How do I begin to describe the day, this day, up into Alberta this morning I rode, the scenery of the Rockies en route, in and around Lake Louise, and the *&$%ing cold?
A few mountain goat rams greeted me this morning while packing up the bike, unfortunately, by time I got my camera they had moved on. It was a little colder than expected, actually a lot colder than expected. Yesterday it had been blistering hot, today I was thankful for my heated grips, but I simply put a fleece jacket and zipped up the vents. I should have put on long silk underwear, polyester over that, a layer of fleece and goose down, a NASA space suit over all that, and even that would have been insufficient.
Being retired I lost track of the date and thought I lost a day, so had to rush through to Banff and then to my date in Nakusp. But after my brain thawed out I realized that I was a day ahead of schedule. I could have slept in this morning, dang it. Anyway, back to my ride; immediately out of town I was greeted by this picturesque canyon, which I greedily clicked away some photos. Trying to keep the bike moving, upright, snapping pictures, all while traveling in dark-side-of-the-moon temperatures is a feat only us professionals can master. On a mission you see, get to Nakusp today, or so I thought. It was early, the roads in the park empty, and I was in a state somewhere between numbness and cryogenic preservation. I had no fear of wildlife, they were smarter than me, to be out this early in this cold, zooming along at 90,000 mph (meters per hour).
Every turn or gap in the trees I found myself struggling to pull the right cord, damn near hanging myself several times, to get my camera up and snapping at the amazing mountain scenery. The sun was just right, which I believe was the only thing right. I certainly wasn’t right. The earphone cord and camera lanyard co-mingled into a knot of twine and wires, so it was also amazing feat that I kept from catapulting myself over a cliff, captured a few photos and kept Trafalgar in forward motion.
Every stop, someone would sneak up, as if materializing out of the Canadian mist and appear as I was struggling with gear, “Where you from, eh? Where you going, eh? What’s in your bags, eh? How do you pack for such a trip, eh? What that hanging from your nose, eh? Have you been to ________, eh; you gotta go to _______________, eh.” And then, just when I manage to get untangled and helmet off, ready for a picture, those Canadian creatures disappear. Long armed selfies, and delayed shutter release are SOP.
This is one of those days where company would have been appreciated, someone to share the majesty of the Canadian Rockies, and keep me sane with a little base to reality. I stayed in the Rockies, followed a long line of summer traffic, the later in the day, the longer the line. I never saw a single vehicle enter the highway, but nonetheless, the traffic just increased proportional to the temperature.
I decided Revelstoke, BC sounded like a good destination (actually means something close to redneck—you might be a redneck if you live in Revelstoke). I have decided I could live here, in this river-side town at the bottom of some amazing mountains. I’ve pitched my tent at the Lamplighter Campground across a single lane bridge, the owner asked if I’m bear safe. Bear safe? I’m usually pretty safe, but not around bears. I guess a large black bear and his smaller friend visit the campground every evening. She showed me the height of the large bear by motioning her hand above the counter height. My luck it’ll be the only two bears in Canada that love cigars and whiskey.
Reviewing the pictures—no justice at all to the majestic scene.
trafalgar adventures 