Glacier National Park

A shuttle bus with bike racks takes travellers from Whitefish to Apgar, which is the western entrance to Glacier National Park. The ride takes about 50 minutes and costs only $10 each for the return trip. We were the only customers!

After the solitude and remoteness of the previous days, the huge number of people, cars and RVs was a shock to the system! All camp sites are booked out a year in advance. Lucky they keep a few spots for hikers and cyclists! It was very cozy, but also fun meeting all the others.

Our nightly cold "bath" with a fabulous view (instead of a shower). Lake McDonald.

The only road disecting the National Park is from Apgar over the spectacular Logan Pass to Saint Mary on the eastern boundary. The park services run a regular free shuttle bus, again with bike racks. So we caught the first shuttle to the top of the pass, cycled down the eastern side of it, had lunch, caught a shuttle back to Logan Pass and cycled down the western side of it. It felt like cheating, but this is not part of the Great Divide Ride and it was so much fun!

View from Logan Pass and the road from Apgar. Many back country hiking trails start here, but again, bookings are made a year in advance.

The eastern side of the park had a fire in 2015.

Saint Mary Lake.

Kirsten taking a break and soaking up the view. Note the visi vest. There were thousands of cars but everybody was very slow around the narrow bends and very bike friendly. We even witnessed a "bear jam", a young black bear crossing the road and bringing traffic to a halt.

Some more flora and fauna: a mountain goat ....

.... a ground squirrel and ....

... alpine flowers. 

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (Eureka to Whitefish)

Our first day off to do some bike maintenance, laundry, restock and relax bottoms and knees! Eureka is a cute town with a lovely timber cabin motel and a pub with fabulous local beer and steaks.

After Eureka the trail continues along the Flathead river, returning to within 6 miles of where we were two days ago. Crossing into the US legally meant climbing over two mountain passes and two days' detour. 

White-tailed deer can be seen everywhere. Lucky for us because they are the main prey of large carnivores.

And here is our standard lunch: bagels, salami, cheese and mustard. It's fantastic how every nice spot has a picnic table!

Crossing the Whitefish Divide. This is what most of the trail surface looks like, ...

 ... which gets very dusty when there are cars on it. Lucky we have come prepared.

Our first glimpse of Glacier National Park and the first reason for a detour. The trail runs along its western border, rather than through it.

Camping at Upper Whitefish Lake. Yet again a beautiful site with a private beach. To top it off, our neighbour gave us a cold beer each! And took the empty bottles back to carry out.

This was our last night camping with Garth. He left us at Whitefish to ride to Missoula and fly home, while we took a shuttle bus to Glacier National Park.

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (Sparwood to Eureka)

We survived three days in Grizzly conservation and breeding habitat and we didn't even see one. The locals told us to make a lot of noise to alert the bears to our presence. I think my loud (and terrible) singing must have scared them away! We saw plenty of footprints and scats though (see below). The bears are feeding on Huckleberries at the moment.

The wildlife in Canada seems to be dominated by large carnivorous mammals (bears, cougars, coyote and wolfs) and their prey (moose, deer and elk). We also see and hear a lot of different birds, but very few reptiles. A Garter snake below,...

.... a chipmunk, ....

 ...... some sort of Grouse ...

... and a furry forest creature.

The bridge got washed away and apparently will not be replaced. The water is very clear but very cold!

Approaching Cabin Pass.

The roads are very dusty due to a very dry summer. Lucky we can scrub it all off before  getting into the sleeping bag.

Camping at Wigwam Creek.

Single track again, this time too rough to ride.

The scenery is just stunning!

 There are flowers everywhere!

Kirsten getting water. We bought a filter pump, which will hopefully remove the giardia.

 Climbing up >1,000m to Galton Pass, the toughest day on the ride so far.

Leaving Canada and entering the US. No queues or inspections. The custom officer even waived the fee and told us to buy ourselves a beer instead!

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (Banff to Sparwood)

The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is a 4,500 km off road cycling trail from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells on the US/Mexican border. This is definitely the toughest challenge for us yet!
More information is available on: https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/great-divide-mountain-bike-route/

The Bass Pro outdoor supply shop in Calgary is an impressive museum of stuffed animals and mountain scenery.

The ride starts in the parking lot of the Fairmont Springs Hotel, built in 1888.

The adventure begins!

Garth is joining us for the first 10 days on his Brompton.

The bear spray is ready and within easy reach on my handle bar.

First night camping on Spray Lakes West. What a gorgeous spot!

Riding around Spray Lakes on single track - heaps of fun and not too challenging yet. 

Elk Pass. Our first crossing of the divide.

Camping at Blue Lake - very nice swim too at approx. 16 degrees.

Storing the food over night to keep it away from the bears.

Riding back into civilsation after three days in the wilderness. Coal mining and..

 ...forestry.

Leaving Elkford up another hill. Garth took the highway to Sparwood, which is easier than rocky mountain bike trails on the Brompton.

Local wildlife in the middle of town. No gardening required.

Our first real challenge. The track was completely washed away and we had to haul our gear up an elk track. 

Sparwood is another mining town with a hotel, a pub and a giant truck. Our first prime rib of the trip, a cold beer and a shower!