A View From Two Wheels

Tag: Canada

Day 2: MT Engadine lodge to Elkford

August 26th, 2014

We woke to the sound of rain, never a pleasant sound, and solemnly packed our bikes. We headed back up to the lodge to seek warmth and coffee. As we were about to leave, a worker decided to feed us leftover eggs, which were absolutely delicious. Finally, after our fill, we set off. Nearly right away we saw a big black wolf run across the gravel road! It was huge. We continued on the day to Elkford through a misty fog and dense evergreens. Every so often, the land was scarred from logging and coal mining. It was a long day, 72 miles with plenty of elevation. Along the ride we also saw more wildlife,two moose and one bear! As we finally rode into Elkford, we were nearly depleted. We found a store, bought whisky, and camped out at the campground across the street.
Day 1 Banff, Canada to Mt Engadine Lodge

August 26th, 2014

We arrived in Banff early Tuesday afternoon, after a 1.5 hour drive from Calgary. We began to assemble our bikes and grab our last minute supplies. But as we have begun to find out, everything on the divide takes much longer than expected. We were not ready to leave until half past seven, so we decided to find the local campground and hit the hay and take off early morning.

The next morning we packed our bikes, grabbed a few more forgotten items, and set off. We meandered through town and down the Spray River. Surrounded by mountains, the river a deep glacial blue, we were both awestruck. Soon a light rain began to fall and the terrain got exceedingly challenging. The gravel path became strewn with huge rocks, a bridge was under construction and we had to ford a freezing river. As we continued, we saw a ray of sun, and before we knew it we were greeted by an amazing rainbow. We were still very far behind schedule and with no campground nearby, we luckily found a lodge that had a yurt to stay dry in for the night.