The Great Canadian Tour 2025 - Elbows Up Edition - Day 15 & 16

Yesterday was a down day…it wasn’t supposed to be, but as plans happen sometimes they change.  Rain and very cool temps kept us from riding down to Waterton Park.  It will have to wait for another day and another adventure.

We did, however, get a chance to spend a few hours with a very special friend of ours.  It’s been 9 years since we last got together and this time, we got to see his daughter, whom we haven’t seen in almost 20 years.  It was a great afternoon.

Today, we were up early, packed and refreshed, ready to get to the mountains.

The plan was to meet up with Buddy and Brad at Frank Slide.  We set off on Hwy 3 headed for Crowsnest Pass.  On the way we pass Fort MacLeod, home of the Musical Ride…and an actual fort I believe.  The flat plains are now fading and rising into rolling green hills with a hint of what is to come.  Though the great Rocky Mountains loom ahead, we are still quite a way until we reach them….they stay in the horizon though as we bob and weave through some of the beautiful foothills.  As we get to Crowsnest Pass we pass through the “Slide” which was a catastrophic event where the whole side of a mountain slid into Frank in the early 1900’s. The story of resilience and loss are told as you walk through the information center.

It is 9:30 am and we have travelled over 100 kms already as we set out to ride to Nelson for the night.

We travel along fields that have been cut and stacked…first time I have ever seen hay stacked that way.  The road conditions are amazing, especially given that they are exposed to very harsh conditions in the winter.  We wind up through the pass, down through valleys where you are surrounded by trees, tall evergreen trees, yet ahead of you are huge mountain peaks.  It is hard not to imagine you are getting a hug from Mother Earth.  It is hard to ignore the freshness of the air, the warmth of the sun and the sway of the road.

Sometimes the road will take you through some rather “unusual” town names…like Yahk.

Sometimes you will find yourself in towns with names you recognize, like Cranbrook, where we stopped for lunch, or Creston.  Riding through these communities is a short break at a slower pace, but as soon as we get to the other side we are off again!

One of our last stops before we reached Nelson, was at Stagleap Provincial Park…a lovely quiet stop overlooking Bridal Lake.  We were now travelling through the Kootenay Pass, elevation 1775m.

We finished the last of the ride arriving in Nelson.  A town built on the side of a mountain, overlooking West Arm river, which flows from Kootenay Lake.

Life is savoured here…hikers, campers, cyclist and of course a large number of folks like ourselves who are testing our limits in the peaks and valleys, through and between the amazing Canadian Rockies.  

Tomorrow, the ride continues..our destination for the next few days in Kelowna.