DAY 8: 5/31/02 GOLDEN BC to LAKE LOUISE AB/ 51.75mi / Elev gain 4000' / N51:25' W116:10.5'

We awoke at the Whispering Spruce Campground high on a bluff overlooking the town of Golden with the moon setting and the sun shining on the snow capped peaks. The campground host warned us of a very narrow shoulder with heavy truck traffic for the first 14 km of today's route over Kicking Horse Pass. Thinking there would be safety in numbers, we decided to ride with the Tran-Canada cyclists we met in camp last night. Anne and Christine led the way, Ken and Rita followed and Andre brought up the rear flying a flag made of all 10 Provincial Flags. About half way up a steep hill, Anne stops at a pull-out and says, "We're going to wait for Andre," (who is 65 yrs old); "my parents would want me to." It wasn't until later, that Anne described her dad as an old hippie. There is something good to be said about us old hippies. As we entered Yoho National Park, we stopped at the park registration booth to pay our entrance fee. The 3 Canadian riders continued on. After we received our pass, Ken realized he had a flat tire. About the time Ken got the tire off, Christine returned to see what had happened to us. We told her that they didn't have to wait for us and thanked them for helping us through the rough road. After the flat was fixed, we gradually caught back up to the group. Christine said something in French that we didn't understand, but translated meant something like "kicking butt". For the rest of the day we were a team. At the village of Field, spiral rail tunnels, at the summit of Kicking Horse Pass and finally at Lake Louise, we rode together. We camped together and ate dinner together. The girls talked about their dreams and goals, Andre talked about his many cycling adventures and after being together for only 24 hours, it seemed like we were old friends. 

DAY 9: 6/1/02 LAKE LOUISE to RAMPART CREEK / 59.5 mi / Elev gain 2930' / N52:2.4'W116:52.2'

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Last night before retiring to our tent. We decided to take advantage of the hot showers at the Lake Louise campground. Rita lined up her shampoo, soap, towel and PJs then prepared to step into the shower. First she gets blasted with a forceful shot of icy cold. She tries again - this time at a distance. Another icy blast. After the third try she figures the shower is not working properly, so she trots buck naked and soaking wet full of goose bumps to the next stall. Finally she was able to get a tepid shower and by the time she got dressed, she was shivering uncontrollably. Thinking she was going to die of hypothermia she had the good sense to hurry back to the tent, and climb into the sleeping bag. When Ken returned feeling dapper after getting a great hot shower, Rita's spirits were in the dumps. It didn't help to wake up this morning to freezing temperatures and spitting rain. We dressed in all our layers of clothes and said goodbye to our Canadian friends. The girls were taking a day off in Lake Louise, Andre was heading to Calgary, and we were going north on the Icefields Parkway.   We climbed from 5000 ft at Lake Louise to 6800ft at Bow Summit. It took nearly the entire climb before Rita warmed up enough to shed even one layer. The Icefields Parkway is an extremely popular route for cyclists. We met Bob from Boston who was going from Jasper to San Francisco. We talked with a couple from Holland who had been cycling from Prince Rupert. We saw several others whom we didn't get to meet. The most interesting person we spoke with was 82 year old Joe Stroud who retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1962. His daughter was taking his picture in the snow near Bow Summit as we were pedaling by. He wanted to hear about our adventure, but his was far more fascinating. He told us how he used to shuttle single engine fighter planes up the Alaska Hwy route as it was being built during WWII. The Peace River was used as the navigation route and they could watch the locals run their sled dogs across the ice and snow. After topping out at Bow Summit we cruised down to the Saskatchewan River Crossing, where we learned how, in 1807, David Thompson wanted to use this route for fur trading but was forced north to Athathbasca Pass near Jasper by the Peigan peoples. We finally found our home for the night at the closed Rampart Creek CG. The tent was pitched under one shelter and we used the other one for the the kitchen and pantry. This is bear country!      

DAY 10: 6/2/02 RAMPART CREEK to COLUMBIA ICEFIELDS / 28mi / Elev gain 2340' / N52:2.5' W116:52.2'

This morning we had eye-popping views of the Rockies as we ate breakfast at the confluence of Rampart Creek and the Saskatchewan River. We planned on short mileage because of the climb over Sunwapta Pass. While it was not any higher than yesterday's Bow Summit, it is a much steeper grade. A special note from Rita to all Spinners: Don't try this at home. Johnny G would have a cow. We had to climb 1800 feet in 6 miles. In our lowest gear were traveling at 2.8 miles per hour at a cadence of 36rpm. Now any Spinning instructor will tell you that to reduce risk to the knee joints, the cadence guideline for hills is no slower than 60. Well, we decided the benefit of having the opportunity to ride in this mystifying grandeur outweighed the risk. We arrived at the summit in fine shape as several snowboarders started hiking to the top of Parker Ridge to carve some turns back down. From Sunwapta Pass and the Columbia Snow Dome the Athabasca and McKenzie Rivers flow to the Arctic Ocean, and the Saskatchewan River flows east to Lake Winnepeg eventually ending up in the Alantic. After a six mile descent to the Columbia Icefields Center, we spent the afternoon gazing through the clouds at Mt. Athabasca recalling our summit climb a year ago with the Spokane Mountaineers. We enjoyed watching tourists delight at being able to ride the SnoCoach out on the glacier while we caught up on email and phone calls. The Athabasca Glacier is the most accessible Glacier on the continent and the tours allow many people to learn about this icy environment.

DAY 11: 6/3/02 COLUMBIA ICEFIELDS to JASPER / 68.5mi / Elev gain 2100' / N52:51.1'W118:4.1'

There was ice in the water bucket this morning at Columbia Icefield Campground. We broke camp, bundled up and coasted 2 km to the Icefield Center Dining Room for our first restaurant meal. Breakfast was eggs, hashbrowns, sausage, toast and our first coffee since Spokane. After 10 days of oatmeal, it was quite a culinary experience. Today's 105km trip to Jasper lost 3700 feet of elevation but the rolling hills to get there had us climbing 2100 feet. We feasted our eyes on Mt. Athabasca, Snow Dome, Mt. Kitchener, Mt. Fryatt, Mt. Christie, Mt. Edith Cavell and many more just as stunning. We tried to guess how deep the hanging glaciers were. A Rocky Mountain Big Horn ram and his 3 girlfriends ambled across the road as we crested Tangle Hill. When they became bored with us they scrambled up some vertical rock for better views. While we were stopped for a Snickers break, an elk grazed directly across the road from us. She looked at us and continued to eat. We looked for a calf, but there was none, so we didn't think she would be a threat. Rita pedaled as fast as she could to Jasper as she was still trying to get a "hot" shower, but first we had to go to the grocery store for dinner supplies. We loaded up on fresh veggies to have with our noodles and fruit and chocolate for dessert. When we arrived a the campground, Ken, always thinking of Rita, requested the site closest to the showers. Yes, they were hot!

DAY 12: 6/4/02 REST DAY IN JASPER / 6.3mi around town

After sleeping in until 9 AM, Rita took another shower just to be sure hot water wasn't just a figment of her imagination. Ken made delicious peanut butter oatmeal raisin cookies for breakfast. He says there will be small fee if you want his proprietary recipe. We packed up 4 days worth of dirty clothes, which had been declared hazardous waste, and headed to the laundromat. It takes two loonies (a loonie is a dollar coin) per load. One Canadian Dollar is worth $.64 U.S. After laundry, the post office, and groceries for two days to McBride we went to a gas station to get cleaning solvent for our bike chains. We'd been keeping them well oiled through all the rain, but they had collected so much dirt and grime they needed to be cleaned as badly as our bodies and our clothes. Jasper was named after a fur trading post called Jasper House, which was named after Jasper Hawse, who managed the post in the early 1800's. This was about the same time Spokane House was established. Our camping neighbors, a young couple from England, hiked to Five Lakes today and saw a moose and a bear. There is much to see and do in Jasper. It reminds us a lot of Leavenworth, WA. Tomorrow we are back on our bikes over Yellowhead Pass to Mt. Robson Provincial Park. Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at over 12,000 feet.

DAY 13: 6/5/02 JASPER to MOUNT ROBSON / 55.5mi / Elev gain 1600' / N53:2.2'W119:14'

We entered uncharted territory this morning as we headed northwest on the Yellowhead Hwy into the wind. Neither of us has been north of Jasper. The sun was shining as we followed the Fraser River into Mt. Robson Provincial Park. Then the weather became very interesting. Rain squalls moved up and down the valley teasing us with sun breaks. Rain gear on - rain gear off. Too hot - too cold. By the time we arrived at our destination the squalls turned into a genuine soaker. Our exteriors were drenched, but the rain gear kept our interior quite comfortable. Just as we rode toward the visitors center to inquire about a campground a gentleman in a white pickup pulled up and asked us if we were looking for a dry place to camp. He offered to let us pitch our tent under the group picnic shelter at Emperor Ridge campground, which his wife operates. Since our mothers tried to teach us to come in out of the rain, we accepted immediately. We are hoping Mt Robson will be out from behind the curtain of clouds tomorrow. The literature tells us nobody knows how Mt Robson got its name. Less than 1/10 of those who attempt to climb it actually make the summit. Rita is feeling a little homesick tonight as tomorrow is Hank's (our #2 son) birthday and we won't be in Spokane to help him celebrate.

DAY 14: 6/6/02 MOUNT ROBSON AB to McBRIDE BC / 53mi / Elev gain 1510' / N53:18'W120:7.5'

We woke up covered with a dusting of yellow pine pollen, but at least we were dry, thanks to Randall, a cycle tourist. His wife, who runs the campground, said he always has a soft heart for drenched cyclists. The pollen made our noses run as fast as the Fraser River. It was mostly cloudy and cold as we left Mt Robson Provincial Park. Only 60% of the tourists who come to see Mt Robson get to see the top. With the cloud cover, we became part of the 40% who don't see it. At Tete Jaune (pronounced like Dijon mustard only with a "T") We met a cycling couple from Scotland who were about our age. The Scotsman spent the whole time complaining how much Canadians charge for a campsite and we could have sworn his wife was the actress, Dame Judi Dench. They did, however, admit that the pound provided a good exchange rate and we're sure they'll have a good time cycling from Vancouver to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We continued down the Robson Valley between the Cariboo Mts. on the left and the Rockies on the right until we arrived in McBride, BC. McBride has a population of 700 but was once the biggest town between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Prince Rupert, BC. The Canadian Pacific Railway established McBride as the divisional point on the railway in 1911. The Yellowhead Hwy #16 was not finished until 1968 when McBride was finally linked by road to Prince George. Our journey has taken us over 700 miles. Despite the inordinate amount of cold rainy weather we are surprised how well it is going. We think the curse is following us, because people we meet along the way say they have been experiencing warm and sunny. We started the trip on a steady IB (ibuprofen) drip, but neither of us has taken any for the last 4 days. The joints are feeling good. Sleeping on the ground agrees with us.
   

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5
WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9 WEEK 10
WEEK 11 WEEK 12 WEEK 13