Day 11. Alaska Ride 2017: Golden in Southeast British Columbia
I wake, and look outside to see what the weather is like. In the Gulf gas station next door, I see a lady walking around in shorts: It is warm here.
I check the weather report and it will be 80 here today, with no rain in the forecast. I load up the bike next to the hotel bench, where a guy is smoking a cigarette. I tell him that my gear was totally waterlogged last night, and as last night this concept appears quite alien to the people of the region. There must be such a line of demarcation, with those that get rain, and those that do not in this area of Canada. I ride an hour up into Glacier National Park and turn into Illecillewaet campground. I am determined to get a great camping spot today, and arriving at 11:30 am did the trick. There are those campers that come up for a Friday and Saturday, and leave on Sunday. The camp ground is at 5,399 feet and the temperature is great. There is just a touch of smoke in the air from fires, but coming up it got really bad, where you could see active fire areas with columns of smoke spiraling upwards. The smoke is very localized, as you can be in heavy smoke one minute, and then go around the corner and it is gone. The campground is at Rogers pass, the site of where the railroad used to pass by a magnificent chateau
during the gilded age, around the turn of the last century. I hike up to the ruins of the chateau, and there are many information displays on the history. The chateau was a stop on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was of the highest quality facilities and dining. The railroad imported Swiss mountain climbers to lead people up the glacier, as the area was at that time the premiere mounting climbing location in North America. The railroad stopped coming in the early 20s and the chalet closed soon after: They tore the structure down a few years later.
I started doing a short hike and rain into an Austrian couple, Julia and Michael. The couple was coming back from the old railroad track that runs past the Chalet’s ruins. Michael stops me and asks “Are you not afraid of the bears?”. I ask him “Should I be?”. We joke around for a bit, and then they take off in the other direction. I keep going, and find that I am by myself. I start thinking about what Michael said about the bears, and grow uncomfortable going any further down the path. I turn back and start down a local path.
I walk some distance and again run into Julia and Michael on the short trail. Unfortunately, you cannot hike more than about a mile without a party of 4, due to the bears in the area. There are many signs warning people about the bears and what penalties will befall you, if you ignore the rules. We hike back to the starting point and I ask Michael if he wants to go back around the short loop, since it appears that you cannot go anywhere else. Michael laughs, and I go back to the campground and spend some quality time on the bike, cleaning areas that I have not looked at since the Dalton hwy. I find that somehow water has gotten into the “sealed” tool tube, and the tools and spare parts are covered in the Dalton hwy red clay mud. Lots of work cleaning up everything. I also continue to dry out my gear, as last night’s efforts were not efficient. My campsite is right next to the raging steam coming down from the glaciers, which produces a nice background noise. We are in the valley, so I anticipate that night will come early. The campground has great facilities, but no shower. Bear boxes are provided, since we are in bear country.
I check the weather report and it will be 80 here today, with no rain in the forecast. I load up the bike next to the hotel bench, where a guy is smoking a cigarette. I tell him that my gear was totally waterlogged last night, and as last night this concept appears quite alien to the people of the region. There must be such a line of demarcation, with those that get rain, and those that do not in this area of Canada. I ride an hour up into Glacier National Park and turn into Illecillewaet campground. I am determined to get a great camping spot today, and arriving at 11:30 am did the trick. There are those campers that come up for a Friday and Saturday, and leave on Sunday. The camp ground is at 5,399 feet and the temperature is great. There is just a touch of smoke in the air from fires, but coming up it got really bad, where you could see active fire areas with columns of smoke spiraling upwards. The smoke is very localized, as you can be in heavy smoke one minute, and then go around the corner and it is gone. The campground is at Rogers pass, the site of where the railroad used to pass by a magnificent chateau
during the gilded age, around the turn of the last century. I hike up to the ruins of the chateau, and there are many information displays on the history. The chateau was a stop on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was of the highest quality facilities and dining. The railroad imported Swiss mountain climbers to lead people up the glacier, as the area was at that time the premiere mounting climbing location in North America. The railroad stopped coming in the early 20s and the chalet closed soon after: They tore the structure down a few years later.
I walk some distance and again run into Julia and Michael on the short trail. Unfortunately, you cannot hike more than about a mile without a party of 4, due to the bears in the area. There are many signs warning people about the bears and what penalties will befall you, if you ignore the rules. We hike back to the starting point and I ask Michael if he wants to go back around the short loop, since it appears that you cannot go anywhere else. Michael laughs, and I go back to the campground and spend some quality time on the bike, cleaning areas that I have not looked at since the Dalton hwy. I find that somehow water has gotten into the “sealed” tool tube, and the tools and spare parts are covered in the Dalton hwy red clay mud. Lots of work cleaning up everything. I also continue to dry out my gear, as last night’s efforts were not efficient. My campsite is right next to the raging steam coming down from the glaciers, which produces a nice background noise. We are in the valley, so I anticipate that night will come early. The campground has great facilities, but no shower. Bear boxes are provided, since we are in bear country. 
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