkan Valley, Glacier National Park, British Columbia. According to AllTrails the hike 13.7 km long with 968 meters of altitude gain. My GPS showed almost 20 km (forth and back) with about 860 m of altitude gain. Go figure!

Grass Pass/Bull Creek Hills

On 7 October, taking advantage of fantastic weather, a group of our club members hiked Grass Pass/Bull Creek Hills in Kananaskis. It is 6.6 km return, +427 m, to Grass Pass. Add another 4 km, +265 m to Bull Creek Hills. The highest point is 2134 m. 

It was still chilly in the morning, so we warmed up chanting "Dusia, Dusia!" before she joined us for the group photo. Standing from the left are: Andy, Barbara, (her dog, Max), Piotr, Maya, Mike, Basia, Roman, Dusia, Adam, Joasia and Honorata. 

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 9. Edelhutte to Mayrhofen.

28 July 2017 

1 hr from Edelhutte to Ahornbahn. 

Finally, our adventure with Berlin High Trail came to the end. It had some difficult moments, and perhaps was not as pleasant as Alta Via 1, we had done in 2015. This is definitely a trail for advanced, experienced hikers. They should be well prepared for unpredictable alpine weather. Lucky, the trail sent us off with a nice, sunny day. 

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 8. Kasseler Hutte to Edelhutte.

27 July 2017 

Normally 14 km, about 9 hours. 

Having been "brutalized" for the second time, the previous day, we decided to skip the last part of Berlin High Trail, which was described as long and arduous. 

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 7. Greizer Hutte to Kasseler Hutte.

26 July 2017 

10.1 km, +690/-740 m, 5.5 hours (guidebook time)

Shortly after we left Greizer Hut, the weather started to deteriorate again. 

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 5. Furtschaglhaus Lodge to Berliner Hut.

24 July 2017 

8.9 km, +850/-1100 m, 6 hours (guidebook time)

Unfortunately, the next morning weather took turn for worse. Still, others were pushing ...

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 6. Berliner Hut to Greizer Hut.

25 July 2017 

Normally 10.8 km, +1235/-1050 m, 7 hours. 

Having been traumatized the previous day, and after reading that another "steep rock scramble section with cables to protect" is expected on the way to Greizer Hut, we decided to "cheat." We walked down Zemmgrund Valley to Breitlahner (this alone took over 2 hours), where we took a bus to Naturparkhaus in Gizling. We reported our "near death experience" to a park official, but got little understanding or compassion. 

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 4. Friesenberghaus to Furtschaglhaus Lodge.

23 July 2017 

15.4 km, +690/-875 m, 6 hours (guidebook time)

Still spent in the morning ...

Berlin Hohenweg. Day 3. Gamshutte to Friesenberghaus.

 14.8 km, +1130/-575 m, 9 hrs (guidebook time)

Jetlagged or not jetlagged, rested or not rested, we had to hit the trail toward Friesenberghaus the next morning. The sign informed us that we were looking at about 9 hours of ambitious hiking. To cut the chase ... it took us 12 hours to get there.

Sulphur Skyline - Thanksgiving tradition!

From the left: Jola, Keith, Barbara, Anna, Boris, Renata, Yanek, Gosia, Monica, Zosia, Jason, Bo, Gaggi and Roman. 

Tradition, tradition, tradition! It has been a tradition in our Club to go to Sulphur Skyline on Thanksgiving weekend, tradition interrupted only by occasions of bad weather. The attractive aspect of this hike is that it can be combined with the visit to Miette Hot Springs, just before is closes for the winter season. 

There were years when we already had a bit of snow on the mountain (for instance, see the story from the year 2018 - here). This year the weather was fantastic so it attracted crowds!

The Judge (2752 m), Columbia Valley, BC

 15 August 2022

7.2 km (out and back), +- 600 m of altitude gain, 5 hours (from Diana Lake Lodge). 

(Clicking on the photos, shows them in higher resolution)

The Judge is a popular objective near Diana Lake Lodge, Columbia Valley, BC. To see how to get to Diana Lake Lodge, read the previous post. 

Siffleur Falls

 31 July 2022

Siffleur Falls is a popular trail in Kootenay Ecological Reserve, about 50 km West from Nordegg. Most of the hikers do the trail until the First Falls, which is about 7 km (out and back) and can be done relatively quickly. Our group attempted to reach the Second Falls, about 15 km (out and back), and took a very leisury pace. 

Coral Creek - Cline River Loop

30 July 2022

Coral Creek - Cline River Loop is an easy hike (+214 m) about 43 km West from Nordegg. The loop can likely be done in about 2 hours. With a very leisury pace, taking lots of pictures, it took us about 4 hours. We made about 10 km. 

Troll Falls

 17 Lipiec 2022

(Clicking on the photos allows to see them in greater size)

Troll Falls is an easy hike (3.4 km, +154 m) near the Wilderness Hostel in Kananaskis. It is an excellent objective for the "second day," assuming you hiked hard the previous day. 

Picklejar Lakes

 Sobota, 16 Lipiec 2022

Picklejar Lakes are described sometimes as "hidden gem of Kananaskis." They are, in fact, relatively remote (about a 2hr drive from Calgary, 67 km from Kananaskis Wilderness Hostel). In our case, they were not so "hidden." A few other trails were closed and it was a "free day" in Kananaskis (no need to buy a pass), so we encountered a lot of people and dogs. This however didn't take anything from the pleasure of this adventure. Beautiful mountains, a sunny day and a joyful company is always a winning combination! 

For the record, our GPSs showed 5.4 km and +460m of altitude gain to the first lake. It took us 2.5 hours. 

Mt. Louie, 1845 m, Grande Cache.

Mt. Louie is a popular objective near Grande Cache (Alberta). The altitude gain is about 800 meters over a distance of approximately 5 km. Our group made it (back and forth) in 7 hours, mostly because of the problems crossing streaks and muddy sections. Most people do the mountain in between 4.5 and 6 hours. For AllTrails description of the trail click here. 

As for the rest of the photostory I have a rare treat for you! The trip report was written by Boris Bokov, the Trip Leader, which I quote extensively (in italics), while my own comments are in regular font. 

Jumpingpound Mountain, 2225 m

 Saturday, 11 June 2022

Finally the long wait was over! In spite of a somewhat "iffy" weather forecast, a brave group of 15 members of the Club embarked on scaling Jumpingpound Mountain in Kananaskis. The hike happened to be a bit longer than we anticipated - most of our GPSs showed 16 km while the guidebook was indicating 13.2 km, with 580 meters of altitude gain. The hike didn't disappoint though!

A beautiful day on Powderface Ridge.

 16 October 2021

Powderface Ridge, 2210 m, (Little Elbow, Kananaskis), +594 m, 10 km. 

What a beautiful day it was! A sheer joy of being in the mountains in spite of late time in the season.