Day three.

Our route: A bluff over a river to a little cabin with a fire and mice.  51 miles.

It took well over two hours for us to break camp this morning. So many moving parts and everything needs to be packed just right. Plus we were dragging our feet a little to let the tents dry before folding them up. But the sky was clear.

We met some riders on the trail who told us the real storm was yet to arrive, and that it was going to be bad. Snow and rain for three days, starting tonight.

The obvious problem was that we are not remotely prepared for snow camping. When traveling by bike you have to be very choosy about what you bring and a few nights of bad weather would test our resolve and resilience and resources.

So we put it in high gear to try to get over Elk Pass before the weather. That high gear was a little too much for Max who got a bit dehydrated and bonked. As he napped I started sticking out my thumb to hitch a ride from any pickup trucks that might have room. And wouldn’t you know it, a nice couple stopped to help. People like them are known as “Trail Angels”, helping trekkers and bikers out of the goodness of their hearts. They gave us a ride to a visitor station where we could regroup and make a plan. The park rangers confirmed that the bad weather was coming, but not until tomorrow at noon, so we set off to climb the pass and found ourselves in a rustic little hut for the night.

Oh, and dropping down on the other side of Elk Pass we saw our first grizzly bear. A medium sized guy who was running away from us with great haste. I have a bear bell attached to my handlebar that rings incessantly (thanks Hugh) and we each have a can of bear spray too.

Banff National Park

Bighorn sheep

Tired boy

Victory! We found the little cabin and fortunately it was empty of other humans.