Definitely the toughest multi-day trip I know of, especially since you're doing it all with your big pack i.e. moving camp each day. We went Mon-Thurs, south to north (Floe to Helmet) and were surprised by how few tents were at each site, although I think we lucked out. Floe Lake had the most with about 6 sites occupied. No one else was doing the trip in the same direction as us on our days. The advantage to going north is that it's easier, having finished your hardest days early on. Numa to Tumbling is definitely the hardest section, not the the climb to Floe Lake, as we'd been told. It's longer, and you're not feeling as fresh as the first day. Heading South on the other hand, allows you to walk towards the scenery, and if you did break up the trip at Numa Camp (which isn't particularly nice), this evens out the extra effort heading heading South instead of North. We had Numa Pass, Tumbling Pass, Rockwall Pass, Helmet Falls (viewpoint), and Goodsir Pass (side-trip) to ourselves. Only saw poeple at Wolverine Pass (day-hikers from the Beaverfoot Valley) and at Limestone Summit. Much of the trail is so worn in that you're actually walking in a trench. That combined with the encroaching brush, makes it tough (but still worthwhile) to use trekking poles. I'm disappointed that so much of the trail is in need of a light brushing. There's also a stream crossing between Numa and Tumbling Pass that ought to be bridged, as I'm guessing at least 1 in 3 people get their feet wet trying to rockhop it. No sign of bears on the trail at all. Although, on our side-trip to Goodsir Pass, we saw a big bull moose. We backed-off and detoured, and he didn't seem to mind. My partner continued down the other side of the pass a ways, before running into prints, fresh scat, and rustling in the woods. Presumably a bear. We skipped Numa Campground, and felt justified, since it's really just a few sites in the middle of the woods. Even Ochre-Helmet is nicer. There are summits above each pass that seemed easily attained. The one above Rockwall and Goodsir Passes looked rewarding. The Rockwall is a good trip to do when there's a lot of smoke in the air, as you're rarely trying to make out anything in the distance, and hence, barely notice the haze at all. Floe Lake is the only site with food-poles, the rest all have the lockers. We were told to leave nothing around our site outside of our tent at Tumbling Camp due to porcupines, but our poles and packs fit nicely into the lockers, so that worked nicely. At this time of year, the sun barely shines on the huge face that towers over Floe Lake, although if you're up at sunrise, the walls still turns gold in the light. Helmet Falls best viewed in the evening or morning. The Goodsirs are best viewed in the morning light as well (from Goodsir Pass). Goodsir pass adds 8km round-trip and 400m, and is very nicely graded. The hike in/out of Helmet Creek is probably the most forgivingly-graded compared to the other days. The approach to Floe Lake was burned out in 2003, but is actually still quite enjoyable, due to increased visibilty and different colors, but try doing it early, since you'll have no protection from the sun. Helmet Creek on the other hand, is mostly shaded. Tumbling Camp is split into to parts ('a' and 'b'), so make sure you've seen both parts before choosing a site. Didn't see any wardens (wasn't checked for our passes). Hitching back to my car at the Floe trailhead took 5 minutes. Oh and one last note. We found ripe huckleberries (Goodsir Pass trail only), thimbleberries, strawberries (hard to spot, being an inch of the ground), and raspberries. It froze one night (clear skies everyday for the most part), but there were still horseflies at Helmet during the day. Otherwise, the bugs weren't a problem at all. If you are purifying your water, you've got sources on every major portion of the trail except Floe to Numa (fill up at the lake). Not much water between Helmet Camp and Ochre-Helmet Camp unless you fill up at the suspension bridge and the water was pretty brown when we were there. I think the least suspicious water (drinking without treating) is from the creek crossing as you are approaching Tumbling Pass from Numa.