August 1, 2013
More Hiking Than Biking
Glacier National Park (Avalanche Creek Campground)
The west side of the Going to the Sun Road through the heart of the national park is closed to bicycles from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Keeping that in mind, I started a nice liesurely 17-mile ride to the next campground up the road at 9:00. After yesterday, I needed an easy day in preparation for tomorrow's 3,000 ft. climb to Logan Pass. Well, it turned out to be TOO easy. Despite my frequent sightseeing stops along the way, I still arrived at the hiker/biker site at 10:30--just in time to meet another cyclist who was just getting ready to leave.
He was a 27-year old named Derek and a vagabond if there ever was one. He works as an electrician in Banff six months a year and bikes the other six months all over the world. He hung out with me for an extra hour-and-a-half and we exchanged biking and backpacking stories--his being more exciting and exotic than mine. He also let me try out his bike which he had build for himself in its entirety. For me, it was memorable for the huge saddle that he had put on there. It was like sitting on a big, comfy tractor seat.
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5 years ago
5 years ago
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After Derek pedaled off, I killed some time by hiking/running the 2.5 mile trail up to Avalanche Lake. It was a beautiful little lake surrounded by high craggy peaks. Ribbons of long waterfalls cascaded down the mountainsides into the perfectly clear lake. It was a nice place to linger for a while.
While running back down the trail I stepped on an exposed tree root, turned my right ankle, and took a tumble. Fortunately, I was able to walk it off. I spent the rest of the way back to camp thinking about how a badly sprained or broken ankle would have affected my bike trip.
Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 660 miles (1,062 km)
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