It's been a long while since I've posted anything here, so it's past time for an update. I'm currently in Canmore, Alberta, at the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It's been an incredible couple of months since leaving Squamish in June, with some of the best scenery I've seen anywhere in the world. I knew the Candian Rockies would be beautiful, but they've still blown me away and far exceeded my expectations. This place is truly extraordinary.
From Squamish, British Columbia, Claudia and I made our way up to Jasper, Alberta, and then down the Icefields Parkway to Banff and Canmore. The section in between the Coastal Mountains and the Rockies was fine, with some pretty sections, but it was overall not too remarkable. That changed just north of Valemount when we got our first glimpse of Mount Robson, and since then, the scenery has been out of this world.
The Icefields Parkway was a road I'd been eagerly looking forward to, as it had been on my radar for many years. It's a route with a reputation for outrageous mountain scenery, and it's often included in lists of the most beautiful touring roads in the world. The Parkway more than lived up to the hype, and we were lucky enough to have our visit coincide with perfect weather all the way through from Jasper to Banff.
The Icefields Parkway is everything it's cracked up to be, with jaw-dropping vistas throughout and a very pleasant riding experience. A large shoulder means the traffic is never a problem, the climbs aren't too difficult, and there are many great campsites and rest stops along the way, so the logistics are pretty straightforward as long as you don't mind carrying a few days worth of food.
If you're looking for a paved road to cycle tour, I honestly don't think you could do any better than the Icefields Parkway, it's truly world class. It's just under 300 kilometres from Jasper to Banff via the Icefields Parkway and the also lovely Bow Valley Parkway, so you can comfortably complete it in less than a week with time for days off and side activities. My only suggestion would be to try to time your visit for the shoulder seasons, as the area and the road can get very busy in peak summer. September would probably be the ideal time to do it.
Since reaching the Icefields Parkway we've also completed our first two mountaineering objectives, with successful summits of two 11,000 foot peaks in the area. We first summited Mount Athebasca, halfwway down the Icefields Parkway, and then later, Mount Temple. Carrying mountaineering gear on the bikes is a bit of a hassle, but the experience has been amazing, so I think it's been well worth it. Athabasca, in particular, was incredible!
For the last few weeks I've been based in Canmore. My bike is stashed and I've instead been doing a lot of hiking, getting out to explore the mountains on foot. I'd never travel without a good hiking backpack, as multi-day hikes are such a great way to get deeper into the wilderness. Backcountry camping reservations are difficult to get in this part of the world, at least in peak summer, and I was initially very frustrated that everything seemed to be booked out.
On some level I instinctively dislike the idea of having to book a hike, especially far in advance, as to me the outdoors are all about freedom to roam and freedom to camp, without having to stick to a tight schedule. I do understand that the Rockies are an incredibly busy area and that they do need to impose some restrictions in order to avoid the most popular hikes being overrun with people, but I do think the booking system could be a lot better than it is.
I have, however, been remarkably lucky, and have actually managed to get last-minute bookings for all of the hikes I wanted, including Assiniboine, Lake O'Hara, and the Rockwall Trail. I owe this to last minute cancellations due to the fire and smoke situation, which has become very bad in this part of the world. Wildfires are raging throughout much of North America, and I've seen and smelled smoke on the air more days than not over the last few weeks.
The town of Jasper, where I was based for a week back at the start of July, was right in the path of a huge wildfire, and a third of the town has been completely destroyed. The house where I stayed barely a month ago is now nothing but ashes, and I'm absolutely devastated for all the people who have lost their homes. Wildifres are terrifying things; I'm very lucky that I got through in time, but I feel very sad for everyone affected.
I've been fortunate with the conditions in that the smoke and the weather has generally been good when I wanted it most, so I haven't been too affected. I did have one rather unnerving morning on the Rockwall Trail where I woke up one morning to a lightning storm overhead, the thick smell of smoke, an eery orange glow on the horizon, and ash raining down onto my tent. I had no signal and no way of knowing how close or far away the fire might be, so it was a tough decision as to whether to immediately pack up and try to get back to a road, or whether to hang tight and hope for the best. I decided to stay the course, and fortunately after a few hours things settled down. The fire turned out to be fairly far away, but many people bailed off the trail that day, not wanting to risk getting caught up in anything.
My time in this part of the world will soon be coming to an end, and I'll be getting back onto my bike and heading south into the US on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) towards Mexico. I'm excited to get riding again, and excited to be riding on dirt rather than pavement, as since leaving Squamish we've mostly been riding asphalt. I'm also excited to find myself in remote places far away from tourism; as much as I love this part of the world I'm in now, it's an incredibly busy area, so I'm looking forward to feeling like I'm riding through the middle of nowhere again.
I'm going to be riding solo for the next little while. Things with Claudia have unfortunately not worked out, and we're both going to be much happier doing our own thing, so we'll be riding separately for the rest of the journey down to Mexico. I'll be on the GDMBR until Denver, when the next stage of my journey will begin and I'll be turning west into Utah, Arizona (briefly), Nevada, and finally California, before riding down the coast and into Baja in Mexico. I'm in a great place at the moment, feeling very happy to be where I am, and feeling supremely excited for the rest of the year and the ride ahead. The best is always still to come!
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