Canada - Day 11 (Canmore)

Rachael now had two days off, so determined to fit in as much adventure as possible (doesn't sound like us I know), we headed to the Nordic Centre for some mountain-biking. This was the site of the cross-country skiing for the 2010 1988 winter olympics and was now full of all sorts of fun bike trails for use in the summer.

We rented mountain bikes and headed off for some exploring (with the promise of more bear sightings from the rental shop staff)(but interestingly, no recommendations regarding bear spray/avoidance/how to stay alive in general).

We started with the "orange loop" (once we eventually found it after missing the trailhead and unnecessarily riding up a BIG hill). This consisted of some pretty nice single-track which took us mostly through the forest, but also across some open grasslands with the mountains towering above. Rachael managed to take a slow-speed tumble over her handlebars, which we missed, but she captured nicely on her GoPro (unfortunately also cracking the casing in the process).

Mountain-biking with a view

Rest stop

The video evidence

After stopping for lunch (and patching up Rachael)(she was only bleeding a little bit...) we attempted the "adrenaline trail". Despite following the suggested trail direction from the map we'd been given, it seemed like we ended riding mostly uphill (including several sections of trail that were clearly designed to be ridden in the other direction). By the end, poor Rachael was not only bleeding, but also completely exhausted. Wonder why no-one wants to come mountain-biking with us???

Also, no bears, but we did spot a large deer and a few more squirrels.

The "ice-cream bus" in Canmore provided some much-needed refueling (an old school bus parked in the middle of town, converted into an ice-cream shop), then we went for a late afternoon drive up to Spray Lakes. Rachael's previous job in Canmore had been with a dog-sledding company, and she showed us the spots where they used to run their tours alongside the big Spray Lakes reservoir.

Spray Lakes

(or, more accurately, one Spray Lake I guess)

The reservoir

More zombie-sheep by the road-side

View on the way back down 

(with the falls we had walked to the previous day in the trees on the right)

After stuffing ourselves silly at dinner (well deserved after spending most of the day riding), we went for a walk together up the ominously-named "cougar creek" which runs close-by to Rachael's place. It had a massive wire fence spanning the valley at one end, designed to catch boulders in the event of flooding, but much more reminiscent of Jurassic Park (with the forest above looking perfect for hiding dinosaurs).

Walking in cougar creek with the three sisters in the background

(Ryan has dubbed this shot "the five sisters")