Cycle America: Glacier/Waterton Lakes Parks 2000
Background
We decided to join Cycle America in the summer of 2000 on our way to Death Valley that March. We first considered the Grand Canyon/Zion/Bryce tour, but decided the Glacier/Waterton Lakes Park tour in August would provide more variety after Death Valley in the spring. We selected the camping option, rather than the motel option, and enjoyed meeting many other campers. The tour was organized by Cycle America and Pedal the Peaks, a company based in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
Itinerary
Day | Start | Stop | Mileage | Elevation Gain |
---|---|---|---|---|
July 24 | Bigfork, MT | West Glacier, MT | 41+ | 1890+ |
July 25 | West Glacier, MT | St. Mary, MT | 52 | 3500 |
July 26 | St. Mary, MT | Waterton Lakes, AB | 47 | |
July 27 | Layover at Waterton Lakes National Park | |||
July 28 | Waterton Lakes, AB | Coleman, AB | 68 | 3200 |
July 29 | Coleman, AB | Eureka, MT | 91 | |
July 30 | Eureka, MT | Bigfork, MT | 92 | 2800 |
Totals |
391+ |
Diary
23 July 2000 (Saturday)
Linda and I complete our drive to Bigfork, Montana on the shore of Flathead
Lake after spending the night at perhaps the last available motel room
in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We pick up our registration materials and set
up our tent at the Bigfork High School, bicycle to the north shore of
the lake, and then return for a walk downtown. We catch the scheduled
dinner just before the first evening's briefing and realize we needed
to reset our watches for Mountain Time. We meet Cecil and Rosanne from
Pennsylvania who have just completed the previous week's Yellowstone/Teton
tour and are riding BikeE recumbents. This tour has people from diverse
parts of the country and elsewhere and we are eager to see how the ride
is organized. The young staff seems friendly and casual.
24 July (Sunday)
We leave Bigfork and ride north on Highway 35 through farmland, then continue
north on Columbia Falls Stage Road. Here is our first "water stop",
a cooler along the road with a can of Gatoraide mix perched on top. We
continue north along pleasant, low traffic back roads until we join Highway
2 east. The traffic is much heavier here and there are spots with little
or no shoulder. Linda and I enjoy the lunch stop at the Ranger Station
in the town of Hungry Horse, then take the optional climb along a twisty
mountain road to the Hungry Horse Dam. We cross the dam, then follow the
western shoreline of Hungry Horse Reservoir a few miles before returning
to Hungry Horse. We continue east on the busy, rolling highway to Glacier
Campground, a private campground just west of West Glacier. It was a fun
day and a good shakedown for the trip. We learn at that evening's briefing
that tomorrow we need an early start so we can make the climb to Logan
Pass by 11AM, the official cutoff time for bicyclists ascending the Going
to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
25 July (Monday)
Today is a big day with a cool, early start. We ride through West Glacier
and enter Glacier National Park before the sun strikes the road. We get
our first glimpse of the impressive peaks as we ride along Lake McDonald.
The road turns to the north, then switches back and the climb really begins.
The road is narrow with little or no shoulder between it and a low, stone
fence. On the other side of the fence is a steep drop. The climb is unrelenting,
but not too steep and there is little traffic at first. We enjoy the climb,
the refreshing "Weeping Wall", and the tremendous views. The
traffic gradually increases and at times backs up behind Linda and I where
the shoulder disappears along the low stone fence. We see Logan Pass gradually
approach ahead of us. We cross some construction, then finish the climb
to Logan Pass. Linda lingers behind to photograph mountain goats, but
we both arrive at Logan Pass and lunch by the 11AM "deadline".
Here we enjoy close views of several impressive mountains near the Visitors'
Center before continuing east. I stop for several photographs on the fast
descent and don't catch up with Linda for several miles. We leave the
park, pass through Saint Mary, and find our campsite at the Johnson Campground
at the top of a hill away from the RVs. It was a very scenic and memorable
day of bicycling.
26 July (Tuesday)
We leave the campground, turn north on Highway 89, and follow the eastern
shore of Lower Saint Mary Lake. At the town of Babb some cyclists take
an optional 25 mile out and back ride to Many Glacier in Glacier NP. We
decide to continue north, instead. Chief Mountain appears in the distance
on our left. We turn northwest on Highway 17 (Chief Mountain International
Highway) and we eventually pass close to Chief Mountain's north side as
we climb for several miles. After a short gravel section we reenter Glacier
NP and descend to the Canadian border to enter Alberta and Canada's Waterton
Lakes National Park. We continue the descent to the Belly River, then
make one last climb to our lunch stop overviewing the Waterton Lakes area
to the west. After lunch we enjoy a fast descent on straight and smooth
asphalt, then turn towards the lakes and follow Upper and Middle Waterton
Lakes to the town of Waterton Park beside Waterton Lake. The Prince of
Wales Hotel rises on the knoll between Waterton and Middle Waterton Lakes
with an excellent view of Waterton Lake and the impressive peaks surrounding
the town and lake. We pass through town, noting the mountain sheep wandering
across streets, and find our camp for the next two nights at the far end
of Waterton Lakes Campground. After setting up our tent we return to town
to explore several shops before returning to camp for an excellent dinner
provided by a Canadian catering company. We will enjoy several excellent
meals prepared by this company during our stay in Canada.
27 July (Wednesday)
Today is a layover day at Waterton Lakes. Mount Crandell looks like a
compelling rock scramble, but will have to wait for another visit. Instead,
Linda and I hike the trail to Bears Hump on the southern shoulder of Mount
Crandell and get good views of the town, lakes, and surrounding peaks.
We stop for a visit at the Prince of Wales Hotel, then pass back through
town and camp to take the Bertha Falls Trail to the west. It is a pleasant
stay at Waterton Lakes and a relaxing break from the daily bicycling routine.
28 July (Thursday)
Today is a longer day with lots of hills on good road. I feel strong after
the layover day and maintain good speed on miles of rolling hills north
on Highway 6 to the town of Pincher Creek. Here we turn west on Highway
507 towards the peaks and encounter a strong headwind. The headwind slows
us down and we set a slower pace as we climb towards Crowsnest Pass. We
turn west on Highway 3 then stop at Jack Slide to read about and try to
capture on film the massive rock slide of 1903 off Turtle Mountain which
destroyed the town of Frank. We pass the Frank
Slide Interpretive Centre and Blairmore and continue to Coleman, where
we spend the night at the Coleman High School. It is hot when we first
arrive at Coleman, and we note how cool the gym is for those setting up
their sleeping quarters there, but we decide to set up our tent outside,
as usual, and are awarded in the evening and over night when it cools
off nicely.
29 July (Friday)
Today is an even longer day with some significant climbs. We leave Coleman
on Highway 3 and climb over Crowsnest Pass. We cross into British Columbia
and descend into forests. We pass the "World's Largest Truck"
in Sparwood, then cycle on to Fernie for lunch. I'm feeling strong again,
and after lunch I join a pace line and am able to maintain excellent speed
for several miles. Then we enter a tunnel. My vision is obscured by other
riders and the darkness in the tunnel and I hit a rock which blows my
front tire. I'm able to exit the pace line and the tunnel and get off
the road to fix the flat without further mishap. I decide not to join
pace lines for the rest of the trip. I wait for Linda before continuing
and learn she has also had a flat a few miles back, and had to borrow
another bicyclist's pump to adequately pump up her tire -- the tiny pump
she is carrying is not adequate. We continue on and stop for some excellent
smoothies. We pass through Elko and turn south on Highway 93. It is getting
hot and we encounter a big dip and climb of 2 miles and 8% grade. We stop
at a water stop a few miles beyond and learn that one of the bicyclists
is having trouble with his tire repeatedly going flat. We later learn
that he was impatient in the heat and was not taking the time to patch
the tire, just repeatedly stopping and pumping the tire up as it lost
pressure, then got so frustrated that he tossed the bike aside and waited
for the SAG vehicle to take him in to camp. We eventually arrive at the
US border. It is 94 degrees and we take a Coke break at the Duty-Free
shop before finishing the last 8 miles to Eureka. Camp is at the Eureka
Elementary School. We set up camp and get cleaned up, relax while watching
a family fire rockets from the adjoining field and loose them among nearby
homes (I join their search but we fail to find them), then walk downtown
for dinner. Linda and Rosanne enjoy the desserts -- a well-deserved privilege
at the end of a big day of bicycling.
30 July (Saturday)
Today is another long day, but not as much climbing as yesterday. We leave
Eureka by way of several forest back roads for 8 miles before rejoining
Highway 93 south. A big pace line passes, but I resist the temptation
to join them. At 40 miles we leave the highway for another 9 miles of
back roads before rejoining the highway once more and stopping for lunch
along the Stillwater River. After lunch we pass through Whitefish. The
official route would have us take a complex and winding route on back
roads, but Linda is eager to return to Bigfork in the most direct route
possible so we stay on Highway 93 heading south. The the shoulder is wide,
but the traffic is very heavy and I pick up a tiny wire and get a flat.
We continue south through Kalispell, staying on Highway 93 and look for
but miss rejoining the official route. Continuing further south on Highway
93 we eventually find and turn onto Highway 82 and head east for Bigfork.
The shoulder gets narrow and the traffic remains heavy so this calls for
very attentive riding. We eventually reach our finish at the Bigfork High
School. We learn that a pace line crashed just outside of town and there
are a few injuries. I'm glad I avoided them today. We clean up, load up
our gear, say our goodbyes, and start for home. This was a fun adventure
and we look forward to joining Cycle America's Grand Canyon/Zion/Bryce
tour next year.