Am a bit behind schedule (LEGS) so lunch at the park is not happening. But this little farm store is very fortuitously located! Now I have dessert and snacks for later, too!

#BikeTooter #BikePacking #yeg #yegBike

A bit late, hope I make it to my campsite before dark 😬

#BikePacking #Packrafting #BikePackRafting #BikeTooter #yeg #yegBike

I didn't make it as far as I wanted, just ended up too far behind schedule and too tired. Found a nice island to camp on though.

No photos for now, internet sucks here lol.

Ok, I'm home, showered, fed and ready to share more photos.

The North Sask is so beautiful just west of the city! Parts of it are almost canyon-like with the tall cliffs lining either side.

Lots of wildlife, too, including moose, tons of beavers, lots of bald eagles, and more.

(Sorry for the bad wildlife photos, taken with my phone sealed inside a dry sleeve)

#yeg #yegBike #BikeTooter #BikePacking #Packrafting #BikeRafting #BikePackRafting

The island I ended up camping on was alright, though apparently just upstream and across the river from some kind of party on rural property that was playing loud music until 2am... 😑

But once that was over I was able to enjoy a very peaceful sleep interrupted only by the sounds of geese, coyotes, beavers slapping the water, a great horned owl, and some squeaky little rodent exploring my stuff.

There was a light but beautiful fog on the river when I got up. The air was a little chilly but not as cold as I expected.

Made myself a coffee (yes, I brought my Areopress and even a grinder because coffee is a ritual that is worth keeping even when camping) and oatmeal for breakfast, and got underway as the sun was just rising over the valley.

I'm really happy I bought a good water filter! I'm not sure I could have managed a trip like this without one.

I paddled basically non-stop for 5 hours, all the way to Big Island Provincial Park. Given that I started about 2 hours behind where and when I wanted, I managed to get there only about 30 minutes behind schedule!

BIPP isn't much to look at yet. The designation is pretty recent and the trails are very rough still. Nonetheless I was happy to finally set foot on this relatively historical place!

Kind weird that it's right across from a golf course though.

Bonus: A few months ago, I suggested to my partner that it might be fun to get a gold pan and try my luck at our favourite creek.

As I was coming around the big bend around Terwilligar, I saw something green just sitting on a small empty secluded beach. As I got closer I saw it was a gold pan! Abandoned! I quickly turned my packraft and paddled hard toward the beach, grabbed it, and immediately pushed off again.

Score! The universe provides again.