Day 369
Bear!
We were very excited to leave Lake Louise, as we were heading for what we hoped would be a stunning part of the trip, cycling on the Icefield Parkway towards Jasper through the Columbia Icefield with plenty of glaciers on the way. It was promising to be a great few days. As we got ready to leave we saw what the park staff have to do if campers are not ‘bear aware’. A family near us had left a lit fire, food, and cooking items, and disappeared from the campsite. The rangers simply took everything away and put the fire out. They were protecting us but more importantly the animals. If the bears etc. start to associate humans with food and lose their fear of us then it leads to confrontation and quite often the animal, not the human, is put down. I think about 70 bears a year have to be put down due to us thoughtless humans, not great when their numbers are not high to start with.
We didn’t stay to see what happened but headed off towards Silverhorn Creek, our destination for the evening. The views were simply awesome but we couldn’t quite make out the tops of the mountains due to the mist. At Bow Lake we saw a pair of familiar cyclists, Steve and Sybil who we had met in Canmore. They were now on their way back to Banff to start the Great Divide, but we grilled them for tips about the road ahead first.
The weather deteriorated and as heavy rain started to fall we turned into Mosquito Campsite to use the shelter whilst having our lunch. The sun was peeking out as we rode the last few miles to Silverhorn Creek. The setting was simply stunning, several lakes were dotted around the site, and we were surrounded by mountains, however there was no shelter, or water. So we ate tea out in the rain and filtered water from the creek, which tasted amazing. Thankfully the sun came out about 7pm, the clouds cleared and we were able to sit back and enjoy this fantastic place.
I was beyond excited the following morning as 16 miles up the road was a petrol station! Now I agree it’s not something that normally excites me, but today it meant running water, so I could have a wash, and hopefully a cafe with somewhere to sit and warm up. Yep, it was a cold and wet morning. We hadn’t been riding long when we spotted a family of cyclists coming towards us. Tod, Carla, Caleb, Josh-ua, Solar, and Daisy the Dog were on an adventure. We happily exchanged route advice and traded a pair of brake blocks for a roll of Gorilla tape, so hopefully Josh-ua can now stop on downhills and we can patch up our leaking tent!
Then it was back on the road. As we crossed the Saskatchewan River I spotted a sign, 2k to the petrol station. I gave a whoop of joy, unfortunately it wasn’t Tom behind me but another cyclist. Oops! The rain was now in full-on heavy mode and we were starting to feel a tad miserable. Hot food and drinks restored our humour. We had a laugh checking out the cost of a room at the motel, they were on offer - so just $375 for the night! We declined, and I shared the joke with the cyclist I had spotted earlier, Don. He was heading to Rampart Creek, also our destination, so I suggested he pitch his tent on our pre-booked site, which he gratefully accepted.
Now Rampart Creek turned out to be just fantastic. Not only did it have a shelter, but a French couple had got the fire going too. We were wildly happy to get warm and dry thanks to their hard work. They even loaned me their kettle so I could make a cuppa on the stove. I don’t think they quite understood just how much tea a girl from Yorkshire needs when cold and damp, lifesavers! We stayed in there for many hours, Daniel another cyclist we had seen in Banff was also drying out, it felt almost like a party.
Tom and I had a hike through the grounds, first by the river looking up to the mountains then into the woods. I was somewhat wary as there was a sign telling us of the recent bear sightings in the camp. As we walked along we heard an ominous crack, as someone, or something heavy, walked over the downed branches. We bravely carried on, managing to get slightly lost, but made it safely back eventually.
A Ranger popped by to ensure we were all OK and warned us that Rampart campground has more bear sightings than any other campsite in Alberta. The words had bear-ly left his mouth when another camper rushed into the hut, slightly wild eyed and yelled “BEAR”. Chris, our Ranger, left to investigate, he came back and said its headed west towards pitches 40 to 50. Ah, we were in 43. Fortunately in 44 were a jolly group of guys who were making enough noise to send the bear straight back to where it had come from, phew! Tom and I kept quiet about our walk, I think we had driven the bear into the campsite during our ramble, oh dear. Bear spray to hand we headed to bed just as another camper yelled “BEAR!”
