One Ski-town to Another - Banff to Fernie

The first leg of the Great Divide mountain-bike route lies in Canada. They recently extended the route as the Rockies do not stop at the international border and so there were calls to bring the route north into Canada. While the Rockies continue further north than Banff in Alberta it seems that the particular range that goes through the US and makes up the Continental Divide starts in Banff. There are mountains all around me so I'm not sure how they work such things out; I'm guessing the age of the rock.

Thankfully the skies were blue as I started the trail but I was a little blue too having had to say goodbye to a really great girl that morning. My distracted thoughts made me a little guilty of staring wistfully at the ground as opposed to taking in the impressive scenery around me. However, the terrain was a lot rougher than I expected and so ground-watching was probably no bad thing. The first section was through woods on a bumpy dirt track that seemed to have its fair share of ups and downs. Eventually it opened up onto a gravel road with any passing cars kicking up huge clouds of dust. Some drivers slow down for cyclists but others rip over the gravel totally oblivious to the fact that I would have to gasp their dust until it settled.

The route to the border of Mexico is a long one and so it is not really expected that a rider will be able to navigate every inch of the route successfully. This is due to the fact that the route goes through a lot of remote forest lands and over mountain passes meaning that nature plays a role in terms of successful navigation. One could potentially encounter forest-fires, rain-storms, snow-storms and even sand-storms. Thus, heeding the local weather conditions plays an important role in terms of advancing along the route. On the first day a Ranger forced me to stay on the main gravel road as opposed to detouring along the west side of the reservoir as the route prescribed. The reason was due to greater wildlife activity than normal and so I had to stay on the dusty gravel road as opposed to heading for another brief incursion into the woods. It was only a small detour so it wasn't an issue.

I eventually arrived at the Kananaskis Lakes where there are several camp-grounds. It is a pretty part of the country that Canadians like to visit as it suffers a lot less from the volume of tourists up around Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. I was tempted to bike on but I thought it made sense to climb Elk Pass the following morning on fresh legs. Naturally the scenery was impressive although a little underwhelming considering its local reputation. I am unaware how the Rockies look further South but for certain the name is apt in Canada as there is nothing but bare rock faces overlooking you wherever you turn.

Elk Pass itself has a big reputation in the Tour Divide race as it tends to be snow-covered even in late June when the race hits it. This makes it difficult to climb forcing riders to push bikes over it. The ideal strategy in such a scenario is to climb it at day-break when the snow is still hard-packed. Most riders try to tackle it the evening of the first day but by then the snow has softened in the sun requiring huge efforts to push bikes through the snow. Even though it was clear of snow by the time I arrived, the fact that I'm carting a lot more than the 5 kilos the racers carry meant that I still had to walk up the part wall of the climb. This was mostly due to a mix of the gradient and stony road surface. It is rare that I have to push my bike  but even unloaded it would have been fairly difficult. Once back on my bike I followed the route of the power-lines for my first Divide crossing. The Divide is marked by the streams which flow into rivers heading either west to the Pacific or east to the Atlantic. In this case it also demarcated the boundary of Alberta with BC.

From here the route opened up as I passed through some wonderfully lush countryside. The route was starting to charm me such was the appeal of the scenery and the silence. Passing through the tiny town of Elkford I pushed on through coal mining country along the Fording River. My route took me to the town of Sparwood, where I would make the first real detour of my trip. Some sections of the route offer an alternative route and while it would have been nice to explore the last undeveloped valley in Canada, I was keen to take the Fernie alternative to visit what is supposedly a great little mountain town. Fernie, only three days into my trip South, would mark my first rest-day.

Chat soon

Marco

Fairmont Springs Hotel - start of the Great Divide

Kananakis LakeElk Pass - first divide crossingscenic camping spot near Elkford

Sparwood - coal-mining truckbike in shot for a little perspectiveweather starting to turn

Candian farm-house near the border