Jasper – Jonas campground – Saskatchewan Crossing – Mosquito Creek – Lake Louise
270 kilometer
We are quite excited when leaving Jasper. I’ve been thinking about cycling through the Canadian Rockies for some time now. Nothing else is really planned about my trip except for the starting point and the expected end point (Patagonia). The starting point for me would always be Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada and today we’re gonna catch the first glimpses of it.
We did a lot of groceries before heading off because we are not expecting to see any civilisation / re-supply points the coming 4 days. So again we are eating spaghetti with tuna for dinner (x4). (Together we eat a spaghetti pack a time, although the package says it should be for 6 persons.)
All day we cycle next to whirling rivers, grey and blue from the melted ice. We visit some waterfalls along the way. The Icefields Parkway is a pretty famous (car) ride and named one of the top 10 drives in the world. This also means there are plenty of tourists around and our heavily loaded bikes are a great conversation starter. People often ask me where this trip will take me. If I answer “Argentina” sometimes people just start laughing because they think I’m joking. To be honest for me it also still feels unreal. Sometimes I just simply reply something much closer, like “The USA” or “Mexico”, because it is much more tangible and understandable for the people we meet.




On the second day we suffer from a big headwind and the fact that we also have to climb to 2000m means it’s going to be a tough day. And cold. For the first time I have to put on my leg warmers (thanks Ruud), gloves and jacket. We pass the Columbia Icefields, six big glaciers which are the origin for three major rivers in Canada. It is funny to notice that when climbing up the river is flowing towards us and in our descent the river is flowing along with us. I guess it makes sense that they call it the Continental Divide.
In the beautiful descent we stumble upon our first bear-jam: a handful of cars stopped along the side of the road. We carefully approach the cars and look towards where they are looking. And yes, a black bear on the side of the road, minding his own business. Eating grass and not caring for the spectators.
On the bikes we feel super vulnerable and so we hide behind the cars. In the meantime Jacko has unclipped the safety pin and carries the bear spray firmly in his hand. I catch myself thinking that if this bear is gonna attack us, I’m just gonna open the door of the car in front of us and scooch right next to the, probably surprised, passengers. The bear walks off ten minutes later. Finally it feels like our bear-fear and the precautions we were taking while camping all that time pays off.
Ten minutes later while cycling I feel that I’m suddenly very bear-aware and constantly looking to the left and right to see if there’s more out there. And no way! I shout to Jacko, we stop. I point at the black bear that we see in the distance. Two bears in 15 minutes, what a score!
At the end of the day we are exhausted and completely wet from sweating. Our intended endpoint is called “Saskatchewan Crossing” and basically exists of a motel and a pub. We drink a beer and put on some dry clothes in the toilet of the pub. We really feel like we could use a bed and a shower and I try to put on my most dramatic face and walk towards the reception of the motel. They tell me it’ll be 250 dollars for a night and I slink off with my tail between my legs. Camping it is! However there are no campgrounds let alone camp spots around. We do find a “Viewing point” close by and decide to check it out. The path leads to an incredible view over a river delta and we decide to pitch our tents out of sight. We grill sausages on the camp fire while the sun sets. With all the bears we saw today we are extra cautious with food. We sleep well, but again every noise in my head is a bear ready to attack my tent.
The view in the morning is maybe even better than it was last night. Early tourists at the viewing point do think it is a bit strange that there are clothes hanging to dry on the benches not knowing that we’ve been camping in the bushes out of sight. Today we climb to our highest point so far (2080m) and we make pictures of our bikes in the snow. I have to convince Jacko to come for a small hike after we’ve just killed ourselves climbing up this pass. We walk through snow and my sneakers get wet, but the view in the end is amazing.
For tonight we really crave a shower and so we book a “wilderness hostel” at Mosquito Creek. To our disappointment there are no showers at the hostel. We do have a kitchen and a roof above our heads, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that we still wake up from our own smell in the morning.
The next day is a walk in the park (but then on a bike). Jacko has to do some freelance work and we decide to go to Lake Louise which is just 25km. And down hill! We reach Lake Louise at noon and I drop Jacko at a restaurant with WiFi and electricity. I decide to cycle some more to Moraine Lake, I heard it’s beautiful. However nobody told me it was gonna be 14km of steep climbing! I curse my ambitiousness, however the view at Moraine Lake makes up for it. The snow-capped mountains, the blue lake with flakes of ice on it, blue skies: it’s phenomenal.
There is a campground at Lake Louise but a staff member at the entrance says it’s fully booked. We discuss, it’s 15km further for another campground and I don’t feel like cycling anymore.
On Google Maps I’ve found a pedestrian road that leads to the “fully-booked” campground but which bypasses the gates. We go and check it out. Suddenly we are in the middle of the campground and we see lots of empty spaces. We start talking to a couple and they tell us that probably most of the people will not come because the forecast was gonna be rain. Encouraged by the couple we take a spot. We wait with putting up the tents and with every car that drives by we are anxious that they will claim their spot and chase us away. We have dinner and at dusk we dare to put up the tents. The neighbors Jasmine and Mark treat us on a beer and we have a nice chat at their campfire.
Once again, life is pretty good.






Hey Marijn,
Wederom een geweldig verhaal en een geweldig avontuur. Wat herkennen we veel van dat wat je beschrijft en van de prachtige foto’s! Maar het weer beleven van Canada, doen we met diep respect voor jou! Wij hadden een camper en motels…. Back tot basic is zo krachtig, zo puur!
We kijken uit naar je volgende verhaal en foto’s!
GOOD LUCK, ENJOY en CARPE DIEM.
Liefs Ans en Kaat.
Geweldige schrijfstijl
Thanks bro
Jeetje Marijn die kou en die beren , diep respect voor jullie . Maar wat een prachtige natuur en wat een avontuur
Heel fijn om je mooie verhalen te lezen , ga vooral zo door 😉
Blijf op je hoede en blijf genieten
Love you
Pa en Ma
Hallo Marijn, wat een avontuur. Zo basic. Met plezier lees ik je verhalen.Je hebt schrijftalent. Alsof je een een reisboek uit de Dominicusserie leest. Wat betreft de fietsen: geen problemen met banden of derailleur? Nog een veilige en mooie voortzetting van deze reis. Groetjes Ellen en Rini
Ha Ellen en Rini! Leuk om te horen! En leuk jullie eergisteren nog ff op de videobel gezien te hebben bij pa! Nog weinig problemen met materiaal (pas 1 keer lek na 2700km). Groeten thuis!
Dit kan niet anders dan een boek worden (bij thuiskomst) telkens weer genieten.
Lief Yvonne! Dankjewel en wie weet wordt het inderdaad een boek 🙂
Wederom een geweldig verhaal en prachtig geschreven. En na zo’n spannend verhaal nog kunnen zeggen dat “het leven goed is”………..petje af hoor.