Rest-ish Day

Just what the doctor ordered, a nice mellow ride on the home turf.  Lisa has been pestering me for a couple of years for a ride in the Mice, and today I could finally oblige.

Nice and sunny today, and not at all rainy. 

Looks like it’s going to get hot over the next few days, too.   Lucky that today it’s just about perfect.

Lisa was just my speed.  We cruised up to the Ashtray on a roundabout route, and enjoyed a leisurely descent on White Rabbit and Narnia.

I’m pretty sure she had a good time.  Wouldn’t you?

RMS – 5

OK, I’m not gonna give weather forecasts at the beginning anymore.   That’s pretty much it for rain this trip….mostly.  Chris even cracked a smile.

Not to say that there still isn’t some water around.

Yeah, that’s some deep swamp debris to roll through on the trail.

And yes…that’s fresh snow on the peaks.  However, that’s not all that uncommon.  You can get snow any day of the year up here in the deep Rocky Mountains. 

Some big smiles from everyone to be riding on dry trails finally.

The Nipika trails wind through a maze of canyons and ravines.  Very interesting terrain, if a bit flat and a lot raw.

The crew.

Many kilometers of trail are alongside canyons like this.

After skirting the creek for a while, we got down to the Kootenay River.  Well, not quite “down”.

Another group shot, with some wicked man boobs.  I gotta work on that posture…

A bug. You’d think that since we’re in a National Park that I’d get pics of something more interesting, like elk, or grizzly.  Sorry….I like bugs.

Carmel on the thin beige line.

Lunch break.  I think Richard is done.  That shoulder has gotta be sore.  Well, kick back bro and soak up the views.

After lunch we went out for some more canyon views….this time with waterfalls.

Now well into the park, the trail is getting pretty faint, at times disappearing under the flood waters of the Cross River.

At one point we came to an overlook of where the entire volume of the Cross funnels through a gap about 2 meters wide. 

That was so impressive, Doug’s feet fell right off.

Well, maybe it was still a bit wet.  Still, the nicest day of the trip so far, and a great setting at Nipika Resort.

RMS – 3

Official forecast for today.  Chance of showers in the morning.  Rain beginning near noon.  Chance of thundershowers.  Severe thunderstorms possible in the afternoon.  Showers, at times heavy, late afternoon.  Rain overnight to the morning.  Amounts 15-20mm.

Really.

Ah well, you know the drill.  HTFU.  It’ll probably be sunny at some point. Doug’s attitude?  “Bring it on!”

Although it was a very squidgey climb, it was actually pretty nice out this morning.  We took our time climbing Phat Bastard, and got some nice views near the start of Mushroom Head.

Part of the crew was a bit blown after yesterday, so they turned down Dem Bones while the rest of us continued up Lactic Ridge.  Some epic views up here, and even a bit of snow!

Which led to some hilarity while the Aussies tried to ride on it.

I think I know why they call it Lactic Ridge.   Yet another ridiculously steep climb, but at least this time there’s stuff to look at.

The boys practice their modeling poses.  I think they’re ready for the Sears underwear catalogue.

More snow shenanigans on the Stupid Traverse (which was awesome epic).

I thought the Stupid Traverse was actually the highlight trail of the day, but I found out later I was a bit lonesome in that opinion.  Some good exposure, a little technical, and huge views. 

The Slunt was why we were here though.  You can make up your own mind about what the name means.  For Doug, it’s just another reason for him to stick his tongue out.

The pleasant surprise of the day was Hedonism.  Yes, it has some wooden structures and stuff on it, but it also has some awesome flow.  Hands down the most fun trail we rode in Fernie.

The features are all a bit older and many are falling down, but a few like this one are still in good repair so we stopped and sessioned for some pics.

Not everyone was feeling the flow, but Chris still got into the swing of things here.

An old school logride also presented itself.  Here’s Rich figuring out how not to do it.

And Doug trying the other side.

Rich, being the determined type, conquered it easily on the second try.

There were a ton of fun moves on this trail, like this techy little log drop.

Unfortunately for Richard, this one didn’t go so well.  A little bit short of speed, and this ended with him upside down and with a hurt shoulder.  He could still ride, but shoulder injuries are a pain.  However, if there’s anyone who doesn’t need to HTFU, it’s this guy.  I think I would have packed ‘er in for the week after that one, myself.

Biggest surprise of the day?  There’s high quality sushi at a reasonable price in Fernie.  Who knew?