TD 1-3

Time for an update. Day 1 was pretty good. Nice sunny weather and I made good time. The High Rockies singletrack was lovely and would be a fab ride on an unladen mountain bike.

We spotted some bears on the run down towards Elkford, a mama and two cubs cross the track some 500m in front of us. Others had a closer call with a grizzly, which I’m happy to have missed.

Koko Claims was the miserable slog it’s billed as. I made the rookie error on the downhill of trying to ride some of it, and that’s all fine until you realise you can stop. Damage: bruises and bruised pride, and a smashed wahoo mount. I made it to Norboe camp by midnight.

Day 2 was an early start and up over the pass to Fernie for a McD’s breakfast. The started nice, but quickly deteriorated as we climbed over Cabin Pass, wet snow and temps of -1C. When I got to Butts Cabin I were delighted to find the guys ahead of had lit the stove! It was hard to leave the warmth but it was too early to stop. I pushed on as far as the start of the Wall, It was a rough spot to camp, but I was done for the day and it was dark.

Day three was another early start. The Wall is soooo steep, and muddy. Lugging a bike weighing the best part of 30kg up the slope was quite the ordeal. The up over Galton Pass, a bit of a winter wonderland! The descent to the border was another chiller. The border crossing went smoothly. I stopped in Eureka at a subway for food. I took advantage of the motel room my friend booked (he wasn’t feeling well and decided to get rest and recover) for a hot shower. I pushed on, with the plan of getting to Whitefish lake campground. I got to Red Meadow just before sunset and realised it would have been a very cold night in the tent, so pushed on until midnight and made Whitefish, and a hotel room for the night. Bliss!!!