I left for Calgary on Friday morning after catching friends for a last visit.  Amy helped me get to the airport and her Impreza swallowed up my bike no problem. With four bags I feel like I over packed, which is normal for me.

After landing in Calgary I took a quick break for lunch, then boarded a shuttle to Canmore. Canmore is a great town right on the edge of Banff National Park and is surrounded by beautiful peaks! The town is very walkable and bikeable - perfect for me.

I spent the evening putting my bike back together and then walking around the town center. The town has shut down several blocks on the main street so it's fun to walk around on the quiet street.

 

On Saturday I had planned to visit Moraine Lake as I didn't get to visit on my last trip in 2019.  The lake is famously a bright blue color and is ringed by several high peaks.

I hiked up Larch Valley trail to Sentinel Pass and looked out over Paradise Valley. The hike was in my top 5 - a fairly quiet trail with cool trees, glacial tarns, and of course mountain views. After a rest day on Friday my legs felt great and I hiked quickly, refueling at the top of the pass with a samosa.

The next picture is the view right behind me into Paradise Valley.

On the hike down an ominous cloud approached but seemed to blow over.  I reached the bottom and decided to walk around Moraine Lake, where I was shocked by the number of people around. After strolling a bit around the lake, the wind picked up strongly and the sky clouded over. Soon the thunder began to ring out and it was raining immediately afterwards. I took shelter at a ranger station which kept me dry.

 

Not long after I decided to return home. I stopped for dinner in Banff and saw a section of the main street is closed off there too - good decision Canada!

On Sunday I had a huge stack of blueberry pancakes for breakfast to fuel up for the first section of the GDMBR! Several of my tour mates had arranged to do the first section together so we set off on the Banff Legacy Trail, a paved path to Banff. After passing through town we found ourselves at a trailhead where we entered the beginning of the unpaved Divide route. The trail wound through woods, crossing the Spray River a few times as we headed back down towards Canmore. The trail was wide double track and was generally smooth with some ruts and small rocks. I enjoyed meeting everyone and checking out the different bikes that people chose to ride - one full suspension, several hardtails and one other person on a rigid bike like me.

Eventually the trail came to an end and we flew down a gravel road back into town, where we found a pub to eat lunch. After eating we came upon some of the staff unloading and organizing the big U-Haul truck that will follow us. The crew and the staff are from all over the world - America, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East.

Tomorrow we're going to all get together for a meeting and then finally get rolling on Tuesday morning. I'm excited to get out there!