Calgary - Highwood Pass - Longview Bike Touring

Over the long weekend (4-6 August) I biked to Highwood Pass from Calgary and back. It is 150 km one-way and traverses the mountainous Kananaskis range, which is a segment of the Canadian Rockies. The Calgary-to-Highwood-Pass elevation gain is 1100 m and there are many hills in between. I did it in 1.5 days and I used the remaining 1.5 days to bike back to Calgary via Longview.

The Calgary - Highwood Pass - Longview 320 km route is hilly and challenging. The crux is the 17-km section from the Kananaskis gate to Highwood Pass; it is a non-stop steep uphill biking. Once you conquer it though, you will feel great. I got nice tan lines on my arms and legs from barbecuing my limbs for 3 days. When the weather is raining or snowing, the route will be very challenging.

I used my Trek 520 touring bike. For the trip preparation, I reviewed its manual and learned steps to remove front and rear tires in case I had a flat tire. It's all good until I had to balance the direct-pull cantilever, i.e., the V, bike brakes. I had to visit the Calgary Mountain Co-Op (MEC) store to have them rebalanced. I had both tubes replaced to have a 110 psig pressure on my tire and the bike mechanics allowed me to remove and install the tubes inside the tires. The bike mechanics taught me one trick to balance the V brakes.

1. Day 1. I biked for 120 km from Calgary at 9:30 AM to the Eau Claire campground in the Kananaskis. The 80 km part was along the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 1) going westbound. The bike lane along Highway 1 is wide and does not have many gravels. It's relatively safe, but there were so many cars and trucks passing me by. The challenging uphill section is the Scott Lake Hill, which is about 1 hour away from the exit ramp to the Kananaskis Trail (Highway 40). There are several Texas gates along Highway 40. I get off my bike to cross each to prevent unnecessary problems to my bike.

The Kananaskis Trail sign at the exit ramp off Highway 1

I cooked lunch and refilled my water bottles at the Kananaskis Info Center. Having lunch keeps me going and prevents me from uber-hungry during dinner time. It gives me time to relax and stretch my muscles as well. When biking I stop every hour to drink and have 1 granola bar. I spend about 1 L of water for every 40 km in a cool sunny day. I never let my water reserve go below 1.5 L.

I arrived at the Mount Kidd RV Park at 5 PM. I told the staff I brought a bivy sack and wouldn't take too much space. I didn't make a reservation though, so when I got there I was told I couldn't sleep there since the campground was full. I replied by saying that I was willing to sleep everywhere and would still pay for a regular camp site. The staff did not seem to have experience dealing with adventure travellers since they suggested me to bike for another 40 km to Pocaterra campground at the Upper Kananaskis Lake. Driving a car would take only 30 minutes, the staff said, to which I replied that I biked (and it would take me 2.5 hours since it's constantly uphill.)  I was appalled at their ignorance and insensitivity; a cyclist gets tired too, you know. I understand they have their campground policies to follow, but their inability to accomodate an unusual request demonstrates an ignorance of the fact that their facility is in a backcountry setting.

Sleeping with the stars and the clouds as the roof

In the end, I slept at an empty parking spot at the Eau Claire campground, about 1 hour away from the Mount Kidd. I arrived at the campground at 6:30 PM. I thanked the Eau Claire campground manager who gave me the spot. I was going to sleep in the bush near the campground, and thus decided not to cook dinner, but our accidental chat changed that. He honked in the next morning as his truck passed by to give me an encouragement. A totally different experience from my encounter with the Mount Kidd RV Park staff.

Bike in the bush

2. Day 2. I biked for 85 km from the Eau Claire campground at 8:30 AM to the Greenford campground about 22 km west of Longview. The first 35 km was constantly uphill, and in fact the 17 km section before the Highwood Pass is relentlessly steep uphill.

The annoying part is not the uphill but the flies and the mosquitos that followed and bit me along the 17 km road as I biked slowly. Their bite marks are not gone yet now! I had to stop every 30 minutes to drink, take a breath, and simply rest before the next onslaught. It took me 2.5 hours including 5 5-minute stops to cover this 17 km section! A racing cyclist was polite enough to greet me; he was a lot faster than me, but then again my bike with panniers was 15+ kg heavier.  I screamed my lungs out when I saw the Highwood Pass sign!

These mountain goats want to enjoy their summer too

I was happy when I reached the Highwood Pass, since it would be mostly downhill for 50 km, all the way to Longview. But the bike lane was treacherous: steep downhill, narrow, a lot of sharp gravels, and bumpy. Several times I had to suddenly swerve my handle bars to prevent from hitting a twig or a bump.

Happy cyclist

I stopped for lunch at the Mist Creek picnic area. The creek water was clear and clean. I simply scooped it and used it to cook my lunch. It stands opposite to the brown, murky water of rivers in Jawa island; I returned to Canada 3 months ago after 1 year in Indonesia. Canada is great that it protects its environment for people like me to enjoy.

I stopped at the Highwood House for ice cream and refilling my water. A much needed sugar after a long biking day. What a relief! I reached the Greenford campground at about 6 PM and set up my tarp and bivy sack to sleep after a quiet dinner.

Good and light enough for me to sleep

3. Day 3. I biked for 110 km from the Greenford campground at 8:10 AM to Longview to Calgary via Highway 22 and 22X. The first hour biking from the campground to Longview was so good: blowing mountain tailwind pushing my bike. I finally got to use my bike's high gears after using granny gears extensively the day before. I stopped for coffee and 2 eggs at a popular eatery in Longview. 80+ km to go, but I knew the mountain was behind me.

Smallest but proudest

Little did I recall that the Highway 22 is a rolling-hill highway. I've driven here before, but driving is way different from biking. Uphill and downhill alternate all the time and seem to never end. The third day was very hot (30 C) and I drank a lot of water. I was so happy to see Highway 22X from the last hill near the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory since I had only less than 1 litre of water left. When I saw the Calgary downtown towers I knew I reached home.

4. People like to talk to touring cyclists. I sense this since people would approach and greet me. A father and son camper at the Greenford, who told me they met a Belgian cyclist who biked from Alaska to the campground and wanted to continue to the US. Kids who said biking a long distance is cool and a part of ninja skills. A retired couple who came back from Crownest Pass and the husband wanted to follow my footsteps using a mountain bike. I suggested to him that a mountain bike would be too heavy and slow for mountain road. A father with complete hiking attire and looked bad-ass until he saw me cleaning my pots and spork and greeted me in a very friendly way. A group of hikers who wanted to taste my pasta lunch. I told them I would be happy to give it if they gave me a lift to Longview.

5. In case you are wondering what I brought in my 2 panniers, I provide the details here. The lighter, the better, but a trip to mountain means I have to account for freezing temperature. I brought a 5C down MEC Gosling barrel sleeping bag, MSR E-Bivy Sack, and a $5 tarp bought from Canadian Tire for my sleep system. I brought a Whisperlite MSR stove that has gone with me everywhere, Knorr Sidekick packaged food, Clover Leaf canned tuna, Nature Valley granola bars, Nong Shim instant noodles, tea, sugar, a Light My Fire spork, an MSR simple stainless steel bowl and its accompanying 0.5 L pot for my food system. I brought a MEC Gore-Tex jacket for possible foul rain or snow; a thin Kathmandu Merino wool hoodie; an Eddie Bauer ultralight packable nylon jacket for cool, windy weather; one Nike spandex pant; one MEC cycling short, and 1 nylon t-shirt. I wore the t-shirt for 3 days and - yes - it smelled so bad that it didn't matter anymore.