Quote from DRONE on September 2, 2013, 12:23 am

I posted all the details about this trip on Adventure Rider, but I know a lot of members here don't frequent that forum, so I thought you folks might enjoy hearing about it. My style is to tell the story with many pics and few words. Here we go . . .

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On July 25 2013, Kirby and I headed out to the Bigfoot Sidecar Rally about 550 miles from our home in Tacoma WA. After the Rally, our plan was to ride the Great Divide Route (aka the Continental Divide Trail) from Banff to Mexico. This route is 90% dirt and gravel roads and it crosses and re-crosses the Continental Divide 30 times. Here we are packed for a 30-day camping trip--

Rode up I-5 North then over WA 20 North Cascades Highway to Winthrop where we stopped for lunch. Took Forest Road 37 over Baldy Pass from Winthrop to Conconully. Pic from Road 37--

Camped at Fish Lake that night then continued on to Nelson BC and the site of the Bigfoot Rally just south of Kaslo. Kirby tends to attract attention from the ladies. You can't see him from this angle but rest assured he's there--

Next day we took a ride up Duncan Lake. Not a soul within 10 miles of here. Pretty much unspoiled wilderness--

We did this ride with our buddy Steve who rides a rig almost identical to ours--

Lunchtime view north up the lake treading water 30' from shore (it was hot!)--

Next day we did a VERY spirited ride to Sandon on Rt 31A then headed up to the viewpoint on Idaho Peak--

There were three of us that went to the top--

When you ride uphill to a dead end you gotta come back down again--

July 29--the last day of the Bigfoot Rally, I partnered up with Kel from Colorado with his KLR rig and we headed north.

Breakfasted at The Treehouse in Kaslo then took Rt. 31A to New Denver and up Rt. 6 alongside Slocan Lake and Upper Arrow Lake to the Galena Bay ferry. The view looking north from the ferry--

Followed Rt. 23 to Revelstoke and had a late picnic lunch in a park. Then went looking for a campsite. Scenery near Revelstoke--

We found a nice campsite in Glacier National Park right off the Trans-Can Highway and went to bed early. Did 200 miles that day.

July 30-Woke up to temps in the 40's () and headed up the Trans-Can Hiway to Golden BC. I was carrying a new rear tire and I wanted to mount it up before we started the gravel portion of the GDR. Found a great Kal-Tire shop in Golden that swapped out the tire for me no charge. Here's the place--

I had some last minute supplies to shop for in Golden and Kel was anxious to see Banff, so we split and made plans to rendezvous later that day. Moments later, it started raining and it didn't quit all day. The ride from Golden to Banff is supposed to be the most scenic section on the Trans-Can but we got to see nothing but grey clouds and rain! So . . . no pics of the Canadien Rockies!

Arrived in Banff and couldn't find Kel. Wandered around cold and wet (temps now in the 50's!) but no luck--Banff is big! Anyway, decided to head up to Mt. Norquay which is where the GDR starts--

Then drove over to the famous Banff Springs Resort--

Banff is crowded with tourists and not much fun in the rain (and cold) so I decided to follow the GDR to the town of Canmore and find a motel where I could hole up and reconnect with Kel. Found a really great motorcycle-friendly place called the Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge and got a hot shower.

205 miles this day, all on pavement, including at least 2 hours in Golden on the tire change and three hours in Banff. Here's Kirby making friends at the Lodge--

July 31--Kel had holed up in Banff that night so he rode down to my ski lodge then we headed south on the Spray Trail through the Spray Valley Provincial Park. Was 32 degrees in Canmore that morning but we quickly climbed up through the clouds and into the sunlight where it was warmer and the scenery was fabulous. Finally some gravel! --

This road was so perfectly graded that you could take a Greyhound bus on it. In fact, we actually DID see a Greyhound bus full of Japanese tourists on this stretch of road--

Unfortunately, 45 miles south of Canmore we ran into this--

This is the start of the Kananaskis Trail and it was closed due to flood damage. Big disappointment since we were going to follow this trail all the way to Crowsnest Pass. Instead, we were forced to make a U-turn, drive north back to the Trans-Can, take the Trans-Can east to Calgary, then down the Cowboy Trail (Rt.22) to Crowsnest which was a 200-mile detour all on pavement. Boo! And we were out on the plains instead of up in the mountains. We did try several different dirt roads to get us back on the trail south of the flood damage, but they were ALL closed due to the flooding.

We camped at Alberta Lake on Rt. 3 near Crowsnest Pass. 283 miles today.

August 1-- In the morning, Kel and I split up. Kel was going to pick his own way back to his home in Colorado while I stayed on the trail. Started out by going to the historic town of Elkford and found a nice gravel road that went up that way--

But before I got to Elkford, I hit this slide and had to turn around. Doesn't look like much, but there was no way over or around--

Paved roads to Fernie, then got on the gravel again-Lodgepole River Rd-from there to Elko to Lake Kookanusa where Kirby stopped for a swim--

Crossed the border at Roosville, Montana then south to Eureka on FR3440 (Eureka Airport Road), and stopped in town for groceries. Then back on a gravel road (FR114) up to Bald Pass--

On the other side of the pass, I got my first look at Glacier National Park (the one in Montana)--

Stopped at the Polebridge Mercantile for one of their famous bear claws (not so great), then took FR115 to Red Meadow where we camped for the night--

The thing about camping next to a lake in August is that unless you want to feed the entire mosquito population in the vicinity you set up your tent with you riding gear on . . . including gloves . . . including helmet! They were vicious! As soon as I got the poles up Kirby went right to the tent door and asked to be let inside. He stayed in there, free from bugs, while I finished getting the tent up and the sleeping gear unpacked.

As I was doing this, I could see my rear tire was going flat, but I was dammed if I was gonna fix it in the middle of a mosquito banquet, so I got inside the tent, fixed some supper for me and the Kirbs, and set my watch alarm for 5am.

233 miles that day.