Day 40: 1/3 way to Jasper to 2/3 way to Jasper

Woke up surrounded by people in the tent, which was a good thing since it was so cold outside. Put everything I had available on and stepped outside. Not too much longer I had breakfast and my stuff ready to go.

We hit the road and chose to take the back roads since it was more scenic. But it was also more hilly. But again, hills aren’t too bad since they’re like small goals, plus they provide some warm up opportunities in the cold weather.

I was biking by myself and saw a shadow move in the forest, stopped and saw a coyote staring back at me. I looked at him and he looked at me for a while before moving away into the trees. A little bit later, the team claimed there was an elk, but it was behind so many layers of trees that you could barely see it so I don’t really know what it was. (It’s a long story, but I have a running myth that elk aren’t real so this is a half joke)

Biked along and the scenery was just fantastic. I thought Glacier and Yellowstone couldn’t be topped, but I was wrong. It was awesome. Lake Louise, a short detour up the mountain was awesome. The streams and majestic peaks capped by massive piles of ice and snow were incredible. It seemed to be a never ending string of beauty. I told Sam I was getting sick of the jaw dropping vistas because they made me get off my bike to appreciate them. Said if I saw one more beautiful thing I was going to be sick. I’ve already decided that I’d like to make it a part of my future vacation plans.

Biked along, but the average speed wasn't so high. Went at a good pace, but stopped a lot to take pictures or to just look around.

After a long day, I finally biked into camp, one of the first despite my slow pace. It was getting colder, but it was such a geat ride that I didn’t mind. I helped setup camp with Leah and Laura, started the fire, and setting up tents. We came across the first water we needed to boil before using it, so that delayed dinner to well after ten, but it was good so it was worth the wait.