September 1, 2007, Saturday
Icefields Parkway, Sunwapta Falls to Jasper
Rain was falling hard when I awoke at around 4 am. By 5 the rain was lighter and by breakfast it had mostly stopped, although the sky was overcast and it was cold and gloomy outside as we feasted on another breakfast buffet. It was time to decide what to do next. 5 or 6 people wanted to ride despite the inclement weather, the rest were anxious to end the trip, etiher in Jasper or preferably to them, Banff. To us there should have been no doubt; if people wanted to ride, we would ride, finishing the trip with a short ride to Jasper along old Hwy 93.
On a trip like this there is often peer pressure to go with the majority opinion. Those ready to ride were not adamant about riding to Jasper, wanting to be "team" players. The head guide seemed to want to do what the majority wanted, not encouraging anyone to ride. Seeing a dillema, the guides huddled to discuss the options. Having been on other trips like this it was clear to me that the guides were leaning toward not riding. On past trips we have taken with BA, when there is cold, wet weather the tendency seems to be to throw the bikes on top of the van.
Sure enough, Brandon announced that we would stop the trip north, load up the vans and drive to Banff. Since we would arrive there early, there would be an optional ride around Banff. We were not happy to say the least. We signed up for the Glacier-Banff-Jasper trip not the Glacier-Banff-Sunwapta Falls trip and we should have had the option of completing the ride. Our goal was to reach Jasper and we didn't reach that goal. It was a major disappointment. It only occurred to us how disappointing it was after the decision was made. It was especially so as we loaded the vans and the skies parted and we could see blue above. By then there was too much momentum to head to Banff.
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Headed to Banff as the skies clear | Banff Springs Hotel | Bow Falls |
I doubt that had the guides been in our position that they would have wanted to ride in a van with 9 or 10 others to go to Banff to rub elbows with the tourist masses. The ride in Banff, around the golf course and out to Johnson Lake, was a good one but it wasn't quite the same; dodging tourist instead of possibly seeing moose, elk, or bear and perhaps getting a little wet. That's why we have rain gear.
The trip had been almost perfect to that point. It could be that we made too much of the fact that we couldn't finish it properly but I sensed that one or two others were equally disappointed. For us the ride back to Banff and on to Calgary was quiet and joyless.
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Banff overlook | Johnson Lake | Goats in the road |
That night we stayed at the Delta motel across the street from the airport. We checked out the menus at the motel and decided to search out cheaper fare across the street in the airport terminal. Stores were closing so we headed to Tim Horton's for egg salad sandwiches and drinks, all for $10.