JASPER NATIONAL PARK!

I arrived into Jasper 2 days ago. Have been wandering around the town trying some restaurants and restocking supplies. I spent both nights camping overlooking the city.

I needed some bike repairs which ended up costing a lot more then expected. All the bike shops in Jasper are for mountain bikes they literally have no parts for road bikes. The cost of the bike parts is something I underestimated. I knew I could do the trip on an older cheaper bike but when things go wrong, I am stuck buying the new parts which are costing insane amounts particularly in these tourist towns.

Once we leave jasper there will be no supermarkets or stores for 300km. I have planned out each meal for each day as we pass through the Icefields Parkway Road, finally arriving at Lake Louise where they have a local supermarket. This surprisingly took a lot more planning then I thought. I was still unable to find front panniers for my bike, so I was stuck with my back 2 panniers and my backpack over the back. This was already way too much wait on the back and was causing the bike tip back on step inclines. Adding the extra wait of the food was a major issue but finding space for it was even more of an issue. I rang ahead to lake Louise where they had a bike shop and got panniers delivered to them for when I arrive. I just had to make do with what I had for now. (Note: when I arrived at Lake Louise the panniers had never arrived). It became a maths equation packing my bag. Everything had an exact place, there was not a ml of space left in the bags when they were fully packed. All of the heavy items need to be at the bottom of the bag to keep my center of gravity low and stop me from tipping back. The one positive was I knew the weight would lighten as I ate.

This morning after a large pizza for breakfast I got on the road and left for the first viewpoint Athabasca Falls. Decided to spend the night here and camp next to the falls.