I prefer to just follow tracks. They actually take up more space than routes on the GPS, but I can visualize my path much better (routes get all wonky sometimes with off-road courses). The trick is to always pay attention to your GPS when you approach an intersection - then visualize on the map which way to go.

Tracks are also much better in the backcountry where you might lose sight of an overgrown or poorly defined trail. I have followed a track on my GPS screen a few times when it was hard to see where the actual trail was on the ground. With a route on a gps, it just "connects the dots" between turns, so you can't do this. Routes and spoken navigation does work well on roads when touring, however.

Sounds like you have described the Surly Midnight Special. Seems like a great all-rounder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He_WNPWZUqQ

David thanks for helping I don't follow the TD that close unless a friend of mine is out there. I know John Shilling who started this year had bells and a blue tooth speaker for added noise up that way.

Bells and a bluetooth speaker are probably less than ideal solutions, IMO. There is a great YouTube video of a NOLS presentation by bear expert Tom Smith of Brigham Young University where he talks about what types of sounds bears react to, plus a wealth of valuable information about safety in bear country:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PExlT-5VU-Y

It seems that bears don't seem to react to unnatural sounds much, such as bear bells. But they will react to the human voice. So you have to yell things like "Hey bear!" a lot as you travel (I have literally spooked a bear out of thick shrubs 20 meters/50 feet down the trail doing this). And you have to be especially loud going through tight cover and around corners where sight lines are poor. Surprising a bear while biking is the most likely reason for a bear encounter.

As others have stated, having a scent-free camp is important, too. Hang your food, pots, toothpaste, chain lube, lip balm, sunscreen, garbage, etc. (ANYTHING with a scent) 100 m downwind of of your campsite, and cook in a different location. Bears have an incredible sense of smell (best of any land animal on the planet), and they are naturally curious, so try to mitigate that risk by ensuring every item with a potential to smell like food or anything novel to bears is away from your camp.

Follow those two general rules, and you should be fine in bear country.

Oh, and make sure you know how to use your bear spray in an emergency - practice getting it out of the holster and ripping off the safety. There have been many stories of people who had bearspray with them, but never used it on a bear for various reasons (inaccessible in their pack, forgot to remove the zip tie on safety after purchase, couldn't get it out of their holster quick enough, etc.). And know the limitations of the spray - you only get about 8 -10 seconds of spray, so you have to use it very wisely. A little research on effective use of bear spray and some practice is very important if you want it to work when needed. Hope that helps.

There is a lot of academic research to demonstrate that bear spray is far more effective at deterring bears than firearms. Bearspray is a must in the northern reaches of the GD route, particularly in Canada and Montana. And it must be accessible immediately at all times - most bear encounters occur when a person surprises a bear, which is obviously a particular concern for bicyclists who are generally moving fast and relatively quietly.

Here is a past thread with some good info in it:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/routes/bear-provisions-along-the-great-divide-mountainbike-route/

Any latest word on the Alberta Canada fires? 
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/04/world/alberta-wildfires-evacuations/index.html
Smoke was so bad from it a week ago Montana was bathed in it.

It has been good here for the last week. And the forecast looks fine: http://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/

Well this should make everyone a little anxious!

https://twitter.com/KyleTWN/status/1137061892495556609

Just came back from Canmore today after biking the Icefields Parkway from Jasper. The snow has mostly melted now, but there is a lot in the mountains still (there were even some remnant snowbanks in the Lake Louise campground were I tented last night). Dress warm!!

And here is one example of a relatively easy route from the airport to the downtown bus stop, which follows mostly pathways and bike-friendly streets (a bit of sidewalk riding is required at the beginning of the route to get out of the airport-industrial district - although this is technically not legal, it is unlikely that anyone would mind here).

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29788547

For those GD riders looking for cheap ($10 CAD) transportation between Calgary and Banff, On-It Regional Transit has scheduled a commuter service between Calgary and Banff again this year, including bike-friendly trips on select days/times.

http://www.onitregionaltransit.ca/banff-canmore-tickets/

The only catch is that they pickup in Calgary at either a downtown location or a transit station in the northwest part of the city, and neither are particularly easy to reach from the Calgary International Airport by bike - so it might cost a $50 cab ride or some creative route-finding on a bike within the city.

https://maps.calgary.ca/PathwaysandBikeways/

What wheels and tires do you have on the 29+ bike? In my experience, heavy 29+ tires and rims make a huge difference in the feel of the bike and make it feel sluggish and hard to accelerate. If you have a light setup, just ignore me!

I don't have a light setup by any means - the bike still has the stock wheels (Surly Rabbit Hole 50mm rims and Surly hubs) and 120 TPI Surly Knards for the tires (running tubeless). They are definitely heavier than my 27.5+ wheels that only have 30 mm rims, but a lot of that is the extra diameter in the rims and tires, I'm sure. I think I might have to drop a big chunk of cash on new wheels to get them comparable in weight to the 27.5 mtb wheels. If I thought the benefit of 29+ wheels greatly outweighed the smaller wheelset, I would probably do that - but after riding both bikes, I am not so sure it is worth it now, even though I used to be a huge proponent of 29+. If I could do it again, I think a bike that could run 29er and 27.5+ wheelsets would probably have suited my body size and riding style much better. For larger riders though, it might not make sense.

I have a dedicated "dirt touring" bike (29x3) and a regular hardtail (27.5x2.5). I bought the 29+ bike first, and honestly, I thought I really needed the huge tires for bikepacking, but I am finding the hardtail with smaller, narrower wheels always gets the job done, and it is lighter and zippier by a lot, even though it has a heavy front suspension and the 29+ bike has a much lighter, rigid fork. Those 29+ wheels and tires are just so massive, and they take a fair bit of effort to get them rolling, so you really feel them on a hike-and-bike trip and they feel clumsier to me on tight trails (I am only 5'7" so that might contribute).

In hindsight, a 27.5 bike that could accommodate wider tires for specific conditions (e.g., long-distance riding on loose, sandy fire roads that I bought the 29er-plus for) as well as a regulr 29er wheelset for trail riding would have been a better choice for the type of biking I do. I love both my bikes, but one bike could have done it all, and I could have saved a ton of money, or had one less bike to maintain or find space for in my garage. Having both now, I realize that the benefits of wheelsize alone get a bit over-stated, in my experience.

I'm another in the camp of "used to use a stuff sack but bought a backpacking pillow and will never go back"

These things 1.5 oz and pack to almost nothing - a bit of a luxury item, but almost no cost to carry and well worth it:
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5046-861/Air-Pillow

Sorry - I am not aware of anything like this. It could exist, but it wouldn't fit with the spirit of the trail and why it was built.

Also, they trail is woefully incomplete with huge gaps (especially in my home province of Alberta). Not sure how one would time a record traverse given the huge gaps.

This: https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5044-564/Venture-30

29x3" might be a bit of overkill for gravel grinding. On my Surly ECR, I built up a 29er wheelset with 2.5" Surly Extraterrestrial tires, and they have been much better for gravel (I wouldn't go any wider unless I knew I would travelling through a lot of loose/sandy trails). So you might consider a narrower tire, as others have suggested above. '

Plus, a 29x2.5" tire is really similar in diameter to a 26x4" setup.

Would it be better to carry the bear spray on your person??
Are you able to reach your bicycle at all times?

Any ideas how to carry bear spray on your person?

These work well on and off the bike, even with a small pack:
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5038-030/The-CUB-Bear-Spray-Belt

Funny story, BTW!

And if you have tired old knees, like mine, trekking poles are a godsend.

Mostly hype. The solar panels are so small on those cheap rechargeable packs that they would take days to recharge the battery bank. I have tried a couple of those cheap ones, and they just don't work well.

I carry two fibrefix spokes, but have never used them (fingers crossed). I gave up carrying spare spokes, tools to remove the cassette or brake rotors, etc., when I found these.

I also carry tools for flat repair (e.g., tube patch kit or tire plugs for tubeless tires) and sidewall tears, allan keys and spare bolts, small bottle of lube and a rag and vinyl gloves, a chain-break tool and a spare length of chain plus two master-links. I also carry some duct tape and heavy-duty zip ties. That's about it, I think. If I can't solve my problem with those tools/materials, the problem is unlikely enough to warrant the extra weight, and I will be prepared to walk my bike out to a place where I can hitch a ride.

I've never really understood the argument against Bivy's for bike packing. Sure a tent is a nice luxury item, but this is technically a "race." You are not hanging out in your tent playing card games or reading a book. Whenever I Bikepack I will bring a Bivy, but more often than not it is used as a ground cloth. If it's not raining I'm not in the bivy, just the sleeping bag. If it starts to rain you crawl into the bivy for a couple hours before starting to move again. Now if you are off on some uncharted ride, more expedition style I can understand it but something like the tour divide that has endless beta it's easy to calculate how far the next warm shelter is and just keep moving.

I guess living in a desert environment has change my perception over the years but that's just my .02.

It may have a lot to do with the region you bikepack in. A tarp and bivy are probably great if you live in the southwest, but up here in Canada, you need a tent for most of the summer to escape the bugs.

Given that a tarp and bivy setup weighs almost as much as an ultralight tent these days, I suspect the choice of shelter has a lot to do with conditions more than anything (rather than weight or pack size as a primary consideration).

Any sneaker is fine for biking with flat pedals. Bike shoes with cleats are WAY more annoying when out and about in a city or town, so many touring folks stick to flat pedals for that reason anyways.

Yep - agreed. For commuting and touring, there aren't a lot of benefits to cleats, typically, but there are many downsides. Unfortunately, it took me a decade of commuting to figure this out for myself.  :-(