I got a late start out of Prince George Wednesday morning. My back is really acting up again so the packing process is getting quite slow. I twist or turn the wrong way and the result is super sharp pain in my lower spine. I made the spontaneous decision while packing up to head down the Yellowhead towards Jasper. It’s about 400k to the park entrance and a really pretty ride. By the time I got to the park entrance, it was late afternoon so decided to look for a strategic place to camp to hit the Icefields Parkway early the next morning. I found a campground on the Robson River and slowly set up for the night. I’m trying to be as careful and as possible on my back. Just getting on and off the bike, moving my left leg to shift, etc. is difficult and awkward. It had cooled off to a perfect evening temperature by around 7pm. I haven’t used the camp chair I have carried along for over 8,000 miles now but tonight was able to put it to use. I hiked to a nice spot downriver with my iPad and read for a couple of hours listening to the soothing sounds of moving water. The days are getting shorter as I head south – the sun is setting around 9pm now. Just a few weeks ago it was straight up daylight until almost midnight. I prepared for a cold night and morning as temps are forecasted in the high 30’s/low 40’s. I have a sleeping bag liner that gives me a few degrees below what my 35 degree bag offers. This year I have a better sleeping pad with higher R rating than the one last year so not getting the cold coming up from the ground that I was getting last year.
I packed up and got moving early Thursday morning, paid my park fee and was on the parkway by 8:15am with very little traffic. I was geared up and plugged in due to the cold temperatures. Jasper is a really beautiful park with glaciers receding down tall mountain peaks. Like in Alaska and everywhere else on earth, the glaciers are slowly disappearing. Better get out and see them while you still can. I made more stops than usual just to get off the bike ands stretch my back. I really tweaked it good and it’s getting more and more difficult to ride and function. Sleeping in a tent probably isn’t helping it any. I picked up some more icy hot back patches in PG but they don’t seem to be helping much.
After a late lunch I turned off onto highway 1 through Yoho National Park towards Golden. I was hoping for a bed at the Kicking Horse Hostel but they were full so I settled for a campsite at the municipal campground in town. It was a nice spot on the Kootenay just upriver from the confluence with the Columbia – and walking distance to the Wolf Den for a beer and dinner. I met some really cool people at the Wolf Den – backpackers, hikers and mountain bike enthusiasts in Golden for the launching spot that it is for all these outdoor activities. It was raining a bit when I left the Wolf Den so glad I had set-up camp earlier. It rained lightly on and off all night which produces a nice sound on the tent fly to sleep to.
The next morning was clear and and dry so I waited a bit for the sun to come up and dry everything out before packing up. I once again rode through Glacier National Park of Canada (3rd time now) but this time could actually see the impressive mountain peaks popping in and out of the clouds. It’s really a pretty ride between Golden and Revelstoke and on my 3rd try, I finally got to see something other than low clouds and fog. I arrived into Revelstoke around 2pm and rode around town looking for a lunch spot and settled on the Village Idiot (great name!) for a late lunch. After procrastinating for almost 2 hours at the restaurant, I decided to look for a place to stay the night. Unfortunately, Revelstoke is expensive! I couldn’t find anything under $100US so decided to camp again. Probably not the best for my back but good for my budget. The first two campgrounds I checked were already full for the night but the 3rd had spots available. The tent spots were tight and I barely had room for a tent and my motorcycle. It was still early so decided to take a long walk around town to see if it would loosen up my back. After walking almost 3 miles I still felt sore so broke out the mat back at camp and tried some more stretching. Nothing seems to be working – in fact it feels like it got worse since I got off the bike 6 hours earlier. I really need to step it up on the Pilates once I’m back to normal and try to increase the strength in my core.
This morning I am at Starbucks (Tim Hortons was slammed busy!) drinking coffee and using the wifi trying to decide where to go next. Thinking to make a run down 23 to Shelter Bay and take the ferry across the lake, run down to Nakusp (hip little town) for lunch and then hit 31A over to Kaslo. I ran this route last year and it was a good ride. 31A is a twisty road connecting Slocan and Kootenay lakes. Hoping my back hold up for the day. It was hurting bad this morning so downed a few Tylenol even before packing up camp. It feels a little better now but if I twist or move in the wrong way I get that sharp pain in my lower spine. It’s really pissing me off a bit at the moment and I’m not sure what I can do. I will probably try to find a bed tonight if I stumble upon a reasonably priced motel. So far the weather looks good so there is that to be happy for!