Ride Around Jasper

We wanted to get a few miles in with some climbing to make sure that everything is in proper working order, including both riders.  We stopped by a local bike shop and used their floor pump (so much easier than the little thing that we carry) and asked for some suggestions.  We had hoped to ride out the Miligne Valley to the lake with the same name, but a wildfire has closed the valley so that's off the list.

We decided to go to Pyramid Lake, which is only about 10 km from Jasper.  A nice ride with a bit of rollers and hundreds of huge tour buses carrying the loads of tourists.  The lake is nice and there is a lodge and restaurant.  We wanted to ride so didn't stop.

Heading up to Pyramid Lake

The Lake

On the way down Lorie yelled at me to stop because there was a huge elk just off the road.  We turned around and rode back to where she'd seen him and he was hidden in dense foliage and was a bit tough to see, but we counted 7 points on the absolutely huge rack.  He was only 10 m or so off the road but he was not interested in us being there so we moved on.  Here's the best photo we could get without getting closer.

He's a big guy!

Mount Edith Cavell, where we're headed.

We rode back through Jasper and headed toward Mount Edith Cavell, which the guy at the shop said was a great ride on newly surfaced road and just a moderate climb.  It was about 15 km to the bottom of the hill, but the initial switchbacks were all 10 plus percent grade.  Moderate?  It was a super nice day though, so we kept going.  We finally topped out at the base of the steep moraine that holds two glaciers, Ghost Glacier and Angel Glacier.  The scenery is stunning.  We saw a few cars but no buses are allowed on the road since the switchbacks are pretty tight and steep.  The climb was just under 20 km and mostly 8 to 10 percent.  Moderate?

The Athabaska Valley looking toward Athabaska Pass

Amethyst Lake near the top of the climb.  Here's the glacial face of the mountain:

The weather was closing in a bit and the temperature was dropping so we decided to head down.  The ride down was fun and fast!

Back to town.  The bike is ready and we feel good so we walked back to town to explore.  We saw that there was a historical walking tour around town later in the evening, so we joined in.  Well, it was Lorie and I and the narrator, Sarah from Kelowna (a UBCO student).  Sarah had an amazing wealth of knowledge about the history of Jasper and some great stories, so it was a great way to spend some time.  She also told us about the best local dive bars (which we couldn't find last night...).  Word is, if you're in Jasper, head to the De'd Dog on the north end of town.  Next time.