Jasper to Revelstoke - The Icefields Parkway

Overview
Scenery - 10
Road Conditions - 8
Free Camping opportunities - 9
Hills - 8
Services - 6

I decided to hitch into Jasper from Mcbride to give my leg some time to rest before paul would arrive a day later. When I arrived in town I headed to the Park HQ to ask about camping, they said it would $27 a night per site. Since I was by myself this would have been rediculously expensive so I set off around town to find someone to share a site with. I found Jethro, a guy from England hitchhiking and working his way around the world. We decided to meet at the campsite a few hours later. When I arrived at the campsite I found out that there were cheaper walk in sites available for only $22.50! Camping at Jasper didn't end up being that expensive in the end as when Paul arrived we split the cost three ways and then recruited another english guy for a night and since no one was checking who was on the site we stayed for free on our last night.

Jasper was a nice enough place to spend a few days but had little character. On our last day in town we went to the aquatics centre. We went in the early afternoon and it was $5 which is pretty reasonable. I'm not sure what I was expecting from the aquatics centre but I was a little disappointed. The hot tub was certainly hot and I spent most of my time in there trying to soothe my aching muscles. I tried to massage my hamstring that was hurting but I realised that it may have looked like I was massaging something else so I soon stopped that. After about 40 minutes in the hot tub I decided to get my 5 dollars worth and have a go on the slide. After coming down feet first I was a little dissatisfied so decided to go down head firt. On arriving in the pool at the bottom I was promtly told off and as I stood up I realised my shorts had fallen down, I pulled them back up and made for the exit.

Jasper was the beginning of the Icefields Parkway which would turn out to be the highlight of the trip so far. On the 25th we headed out of Jasper, a little ways down the road there was a checkpoint to pay the park entrance fees. I ended up getting a two day pass for $20, Paul just cycled straight through and didn't have to pay. We ended up cycling about 45 miles that day and headed down a dirt road to a large clearing that we think must have been a lake once. It had a picnic table and a set of antlers, everything you'd want in a campspot I'd say.

The next day I managed to get up pretty early and was only the road by about 7.45. The roads are empty this time of day and I would definetly recommened getting up early if you cycle the Icefields Parkway as it really improved the expiernce for me. It was great cycling with zero traffic and the views just kept getting better as the day went on and it ended up being one of my best cycling days ever!

In the early afternoon I reached Sunwapta pass(2030m) which wasn't actually that bad and the downhill on the other side was awesone (probably best to come from jasper to get gentler hills).We ended up camping at Rampart Creek Campground.

The next day I had good intention of getting up even earlier but when my alarm went off at 6.00 it was still dark out so I decided to stay put. I ended up getting about 6.45 and saw Paul in his new hammock with a tarp wrapped around him for warmth, it was pretty cold at night in the rockies, probably the coldest of the trip so far. The scenery was really breathtaking for the first hour after I'd set off. 

The only downside of setting off early was sacrificing the feeling in my fingers! Bow Pass was a little tougher than Sunwapta and I put my headphones on and put on some Modest Mouse, which normally does the trick, I decided that I wouldn't stop cycling until the album had finished. After about half an hour and in some distress I checked my MP3 player and there were still 6 songs left! I quickly decided that my first idea had been too optimistic and stopped for a break after the next song had finished. I passed quite a few cyclists on the way up but none of male ones waved, I suppose it must have hurt their ego's to see that a guy on a loaded bike had just done the same climb as them.  There wasn't much of a downhill after the pass but there was a very scenic bright blue lake called Bow Lake.   We stayed at Mosquito Lake Campground that night and found a spot away from the other sites next to the river with a picnic table which had great views of the surrounding mountains.  When the sun went down the sky turned red and looked very impressive.

  I foolishly slept under the stars that night and my sleeping bag developed a layer of ice on its outer.  The down actually didn't get wet and I managed to dry it out when the sun came out later in the afternoon and it was like new. 

There was about 15 miles left of the Icefields Parkway, of which I savoured every mile, to cycle before we would turn onto the very busy and annoying TransCanada Highway.   The first section of Transcanada wasn't the worst because of the great downhill.  After a very short climb to Kicking Horse Pass (1627m) there was a pretty nice downhill all the way to Field.

to be continued.....