Thursday, July 12, 2007

Day 7 - Fernie/Hosmer to Pincher Creek (July 6)

Riding into the Prairie

This is what my bike looks like when it is loaded and ready to go.


There are bear-proof garbage containers all along the way on highways in the Canadian Rockies.


Today I ended in a little town called Pincher Creek. I crossed the continental divide, leaving Britsh Columbia and riding back into Alberta, Canada. The continental divide crossing occured at Crowsnest Pass. Crowsnest is the name of the mountain pass as well as a set of towns all located in a coal mining valley. Shortly after passing through Crowsnest Pass, mountains receded and I entered the prairie. This was a nice change of scenery because I was no longer "trapped" in the mountains and I had clear view for miles and miles.


My general disposition? These days, it depends on the outside temperature, the direction of the wind, whether there is a shoulder with a rumble strip (or not), and whether cars give me a wide berth. Today was harder because the temperatures reached above 100 degrees and I had a head wind. Typically the wind blows from the west, which would have been at my back. But today, it was from the East. A wind from the east in this part of the country sometimes indicates a storm front. Today, the approaching storm front didn’t benefit me - it only resulted in tiredness, but tomorrow, it would be a benefit.


Before climbing out over Crowsnest Pass, I stopped in the town of Sparwood. There is a lot of coal mining in this area and a very large coal hauling truck was on display right next to the highway.


I stopped at a Subway sandwich in Coleman. There were a lot of people in the Subway even though it was only 10:45. Parents and their soccer playing children lined up for food. I started a conversation with a woman in front of me. She and her husband had toured by bike in the past. So we talked about touring and the surrounding area. They lived in my destination town and they were in Coleman because every year, the towns in this area of Alberta get together and hold the summer games - games for all ages from young soccer players to older cyclists and runners. This year, it was held in Coleman. As I was leaving Subway, I said goodbye to the family. The family then invited me to stay with them in Pincher Creek. I was surprised and glad for the invitation. It would be nice to get out of the heat and eat a real meal with human company.

The family would be in Crowsnest Pass for a little while longer, so I continued on. My next stop was the town of Frank. This old coal mining town had a tragic accident on April 29, 1903. Because of the geological uplift in this area, a coal seem lies close to the surface near the base of Turtle Mountain. The mountain is not very stable because of the material of which it is made. So early on the morning in April 1903, a huge amount of the mountain came tumbling down and wiped out 10% of the town’s residents. The rock slide came all the way down the mountain, “jumped” the river, and traveled many at least one half of a mile up the other side of the river.

The slide has a nice interpretative center. So after eating my sandwich in the hot outside temperature, I entered the air conditioned interpretative center to watch the 45 minute docu-drama about the slide. It was very informative. Take home message: don’t place your town below a geologically unstable mountain and don’t mine the coal seam beneath it - it may cause the mountain to fall!



After leaving Frank, I continued onto Pincher Creek. Headwinds from the east were my constant companion. Arriving early in Pincher Creek, I stopped at the local library which had free wireless access.

Eventually I rode to the family’s house. These were the folks I met in Coleman at the Subway sandwich. The father was a minister in the United Church of Canada. I had a nice dinner, a nice visit to the church, and nice chat with the family. It was really nice to get to sleep indoor and out of the heat.

Mining.

This area around Fernie, Sparwood, and Crowsnest pass has a lot of coal mining activity. The coal mining activity affects the watershed, the health of the miners, and groundwater. BP currently wants to reopen a mine upstream of the Flathead River near Fernie, BC. They don't want the coal.  Instead, they are seeking the natural gas.

Picture of a strip mine on the continental divide near Crowsnest Pass.


Day 7 - Fernie/Hosmer to Pincher Creek (July 6) - 74 Miles

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