This ride is probably the end of our short but sweet touring season for this year. With the five days from this trip and the three we had in June, 2021 saw us double our 2020 days!

Both of this years short trips were pretty much in our own back yards. The June trip over Highwood pass was a bit of a modification to a loop we’ve done many times, and probably will do again.

I’m not sure we’d say the same thing about this one though. It was great to be out and on the bike, all of our gear worked as expected, the weather was fantastic and the remote and solitary camping was very good. However we both agreed that if we had to stay local, we would have preferred to spend the 5 days on a true backcountry alpine backpack trip, the sort where you ride the roads we did … to get to the start of your backpack! We’d get the same, or better, camping and far more spectacular scenery with about the same or less physical effort. And there are no lack of these type of trips in this region!

But we needed to give this ‘bikepacking’ thing a go, and we did. It’s not like we haven’t ridden this kind of terrain before, and we will again. However it’s best sprinkled in as short and intense seasoning during a much longer travel focused tour. When done in that fashion it’s an interesting diversion. When done day in, day out as the main course, well …. Our final decision to cut it short to Fernie says it all. 

One last note.This is the second (short) journal in a row that’s been written up after the trip. Both this and our June trip were essentially off the grid and had to be done like this. Even though our ‘traditional’ journal style is to write things up and post them ‘as it happens’ seems like more work,  I enjoy it more and it better reflects the real feel of the trip. 

For example,  even though I’ve had real computers and good internet at hand since we finished the trip, once back home it’s been so easy to get pulled off on other priorities and daily adventures that it ends up being 10 days (or more!) later that the journal gets written. … and it’s getting written now in a hotel room in Munich as I’m jet lagged with nothing else to do!

Don’t want to end on that whining note. It was fun to be back out and we’re so lucky we can do trips like this on our back yard. From the journals that are currently being posted daily here on CB, it looks like touring in Europe is back and K and I are looking forward to, and planning, our next long distance adventure, most likely in Europe.

Till then, so long.