Canada - Day 5 - Zero day in Banff

 Given the weather forecast (cold and wet) and word from other riders about how cold the next stretch has been, we decided to take a zero day in Banff. We already had a campground reserved, Tunnel Mountain Village 1, a ways from town up a hill.

We met PJ for breakfast and saw him off heading south on the divide, then packed swimsuits and took a bus to the Banff Upper Hot Springs, run by the national park. We spent about an hour soaking in the outdoor pool while the weather changed from sunny to raining and back. After lunch and picking up groceries, we pulled our bikes and gear out of the hostel storage area and rode to our campsite, setting up our tent in a hurry as it rained and hailed.

Firewood is provided in this campground, but it was damp. In the neighboring campsite, a family in an RV helped us get our campfire going. As the rain came down and we prepared dinner under a fur tree, they invited us in to dry off. Around the same time, Matt Kadey, originator of the Great Northern Bikepacking Route, rolled into camp. He has been riding a segment in the opposite direction from us, and we’ve exchanged some emails. We didn’t think it would work out to meet, so it was a nice surprise when it did. Matt has been in heavy snowfalls, and he shared trail info, recommendations, best segments, and stories. 

We enjoyed the hospitality of our neighbors from near Edmonton, 3 generations — Peter, Elaine, their daughter, her husband Kevin, 2 cute toddlers, and a dog. After we warmed up in their RV, we went back to chat with Matt. Snow was accumulating in big wet flakes, covering tents, picnic tables, and foliage. A group of cow elk passed by. The warmest spot to talk was the restroom. Some people in campsites managed to keep fires going while others cooked under the restroom overhang. We could hear trains in the distance. It’s cool and kinda crazy to meet the person who put this route together and exchange stories while warming up in the men’s room at a camp site. We crawled into our sleeping bags at 9pm though it would be light for a while longer. Rain and snow were still coming down.

Canada - Day 4 - Icefields Parkway, Lake Louise to Banff

 38.0 miles, 981’ climbing, 🐻 1 black bear

We met PJ at 8am and rolled the back way out of our hostel on a path and across some pretty bridges. At a coffee shop, hanging flower pots had been wrapped in plastic to protect against freezing. In one we spotted a couple of birds which seemed to have been relaxing in the flower pots and gotten trapped. After releasing them, we went into the coffee shop for breakfast.

After breakfast we rolled out under a light drizzle headed to Banff, leaving a day early due to the weather, skipping out on our reserved camp site. It was cold out, temp said 36 and it felt it.  

As soon as we started riding down the Bow Valley Parkway, known for beautiful scenery and wildlife, we saw signs that our intended route for the day was closed for a special event.  Being stubborn, we rode past those signs, hoping bicycles would be able to get through.  Since most cars had heeded the closed road warning it was a really nice ride with hardly any traffic.  

After about 5 miles we encountered a medium sized black bear on the roadside happily munching on the plants.  He seemed unconcerned with us and eventually ran into the woods when a large truck approached.

We passed many potential stops along the parkway to view scenery but everything was obscured by clouds.  Still the woods were very beautiful. Eventually we arrived at a store where we found out that the road ahead was closed for a Sunday morning marathon, and we’d have to make a detour on to the busy highway or wait 5 hours for the event to end.  We opted for the divided highway and soon we were riding along with the semis and other traffic.  The shoulder was very wide, so it wasn’t that bad, and the trip into Banff was mostly downhill with a slight tailwind, but it was wet and chilly. The entire highway is enclosed in electric fences to keep wildlife off, and there were two wildlife overpasses with trees and greenery growing on them.

Finally we made it into Banff and headed to a pizza place we had visited on prior trips for a delicious lunch.  Then we headed to our hostel for the night, hung out in the comfy lobby until our room was ready. We were lucky to get a private room on short notice since hotels are so expensive in Banff.  The hostel is a bit out of town, so using the free bus passes we received we went into town for resupply. Then back for a tasty dinner and drinks at the lodge next door.

Tomorrow we will take a rest day since the weather looks wet and cold. It’s early in our travel for a day off, but word from cyclists on the route suggests it’s better to wait. We will move to the campsite tomorrow which we reserved a few weeks ago.

Canada - Day 3 - Icefields Parkway, Mosquito campground to Lake Louise

 16.7 miles, 302’ climbing - 1 🐻 black bear

PJ from Minnesota rolled into camp last night at 8:30pm (felt like 6pm at this latitude) as we were in camp getting ready for the night following our delicious meal of rehydrated Chili-Mac on tortillas. We invited him to throw his tent up alongside ours. After chatting for a bit we turned in for the night.

It was crisp out when we woke, and while packing up it began to briefly snow.  We were hoping to beat the weather on our short ride today, and other than some light rain and snow we did.  The three of us started out around 8:30 and rode into the town of Lake Louise.  On the way we spotted a black bear by the road, small but not a cub. It was shy, and we crossed to the opposite shoulder to pass it. 

Upon arrival in Lake Louise we stopped at a gas station with a little coffee shop attached where we had bagels and coffee. Five stars for that gas station! Nearby was the HI Hostel where we are staying for the night.  We stashed our bikes, changed into non-biking clothes, and the three of us hiked 4.5 miles to the actual Lake Louise, a picturesque lake with a gargantuan luxury hotel on its shore with fancy restaurants and stores, the kind of place where you can wear a long evening gown at 2 in the afternoon and not feel out of place.  Fortunately hiking attire is also suitable. The Lake is also a major tourist attraction bringing in hundreds by bus, so it was crowded with people vying to get a selfie that makes it look like you are in alone in a serene setting.

We took a bus back to the hostel and had a snack and ping pong game while we waited for our room to be ready.

The heavy rain expected for the day never materialized, although it may show up tomorrow when we make our way to Banff.  Hoping not!

Canada - Day 2 - Icefields Parkway, Icefields campground to Mosquito campground

 65.8 miles, 3625’ climbing - 🐻 1 black bear

Skies were cloudy when we woke up. After breaking camp, PJ was still in his tent, so we left without saying goodbye. Maybe we’ll see him down the road.

The theme of the day was changing weather and temperatures. We also had a lot of downhill which was a nice contrast to all the climbing yesterday. After a climb to the pass, we started descending, taking breaks to put puffies, rain gear, and overmitts on and off as it drizzled, cleared up, and at one point it snowed on us. 

We quickly left the Athabasca River behind, instead following the North Sasketchuan down. We made stops and side excursions to look at a creek flowing out of a slot canyon, waterfalls, glaciers and heaps of snow on nearby mountains. 

We spotted a black bear by the roadside. By the time we reached him, a handful of cars had stopped, but the bear was munching on vegetation, unconcerned, so we pedaled past.

We took a lunch break at the Crossings Lodge as the rain started again, and we chatted briefly with 3 northbound bikepackers.

Our planned destination was Waterfowl Lake campground, and it was closed. The next campground was online reservations only (no cell service), so we continued on to Bow Lake. The lodge desk had closed and they only took multiple night bookings. It was cold and snowing as we got back on our bikes. Seven miles later the sun came out as we rolled into Mosquito campground, large and charming and nearly full, but we managed to nab a site. It was a longer day than we planned, but tomorrow is forecast to be very wet, so good to be closer to Lake Louise where we will be next.

Canada - Day 1 - Icefields Parkway, Jasper to Columbia Icefields Campground

 66.73 miles, 4488’ elevation gain - 🐻 1 bear 

After coffee and a muffin at our hostel, we set out for our ride down the Icefields parkway, leaving Jasper around 7:30am. For about 4 miles we rode on a path along the Athabasca River which we would follow all day. It’s large and fast near Jasper, a turquoise color. After another 4 miles, after seeing a handful of deer, the path ended and we went on good pavement with a wide shoulder. There are a lot of international tourists and steady cars, but it’s early season, must get much more crowded later. 

Around mile 15, just as we started up a long hill, a shuttle bus driver for Maligne Tours stopped on the opposite shoulder and shouted out the window that a large, cinnamon bear had just crossed the highway to our side, which was quite close to the river. He said it had been on a carcass across the road, and he would turn around to use his bus as a barrier between us and the bear. He didn’t think we should cross the road and ride on the opposite shoulder because the carcass was there. He turned around, pulled in front of us on our shoulder. The bear was briefly visible on the river bank, headed back towards the road, but we couldn’t see whether it was a black bear or grizz. The driver stopped and we passed and pedaled on up the hill, and we didn’t see the bear again . The driver had to turn around again, such a thoughtful thing to do.

Soon we came to Athabasca falls, a dramatic sight shortly off our route. By early afternoon we were ready for a break when we passed the Sunwaptu Lodge. We stopped for a snack and beverage. While we ate, Ed saw a raven fly down to our bikes. He ran out behind an employee who scolded the bird by name, but it had already pecked into one clif bar Ed had in a mesh bag near his handlebars, and he flew off with another one. A smart if infuriating bird.

The river got smaller and the scenery of snow capped peaks and glaciers got more dramatic all day. With 8 miles to go, we faced an 8 mile hill, and it was steep (the climb up river had been very reasonable all day). About 2 miles up was a group of bighorn sheep, stopped cars, and another rider, PJ from Minnesota bikepacking the divide. We continued up hill past a sky bridge viewing spot, then stopped at the Columbia Icefields lodge for a burger dinner (amazing views opposite). PJ also stopped and we compared notes. We all continued 1 more mile to a tent only campground, firewood included for cad$28.50, really nice and small. We had a fire, put our food in the bear boxes, chatted with a group of mountaineers/climbers from Taiwan, looked at a local waterfall, and hit the hay.

The Canada 2024 Plan

After bikepacking in Canada the last two years and really enjoying it, for 2024 we wanted to do some extended riding up north in areas entirely new to us.  

Our plan is to start in Jasper, Alberta, Canada, where we are now, and make our way down to Banff via the Icefields Parkway, then pick up the Great Northern Bikepacking Route (GNBR) south to Fernie where we’ll hang a right and follow it to Vancouver and then to Victoria. From there, we’ll catch a ferry and make our way back to our car in Bellingham. 

We have a bunch of possible variations to the route to choose from, and one fun part we anticipate is crossing paths with racers doing the BC Epic 1000, a 1000km independent bikepacking race that runs in the opposite direction to our planned route. Another anticipated section is the Kettle Valley Railway, a rails-to-trails track that goes over numerous old railway trestles.

From our Jasper Hostel we pulled out our boxed bikes, assembled them and then headed into town for some last minute supplies.  

Later in the day we took a quick spin to check out the bikes.  

We rode out on some biking paths, past a river and to a small lake along a golf course.

Heading back we encountered about 20 big horn sheep jumping down from some rocks and crossing the road to head off into the forest along the river.  It was great to be so close to wildlife and it makes us eager to see what else we’ll see along our journey.

Making our way to Jasper

 With our bikes and gear already packed in boxes and loaded into the car, we started our summer bike adventure with a road trip from Tucson to Washington State, a bus to Vancouver, a flight to Edmonton, and a shuttle to Jasper. 

The first day we drove to Ramona, CA and camped at the lovely Dos Picos state park where we had spent a night in April during another bike packing adventure. We took a short hike and shooed the crows away from our food.

Our planned destination for night 2 was unsheltered in the wind and sun and heat, so we went on to Sacramento and got a hotel next to the confluence of the Sacramento River with the American River which had an adjacent multi use path thru parks, a nice change after being in the car. We had beer and burgers at the aptly named Burgers & Brew which seemed a popular place with a fun environment.

From there we drove to Sunny Valley Campground in Oregon for a night of glamping in a covered wagon. Everything about the property was charming & thoughtful, with the only downside being the noise from the nearby freeway.  

Next up was Olympic National Park along the Washington coast.  Much of this park is beautiful rain forest.  We drove through, explored with some short hikes and in the afternoon scored a campground near the shore.  We grabbed some food to cook and firewood to build a fire for the night.

At last we arrived in Bellingham, WA where we spent a few sunny days visiting with family — hiking, biking at Galbraith, viewing heron hatchlings in Fairhaven, attending to horses, playing cornhole, sharing meals and conversation. 

After an efficient bus ride and border crossing to Vancouver, we checked into the River Rock casino, convenient to the sky train to the airport in the morning. We went downtown to walk, had dinner on Granville island, took a couple of short ferry hops via the Aquabus with great views. 

In the morning we took the sky train to the airport for our flight to Edmonton. Our improvised wheels for the bike boxes mostly worked great. At times they rolled so well that the back end of the box threatened to pass the front, but the early hour meant it wasn’t crowded, so low risk of knocking into fellow passengers. In Edmonton, there were 3 other people with bike boxes headed to Jasper, and very little luggage space. People were patient during the extra hour of luggage packing, and we met the spandex amigos (insta handle) headed to Whitefish on the tour divide route.

Tomorrow the ride starts!  We’ll post some more details about our plan later.