Everest Summitter – Oswaldo Freire – Parque Provincial Aconcagua, Mendoza Argentina ©theexplorerslens.com
Mount Tekarra and the confluence of the Athabasca and Miette Rivers – Jasper National Park, AB ©theexplorerslens.com
The promise of the best May long weekend weather forecast in a decade made it an easy decision – Jasper National Park, it’s Go Time!
As expected, snow pack and avalanche risk at higher elevations kept us to the valley bottom, but that didn’t stop us from having an absolutely EPIC weekend. Surprisingly this was our first May long weekend adventure in the Park.
Other firsts during the weekend included:
Dining
Evil Dave’s is a go to favourite and didn’t disappoint Friday evening, but we did manage to try the Olive Bistro and Lounge post ride on Saturday afternoon. Maybe it was the hunger talking but their Smoky Canadian Bison Burger may be the best burger in Jasper!
Lodging
After our experience on Aconcagua earlier this year we’ve had enough of snow and tents for the foreseeable future. Given previous years where freezing temperatures and snow have kept us out of the Park, we left little to chance this weekend and secured lodging at the Tekarra Lodge.
Named after Jasper’s skyline sentinel and set within the confines of towering pines, The Tekarra Lodge has that familiar summer camp feel to it. A great restaurant (buffet breakfast), proximity to the townsite, and (thankfully) no wedgies makes me think this will not be our only visit.
Mountain Biking
While we have biked in the Park this was our first time truly riding the trails. Trail closures due Grizzly and Elk (calving) activity helped narrow our singletrack selection to the 17km Old Fort Point to the Valley of the Five Lakes trail on Saturday – a short video of our ride is here on our facebook page.
For our first trail ride of the season we got in over our heads at certain techincal points, but still had a blast – at times I couldn’t tell if Cam was grinning or grimmacing! Probably a little of both.
While the trail is ‘recommended for intermediate riders’, beginners need not worry as the technical sections are relatively short and easily traversed by foot.
Speaking of facebook
If you haven’t already – and I can’t believe you haven’t – follow us on facebook!
Links to Places Mentioned Above
Jasper National Park Mountain Bike Trail Map
the explorer’s lens face book page
Thanks for the lift mum – Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island SA ©theexplorerslens.com
Cheechakos attempting to retrieve the food bag – Bare Loon Lake, Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site British Columbia ©theexplorerslens.com
Cameo and Ken are a couple of working stiffs who discovered long ago that life's more satisfying when they're chasing grizzlies and climbing mountains.
So far their travels have taken them to six continents from Tuktoyaktuk to Tasmania with a few stops in between.
This is their adventure...
