So, the original plan was to be in Whistler early so that I could potentially take one of the cable cars up the mountain and enjoy the view. But the clouds were hanging so low today that there weren’t any views today at all.

I left my campsite at ten past eight and continued my ride along the Cayoosh Creek. The first three hours were only uphill (imagine I had done the last part of yesterday’s stage and the beginning of today’s at once). Then I finally reached the highest point and from there it was a long downhill ride – 1000 metres elevation on thirteen kilometres.

Down in The Valley it was dry and warm again. I stopped in Pemberton for a quick lunch (two slices of pizza) and checked the weather. The forecast said heavy rain in the afternoon, which seemed odd to me because in Pemberton it was quite nice.

Well, the meteorologists knew their business. The three hours from Pemberton to Whistler were tough because they were all uphill, and it was pouring down like crazy most of the time. Luckily, I had booked a hotel (specifically a pod hotel) for the night. So no matter how wet I was, I knew I would have a warm shower and dry clothes eventually. That was the spirit which brought me up to the location of the 2010 Olympic downhill ski events.

The centre of Whistler village is a pedestrian area, and it is very confusing. So it took me a while to find my hotel. I found a liquour store before I found the hotel, so I grabbed two Bud on the way as well (no local brew in the cooler). The hotel is pretty cool. The pod consists really of the bed only and a shelf. But it’s cheap, clean and stylish, and the staff is really friendly.

Also, for the bear record, there was a black bear in the pedestrian area tonight. It stayed there for a while and tried to hide from all the tourists with their cameras. But the police chased it away eventually with fireworks. It was very scared the poor thing.

Tomorrow is the big day – going to Vancouver finally. It will be 120 kilometres if I ride all the way to my hostel, or 100 kilometres if I skip the downtown traffic and get a bus from the harbour. We will see what my legs say (or rather my bottom) tomorrow.

Low hanging fruits – or clouds

Dark clouds over Green Lake, Whistler

My cosy pod at the Pangea Pod Hotel

Day 11: Hat Creek Ranch-Gott Creek

Today’s stage I had mentally split into two parts: The first one from Hat Creek Ranch to the town of Lillooet was about 75 kilometres. The second part would go into the mountains from Lillooet for another 23 or 31 kilometres, depending on which campsite I would stay at.

I thought that the first part would be relatively easy going because Lillooet is located at 260 metres above sea level only and thus lower than my starting point. What I didn’t know was that there was a lot of up and down on this part already. So instead of four hours as I had expected, I used five hours and arrived first at 2:30. I also felt a lack of energy today on this first part.

In Lillooet I had a quick lunch break at a petrol station and left for the second part, for which I had estimated another three hours, at three o’clock.

The climb from Lillooet was very steep. And it was extremely hot today – 39 degrees Celsius according to my tachometer, and the sun was burning like crazy. However, I felt more energised during this second part. So even though I took many breaks in between, I climbed kilometre after kilometre and reached eventually the high valley which follows the Cayoosh Creek all the way upstream. Here I reached at 5:30 the first possible campsite, but decided to continue because I still had some energy and I wanted the day to be shorter tomorrow. Shortly after six o’clock I finally reached the place to stay tonight. It’s called Gott Creek Recreation Site and is one of those unserviced campsites run by the state of British Columbia. It is a very idyllic place directly at the river. And there is only one other family with a caravan here. After a while a park ranger came to collect the camping fee which was almost nothing. I commented that there were no bear boxes to keep the food and asked whether I should still keep my food outside the tent. He confirmed and said that bears haven’t really been a problem there, but that I should bear in mind that I was in grizzly country now.

From here to Whistler it is now “only” 99 kilometres. I’m planning to leave early so that I can see a bit of Whistler when I arrive.

Fraser River down there in the valley

The last three hours were uphill – and it was hot!

Turn after turn after turn up to today’s campsite

You know, sometimes you need a carrot to get the rabbit going. For tonight I booked a “prospector’s shack” at the Historic Hat Creek Ranch, a historic site from the gold rush in the 19th century. Anyway, in order to get here, I kind of had to go a thirty kilometres’ detour. But the place looked cool and they had a bison burger on the menu. So that was my carrot for the day.

I was a bit slow this morning. So I left at 9:15. Then the road was first a gravel road and then one with very rough pavement. So the first twenty kilometres or so went really slowly. It rained a bit in the morning, but then it turned out to be the sunniest day so far.

After fifty kilometres, I took a lunch break at 70 miles house (the place is named after the gold rush trail which started in Lillooet which was 0 miles). There I met two other fellow cyclists from Germany who were basically on the exact same trip that I was. Except they used a bit more time.

I reached the town of Clinton today after eighty kilometres and thought that the remaining thirty to the Hat Creek Ranch might become tough because I was tired already. But luckily, they were all downhill. So I arrived here at 5:30, could take a shower and change, and then I had this bison burger which was really good. Also, this place is cool. They have, apart from some historic information, a lot of animals. Some happy pigs, some horses including a foal that liked my camera, and a lot of cute marmots.

Tomorrow I will go to Lillooet and from there another twenty to thirty kilometres up the mountains again. The last part is supposed to be very steep and a long climb. So I’m planning to leave early, so that I reach Lillooet by one or two o’clock, have time for a lunch break, and then have the rest of the afternoon for the tougher part. Vancouver is definitely coming closer.

Day 9: Clearwater-Horse Lake

For the last couple of days, I considered an exit option because of my knees hurting and other vital body parts (especially the one you sit on) causing major problems. There is a bus from Kamloops to Vancouver, and Kamloops was only 120 kilometres away from last night’s accommodation in Clearwater. So I could be in Vancouver in two days if I wanted. If I chose to continue, then there would be a tough stage into the mountains today and after that another four more long and mountainous days ahead of me.

I had to decide after thirty kilometres today. There, in Little Fort, the highway 5 continues southwards to Kamloops while the highway 24 would lead me into the Cariboo mountains in the west. The first twenty kilometres were tough, but then I started feeling better. So I chose not to take the cheat option with the bus, but continue to cycle.

Right after Little Fort, the road started to ascend. It was a long two hours’ climb with almost 900 metres elevation to the McDonald summit at 1300 metres. During the ascent, it was sunny and warm. Earlier in the morning and pretty much for the rest of the day, it was raining.

Twenty kilometres ahead my destination, I stopped at a small store where I got a hot chocolate for free (I must have looked pitiful, wet as I was) and bought some supplies for tonight. I’m staying at the Cariboo Bonanza Resort, a campsite with some cabins at the Horse Lake, which is run by a Swiss family.

They are quite curious

Day 8: Blue River-Clearwater

Last night in my cabin, I heard the rain drumming against the metal roof basically all night. I planned to leave a bit later in the morning to wait for the rain to stop. So it was the latest start for me so far on this trip at a quarter past ten.

I had a mixture of sunshine and many rain showers during my ride today. I stopped for lunch in Avola because they have a supposedly world famous burger. But that one was so and so.

The last thirty minutes to Clearwater were very wet. So I am glad I can stay in a motel tonight.

After a couple of days in rather flat terrain, I’ll return into the mountains tomorrow, the Cariboo Mountains specifically. It will be a long day.

For statistics friends: I saw another bear today. So the bear count is up to four on this trip. This one crossed the road 100 metres in front of me. But I was going uphill, so by the time I came there, the bear had disappeared into the bushes already.

Day 7: Valemount-Blue River

Today was a shorter day (90 km). And that was good because my knees hurt, and I was generally unmotivated today.

Also my bike made strange sounds and I couldn’t really locate the source of them on the way. However, at one point I stopped because I thought it might have been the straps of my tent bag touching the back wheel somehow. So I stopped and started fixing the tent when I suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. And then I almost got a heart attack. I had stopped five metres away from a bear without noticing. Panicking a bit, I got back on my bike and cycled 10-15 metres away. Then I turned around again and realised that the bear couldn’t care less that I was there. It was having a veggie breakfast. So I got out my camera and caught this one on tape. The record is pretty bad though because I was still shaky. http://www.mountainpolarbear.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/img_0732-3.mov

I reached Blue Lake, a tiny nest with 500 inhabitants, at three o’clock. Because it was raining again today, I am staying in a cabin on a campsite so that I don’t have the hassle with the wet tent. I can also sit on a tiny veranda and enjoy a cold one. Since I arrived quite early, I also did some bike care. I think the sound might have come from the rear brake. That should be fixed now.

Soon I head off for dinner. Tomorrow I continue to Clearwater which is at least four times as big as this metropole.

Day 6: Jasper-Valemount

I left my comfy hostel at eight o’clock in the morning after I tried to sneak out silently and not wake up the others.

It was not raining when I left, but started shortly after. Today was the third day of three that I had to go a bit longer than originally planned in order to be one day ahead of my original schedule. So I had 120 kilometres on my to-do list today.

I took my first break after 35 kilometres at the camping site I had originally planned to stay at. Then I had a lunch break in the middle of nowhere after 70 kilometres and a nice cake and hit chocolate break at the Mount Robson information centre after 85 kilometres.

When I arrived in Valemount, today’s destination, it was partly sunny, partly raining. Since the forecast was really bad, I decided to book a B&B instead of staying on a campsite. But finally, there wasn’t any more rain so far and it doesn’t look like there will be any tonight. So I could have saved the money.

Anyway, the destination tomorrow is Blue River. And I’m afraid it will be an even deader nest than this one.

Day 5: Columbia Icefield-Jasper

Today was my last day on the Icefields Parkway and in Jasper National Park. I left the Icefield campground at 8:30 and had a long (105 km), but rather easy ride to Jasper, which is at an elevation of 1060 metres, so almost 1000 metres below my starting point.

What made today’s ride less pleasant, were the weather conditions. First it was six degrees cold – so I started cycling with my thin down jacket on. Then, a bit earlier than expected, it started raining at 11:30. So I had some cold 50k before lunch and some cold and wet 50k after lunch.

I passed some nice waterfalls on the way and saw some mountain goats. After six hours, completely soaked, I reached Jasper. Due to the rain, I booked a hostel bed for tonight. The hostel is brand new, so it’s a nice accommodation.

Since the forecast for the next days is bad as well, I have tried to book cabins and other solid roofs over my head for the coming days. Tomorrow will be a long day – 120 kilometres to Valemount. Fingers crossed that it won’t be raining all the time.

A fluffy goat and a very good climber

Day 4: Mosquito Creek-Columbia Icefield

Today was my first day over 100 kilometres. And it included two passes over 2000 metres. So to start from the end, the beef tenderloin that I just had together with the red wine from British Columbia (I didn’t even know that was a thing) at the Icefield Centre at the Columbia Icefield tasted delicious.

Back at the Mosquito Creek hostel it rained during the night. My weather forecast had predicted sun from 6 AM, but it was still cloudy in the morning and very chilly – only six degrees.

Right after the start, the road gained elevation until I reached the highest point of today (and maybe the whole trip?), Bow Pass at 2067 metres. Bow Lake was located nearby and was pretty picturesque, but nothing compared to Peyto Lake which I reached a bit later after a little detour from the main route and a ten minutes’ hike. Peyto Lake has a beautiful turquoise colour and can be seen from a viewpoint high above the lake.

From there I had a long, mainly downhill ride to the Saskatchewan river crossing, the only petrol station/restaurant on the Icefields Parkway. I had some dirty fish and chips for lunch before I continued for the second 50k of the day.

These were much tougher than the first because now I had to climb up again to 2000 metres. It was a spectacular ride though, so I stopped several times for photos. I also stopped for a bear – the second black bear of this trip. It crossed the road fifty metres ahead of me. Cars were stopping. But by the time I had started my GoPro camera, it had disappeared into the bushes. I had another close encounter earlier today, but I never got to see that pal. I just saw his big wet paw prints on the dry, warm pavement – it must have crossed the road a minute before.

After six and a half hours cycling, I finally crossed the Sunwapta pass (2030 m) at the boundary between Banff and Jasper National Parks. From there it was an easy ride to my campground for today which is located at the Columbia Icefield. The place is a bit touristy, but the food was excellent. And so are the liquid carbohydrates that I need for my trip to Jasper tomorrow.

Bow Lake

Peyto Lake

Halfway up to Sunwapta Pass

Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield

Canada day 3: Banff-Mosquito Creek

Since the weather forecast predicted rain today in the afternoon, I woke up early and made sure to leave Banff at eight o’clock in the morning.

The route today took me further into Banff National Park. The first part of the route was the Bow Valley Parkway from Banff to Lake Louise. I had my bear spray in the back pocket of my jersey today – just in case. And indeed after half an hour I spotted the first bear. There were cars stopping at the side of the road, which is always a sign for wildlife nearby. And there was a black bear walking further up on the hill maybe 200 metres from us.

So early in the morning, there wasn’t much traffic. So I took a look over my shoulder several times today when there were no cars at all.

I stopped for lunch in Lake Louise and then entered the highlight of the trip: the Icefields Parkway which is a 230 kilometres long scenic route between Lake Louise and Jasper. At the start of the road, there were little booths where they checked whether I had a park permit. The lady in the booth saw my bear spray and said: “Oh, you’ve got bear spray. Good! Lots of bears on the parkway.” That was reassuring…

The route was now leading higher into the mountains. The last thirty kilometres were constantly uphill, reaching 1800 metres finally. After 90 kilometres, I reached my goal today, Mosquito Creek, at 2:30. There is a campsite and a hostel here. Due to the heavy rain which was predicted for tonight, I asked to stay in the hostel. It started indeed raining one hour after I arrived here. So I think that was a good call.

Tomorrow, depending on the weather, I will either have a shorter trip to Rampart Creek. Or, if it doesn’t rain, I might actually continue and go 100 kilometres in total to Wilcox Pass, which is 2000 metres high. That would allow me to reach Jasper the day after and give me one more buffer day for the rest of the trip.