Dans Big Adventure - Canada and Beyond (and below?)

On to Kootenai National Park. The drive from Waterton took us up through the green ranch and farm lands of the Rocky Mountains front range, turning west took live the long Crow Nest pass approach, onto Sparwood on the west side, home the the worlds larger truck (could haul hundreds of tons of coal and tailings). We parallel the GDR though  then mounting rthe sort town of Fernie and on through Elko. Heading north we leave the GDR and head toward Radium Hotsprings at Kootenay’s west entrance. Along the way in the the park we see 10 miles of close trailheads and overlooks due to bear activity. We camp in McLeod Meadows CG, which is situated in a 40+ mile long, wide glacial valley with non stop steep and craggy peaks lining both sides. Some of these reach 6000’ above the valley floor, ripping at clouds as they sneak past, grinning in the sun when the clouds relent. A soggy hike from the camp ground lead to Dog lake, where find a sheltering pine to hang and wait out a wave of rain. W...

Water water every where Water on the ground First all of the plains and park areas we went through are green green green. As green as I have ever seen the prairies  Our first destination was the bighorn medicine wheel in Wyomings Bighorn Mountains. We knew things were dicey when the Forest Service called the day before our departure to move our camping reservation to a nearby campground, first was full of snow. While there was patches of snow in the 2nd campground, camping was fine after hunkering down during the cloud burst, and we did see a moose driving up too. However we were informed by the freindly local campground host that there was still a foot and half of snow covering the medicine wheel. Water from the sky It has been wet and cold, with heavy thunderstorms every day on the way up,  and most days in Waterton too. Since the medicine wheel was a non starter, we did stop by and do the short hike to 5 Springs water falls on our way to the Lit...

In prepping for this trip, I assessed what changes to my rig and gear might make sense. Lessons have been learned from 20+ days last year on the new Marin steed with panniers (instead of the BOB trailer). New route has some new challenges. Water - in reviewing the Wild Wests Route, lots of desert and notable sections with scores of miles, sometimes many scores of miles, between reliable water. Add this to the heat of desert environs, and I wanted to up my carrying capacity. I hate carrying backpacks while touring, so after much research I added two fork cages to the bike. Think of them as mini front panniers if you will. I choose the Blackburn Outpost Cargo Cage (  https://www.blackburndesign.com/en/p/outpost-cargo-cage ) While I could easily carry an extra water bottle, or jug, as is, I coupled these with Salsa's Anything Bags  ( https://salsacycles.com/components/category/accessories/anything_bag ) for more flexibility of carrying things ( say a tent, or sleeping pad...

Well alrighty now. Time to restart the biking blog. This year are again big plans, but I also have been schooled that many things need to align for success. Last two adventures had fire interruptions, smoke, closures and plan cancellations, as well as the early snow of fall 2018 cut a tour very short. If Weather, Fire, Bike, Body and Soul align, I hope to do the original canadian portion of the Great Divide Route in Canada from Banff to Roosville, MT on the border with Montana. A new border to border route is opened up this year called the Wild West Route, which traverses Idaho/Montana, Utah and Arizona on its way from Canada to Mexico. Here are the routes My plan is to start a little north of Banff  (a day or two of riding, south of the Red Deer River in map above) and travel the original route through Fernie and Elko. Glenda and I will be doing several weeks of exploring of Waterton, Banff, Jasper, Yolo and Kootenay National Parks prior to the start of my riding, which ...