JASPER MOUNTAIN BIKING
May 2003

On the May long weekend (May 16th - 19th), seven mountain bike riders from the Elbow Valley Cycle Club went to Jasper, Alberta to kick off the mountain biking season for 2003. It was still snowing in Calgary just before we left, so only the keen (or crazy) could be convinced to go.

The EVCC members were Kim Hooper,  John King, Andrea Freeman, Roy Scarisbrick, Carol Guthrie and guests Bryan Garrett, Andrew Riggs.

Day 1: Overlander Trail from Whistlers Campground

 

 

 

 



It was pretty cool when we got up in the morning to prepare for our first ride. Yes, that's snow.

  

Andrea with Athabasca River in the background.

 

We rode from the campground and hooked up with the trail that headed up to Maligne Canyon. We stopped for a snack break just past the canyon. 
John is giving Lucy her first food bar for the day.

 

  

Andrew, Roy, Andrea and Bryan also enjoy their food bars.
The Overlander trail started with a great descent through the trees and down to the valley bottom. From there we paralleled the river for while before heading into the open grassy meadows.
 

 

  
 

 

 Here we are in front on the ruins of the John Moberly homestead. The Colin Range behind forms the eastern wall of the valley while Pyramid Mountain and the valley of the Snaring River form the western skyline. And yes that is a bit of snow you can see in the picture. 

 
 

Tough nuts.

  

John and Lucy heading off and leaving a wake of dust behind them. 

 
Here the river squeezes the trail onto the rocky sidewall of the valley.

Roy		 Kim
 

Andy & Carol

The last part of the trail is through an old burn from 1989. More exciting side-hills, gullies and single track .
The end of the trail comes out onto a rocky ridge that drops down to the highway.

 

Camp Life: Kim showing off his fine culinary skills. 

 
   

And Bryan's brave enough to eat it!

 
 

Gadget brought enough gear to outfit the whole group. Plus the firewood to keep us warm.

Andrew handles the entertainment. Kim took over later in the evening with his own special entertainment skills.

 

Day 2: Valley of the Five Lakes & Wabasso Lake

The trail traverses a number of quartzite ridges. When it runs parallel to the ridges it is mostly smooth and sandy but where it crosses the ridges is it rough and rocky. We started from Old Fort Point and rode towards the Five Lakes and onto Wabasso Lake (cree for rabbit) and then back again.

 

 
It was a fast pace with not much time for pictures. The trail was mostly rolling terrain with a few rocky sections just to keep us on our toes.

DAY 3 Roy, Bryan, Kim and Andrew rode the trails around Pyramid Lake and down to the town site.

 

Carol did the photography and the web page layout here.  
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Jasper Trail information:
http://www.explorejasper.com/sights/Archives/biktrail.htm
http://www.jasperbeyondthebeatenpath.com/summer-hikes.htm
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For other bikes, hikes, and back-country ski trips, see the trip index.
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