Fairmont to Drumheller

Distance traveled over the last 7 days: 530 km
Total distance: 1580 km

The rockies were really amazing. Although vistas were hidden by overcast skies for most of my two-day journey through Vermilion pass, there were many animal sightings, including rams, mangy-looking mountain goats, and a bear cub.

The mountain pass is characterised by two summits separated by a long valley. At about 100 km in length, the whole pass can be negotiated in one day; however, I decided to camp at Mcleod Meadows on the advice of my previous host, Dave. I also wanted to play my chances to see if I'd get better weather on day two. At camp, rain hit, and I ended up pitching my tent in the downpour. It was poorly timed, because a little while later the rain let up, but I was still left with a wet tent.

There were a few other campers in the park on the night of the Canuck's game 7 match-up. I shared a fire with Jason and Naomi, which I used to dry out my soaked clothing. I also heated some rocks to warm my sleeping bag - it was going to be a cold night.

The next morning I found some very tame deer wandering the campgrounds for food - I couldn't scare them away. Thankfully their roaming about wasn't a nuisance. Around the noon-hour I crossed the continental divide (which delineates the Pacific ocean drainage basin), and after descending into Castle Junction, decided to push onward to Banff. Turns out I probably traded a quiet hostel at the junction for a noisier, more expensive one.

Like the rockies, Banff was also overcast, so instead of hanging around to do touristy things, I left the next day for Calgary. Both the weather and the view improved as I went on my way. I passed by a pair of other cyclists - Jason and Isabella - who had left from Whistler and were headed to Montreal. They were traveling much heavier than I, each with panniers and a trailer to boot. Alberta sure is flat in comparison to BC - there seems to be one exception, however: Calgary. I would spend the next three nights in the warm company of the Wiebes, who live on one of the hilltops in Calgary. They were wonderful hosts, and were receptive to my desire to extend my stay in order to connect with the rest of the saints in Calgary on Sunday.

Since leaving Calgary, I've had fair skies. In Beiseker, I met Verlin (three separate times, actually). A semi-retired school teacher and singer-songwriter, he's trying to launch sales of his first CD. I told him to get a myspace webpage and keep in touch. Verlin, post a comment with a link to your myspace page if you're reading.

A touring cyclist once passed along the advice that "the difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude." If I had remembered that after leaving Beiseker, it would have helped me manage my detour around impassable construction on hwy 9. My "home-brew" detour consisted of 10 km of farmers' roads of various textures: from gravel to muddy patches! After lugging my bike through several mud-slicks, my shoes, wheels, fenders and brakes were in need of a serious cleaning!

I didn't quite make it to Drumheller in one day, so I camped in Carbon. Verlin had spoken affectionately of the place in a passing comment that afternoon. It was great tenting weather, and camping in Carbon set me up for an easy ride into Drumheller the next day, with lots of time to go sightseeing.

Riding into Drumheller was stunning. The natural erosion of the mountains, and the desert-like foliage fit the Jurassic-mania that fills the city. While in Drumheller, I climbed up the 86' tall dinosaur outside the visitor center, and visited the Tyrell Museum, where I saw enough dinosaur replicas to make my eyes weep from exhaustion.

Tonight, I have pitched my tent a few kilometers north of the city, on a plot of grass kindly provided by a farmer. It's windy tonight!

Osoyoos to Fairmont

Distance over last 7 days:  618 km
Total distance: 1050 km

Clouds, rain, thunderstorms, and hail! When I pulled into Princeton, I placed a call to home and pondered on the telephone how much longer the sunny weather would last. The answer - enough to make it to Osoyoos, and not a day longer!

Anarchist mountain, heading east out of Osoyoos, makes for a challenging climb - 30 km of 6% grade, with about 5 km of downhill relief. Near the summit, I got caught in the flash rain with the wrong jacket on my back, which left me pretty wet and cold. To my relief, however, a coffee shop provided shelter and hot food/drink until the rain subsided. It had only been in business for about 3 weeks! Amelio, the operator, gave me the name of the park ranger at Johnstone Creek Provincial Park, which worked to my advantage that night!

Day seven took me through a number of small towns on my way to Christina Lake: Rock Creek, Midway, Curlew (Washington) and Grand Forks. I met up with Dave, and spent two nights at his getaway to rest up. Thanks Dave - I enjoyed the tour of the area, and catching a glimpse of that brown bear was fabulous!

From Christina Lake, I climbed Paulson Summit and descended towards Castlegar, and then Nelson. It was perfect climbing weather - overcast, and not too hot. However, I thought I was having a bad day on the bike: the gradual 4.5% slope and winding road concealed the fact that I was gaining significant altitude over the 30 km of slow pedalling. Too bad about that weather, though... as I started my descent from 1535 m, I was pelted by hail, which soon turned into rain. Never in my life have I wanted a descent to be over so badly! Unfortunately, that would not be the case. An hour later, I was still going downhill, and the windchill had worked into my body. From Castlegar to Nelson, I recovered my body heat with some hill climbing, and the sun made another guest appearance. The hostel I stayed at was great: a full-featured kitchen and barbecue. I took advantage of the nearby grocery store to cook up enough food for two, and promptly devoured it all.

I left Nelson very early in the morning in order to catch a short ferry ride across Kootenay Lake. It was a scenic ride from Kootenay Bay to Creston, but the rolling hills near Creston were challenging. I spent the evening with a fabulous family that I contacted on couchsurfing. Thanks again, Nelson and Nancy, for being such amazing hosts!

Riding from Creston to Cranbrook was easy terrain, and I met some interesting cyclists along the way! I have already met my share of bicycle tourists going one way or another, but Rodger and Soe Naing are the first I have met who are also going west-east across Canada. They are raising money for the Burmese people as they chronicle their travels on their website www.justride2011.com. Once in Cranbrook, I stopped at a bike shop to clean my bike and replace the brake pads, which were nearly expired after a month and half of use. I stayed at Fergus and Andrea's place, where I got pampered like family - thanks, you two! One year old Maisie is adorable, and very bright; I'm sure she'll be a handful (as if she isn't already)!

Today was an amazing ride under sunny skies as I headed to Fairmont. The mountainous landscape around here runs like the imagination of a painter, creating a dreamworld beyond expectations. The painting also includes lots of "happy little trees" (Bob Ross reference). Tonight I am staying with my warmshowers host, Dave, who has a beautiful log cabin by Columbia Lake. We shared cycling stories, and I got some advice for my trek to Alberta.

Tomorrow I'm into the Rockies. I'll find out about the Canucks game in about 3 days, I'm sure!

Looking out over Kootenay Lake from Nelson

View leaving Cranbrook

Not so many happy trees in this photo!

Delta to Osoyoos

Distance over last 5 days: 432 km
Total distance: 432 km

Well now! Look at the stupid thing I've done - forsake a comfy bed and house, regular meals, and the presence of family. All in the pursuit of "expedition". But I'm finding out this can be a lot of fun and a real test of determination.

Naturally there was that lump in the throat that hung around for what may have been a couple of hours after leaving home. As I approached my destination for the day, though, I knew that my hosts would be like a home away from home, and they were!

Day two meandered through Chilliwack and Agassiz before ending at an affordable riverside campground in Hope. Along my way I met several other cyclists. Ron and Coreen, on their blue custom-built tandem bike, caught me snacking on trail mix. We rode together until Rosedale, where the couple treated me to lunch (thanks again you two!). After sharing about their many tandem touring trips across Canada, they gave a word of warning about the steep climb out of Hope that I would be facing on day two. At camp in Hope, I met Nico, an Englishman touring from Vernon to Mexico. It was great to compare experiences, and learn about the jacuzzi waiting for me in Manning Park! I took a side trip to visit the Othello tunnels at the edge of Hope - a great sightseeing trip that I'd recommend to others.

Day three, Hope to Manning Park, was the truest test of my climbing ability with a fully loaded bicycle (coming in at roughly 100 lbs). Most likely the greatest single-day elevation gain of the entire trip, Allison Pass is roughly 1300 m above Hope. The route swung past Hope slide, the site of a large landslide in 1965. A couple of kilometers from the summit, the air took on an alpine quality, and the water infused the air with an ice-cold mist. Snow still covered the ground at the summit, where it was time to throw on a windbreaker for the freezing 8 km decent into Manning resort. It was a testy 70 km, but the jacuzzi helped me relax for the descent into Princeton.

What has been perhaps the most beautiful day of travel yet, cycling to Princeton took me past dramatic cliffs, beautiful ranches, and over a range of ups and downs. So farI slept by the similkameen river, which is unusually high and fast this year (hmmm, I wonder why?).

Now I am writing from my couchsurfing host's place in Osoyoos. I was aided by a strong tailwind, narrowly escaping the rain that I sensed was chasing me all day. My tired legs patiently scaled the final set of hills 20 km out of town, before making the short, famous drop back to the river that offers views which frequent the travel brochures. Now I just need to get enough rest for tomorrow's difficult climb up anarchist mountain.