Following the exhausting and biggest day of the trip, it was unfortunate that due to the flights I got booking so late, we had to cover the same distance again to get back to Fernie in time for me to pack my bike and get to Calgary airport the following day. There was some talk of friends coming and rescuing us if necessary – I don’t think either of us liked the principle of this option.

The first leg of the day was to Cranbrook and timing our departure correctly meant Katie could join us on her bike-commute. What a commute – thirty kilometres of sealed rail trail. Views, hills, traffic-free, peace; my commute is pretty good, half on pathway around the coast, but this one I was a little envious of. In summer at least, I suspect I’d prefer my ride to work in the winter!

Getting off the pathway to look over the embankment across the surrounding valley.

A crazy smooth rail trail, especially after Salmo, it was well good for bikepack chatting.

Saying farewell to Katie as we approached town, we headed off to a recommended cafe for second breakfast. And third breakfast. It was warming considerably by the time we headed out of town, stopping for the last gas station stock-up of the trip, and found another rail trail. This one wasn’t so much pavement, but smooth packed gravel. We took it easy in the shade. Eventually we had to join the highway for twenty minutes, despite our attempts to follow some singletrack that didn’t end up going the correct direction. Coincidentally, some motorcyclists, who made our acquaintance the previous morning in Nelson, roared past during that short stretch of highway riding.

A quiet rural road through plenty of fields with many quaint old North American barns took us to the settlement of Wardner and the Kootenay River. The highway had crossed the river, so it was proper quiet; Wardner was small, without services or any place that looked worth stopping for lunch (or fourth breakfast, as the case may have been). We attacked a steep climb instead, the road getting even more rural and turning to gravel. By now we’d left all traffic behind, found somewhere to lunch and continued climbing before a big downhill back to the river. Also, we were back to meeting other people touring on bikes – albeit hauling two or more times more stuff than we were. I finally got fed up with having to inflate my tubeless rear tyre twice, or more, daily and used the small bottle of sealant I’d been carrying all trip. It improved somewhat.

More gravel roads to whizz down; and yes, still trees to be seen.

Back on the seal for a bit, it was certainly hot enough as we approached the bridge across the Kootenay for our last ice cream stop of the route. Mid-afternoon and hot, we still had fifty generally uphill kilometres to go before starting the drive back towards Canmore. Still a steady pace, Gray Creek Pass’s effects may have slowed us a little. Huzzah, more gravel, sustained climbing; this trip just kept on delivering.

Crossing the highway that took us to the US border on the day we set-off, we were trying to get back to the quiet road that would take us alongside the Elk River back to Fernie. Alas, there was a very large sawmill on the connection; that meant a lot of unnerving heavy traffic on a wide, unsealed and noisy road. Not at all pleasant. While a road was marked around the outside of the mill, it was touch and go as to whether we’d be able to sneak around or get stopped and turned around. By this stage, the desire to get back to Fernie was strong and the thought of backtracking appealed none.

Unfortunately, my last photo of a fantastic trip appears to been a very poor one of a Canfor sawmill; ho hum.

We snuck through unchallenged and on the outskirts of Elko we rejoined our first day’s route and turned for Fernie. We repaid all that altitude lost initially with a gradual, and at times undulating, ascent back to town. A great effort (considering Megan’s dearth of distance biking in the previous year) to put our two longest days of the trip, in heat that we were getting used to, back to back to finish twelve days and nearly twelve hundred kilometres later.

It was a fantastic trip and would have been so if planned months in advance – Megan certainly put a great route together. That I started riding in the heat of North American summer less than a week after being invited while skiing in the south of a New Zealand winter, made the adventure all the more incredible. A bikepacking expedition to be remembered for: trees, long gravel climbs, the heat, cheese, frozen burritos, ice creams, snap peas, shortbread, misplaced electrolytes, bears, eagles, ospreys, an owl, deer, chipmunks, ground squirrels, smoke, moose, picnic tables, mochas, amazing crepes, huckleberries, heinous-rail-trail and I’ve probably gone on enough…

Thanks to Megan for all the organising, excellent route-finding, having me along for a thoroughly enjoyable ride, putting up with my diversions (mostly food-based, but also navigational), and also for all the photos of me that I’ve purloined.

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Blasting down the hills of Nelson early Sunday morning, we couldn’t really tell what the day was like – it was so shrouded in smoke even at that hour. We found a lovely and popular cafe while waiting for the grocery store to open, then stocked up on food. Leaving Nelson, we crossed the west arm of Kootenay Lake on BOB – the big orange bridge.

The sun trying to break through the haze.

Not making a lot of headway through the particulates.

Heading east for the ferry from Balfour across the lake proper, we had thirty kilometres or so to go to meet our preferred sailing at nine fifty. An undulating road beside the lake had us going at a steady pace, while trying not to let our respiratory systems get too irritated – we made it comfortably to scoot in front of the motor vehicles.

For a free ferry, it was much larger than I expected – fitting a surprising number of vehicles, large and small, on and finding room for two bikepackers too.

Disembarking, we let all the vehicles pass before attempting our first hill of the day. A mere hundred and fifty metres, it was hardly even a warm up for what was to come. Not that that preventing us stopping for a tasty food stop – it would be sometime before we saw a shop again that day.

Back on the BC Epic route for much of the day, it was eminently preferable to the horror of the (/a) rail trail near Salmo the previous day.  We left the lake at Gray Creek and headed up, up and up some more.

A gravel road in generally good condition, this consistent climb was just wonderful. Climbing fifteen hundred metres from the lake, it wound its way up with fewer switchbacks than I would have suspected. Even with wildfire smoke obscured vistas, it was a beautiful climb as we focused on less distant views. Averaging out at nine percent gradient, it didn’t seem too bad as we kept a steady pace – with frequent stops to snack or chat to the occupants of the occasional vehicle out exploring.

Up and up.

Slowly getting closer to the pass, which was under the left of that peak.

Three and a quarter hours later, having ridden seventeen kilometres, we were well pleased to crest the pass. I’m sure that’s one of the biggest climbs I’ve done on a bike – loaded or not. We may have celebrated with frozen burritos. After a bit of a rest at the top (a shade over 2000 m above sea level), the much anticipated descent was upon us. First impressions: it was cold. For the first time in the trip, all our layers went on – and still we had chilly digits.

Yet we had exorbitant amounts of fun hollering our way down the long hill. The surface was sublime; generally sound and smooth, there was enough variety to really encourage moving around on the bike, blasting around corners, and hitting enough bumps and rocks to get modest, but still exhilarating, amounts of air.

A.

Complete.

Blast.

We may have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves… Well, I certainly did!

Megan setting the dust flying behind her.

Occasionally we slowed and stopped to appreciate the beauty around us.

The valley widened and flattened out, the surface getting oddly sandy – but not too difficult to ride on. Speed helped!

Enjoying the last of the fantastic gravel excursion in the late-afternoon light/haze.

Getting close to being back on the seal, we were surprised to ride out of a fire closure – very good timing, the area wasn’t closed when we rode in. Unfortunately extensive wildfires ravaged the area surrounding Kimberley in the coming weeks. Suddenly, a bear! The second sighting of the trip. I say that like it was exciting, but thankfully nothing of note happened – it ambled across the road and took off up into the trees.

Back on the pavement, despite our biggest distance and climbing day by far in the trip, Megan had excessive energy left and put the hammer down all the way into Kimberley, some twenty or thirty kilometres. I struggled to keep up after such a long day; I’d blame the gearing on my bike, but even I’m not buying that. We found Katie’s place as the sky darkened (due to approaching night, not smoke) and, exhausted, gratefully accepted kind hospitality. Always nice to meet bikepackers, I especially enjoyed the NZ bikepacking chat.

This was by far our biggest day of the trip in distance, climbing and time – but probably not quite as tough as the extended hike-a-bike dropping down to Idaho in the heat. A great day and another one to remember.