Hinton to Sparing River
Left at a good time in the morning and headed into Jasper. Jack, from Paradise Hill, had said there were no hills after Hilton. I had assumed, up until this point, that meant no hills until Hilton and that he had his comings and goings confused. But, he was right. I met one pretty good downhill dropping into the park itself, but no difficult uphill cimbs. Once I was in the park, the road was flat.
But instead of racing, I dawdled, taking in the amazing views. The rivers flowing down from the mountains are clear blue. I wonder what life was like here before people could speed through here on the highway. What did people think, riding a horse or even walking? In a car, you can drive around a peak in 10 minutes or less. Travelling at a slower speed, I feel like I develop some relationship with each mountain. I wonder if each peak has been climbed by a person. Did anybody attempt to walk through the crack between two mountains? What did these peak look like 100 years ago?
The scenery was amazing, but I wasn't thrilled with the park itself. Everything is designed for cars. The map of the park I got at the gate contains information for all the mountain national parks and it only lists the most popular trails and roads. According to the map there are less trails here than in a typical Ontario park. But that is not true, as I have passed many small trailheads, but I have no idea where they go. If I had a better map, I could have taken a kilometer of gravel to save 10km of biking. I may be able to obtain a superior map of the park in the town, but by then, I am halfway through.
I camped at Snaring River which has 'walk-in tenting sites', which are very nice. I met another cyclist, Trevor, who is heading for Newfoundland. He is only the second biker, and first coaster, I have talked to.
But instead of racing, I dawdled, taking in the amazing views. The rivers flowing down from the mountains are clear blue. I wonder what life was like here before people could speed through here on the highway. What did people think, riding a horse or even walking? In a car, you can drive around a peak in 10 minutes or less. Travelling at a slower speed, I feel like I develop some relationship with each mountain. I wonder if each peak has been climbed by a person. Did anybody attempt to walk through the crack between two mountains? What did these peak look like 100 years ago?
The scenery was amazing, but I wasn't thrilled with the park itself. Everything is designed for cars. The map of the park I got at the gate contains information for all the mountain national parks and it only lists the most popular trails and roads. According to the map there are less trails here than in a typical Ontario park. But that is not true, as I have passed many small trailheads, but I have no idea where they go. If I had a better map, I could have taken a kilometer of gravel to save 10km of biking. I may be able to obtain a superior map of the park in the town, but by then, I am halfway through.
I camped at Snaring River which has 'walk-in tenting sites', which are very nice. I met another cyclist, Trevor, who is heading for Newfoundland. He is only the second biker, and first coaster, I have talked to.