Distance: 90km
Total distance: 856km
Average speed: 21.2km/h
Weather: cloudy with lots of sunny breaks :)
Greetings from Alberta and the highest community in Canada! It's crazy to think I've already been on the road for one week. After the big day yesterday I slept like a rock (only woke one time around 2am when the train which is right behind the hostel went by) until 8:30. Hiro was long gone so it was just the cats and I. I was in no rush to leave, making for a record late time on the road at almost 10:30 after eating a giant bowl of oatmeal plus a double egg cheese sandwich. A big breakfast can last me 4-5 hours allowing me to just snack throughout the day until dinner. Back on the highway I climbed up the Golden hill for a great view of the timber bridge across the Kicking Horse River. Some 20km or so later I got my first sightings of wildlife! There were three big horn sheep on this rocky patch by the side, staring at me as I stared back at them in awe. Soon enough I entered Yoho National Park, and for hours had my breath taken away by the unbelievable panorama as the mountains swallowed me. I didn't really even notice the climbing when I stopped at the Yoho Visitor Centre in Field at around 1200m. The next few kilometers to the summit (there was no sign, so I assume it is where the road started going down at the Great Divide Lodge) featured the Big Hill, spiral tunnels (the terrain was so steep they had to make the rail line spiral up the pass), and a white tailed deer who elegantly crossed the road. The lady at the visitor centre suggested I take the 1A into Lake Louise, so at the Lake Ohara turnoff I went over a barricade and pedaled along the peaceful but bumpy old road. There was still quite a bit of snow on the road and I had to walk my bike quite a few times over them. The lady had warned me about bears and sure enough I spotted multiple fresh droppings, so I started singing loudly. Just before the boundary of BC and Alberta, the road turned into all snow and I couldn't see the next bare patch. I was really sick of walking my bike so I made the decision to turn back and go along the main highway. The rest of the way was pretty uneventful, even the crossing into Alberta only had a closed toilet as a signal (while BC on the other side had a nice welcome sign). I came into Lake Louise a bit after 4, and was set on going up to the lake before dinner. I guess 7 straight days of biking, including up 3 mountain passes, eventually takes its toll on you, as I made not even 1km up the steep road before my legs wanted to stop. Lake Louise you and I have unfinished business and I will be back for you first thing in the morning! I rode back to the village and asked at the visitor centre where I could camp, as my Couchsurfing host had bailed last minute. It turns out that the tent camping sites aren't open yet for the season because the electric fence was broken. Lake Louise isn't really the place to wilderness camp with the many bears (also there really isn't any place to hide in the village) so that's how I ended up at the Lake Louise Alpine Centre Hostel, which is pretty grand as far as hostels go. It is quite the change from my normal solitude as the hostel had a large group of kids from a school or something. I made some dinner of jambalaya with vegetables and canned clams (excellent iron source!) and now I think I'm going to go for a walk along the river to stretch out my legs.
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