I left Lake Louise just after 8am in the morning and had an enjoyable ride along Highway 1A (Bow Valley Parkway). The road has two lanes and runs parallel to the much busier Trans Canada Highway on the other side do the Bow River. It was a great for two reasons. 1) The traffic was light and 2) much of it was mostly flat. After riding about 6km I stopped at the top of a small hill because a bear was up ahead about 150 meters. I waited for about 5 minutes while it was at the side of the road looking at me. A car coming from the other direction stopped and watched it as well. After a few minutes they drove by the bear in the other lane and stopped to say they would turn around and drive beside me if I wished so I could get by the bear. I said sure and as we drove by the bear we chatted a little. They were tourists from Denmark. Once safely by the bear I thanked them and continued on. I used a car shield like this once before on the road near our cottage.
At Castle Junction I stopped for a brief rest and bought a cinnamon roll. I put it down for a few seconds while I took some pictures. When I turned around a squirrel was hauling it away. I grabbed it from him but he was holding on tightly with his teeth. He then turned his interest to the food that I had packed in my panniers.
After Castle Junction the highway got much steeper as I approached the Continental Divide. When I reached the top it was cool, windy and raining lightly. For the next 30 km I rode against a stiff headwind. When I arrived at Vermilion Crossing the sun came out and it warmed up a little. For several km around Vermilion Crossing the area was burned over by a fire in 2003. The burned area is greening up nicely.
From Vermilion Crossing to McLeod Meadows campground (where I spent the night) it was great riding. The traffic was light, I saw lots of dear and the road was mostly flat with some gentle hills. I ended up riding 108km. I arrived at the campground just before 2:30 and set up camp. I had a good sleep in the tent but it cooled off during the night and was just a few degrees celsius when I got up and started on the road.
