Wear comfortable, broken-in footwear. If you feel a hot spot, stop & take off your boots. Put your feet into cold water when you get the chance to cool them.

Wicking inner socks may help prevent blisters.

Bring Leukoplast or Elastoplast bandages & any other blister first aid products you like, just in case.

If you do get a blister, using a sterile needle, prick the blister a few times. Drain without touching the fluid or holes. Seal with liquid Betadine and, when dry, place some tape over it. We usually use duct tape — it's inexpensive and seems to stay as well as anything else.

Insect Bites & Stings?

The biggest irritation on this hike are biting horse flies that might pester you, especially on hot days. Some years — especially if there are forest fires nearby — they are non-existent.

Mosquitoes are sometimes a problem at campsites too. The later in the season, the fewer mosquitos. They are gone by September 1st at latest.

Rarely have we been bothered by deer flies, black flies and no-see-ums on this hike, but early in the season, especially close to lakes, they can be a bother.

Prevention is the best strategy.

Bring long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pants into your socks and shirt into pants. One of our hikers swears by his unlined nylon pants & cycling jacket. Wear gloves.

Insect repellent containing DEET might help a little. We hate putting poison on our skin — but we use it if we get really desperate.

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Ticks?

Ticks are not a big problem in this area during the hiking season. They are most active from April to June, particularly in valley bottoms and on dry grassy slopes.

Still, a rare tick can still make you very sick. Though there has never been a fatality in the Canadian Rockies, it is possible to get:

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• tick paralysis
• Lyme disease (from Western black-legged ticks)

Ticks are most likely to attach to your head, neck, armpits and crotch. Check yourself daily, especially if you have been off-trail.

If a tick is discovered, try to remove it with a gentle tug. If you have problems, or weird symptoms in the weeks after hiking, mention to a physician that you may have been bitten by a tick.

We have never had a tick bite in more than 30 years of serious hiking in the Canadian Rockies, nor known any one who has.