Scott Junker Rides the Great Divide
Journal # 3
Hello All,
Well since our last episode I found out that going to Canmore was amistake and added 32k to my route, on the plus side I did get an e-mail and free lunch.I left Canmore to re-gain the route and a short while after was hit by a rainstorm of some ferocity, I wasn't concerned until the lightning started and having no envy of being struck by lightning I made for a point on the map about 2k away marked 'Ranger Station.' The Ranger Station was in fact a map kiosk and a restroom (they call them washrooms here.)I took shelter on the leewaard side of the outhouse and made camp there. The outhouse was plastered with grizzly bear warnings, I was still concerned. the rain never stopped and I had a hard time eating. Sleep came hard.
In the morning it was still spitting and I was still cold so I just started riding , I got even colder and wetter. After an hour or soI came to the Engadine Lodge where a sign on the door announced that they were not serving the public without a 24 hour notice, I was cold beyond caring so I snuck into their mud room to warm up and was quickly found out. Rather than asking me to leave (or if I could read) I was invited in for a breakfast prepared by the lovely Louise and not wanting to be a poor guest I gorged myself on blazing hot tea, bakedeggs and sausages, all of which were the best things I had ever tasted. she even talked me into taking a sandwich.
The rain had mosty stopped by the time I left. From there it was a beautiful ride along the spray lakes and into the Kananaskis Country where I took what I thought to be a 5k detour to "Info Centre" (they spell funny here.) At the Info center I found that I had Indeed gone the right way and Duane acdvised me of the route over Elk Pass which could be "quite wet" and he believed that Elkford was only about 75kfrom there and I should make it by 6:00,after a stop by the lake for lunch I headed for the pass. "Quite wet" may have been the understatement of the milennia it was a good mile and a half of peat bog with a route marker every so often. I did indeed see a monster of an elk, he was not scared of me in the slightest and I had to wait for him to move on.
The descent on the south side of Elk Pass is marked 'road' but it was barely passable by bicycle.I had to chase a herd of horses off the road they were not impressed with my bell and I.
Duane's guess was far off and the distance from Kananaskis lakes to Elkford was in reality a little over100 K. it was getting dark so I camped by the aptly named Weary Creek. Ate fried sausage and noodles. Delicious.
In the morning everything was frosted over and I went back to sleep to wait for the sun to come over the hills. Shortly after waking and breaking camp some people came by on Quads with rifles and Bear pepper spray they had a hard time beliving that I was stupid enough to come through the area without one or both.
I rode the remaining 50K into Elkford and met a Belgian cycle-tourer who was going the other direction over Elk Pass, I gave him my map. In Elkford I took lunch at a Gas Station Restaurant, I ordered the 'Hungry Man' breakfast and killed it in under 20 minutes, I headed south for Sparwood whereI met a couple who had ridden here from Salt Lake City. They gave me a map of the Yellowstone region. I drank a Gatorade and immediately felt sick. When I asked for directions to Fernie a local man pointed to some snow capped mountains to the South and said "it's before you get there." I rode throughthe sick feeling to Fernie where I checked into The Samesun Backpacker Lodge, I had no sooner walked into the room than I got sick with flu-like symptoms, I couldn't keep anything down and spent the night in this manner. There was big party here but I was out of comission and I'm probably better for it... I woke in good spirits and whatever it was had passed.
Fernie is a neat little old town but between the three bike shops there are only two pair of drop handlebars, it's all big hit and downhill type stuff.
I'll be leaving for the U.S. border tomorrow morning which I expect to reach before noon, and then my maps start which I expect will be much less exciting than routefinding with the only directive "South."
I want a burrito,
Scott
Overview of Scott Junker's Adventure
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