Day 10, June 8th, Sparwood to Fort Macleod Alberta! (133km)

Entering Alberta Today

As darkness descended on Mountain Shadow Campground in Sparwood, a stranger popped by.  Ellick had set up his tent exposed to the wicked rain storm and had come by to check out the pagoda I had camped under.  Like a few of the campers here, Ellick is working as a contractor at one of the local coal mines near Sparwood.  Earlier on, I had met Drayer.  Drayer is an industrial electrician in his early fifties also working on a contract at a mine.  Both of these guys are tough.  Like a lot of contractors around here, they live in a tent during the duration of their contracts.  Ellick's car had broken down near Fernie and now without money, he couldn't afford a sleeping pad and was roughing it. Luckily for both of us, Drayer had bought a case of beer that he was more than willing to share.  Drayer says some of the finest coal in the world is in these mountains.  There's big money for contractors willing to work here but most of it is lost as quickly as its made.  Drayer's work has taken him all over the world.  Like most guys who have seen too much of one thing, he's looking for new opportunities.  Recently, he's gotten into nature photography and was more than happy to show me some of his work.  The case of beer empty, we all wished each other the best of luck on our different journeys.

Snow Plow Holding Up Traffic

Squawking crows in the morning woke me up at first light.  It was still pissing rain. I knew my gear wouldn't be dry for too much longer.  The team from Montreal had left earlier than me.  The weather was miserable but it was apparent this was the type of storm that you couldn't wait out.  Stepping into the rain, I started off towards the Crowsnest Pass.  It was going to be a dreary day.  Not too long ago, it was Winter up here.  Passing trucks threw up the muddy sand and salt from the road onto me and my bike.  At a construction site, I passed a snow plow stopped beside the road.  Could there really be fresh snow up on the Crowsnest this time of year?  I stopped to ask the driver.  The driver assured me that the road was clear of snow.  His job today was to push all the sand from the winter salting off to the side of the road.  He suggested I wait until he started his run.  After fighting my way through highway shoulders stacked with inches of sand, I was more than happy to wait for him to clear the road before continuing the climb.

The Crowsnest Pass is a gradual hill.  Its not a technically difficult climb and would have been beautiful except for the weather.  Near the top of the pass, trees lean to the east.  Winds can be so strong up here that their ferocity closes the pass during powerful storms that pass through at certain times of the year.  Today, I made the summit quickly.  It wasn't long before I saw the British Columbia & Alberta boundary.  Not in the mood, I stopped for a quick picture.  It was freezing up there.  When I started the trip, I hadn't brought any long cycling pants.  Here I was on top of the Crowsnest Pass in shorts and it was 5 degrees.  To make things worst, I was battling a massive headwind.  On one descent, the headwind slowed me down to under 10km an hour.  I would estimate that some of the gusts were 80km/h to 100km/h.  At one point, I was worried of being blown off my bike.

First View of Alberta

The scenery was beautiful, but the howling wind and low temperatures were freezing me to the bone.  I popped into the visitor information center to warm my hands and borrow some plastic bags.  In lieu of full length gloves, I wrapped my hands with plastic bags and continued on my trip.  I was ecstatic to be in Alberta.  While the foothills were rolling, I knew it was only a matter of time before I hit flat prairie.  

Frank Slide

Battling a headwind, I slowly worked my way to the site of Frank Slide.  In the early 1900's a huge chunk of limestone broke away from the mountain here.  As the village slept, homes were crushed and lives destroyed.  Even the entrance to the undeground mine was covered with rock.  The miners were able to dig themselves out but 70 people in the village perished in the slide never to be found.  

Wind Mills Pincher Creek

Weaving my way through rolling hills, I soon made Pincher Creek.   Pincher Creek is famous for having some of the strongest sustained winds in the world.  Some of the trees around here grow on a 30 degree angle towards the east.  The force of the wind is perturbing.  Ironically, it was at Pincher Creek that the headwind suddenly reversed and became a tailwind.  Almost instantly, I went from averaging 15km/h to over 30km/h.  On the hills around Pincher Creek are modern windmills that harness the wind to generate electricity.  Some ridges here have so many windmills that they disappear into the horizon.  It was a phenomenal sight.

Oh Alberta!

The trip from Pincher Creek to Fort Macleod was flat and fast.  With a tailwind blowing me over flat pavement, it was easy to sustain speeds in excess of 30km/h.  About 20km outside of Fort Macleod, I spotted the RV being used by the Montreal team parked beside the road.  With a quick wave, I zoomed past the RV.  After stopping for lunch in Fort Macleod, I decided to call it a night and asked for directions to the campground.  Arriving at the campground, I found the team from Montreal.  We shared a good laugh about the crazy ride today.  It's too bad that only one of the guys speaks good English.  We've stayed at the same campground for 3 days now by coincidence.  As a soloist, I ride alone.  We're riding the same distances but our pace is different. 

Looking Towards the Crowsnest Pass

Distance: 133km

Average Speed: 20.3km/h

Maximum Speed: 48.7km/h

Time: 6:33

Odometer: 1159km