Cross Canada Tour
Day 7 - June 14th - Salmo to Creston
90 Kms
Small miles, but a big climb over Kootenay Pass to the summit at 1774m. I was above the snow line well before the summit, and the small lake up there still had ice on the surface. Lots of snow still in the shadowy spots at the sides of the highway. The climb was steep and I started out early once again to beat the heat - by the way, I heard on the news that yesterday had lots of previous records beat for high temperature, like I didn't know! Anyhow, I was at the summit at 10:30 a.m. Even one of the construction flaggers told me that I had made good time, as he had see me leaving Salmo. The construction was the scary part - they were rock drilling about 100ft above the highway to relieve the possibility of rock- falls. The highway was reduced to two narrow lanes where they were working, about 2 Kms before the summit. It took me quite a while to cycle this gauntlet at my climbing speed, what with trucks passing on my left, bits of falling rock/ debris from the drilling operation and a VERY steep drop-off to the right, I was really glad to be through!
But truly, the views were stupendous. To see the highway snaking up the side of the mountain for miles and miles lets one imagine what an incredible feat of engineering some of our present roadways are. This was one of the prettiest passes that have ridden; with a constant panorama of scenery that leaves one breathless - or was that the altitude? The summit also produces some fantastic vistas of its own, with a small lake and snowy peaks for a backdrop.
The descent was great - fast, and as an accompaniment, I had the raging torrent of Summit Creek following the grade of the highway next to me for many miles.
I passed a bear early in the morning, at first from a distance I thought that it was a black cow, as I had just ridden past a herd. But then he stood up and started sniffing the air as I was riding by - I had just applied sunscreen - why do I always get that feeling that I'm marinating myself! Anyway, I gave him a toot of my air horn and he scampered away. I think that I should find some unscented sunscreen!
Well, after yesterday's exploits, I called it quits early today and found a really nice campsite in Creston. This place is spotless, with great showers and laundry facilities, it's called the "Pair o' Dice Campground" - get it, "Paradise!" Oh well, I thought it was funny!
Needless to say, I took full advantage of the laundry and now have clean smelling clothes, bereft of eau de perspiration - Ah, life's simple pleasures!
Riding into the Creston valley was quite a pleasant change from the mountains and I'm glad to have the high summits behind me. Crows nest Pass should be the next one, and I hear that it is not too daunting. After today, I can see how the moniker "Beautiful BC" arrived on the scene - I saw it today, first hand!
Third day now without spotting any other touring cyclists, maybe tomorrow?
Day 8 - June 15th - Creston to Cranbrook
113 Kms
It was a tough ride today, even though there was no major hills or mountains to conquer; I had a strong headwind all day. Apart from the wind, the ride was pleasant enough, with a variety of wildlife spotted - deer, gophers popping up everywhere, and unfortunately a rather flat beaver - Basil wasn't too happy when he saw that in the middle of the road!
I also rode through a couple of thundershowers as I was nearing Cranbrook, nothing serious though, in fact, it felt quite refreshing after the hot temperatures of late.
It's Sam Steele days here in Cranbrook, and my next job is to find out who the hell is "Sam Steele?" Anyway, there were ball games, square dancing, logging sports, pancake breakfasts and a parade through downtown. Too bad I missed out on the pancake breakfast though - Hmmm, maybe tomorrow?
The local campground was, of course, rather full, and a little full of merrymakers at that, so I thought that I'd try my luck at the Hostel. Hostelling International (HI) rents rooms at the local college - College of the Rockies. I'm a member of HI, so I snagged a room for a little over $20.00, it was actually less, but I paid an extra $1.50 for bedding and towels. I had to make my own bed, but so what, what a great deal - a small private room with a common kitchen area etc. In fact there's no one else in my area, so I've got the run of the unit. (Spoke too soon, a young fellow from Switzerland just arrived). The weatherman's calling for thunderstorms tonight, so perhaps just as well to be inside.
I stopped in the metropolis of Yahk for a second breakfast - Yahk is just a small outpost, a throwback to the great days of rail transport. There's still a small community there and the trains still pass through on their way back and forth to the States. Lots of the places that I have ridden through the past few days, are very close to the US border and Yahk is no exception.
Just a few kilometres out of Cranbrook, I got my first (on this trip) view of the Rockies, which present a scenic backdrop for the town itself. I was surprised to find that Cranbrook is quite a large community, I had always imagined it as a small town, perhaps it's even a city?
The towns are at an awkward spacing now, as I feel that I should have travelled further, but it's a long haul to the next bit of civilization, and besides, I lost an hour today due to passing through a time zone.
Fernie should be the stop for tomorrow, and I'm still hoping for some tailwinds - keep whatever crossed!
Day 9 - June 16th - Cranbrook to Sparwood
134 Kms
An easy ride today, mostly flat with a nice tailwind for the majority of the ride. I was going to stop in Fernie, but that tailwind was cooking and I hate not to take advantage, especially after I found out that there was a campground in Sparwood. It's a community campground, run by the local service clubs and kept very clean and tidy. The manager is from Nova Scotia, so after he found out that I was heading there, he bent my ear on all the places to visit and where to find the best seafood - Mmmm lobster!
The local mountain bike and walking trails also start in the park. There was a notice at the start of the trail that a grizzly bear sow with her two cubs had been spotted in the area, with a caution for hikers and bikers to be wary - I guess! Anyway, all my food and smellies are going into my new Ursack bear bag tonight and getting hung away from my tent site - well away!
I was tempted to stay in Fernie as there are two hostels there, but for future day's travel between towns, it made more sense to come to Sparwood, besides I'm almost within spitting distance of the Alberta border.
Fernie is slowly becoming a second Whistler. Lots of development to cater for skiers - condos and chalets abound. The village is quaint, and full of older small houses, quite a few of which are being renovated. Of course, the Rocky Mountain scenery develops a pleasant ambiance too. Speaking of which, I had lots of those snowy peaked mountains in sight today during most of my ride, can't beat that! Amongst other things, I saw some deer today, I must say that the deer here in the East Kootenays are much bigger than any that I've seen before - some of them are as big as small horses!
The only thing that marred today's ride was the rumble strip, in fact, I forgot to mention that I had the rumble strip yesterday too, all the way from Yahk to Cranbrook. What fool from the Ministry of Highways thought that idea up? The strip is quite deep and a foot wide and ground into the asphalt in the only good part of the shoulder for cycling! To the right of the strip, the shoulder is not maintained as well as the roadway - i.e. when the highway is repaved the shoulder is not. Hence, to the right of the rumble strip is often broken pavement and/or littered with debris and small stones that have washed to the side of the road. So one ends up riding in the traffic lane or to the right of the rumble strip, when possible. Crossing the rumble strip is a tooth chattering experience, not to mention the effect on the more tender parts of my body! I'd like to meet the moron who's idea this was and run his bare arse along that strip for while, that would teach him! - Rant over!
Otherwise, all else is fine. I passed the first 1000 Kms of the trip on my odometer today and I can also turn my map over for tomorrow - big event! I have Crow's Nest Pass to look forward to in the morning, hopefully it will be kind to me!
Day 10 - June 17th - Sparwood, BC to Fort MacLeod, AB
138 Kms
Early this morning, I crossed into Alberta, and there was no fanfare or marching bands, just someone cheering - Oh, maybe that was just Basil! With crossing the border into Alberta, I also crossed the Continental Divide.
My day started with a strong headwind, but after about 15 Kms as I neared Crowsnest Pass, I noticed that the wind was at my back, and what a wind! It started light and then picked up throughout the morning. It must have been (and still is) blowing 40 - 50 Kms! It made my day very pleasant and short. This morning I was without the dreaded rumble strip for about 10Kms out of Sparwood, but then it started again. Crowsnest Pass, even without the help of the tailwind, was a relatively easy ride; by far the easiest pass that I have ridden, even though the summit is at 1396m.
From Sparwood and all throughout the towns that make up the Crowsnest Pass Municipality, there was strong evidence of the coal mining history in those areas. One could spend a few days touring around just this area and visiting the various mine exhibits and museums.
One of those towns was Coleman, AB, where I stopped for a second breakfast. [My Mum always said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, so now I have two!]. I found a great little restaurant/coffee shop there; you could tell when you walked in that it was the local "spot." I chatted with a few of the old farmers there who were sitting at one table, while their wives sat and yakked at another! They were all interested in my trip and after relaying my wanderings thus far, they wished me luck on my travels. Apart from the food perspective, that's another reason why I like to stop at restaurants every now and then, it gives me some interaction with other people and lets me listen to some different ways of thinking - Basil also likes the change from me twittering at him about the same old stuff too!
Quite a change in scenery from the mountain villages to the rangelands of the area around Fort Macleod.
Fort Macleod is the western end of the Red Coat Trail; the famous trek made by the Mounties in 1874 from Fort Garry (Winnipeg) in Manitoba. The evidence of this history is evident all through town with a replica of a fort, museum, murals etc. I was hoping to ride the Red Coat Trail, or at least the roads that follow the original route closely, but unfortunately, many of southern Alberta's (and Saskatchewan's) roads have been reverted to (rough) gravel - cost cutting, I assume. So I think that I'll stick to the paved roads for now. I'll probably venture down to the Red Coat Trail somewhere around Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
Amongst other things today, I did see the largest truck in the world as I was leaving Sparwood, what a monster, the tires are about 12ft high! Also I passed by the Frank Slide, where a huge section of the mountain slid down to valley in 1903. The rock and debris are scattered far and wide on both sides of the highway. Lots of windmills at Lundbreck, all spinning like crazy today. Interesting stuff!
Well, the wind's still blowing like stink, which is OK so long as the direction stays the same tomorrow - one can only hope!
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