Out Spokin': Circling the U.S. Chapter 31: Waterton Lakes, Canada

Tuesday, August 20 - Saturday, August 24, 2019

Rob loves telling the story about his experience with the "flight or fight" response. When three large German Shepherds took off after him, there was no fighting in his response. I heard him yelling, then he flew past me. I looked back and saw two large dogs, and I took off behind him, yelling, "Ride hard!"

The dogs attacked on our way to Mountain View, Alberta.

We left them behind, but the fear remained. For miles after, I had visions of what would happen if one of us were brought down by a pack of dogs. It wouldn't be pretty.

One stop shopping was all Mountain View had to offer. We stopped for the "Eats and Treats."

Rob says that the fight or flight response includes superhuman physical strength and, when the stressor is removed, a voracious appetite and extreme fatigue. When we stopped several miles later in the tiny town of Mountain View and found a cafe serving a modest all-you-can-eat breakfast, Rob went crazy. He ate four pop-tarts, four yogurts, a hard-boiled egg, an egg sandwich, a belgian waffle, a banana, and a blueberry muffin.

I didn't know about the four pop-tarts. When I came back from the bathroom, he had half of one sitting on the table. I said, "How can you eat that crap when there are home-made muffins?" Later, when Rob told the story to someone he admitted hiding the other three wrappers from me.

Following are pictures from the rest of the day's ride to Waterton Lakes National Park.

We've probably cycled past thousands of hay bales so far. I especially liked the photo opportunity these presented.

Both those cyclists are Rob. I discovered I can get him more than once with the panorama setting.

After 35 miles we arrived in Waterton Village, set up camp, drank the other two beers that Marlene had given us, went for a swim in the crystal-clear lake, and explored the picturesque little town.

The town and campground sit beside this lake.

Waterton Lakes is where bicyclists always take a day off; it's just too beautiful to zip by. As things turned out, we spent three days here, two more than planned. Wednesday, August 21, we hiked six miles, climbing 1500 feet, to Bertha Falls and Bertha Lake. The climb was gradual, the entire way through the burn area from the 2017 fire that took out about a third of the park.

Following are some pictures from our hike.

Bertha Falls

Looking down on Waterton Lakes Village and the campground.

Regrowth after the 2017 wildfire brought abundant wildflowers and abundant berries. The bears were happy.

Bertha Lake

Waterton Lakes wildlife.

We planned to spend one day in Waterton Lakes then head to Glacier. But then Rob had a different idea. When I woke up on Thursday, August 22, he was sitting outside the tent watching the sun come up and informed me that we were staying another day. He gave myriad reasons: the weather would be better tomorrow; we hiked yesterday and didn't get the rest day we needed for the climbing ahead of us; he wanted me to try to get caught up on my blog; he liked where we were and thought we should take another day just to enjoy it. Waterton Lakes is really a lovely place and my legs were tired from the hike and the weather did look a little uncertain and I did want some time to write. So we stayed another day, which turned into two more days.

I found a coffee shop where I sat outside and could work even when it rained, which it did intermittently throughout the day. We had pizza for lunch and walked up the hill to the Prince of Wales Hotel.

A friend told me that he thought Waterton Lakes was fake, but I disagree. Yes, it does swarm with tourists and touristy shops, but the businesses are, for the most part, small and locally owned. The young people who work there come from close by and far away. Many stay in the winter and work in nearby ski resort towns. We found several affordable places to get some good food, including 49 Degrees North Pizza.

Afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales would have been lovely, but the price was outside the parameters of our budget. When we're rich and too feeble to camp, I want to come back out west and stay in every grand hotel in every national park and have afternoon tea or a fancy dinner and sit in their lounges with a good book overlooking the beautiful scenery that surrounds them. But until then, I'm very happy with our low budget life on the road.

The view from the Prince of Wales Hotel.

Two views from our campground. We were surrounded by mountains, within walking distance of the small downtown.

That evening tragedy struck. Well, not really, but it was worrisome. Rob took a fall and banged his head. He didn't get knocked out but because he is on blood thinners, he has to watch out for a brain hemorhage. A headache is the first symptom.

After throwing away some trash after dinner, Rob missed the step on the dumpster and fell, banging his head on the outdoor sink on the right.

We stopped by the campground office to find out about getting medical assistance if we needed it during the night. Rob filled out an incident report. For several weeks afterward, he was in contact with someone at the park. He wanted to make sure they would do something to alert people about the step, like painting a yellow strip on the edge. They gave us a refund for our four nights of camping.

Rob also banged his knee when he fell and by the next morning it was swollen. We thought it would be prudent to stick around another day. I returned to my coffee shop and Rob investigated possibilities for something else to do. He found out about a bike ride up Red Rock Canyon, nine miles, mostly uphill, on a paved road that had been closed to motor vehicles. How can you turn down that opportunity? A lovely ride, then a one-kilometer walk to a waterfall.

We shared this beautiful road with just a few other cyclists. It was a bicyclist's dream come true.

About walking through all he burned trees, Rob said, "I feel like I'm walking through somebody's scalp. Now I know how a tick feels. The path is a crooked part."

Blakiston Falls.

Red Rock Canyon

Another view of the Prince of Wales Hotel

We finally left Waterton Lakes for Glacier National Park on Saturday, August 24. The riding was challenging, but beautiful. We had two long climbs, each several miles long. On the first one, Rob saw a black bear crossing the road. He yelled, "Oh, shit!" and the bear turned and started walking towards him. Then he yelled, more loudly, "Con!" I heard him and turned and saw what looked like a black shadow go into the woods. Rob was scared. I was jealous. I wanted to see a bear.

Later on, Rob was ahead of me on a downhill surounded by several large black animals. I thought maybe he was having a conference with some bears but when I got closer I saw that they were cattle. We were riding through open range. Rob said his eyes had been tearing from the downhill and he stopped because he wasn't sure what the animals were.

We found out at an evening ranger program that some of the black bears here will eat you. But they also eat berries, which is why some of the campgrounds are being closed to tents. Evidently the bears are stomping through tents on their way to the berries. We got into the campground the last possible night.

We started meeting other cyclists in Waterton Lakes, mostly groups. I've found that people riding in groups tend not to be as friendly as those riding as singles or couples. We met another touring couple at the general store in St. Mary, Kevin and Michele from Michigan. They were almost done with a month-long tour through the northern Rocky Mountain parks. They were our inspiration going over Logan Pass the next day.

Following are pictures from the day's ride.