On Your Marks
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2005
1
11
15
Trip End
Oct 02, 2005
Dawson Creek,
British Columbia,
Canada
Thursday, September 29, 2005
The road out was through the Icefields Parkway- which traverses through the mountains across both Banff and Jasper National Parks. As I wound my way up the mountains, the wind and clouds grew. I could spot milky green rivers and lakes amongst the enormous white peaks. And there were glaciers- huge chunks of ice hanging off the of the side of a mountain, a glint of blue on their edge
A Glacier
. I stopped at Athabasca Glacier- it's a glacier you can walk out to. At first I parked across the road at the visitor center, but then discovered you could drive closer. So I did. As soon as I got out of the car there, I knew that it wouldn't be the most pleasant walk in the world. As soon as I opened the door a crack, it swung out from me from the force of the wind. I struggled to close myself back in the car and started reaching for my cold weather gear- goretex, down vest, hat, gloves, sunglasses, and snow clogs.
The walk to the glacier was steep and signs warned that freezing to death in a crevasse is not fun. I struggled up the hill, against the wind, trying to keep my breath. The wind got stronger and stronger as I neared the top and I was walking sideways to walk straight. The glacier spread out before me- rolling up a gentle hill. The only sign that it was a glacier was the fact that everything else before it was rock. And there were small crevasses near the edge. Cones worked their way up the hill a bit- guiding visitors on a safe walkway. But it was freezing and the wind tore at my exposed skin, so I snapped a few pictures, took in the scenery, and bid my goodbye.
I made my way out of the park and eventually came to the industrial town of Hinton where I had a Subway sandwich
Another Glacier
. From Hinton I hit a relatively boring, drab road called 40. It was covered with logging trucks and lined with (you guessed it) evergreens. I saw a few deer on the way. I finally hit a big town at around 3:30- Grand Prairie. It was huge by comparison. There was even a Starbucks and I drove through and picked up a coffee before filling up my tank. The drive through girl advised that Dawson Creek was about an hour and a half away- which meant I was doing better than I thought. I arrived in Dawson Creek late in the afternoon. The town is small and only famous for it's road. I drove straight through town and ended up at Mile 0 RV park where the elder gentleman there advised me that I was headed in the wrong direction for the time of year. But he gave me a nice spot- right by the restrooms- and I buckled down for the evening among the brown leaves and the bare trees.
The theme of the day was definitely a battle against the wind- wind on the glacier and wind in the car. South Dakota was nothing compared to what I felt today- it was a true struggle to keep the car on the road and to stand upright on that glacier. But driving is so cleansing- there is nothing to think about but the road, about where I've been, and where I'm going.
