7/5/19
The rain continued in Banff all night and we woke to temps in the low 40's. After a near 2 hour teardown, Steve and I got on the road headed north towards Jasper. The rain continued, the temperature dropped to 38 degrees and we made a decision. Jasper would have to wait for another time. The level of discomfort, even with heated gear, and the feeling that we were both nearly hypothermic after days of wet and cold let to several miles of contemplation before we finally decided to abort the mission. We turned around and headed back to Banff in the still pouring rain, and stopped at Starbucks once again to warm up and figure out to do next.
The main goal was to now get out of the weather system we have been stuck in for the past 4 days. We looked towards Calgary and saw a dry forecast and temps in the 60's so we Googled lodging and booked a room at the Park Inn by the Calgary airport. We got in to Calgary around 3:00 and were able to lay out our gear in the parking lot to dry it out. We had quite a yard sale going on for awhile. In addition to getting our gear dry and clean, the hotel has free washers and dryers so we are going to have some clean clothes for the second half of the trip. Of course a warm shower and bed will be pretty nice too. I haven't had a shower for 7 days...
The situation with the weather has been frustrating and disappointing. While we were in Banff, we couldn't see the mountains and because of the constant rain and cloud cover and we didn't get out to the sites we had planned as we spent most of our time dealing with creating some dry space at the campsite or trying to warm up and dry off in the downtown area. Even this morning as we started off to Jasper, there was no scenery to speak of as everything was socked in by clouds and fog - and both Banff and Jasper are still forecast to be in this wet pattern for another 2-3 days.
So, we make lemonade. Calgary wasn't on the itinerary and I don't think we will go to the Stampede but this is ending up being a good mid trip reboot. We are still figuring out what tomorrow will look like but Sunday, we will be back on track and will be camping at Mount Fernie Provincial Park.
The rain continued in Banff all night and we woke to temps in the low 40's. After a near 2 hour teardown, Steve and I got on the road headed north towards Jasper. The rain continued, the temperature dropped to 38 degrees and we made a decision. Jasper would have to wait for another time. The level of discomfort, even with heated gear, and the feeling that we were both nearly hypothermic after days of wet and cold let to several miles of contemplation before we finally decided to abort the mission. We turned around and headed back to Banff in the still pouring rain, and stopped at Starbucks once again to warm up and figure out to do next.
The main goal was to now get out of the weather system we have been stuck in for the past 4 days. We looked towards Calgary and saw a dry forecast and temps in the 60's so we Googled lodging and booked a room at the Park Inn by the Calgary airport. We got in to Calgary around 3:00 and were able to lay out our gear in the parking lot to dry it out. We had quite a yard sale going on for awhile. In addition to getting our gear dry and clean, the hotel has free washers and dryers so we are going to have some clean clothes for the second half of the trip. Of course a warm shower and bed will be pretty nice too. I haven't had a shower for 7 days...
The situation with the weather has been frustrating and disappointing. While we were in Banff, we couldn't see the mountains and because of the constant rain and cloud cover and we didn't get out to the sites we had planned as we spent most of our time dealing with creating some dry space at the campsite or trying to warm up and dry off in the downtown area. Even this morning as we started off to Jasper, there was no scenery to speak of as everything was socked in by clouds and fog - and both Banff and Jasper are still forecast to be in this wet pattern for another 2-3 days.
So, we make lemonade. Calgary wasn't on the itinerary and I don't think we will go to the Stampede but this is ending up being a good mid trip reboot. We are still figuring out what tomorrow will look like but Sunday, we will be back on track and will be camping at Mount Fernie Provincial Park.
Sweet sour lemonade, ingredient of motorcycle travel. Hopefully your weather has turned.
ReplyDeleteI remember our ‘76 trip essentially making the same loop. While out there the merits of car camping with its protection and comfort was oft discussed around the campfires we sometimes were able to start.
Yet motorcycle travel continues...a very slow learner apparently. ;)