This morning we had a bit of a logistical twit to figure out. Next Monday is a kind of Canadian holiday. They call it "August Long Weekend". New to us but it means that it is absolute peak season in Waterton. We have been pretty good at working the jigsaw puzzles of reserved campgrounds versus "first come first served" campgrounds. We took a short recon ride this AM to check out the large first come first served campground to our north, Crandell Mountain, as our reserved campsite in Waterton Townsite expires tomorrow morning. It will be tight but we think we can squeeze it if we are there at 8AM to put our name on the waiting list. If you are leaving you have to be out by noon so, we will circle back just after lunch to see if we made the cut. It is about 20 miles out of town, and much more primitive. However it is in a beautiful valley and offers easy access to a couple of hikes we want to do.
If we get a site we will park it there through the weekend. If not it is northbound to the provincial parks of Alberta. We hope we get one as Waterton is a good set up for us. There is a small grocery in town and we have enough basic foodstuffs. We would be able to do a load of laundry just before Banff and there are places to eat.
After we reconned we came back to town and biked out of town down a bike path that runs about 1looking back into the US. 0K out of town back to the park entrance, along the shores of middle and lower Waterton Lakes. Great views of the rangeland leading up to the park and on the way in great views of the mountains that ring the Upper Waterton Lake
Trail had short steep ups in parts and I could really feel the effects of being at altitude. Very hard to recover my breathing after a short up. The wind runs down valley and picks up in the afternoon, the ride back was into a tough headwind of easily 30-35km per hour, sustained. It was a long slow pullback to town, through the wind. We did get to see a demo of Blackfeet dancing.
Showers and then pizza in town for dinner!
If we get a site we will park it there through the weekend. If not it is northbound to the provincial parks of Alberta. We hope we get one as Waterton is a good set up for us. There is a small grocery in town and we have enough basic foodstuffs. We would be able to do a load of laundry just before Banff and there are places to eat.
After we reconned we came back to town and biked out of town down a bike path that runs about 1looking back into the US. 0K out of town back to the park entrance, along the shores of middle and lower Waterton Lakes. Great views of the rangeland leading up to the park and on the way in great views of the mountains that ring the Upper Waterton Lake
Trail had short steep ups in parts and I could really feel the effects of being at altitude. Very hard to recover my breathing after a short up. The wind runs down valley and picks up in the afternoon, the ride back was into a tough headwind of easily 30-35km per hour, sustained. It was a long slow pullback to town, through the wind. We did get to see a demo of Blackfeet dancing.
Showers and then pizza in town for dinner!
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