Trip update from week two - this trip rocks

Dexter came through again by showing us the way to elk and fawn trails in Missoula. The elk trail was huge; the fawn was fast and flowy dh. Nuff said. Got some great shots with photographer Brandon Gonski, too. I'll post them up later this summer.



The MT skatepark tour was great. We hit up 5 or so quality parks in about 150 miles between Missoula and Whitefish. They like full pipes and deep bowls in MT, and the local Polson bmx pro can REALLY throw down.



Whitefish MT also provided some great riding. Kanter filled us in on where to play. First up was the town dj park, then the skatepark, then Spencer Mountain. Spencer is home to some very fun and well built trails, if you're willing to push a bit.



Next we made our way to Glacier NP. The views were amazing, but the pass was closed half way through the park, so we decided to enter Canada to the park's west and hit up Fernie, BC.



Fernie boasted a very strong bike community. Nearly every person riding through town was on an all mountain type of bike, a dirt jumper, or a brakeless 20. Even the trailmap proceeds went back to the trails. After playing around at the skatepark and being blown away by the super talented local groms, we started hiking. A lot. Scott and I rode three dh trails while Courtney made a huge loop on the xc rig. The riding was good, but a little disappointing. Maybe we needed a better guide than just the trailmap. I've got a feeling that there are some ridiculous trails hiding in those hills and I'll definitely be back.



After the Fernie detour, we made our way to Calgary. We spent the first day walking around the city. Day two we played at Canada Olympic Park, which had a ton of short jump trails. We also had a stolen bike scare, but tracked down the bike after a little while. Reminder to self: Always lock it up and double strap it. Oh yeah - fyi, the Calgary West campground is really nice, so nice we dubbed it a country club. Camp there if you are ever in the area.



A short drive from Calgary led us to Banff. Day one we toured the town, Courtney and I rode some XC along a gorgeous lake, and we wrapped up with a delicious steak sandwich and beers at the Elk and Oarsman. Day two we hiked to some huge waterfalls, saw Lake Louise (Wow!), got attacked by ground squirrels, and rode the highline trail from the lake into town. It's now day three in the area. We checked out the glacier fields earlier and may ride the ski hill across from Banff later. Major props to Mtnlion for the trail tips. Thanks mucho.





Tomorrow we're headed to Panorama for some lift served DH and the nearby Radium Hot Springs. Then it's north to Golden and Kicking Horse. This trip rocks.

Scott has a picasa gallery that grows from week to week. Check it out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/stcabay