 upstream |
 downstream |
I managed to kill the morning. I had a restless night and slept
fairly late in an attempt to make up for lost sleep. Rather than load my
bicycle, I went directly to Beyond Bikes to seek mechanical help from Luke
the mechanic. He wasn't working there until the afternoon, so I went to
their competitor Freewheel Bicycles, where it turned out Luke was working
as their mechanic for the morning. I'd had Freewheel look at the bike a
couple of days earlier and they adjusted my handlebar. It turns out that
all that was wrong with my bike was overtightening. When they loosened the
headset, it steered just fine.
I then went to the bakery for some food supplies (bagels, pecan tarts, a
baguette) and some breakfast croissants and coffee. Then I went back to
my room, loaded up the panniers, bid adieu to my landlords and pushed off.
As I got to the highway, I stopped for some fresh Okanogan Valley cherries
from a roadside vendor, but she wouldn't sell me less than a pound. When
I told her I didn't have room for that many cherries, another customer said
she couldn't eat all she'd bought and gave me a couple of handfuls of hers
(refusing my offer of payment). As I said previously, the people in Jasper
seemed particularly warm.
I finally started down the Icefields Parkway at about Noon and was almost
immediately overtaken by two women cyclists from Canmore, Alberta (near
Banff). We talked but they lost me on the first uphill climb (they were
supported by one woman's daughter and were staying in hotels, so didn't
need to carry as much as I.
It was a nice day. It was supposed to get warm and sunny. I started out
with polypro and leg warmers on, but expected to shed them fairly soon.
The scenery is really nice.
I stopped at Athabasca Falls and took some photos. A pretty good sized river
is compressed into a very narrow gorge, creating a thundering falls.
upstream |
downstream |
I came upon some mountain goats crossing the road.
The onset of summer apparently caused them to start shedding
their warm coats and they looked a bit ragged.
Somebody in Jasper told me that the road was pretty much downhill from Jasper
to the hostel at Beauty Creek (86 km), but all day as I rode along, there
was one river (Athabasca) or another (Sunwapta) always to my right flowing
toward me.
When one rides upstream along a fast flowing river, he must be
climbing. I don't have an altimeter any more, but there's no doubt I climbed
all day -- probably at least 2,500'. I also picked up headwinds and by 3:19
PM had only ridden 22 miles. I had about 30 miles to go, so I picked up
the pace.
I wondered how many vehicles had passed me more than once between Alaska
and here. I know many of the busses and trucks had. I saw a couple of motorcycles
pass me today with a sign that read "New York or Bust." When we
moved to Alaska, we wrote Alaska or Bust on our truck, and that was relatively
common, but "New York or Bust" was real unique. I recalled seeing
that motorcyclist buying candy with me at Tetsa River in British Columbia
and recalled being surprised to see him heading north then, not south. I'll
bet they rode to Alaska and were now on their way back to New York. Its
amazing how much further people can travel with a motorized vehicle. I've
come to realize that the ratio between motor vehicle travel and bicycle
travel is about one hour to one day.
At mile 47. I finally picked up a tailwind, but was still going upstream.
I finally reached Beauty Creek about 7:00 PM. The hostel is nestled in the
dark trees on the left bank (Tangle Rock - mountain to left; Mt. Kitchener
- mountain to right):
 |
 |
 |
The river is filled with glacial silt, but clear water from Beauty
Creek flows in just above the hostel. The setting was very nice, but the
buildings were leftovers from World War II and not well maintained. The
place was relatively grungy.
I saw and photographed a hummingbird.
I hadn't stayed in a youth hostel since the early 70's in Europe.
There was a international bunch staying at Beauty Creek: a couple from Switzerland;
a family from Prince George, BC (he taught at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
when I did); two separate women from Australia; a woman from New Zealand;
a man from Sarnia, Ontario; a man from Calgary; etc.
 Visitor from Switzerland |
 Family from Prince George |
But, this hostel was a throwback to the 60's or 70's as a result
of the influence of its "hippy" manager--Don Ellis.
Don seemed to have turned the place into a 90's commune. He had
everybody doing chores and sharing food into a pot. He told me of giving
away various possessions of his own and the hostel's to visitors: Canadian
flags to a woman from Israel and a man from Japan; food to the needy, etc.
He asked me to give him the Canadian flag off my bike, but I refused, saying
it had special meaning to me because I'd found it on the side of the road.
Two of the young women offered free haircuts to the men. One man (an employee
of the Whistler Hostel at Jasper) ended up fully bald (sorry I didn't get
a photo, but it was too dark without a flash).
In my view, Don carried things a bit too far. For instance, rather
than trapping or destroying the mouse that plagued the kitchen, Don named
it Speedy and feeds it. Frankly, I was not enamored with that night's lodging
and felt good to get out of there.
56 miles.
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© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997