(no subject)
So two weekends ago, I took a bike trip through the mountains, did a short overnight hike around mt. Robson, and saw the Fringe Theater Festival in Edmonton. Had some minor difficulties along the way but had a good time, snapped some scenic pics, and met some old friends. 
I got off to a late start Friday evening and then had to replace the burned out headlight before I could get going. The bike shop in town did not have a sealed-beam unit but I eventually found one at an auto parts place. By the time I made it to Rockey Mountain House it was raining pretty hard so I took a room at 'The House' hotel.
I had planned to get to Jasper or perhaps Robson the first day, but it was good to take it slow. I had never actually been to Rockey before, just stopped for gas & grub. They have a rare church of the Society of St. Pius X; these guys are fundamentalist Catholics who do not accept the second Vatican Counsel. There is also an impressive pathway system going up the river where I took this sunset shot, and a historical hotel I will be sure to stay at next time. Saturday happened to be their annual fair and I stopped at the car show. They invited my poor dirty bike in with their polished show cars, due to its age and generally good condition; what an honor!
From Rockey, I paid a $10CDN toll to get into Jasper park, saw some super scenery, and stopped for a short hike at Columbia ice fields. There are giant monster-bus things with tires bigger than me that tour the ice sheet, but I just went up to the toe of the glacier. It used to come down to the parking lot, but due to recent global warming it's a 20 min hike nowdays. They had the ice roped off with big warning signs talking about the several hours a crevasse rescue takes and the kid who died there in nineties, but there were people all over the place. I crossed the rope but stayed on the rock, had a drink of glacier-fresh water, and took some pics. Caught a bit a rain on the way up to Jasper town, and bought a good if pricey hot meal and some very pricey riding gloves with cuffs halfway up my elbow. Around 7:00PM I pushed it over to Mt. Robson and pitched my tent for the night.
Sunday morning I parked at the trailhead, packed up my leathers, put on my polyester pants, and started up the Mt. Robson trail. It has been years and years since I have been backpacking, and my hiking boots seem to be lost in the move. My Redwing workboots are good quality but they are not up to this work and my feet suffered some. Otherwise the hike went great; I was impressed with my performance. For those who have been there, I made camp at the top of Emperor Falls and then hiked up to Berg Lake. I really should do more of this kind of thing.
Monday was a transportation day. Broke camp and hiked the long, long way to the trailhead, where I took this picture. Feet were unhappy. Switched from hiker back to biker and rode to Jasper for laundry and general recovery. Found out I lost the multitool and flashlight that I always carry, and went all the way back to Robson to look. Shit. Rode back to Jasper and then pushed it all the way over to Edmonton, where I checked into the Strathcona Hotel around 2:00AM
I love Edmonton, and especially the Strathcona district. Met with my fun older cousin Fern and her friend at the much nicer Varscona Hotel, then went to five different plays at the Fringe Festival. This is the biggest of its kind in North America, or likely anywhere. There must have been more than 50 shows going, some of them rather elaborate with sets and props even! I particularly liked Pornstar (funny, pensive, and not very raunchy), Gossamer Feast (weird, but pitch perfect) and Macbeth (breaks the fourth wall and is about acting, not Scotland). After three days and five more plays I was fully culturefied! While there I stayed with my old roomie Phil; good to see he is still doing well.
On the way back to Moms place, I stopped in at my favorite employer, JB oilfield vac service. They only have three trucks working and a fleet of about fifty rusting in the yard, so no help there. Looks like I will need to hustle a bit to find work. More on that later.
I got off to a late start Friday evening and then had to replace the burned out headlight before I could get going. The bike shop in town did not have a sealed-beam unit but I eventually found one at an auto parts place. By the time I made it to Rockey Mountain House it was raining pretty hard so I took a room at 'The House' hotel.
I had planned to get to Jasper or perhaps Robson the first day, but it was good to take it slow. I had never actually been to Rockey before, just stopped for gas & grub. They have a rare church of the Society of St. Pius X; these guys are fundamentalist Catholics who do not accept the second Vatican Counsel. There is also an impressive pathway system going up the river where I took this sunset shot, and a historical hotel I will be sure to stay at next time. Saturday happened to be their annual fair and I stopped at the car show. They invited my poor dirty bike in with their polished show cars, due to its age and generally good condition; what an honor!
From Rockey, I paid a $10CDN toll to get into Jasper park, saw some super scenery, and stopped for a short hike at Columbia ice fields. There are giant monster-bus things with tires bigger than me that tour the ice sheet, but I just went up to the toe of the glacier. It used to come down to the parking lot, but due to recent global warming it's a 20 min hike nowdays. They had the ice roped off with big warning signs talking about the several hours a crevasse rescue takes and the kid who died there in nineties, but there were people all over the place. I crossed the rope but stayed on the rock, had a drink of glacier-fresh water, and took some pics. Caught a bit a rain on the way up to Jasper town, and bought a good if pricey hot meal and some very pricey riding gloves with cuffs halfway up my elbow. Around 7:00PM I pushed it over to Mt. Robson and pitched my tent for the night.
Sunday morning I parked at the trailhead, packed up my leathers, put on my polyester pants, and started up the Mt. Robson trail. It has been years and years since I have been backpacking, and my hiking boots seem to be lost in the move. My Redwing workboots are good quality but they are not up to this work and my feet suffered some. Otherwise the hike went great; I was impressed with my performance. For those who have been there, I made camp at the top of Emperor Falls and then hiked up to Berg Lake. I really should do more of this kind of thing.
Monday was a transportation day. Broke camp and hiked the long, long way to the trailhead, where I took this picture. Feet were unhappy. Switched from hiker back to biker and rode to Jasper for laundry and general recovery. Found out I lost the multitool and flashlight that I always carry, and went all the way back to Robson to look. Shit. Rode back to Jasper and then pushed it all the way over to Edmonton, where I checked into the Strathcona Hotel around 2:00AM
I love Edmonton, and especially the Strathcona district. Met with my fun older cousin Fern and her friend at the much nicer Varscona Hotel, then went to five different plays at the Fringe Festival. This is the biggest of its kind in North America, or likely anywhere. There must have been more than 50 shows going, some of them rather elaborate with sets and props even! I particularly liked Pornstar (funny, pensive, and not very raunchy), Gossamer Feast (weird, but pitch perfect) and Macbeth (breaks the fourth wall and is about acting, not Scotland). After three days and five more plays I was fully culturefied! While there I stayed with my old roomie Phil; good to see he is still doing well.
On the way back to Moms place, I stopped in at my favorite employer, JB oilfield vac service. They only have three trucks working and a fleet of about fifty rusting in the yard, so no help there. Looks like I will need to hustle a bit to find work. More on that later.