Indian Graves to Old Man River North Campground

May 28, 2024

A completely acceptable Plan B

It was moderately windy overnight, causing some flapping of my tent and tarp. But I was cosy in my warm sleeping bag. Since we have van support, I brought a bigger bag than I’d carry if I was hauling it myself, and my cushiest sleeping pad. Luxury.

The forecast said our days of +20 C days are over - we're in for cooler weather, and not just because we're up at higher elevation than we started. Indeed, it was a cool and windy morning until there was a rain shower out of the blue as we finished our hot cereal breakfast (Sunny Boy, from right here in Alberta). Weirdly, most of the rain didn’t hit us - we could see raindrops landing just a few metres away. But the threat of getting wet got us moving.

Although we were the only guests in the campground, there was a guy doing maintenance who arrived first thing in the morning. He confirmed that the road heading west from the campground had been snow-free for a couple of weeks. Hurray for that.

We were happy that we could continue, and we were all in agreement that our 75 km Plan A route that went over our first unnamed pass and then north towards Cataract Creek was a no-go. It'd be snowy on the north side of the second pass, and also likely snowy in all the ditches added to make the road impassible to vehicles. Plan B still climbed to over 200o m, but was considerably shorter at 45 km, and was pretty much all downhill on the Forestry Trunk Road after the first col.

We all started uphill together - Rick joined us all the way to the pass then turned around to get the van. It was a steady up, but never terribly steep.

We had some fun watching a mountain goat high above us. Too far for a good photo. And we had a grouse/ptarmigan sighting, where the bird was quite sure we didn't see it, so it just held still for a long while.

At Indian Graves, our campsite was right on a creek.

We've been told the road has been passable for a couple of weeks.

Heading up towards the pass at the left.

Hmm. The skies are getting more grey. Those shorts are fine for going uphill, but not for later in the day.

There was snow in the ditches up around the 2000 m mark, but the road was in great shape, and the temperature at that point was fine for biking. The four of us biked down the other side, and then waited a bit when we turned north onto the Forestry Trunk Road to be sure Rick was okay. We all got cold, so decided to get moving again, just when Rick appeared.

And boy, were we happy to see the van, because Rick arrived just in time for us to be hit by a decent squall of graupel (ice pellets rather than snowflakes). At that point, we human snowflakes hid in the van and boiled up water for tea. Then after we were warmed up, we bundled up for our slight downhill ride - including, for me, full fingered gloves, goretex over-mitts, and a headband.

Steve, Adele, and I, plus Gail of Andalucia fame, endured a very cold descent of Going to the Sun Road a few years ago on a day that started out sunny and warm, and turned to cold rain. The memories of that ride result in me generally carrying more clothes than are required. I would've loved to have over-mitts on that day instead of begging plastic bags from the National Park employees at Logan Pass to put on my hands...

The road was in good shape. But the snow wasn't far away.

Looking back towards where we'd come from.

We bundled up for the downhill trip. But Steve is still in his sandals. Brrr.

Our saviour showed up just when we were getting pretty cold.

You can see the ice pellets in this photo. Steve finally added socks after our tea break. And a down jacket.

The Forestry Trunk Road was very quiet, with just a few vehicles passing us. Most drivers were very respectful and slowed down to avoid kicking up dust, other than one jerk with 'F*ck Trudeau' mudflaps who sped by as fast as possible. COVID-related rage? Or just general Alberta hatred of the federal government?

On a happier note, the spring flowers were spectacular, especially the shooting stars. There were lots of violets too. We had one deer sighting - it bounded across the road ahead of us. And there were many signs of ground squirrels (gophers).

We managed to use up the whole day getting to the Old Man River North campsite, arriving at around 4:30 pm. Once again, we were the only campers in quite a big campground.

It was too cold for a planned shower using my portable shower contraption, but not too cold for sitting outside enjoying our post ride beverages and snacks.

We had another delicious dinner of pulled pork and slaw. Then we retreated to inside the van for dessert because there was another flurry of graupel. There was never any accumulation of ice pellets on the ground though. And in a way, they're better than rain because they bounce off clothes and tents instead of leaving them wet.

I was back in my sleeping bag by 8:30, and went to sleep pretty much right away because it was too cold to stick my arms out of the sleeping bag to read.

The ice pellets weren't far behind us. But we outran them.

And the sun came out for the last bit of our ride.

The Old Man River was right below our site. At this location, there's not much to it. It's dammed further south. The dam project was the subject of numerous court challenges in the 1980s.

Up and over. Shorter than planned, but plenty long on a cold day.

Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 110 km (68 miles)

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Susan CarpenterI’m sitting on a curb in Paris waiting for Lael Wilcox to pass by on her trip around the world - knowing that both of us would be loving your ride. Maybe on day…
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6 months ago

Betsy EvansTo Susan CarpenterShe's amazing, isn't she?

I think it's great that people can enjoy such a wide variety of experiences on a bike - from tests of endurance to a nice way to get from bakery to bakery, and everything in between. I'm envious of your stays in Europe, but I'd have FOMO if I wasn't here for our short summer in Canada. Too many choices!
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6 months ago