Canada. That country to the north. It may seem like there's nothing further north in the United States save the endless barren steppe of North Dakota, or the mosquito filled lakes and wetlands of Minnesota; where areas that boast even a meager population density are rare. But cross this little line painted on maps - some places you may cross it without even knowing while in others large control buildings and gates have been constructed to control access - and you enter a completely different country, encounter huge population centers, and find some of the most vast and wild areas of North America.
When it comes to the outdoors, Canada has it all. The Canadian Rockies jut for miles and miles from the American Glacier National Park to the north. Just outside of Calgary, the Rockies are home to 5 Canadian National Parks, all but one of them sharing a border with eachother. Together, they make up one of the largest wilderness reserves on the planet. Within 2 days of crossing the border, we had seen 3 black bears - one that burst from its berry bushes between the bike trail we were on and the main road, almost taking Brint along with him. As I biked through Jasper National Park, a lone cayote meandered along a floodplain. I stopped to watch and in doing so, attracted cars passing by to stop and check out the scene, scaring the animal into the bushes. In Jasper, late in the evening as I biked back into town from a hike, I heard elk bugling from the trees on either side of the road. I rode to what I deemed to be a safe distance from the calls of the bull elk in rut before I began to look for him in the trees. Cars whizzed by me; people encased in a sound resistant metal shell oblivious of the things going on in the forest around them. All of a sudden, a cow popped out of the forest and crossed the road. She was closely followed by a huge bull with fully developed antlers. The magic of having first heard the elk, then seen them appear into view as they crossed the road made me very glad I was on a bicycle and not in a car.
It seems that when Canadians aren't enjoying the wealth of natural beauty, they are playing hockey. Upon leaving Calgary, we made it to Canmore - a small town located 30km south of Banff and just outside the park gate. The town, surrounded by a plethora of mountains, is a haven for outdoorsy folks who participate in activities like hiking, mountain biking, backcountry and resort skiing, cross-country skiing, hangliding and parasailing, and anything else imaginable in the mountains. Of course, the town would not be complete without a hockey rink. I stumbled upon the rink at the end of the day just as two teams in uniform were beginning a game of street hockey - no skates and no pads, just shoes, sticks and a ball. Apparently, the summer streetball season was coming to a close and this was the first game of the playoffs. Upon learning this, I gave up hope of joining in on the game, until one of the team captains burst out, "You wanna play? You shoot left? Here, you can use this stick." He got me a shirt and just like that, I was running around the seasonally flooded outdoor hockey rink after a ball in a playoff game. I ended up with one goal in my team's first playoff victory. "Come back again tomorrow night!" I was told. If I would have returned, however, I knew Canmore would have marked the end of my journey. Game after game I would have stayed for and probably ended up with a job in the small mountain town with "Help Wanted" signs posted on nearly every shop window.
As the NHL regular season comes to a start and hockey is becoming a topic of conversation, the weather has taken a drastic turn. As we biked through Banff and Jasper along the 200+km Icefields Parkway, we would constantly wake up to frigid mornings. My fingers would be numb every morning by the time my gear was packed and I was ready to leave. The temperature sunk to below freezing in the early morning hours, and it wouldn't be until 11 or noon when things finally warmed up. On some occasions, the day never warmed up; we found ourselves in the middle of a snow storm on the last mountain pass before Jasper.
By the time I hit Jasper, I was cold and ready for the comforts of a house. After an hour or so walking the streets of the small mountain town, I began a short conversation with a middle aged man, Roy, and was promptly invited to put my tent in his yard and eat dinner with him. I gladly agreed, and after a visit to one of the local coffee shop/bakeries, I was seated inside Roy's warm house drinking tea and talking about the mountains. In total, I spent 3 nights and four days with Roy and Jacinta and their son David. I would wake up early in the morning, go to the bakery for a coffee and cinnamon roll (The Bear's Paw if you're ever in Jasper), and read the paper for an hour or so, before taking off to climb one of the many peaks that surround the town. In the afternoon I drank tea and enjoyed the warmth and community that only roof and insulated building can provide.
You could say I became a little soft during my stay in Jasper. I began to yearn for a roof of my own. A warm bed I could crawl into everynight. Cups of warm tea all day. A kitchen full of spices and veggies and meat and baking supplies. A comfy couch to read stories of adventure and travel, geology and nature. As David left for school every morning, I realized how happy I was to be done; the daily chore of waking up to go to class and study a completed phase in my life. I even thought of work and jobs and my warm house at the end of the day. The cold weather was driving me inside and I knew I had to leave and get south!
So to the south I embarked and currently am in Lillooet, BC, a couple days ride through rain and headwinds to Vancouver. Comments are well appreciated if you are reading, and you can see pictures from Banff and Jasper here. Thanks for reading!
