(Backup) Banff to Fernie - day 1 - 3

Wow the day has finally come - we are starting! We cycled down to a local cafe for breakfast the headed to the YWCA fir the 8am start. It was so good to get on the bikes and go after so much preparation and time spent organising and stressing about this trip. 
We chatted to our fellow riders as we cruised along. Down past the back of Canmore then past spray lake and into kananaskis. We followed trail, gravel road then a cool 15-20km section of single track which was fun but a bit tricky with a fully loaded touring bike. Then onto some seal before getting to Boulton creek trading post. An ice cream was a well deserved treat . 












We then headed for our first pass of the trip Elk pass at 1963m. There were a couple of steep sections that were walked but otherwise rideable. 
Down the other side we stopped for the night at Tobermory Cabin. 






Day two we headed along undulating gravel road for 55kms before getting to the turn off to Koko pass. The track turned into a snowmobile / quad track. To say it was hard is an understatement! 
We climbed 600m from the base to the hut over very rough rocky terrain with several avalanches near the top to clamber over. There were a few moments of choice words ! But we made it after 3.5hrs.














The cabin at the top was a godsend after the huge climb and we decided we were done for the day. 
We melted snow for water to drink and boil up for dinner and welcomed more riders as the night progressed ending up with 6 riders inside the cabin and 3 outside ! 
The following morning we were up early and heading down the pass by 6.30am. 96kms to Fernie and we were looking forward to a shower and some hot food! The day was wet  and we had several creek crossings on the way down the pass to the road out, unfortunately we couldn’t ride them all and had to walk two and they were freezing being snow melt creeks !  A change of socks at the bottom and numb toes for most of the ride. We rode through quite a large area of forest fire damage- it was a stark contrast to the  pine forests we had been riding through and with it we had strong headwinds for about 30kms down the valley which didn’t make for the funest times! We saw several deer along the way.  It was a beautiful valley to ride along beside a beautiful river. 
A small climb over to Fernie and the day was done ! We were greeeted at the snow valley motel with free soup, sandwiches, bike wash and showers- amazing!!!! 
Tomorrow we head for the hills again and hopefully into America at the end of day two! It’s going to be an adventure up there as fresh snow has been falling this afternoon - watch this space ! ......








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