Day 22: Lake Louise to Banff

Today was supposed to be an easy/rest day after the Icefields Parkway, but that wasn't quite how the day turned out.
Alex and I were hoping we could extend our stay in Lake Louise for another night, as Alex wanted to see the lake itself, as well as Moraine Lake, and I just wanted to chill.

Lake Louise

There was no chance of an extension so we eventually packed up camp, cycled the 4km to Lake Louise, took some photos and then made out way to Banff via Highway 1A.

It is a beautiful road, narrower than the main highway, but it has a speed limit on it, so what traffic is on there is travelling quite slowly.

1A eh

Being the weekend, there were quite a few other cyclists on the road, mostly going in the opposite direction.
A few did ride past us, going easily twice the speed we were, which was quite depressing.

Further on up the road, we rounded a corner and met the same guys that had passed us, so we stopped for a chat and a photo.
Max Marchand has invited me to stay in Calgary should I need it. Canadians are pretty cool like that.

Alex and I saw another bear, at last!

Max

Lunch stop - 1 pump town

The little hills on the run into Banff took the last out of my legs. Every little effort was killing me, I just wanted to stop.
There are no sites available in the 5 campsites in Banff tonight, it seems that everyone is in town, so I checked into a hostel, the same chain as I stayed in in Revelstoke.

As Alex and I were checking out the hostels, the group of cyclists we had met earlier in the day rode past us again, Max giving me a "Hey, go South Africa!" shout as he went by.

Banff

That made me, and a lot of other pedestrians smile.

Here Alex and I parted ways, he went on to Canmore and eventually Calgary.

Poutine and beers were had at the Beaver, the bar attached to the hostel. I am feeling quite relaxed now, and there is karaoke in the bar later, let's see how late I stay up tonight.
A hen party arrived at the bar and turned up the party a notch or 2, then promptly left.

I was in bed by midnight, and slept soundly until 2am, when the other dorm mates came back and continued to 'party'.

Distance: 69.5 km
Time: 3:20:36
Height gained/lost: 764m /-946m
Calories: 2434

As you do...

Day 21: Rampart Creek to Lake Louise

This morning dawned clear and fresh. 3 degrees C fresh! Blue skies and no wind, what a pleasure.

We packed, ate breakfast and were on the road in record time today, a line of 8 brightly coloured cyclists heading towards the sunshine, and coffee, at Saskatchewan River Crossing.
Today would be a slightly longer day than yesterday, with less climbing and more downhill, we're all really looking forward to that.

The first climb of the day starts immediately after the crossing and goes on for about 5km. It's not a steep climb, just a constant drag, and as we were now in the sun, the layers of clothes were coming off quickly.

Once we topped the climb, the road winds though some of the most amazing scenery. I had ridden past it all on the way up the Parkway, but going back down and seeing it all again was incredible. I had to stop on a number of occasions just to absorb it, to sit and stare and take it all in.

Lakes with mirrored surfaces, bubbling and gurgling streams, mountains with glaciers, made even brighter by the blue sky and bright sunshine. This scenery cannot be beaten.

I finally saw my first bear in the Parkway. It was a brown black bear and was casually walking along the roadside, partially obscured by trees, paying us no attention at all.

Peyto Lake

The second climb of the day was the climb up to Bow Summit. This was going to be a test. It was another long haul up the slope, and once at the top, Alex and I went up to Peyto Lake viewpoint. The others coasted on downhill to the Num Ti Jah Lodge on the shores of Bow Lake for lunch.

As Alex had not seen the amazing blue lake before, we stopped for a little while so that he could take all the photos required, and just admire the place.
I was cold again so had a quick lunch in the sunshine in the parking lot. Lunch was 3 slices of badly crumpled bread with peanut butter on them and a large gulp of water.

Bow Lake and a hot choccie

Quickly getting the warm layers back on, Alex and I bombed downhill to the Lodge to try and catch the Saskie Crew. Today was their last day cycling, they were heading back home later today and early tomorrow.
We caught them at the Lodge and enjoyed another hot chocolate.

It was only 35km from the Lodge to the campsite, and mostly downhill, so we made some good time heading into Lake Louise. No further bears were sighted on the Parkway, leaving me with a paltry 1 bear for the records. We did however see deer, many more beautiful lakes and mountains, experience some fast downhills and enjoy a pretty amazing day on the bicycle.

I wonder if motorists have the same thrill driving the Parkway?

We had arranged to meet the Saskie Crew for drinks at the HI Hostel in Lake Louise, so Alex and I grabbed the last campsite in the campground, setup tents, showered and headed over to meet them.
A few beers and packets of chips (crisps) later, we ordered dinner and caught up on the day's events.

I hope to see some of them in Regina when I pass through in a few weeks time. I have been told there is a great place to try Poutine in town!

The Icefields Parkway has been truly amazing. I have met people I could only have imagined meeting, seen nature at its best, had some tough days on the bike, but above all, am very grateful and humbled that I have had the opportunity to cycle in this beauty.

Distance: 96.3 km
Time: 4:46:15
Height gained/lost: 1142m /-1133m
Calories: 3441

Day 15: Lake Louise to Rampart Creek

I met Wilma at the gate to the campsite after a rather cold and slow start.
It got as low as 3 degrees last night! That's a touch chilly.

Peyto Lake

Wilma and I rode up the Icefields Parkway, her telling me the names of all the mountains on the way. The road was steadily climbing, but wasn't anything too strenuous. With all this climbing I was sure to warm up. Pah!

I was still cold when we reached Bow Summit, 35km into the ride, and also the highest point on the road with a height of 2135m.
We rode up to the top parking lot to beat the majority of the crowds, and looked down on a beautifully blue Peyto Lake, and up the valley to Peyto Glacier.

On the way to the summit we passed Hector, Lake, Bow Lake as well as the associated mountains and glaciers. The scenery was (once again) outstanding, every corner held another more spectacular view.
We had lunch in the sun in the parking lot at Bow Summit. How good that sun felt on my still-cold body.

I said goodbye to Wilma as she went back to Lake Louise, I was headed north to Rampart Creek campsite, another 50km up the road.
It was mostly downhill to the campsite, the only slight uphill being at the Saskatchewan River Crossing.
I made the campsite in good time and setup camp.

Bighorn sheep

I noticed that the mozzies had a copy of my travel schedule and had arrived to throw me a surprise party!
I cooked dinner in the cookhouse tonight, away from the little biters, and close to a warm fire.

I saw a couple of mountain goats on the cliffs opposite the campsite, and a few bighorn sheep opposite the campsite, but no other wildlife.
A bear was spotted in the campsite that evening though!

 Distance: 96.8 km
Time: 5:05:10
Height gained/lost: 1055m /-1183m
Calories: 3182

Saskatchewan River crossing

Day 14: Lake Louise

It is freezing cold this morning. I have been awake since 0530.
More clothes applied to body in attempt to warm up.
Did the trick. Slept some more.

Wilma had arranged to fetch me at 0830 this morning. We were going for a hike above Lake Louise and had to be out early to beat the crowds.
I met her at the gate at 0830 sharp and we headed up to the parking area at the lake.

"We'll be out for about 6 hours, that ok?"

Sure. A change of muscle groups would do my legs good.

We headed up past the hotel and towards the Beehive, a walk/climb that passed a tea-house and a few (frozen) lakes. It was cold, but the climb up soon had us puffing and working up a little sweat. My lungs seemed to be OK from all the biking and my legs soon took to the new motion.

Past Mirror Lake, which was still partially frozen, and up the zig-zag path that would take us up the Beehive and to the shelter at the top. The path was still quiet with only a few people out. As a result there was no noise and the silence, apart from our breathing, was beautiful.

The clouds were still low on the mountains, but were slowly lifting, giving us a glimpse of the valley below. Following a contour around and down the side of the Beehive, we entered the valley behind the lake and headed up towards the Valley of Six Glaciers, where there was another tea-house.

Avalanches had obscured some of the paths, so a little creative walking was employed to get through these sections. The lateral and terminal moraines were massive, just looking up the valley made me feel so small and insignificant. Glaciers hung from rock lips high above us, seemingly ready to tumble down on us at any moment. The weather cooled the higher we went, and once at the upper tea house, it had closed in and was trying really hard to snow. It did rain though. Big, wet rain.

A gunshot-like sound echoed down the valley as a plume of snow dropped from above, the avalanche hanging in the air for what seemed like ages.
And that was a small one!

A quick bite to eat and we headed back down the trail. It would be trickier going down, the compacted snow a nightmare to walk on. A few slips and slides later we reached solid ground, and warmer air. It was balmy down here in the valley. Outer layers were stripped off as the sun burst through the clouds. We managed to get a few great photos of us on the snow and slopes.

Before heading back to the car and escaping the crowds we took a quick detour through the Fairmont Chateau, to the lobby, admiring the interior.

We popped in at Moraine Lake on the way back to the campsite, but the cloud cover meant that is wasn't as blue as it could have been.

Oh well, I was still a rather grand day out.

Wilma expressed an interest in riding to Bow Summit and Peyto Lake with me tomorrow. It would be nice to have some company on the road, so said yes.

See you in the morning.

Day 13: Golden to Lake Louise

My fear was that today would dawn with rain like yesterday, but in fact it was dry when I emerged from the tent. And cold.

Golden

Today would be mostly uphill, with a big climb right out of the gate at Golden, 16 Mile Hill, and another just after Field.

It wasn't a bad climb at all, rather a steady gradient that took me into some big mountains and alongside raging rivers.

I stopped in Field for lunch. My body still hadn't warmed up so I needed something rather substantial for lunch to keep me ticking over.

Watching the rain

I ordered an Elk burger and fries and a bowl of soup. Tasty!!

I knew the next climb would be a slow one, so I took my time warming up in the cafe. I watched a rain storm work its way up the valley, and hoped that it wouldn't come my way at any point.
I left the cafe and felt that the wind was now a rather strong tailwind, what joy! It would push me up the next lump in the road.

I wanted to go and see Takakkaw falls in Yoho National Park, but the road was closed due to an avalanche, so instead headed up towards Big Hill and the Spiral Tunnels.
The tunnels are in a figure of eight shape due to the severity of the gradient going up the pass. The current layout keeps the gradient nice and low and allows trains to make it over the mountain. Unfortunately no trains were passing through while I was there.

Old railway line

Climb, climb, climb. Would this uphill ever end?

There was a lot of road work going on, new overhead bridges being built and a new road surface going onto one of the lanes.

Up ahead, a large sign loomed into view. Welcome to Alberta.
BC, thank you SO MUCH for some good times, it's now over to AB to wow me.

The descent into Lake Louise was fast and sweeping and I cycled the entire way with a big grin on my face. Happy!!
I arrived in Lake Louise and checked into the campsite for 2 nights. The camp is enclosed in an electric fence to keep the bears out.

Dinner and a hot shower later, I was in bed, proud to be where I was.

It rained lightly all night.

Distance: 89.1 km
Time: 4:59:39
Height gained/lost: 1392m /-704m
Calories: 3354

 

Lake Louise campsite entrance