Banff and Jasper National Park - June 2018
- Thread starter Daboo
- Start date
Can I come too?
Tomorrow I will be passing a tiny town called Wee Jasper as I head Northwards to a Rally at O'Connell NSW.
I wonder if they are related?
Macka
Tomorrow I will be passing a tiny town called Wee Jasper as I head Northwards to a Rally at O'Connell NSW.
I wonder if they are related?
Macka
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How many days are you giving yourself?
Chris, Jim Rau and I rode to Banff and Jasper on the "Epic Ride." The Ice-Fields Parkway is one of the most spectacular rides I've ever taken.
A loop I recommend is the Kananaskis Loop, Hwy 40 and 541 from TC-1 around to Longview (south of Calgary). I rode it from Longview to TC-1 back in 2004 on my way to Prince George and Hyder. It was fairly late in the afternoon and there was light rain falling and the combination of sunlight and mountain shadows on the rain was awesome. (You'd have gotten some incredible pictures -- even mine weren't too bad :smile: )
The road from 97 through Lilooet, Pemberton, and Whistler was great...until it got dark. Jim and I had gotten to Prince George fairly late on Friday. We were separating there and both of us needed clean clothes. The fancy hotel we stayed at didn't have laundry facilities, so I went across town to a different hotel in the same chain. I had to wait for a washing machine and then for a dryer, so I didn't get our laundry done till about 1:30 on Saturday. I woke up long enough to say "Bye-bye" to Jim as he headed home and then went back to sleep. I didn't get out of the hotel till 11 and then as I was riding to breakfast, my left pannier came open. It took me close to an hour to get it to where it would stay closed, so it was 1:00 or later before I got out of Prince George.
It poured rain from 100-Mile House to where I turned onto 99. The views of the Frazier River before Lillooet were impressive and from Lillooet to Pemberton was great. It was only 61 miles and it took me close to two hours. I saw bunches of deer and met riders close to Pemberton who were just starting west. The sun went down very soon after that and I would not have wanted to be riding that stretch at night.
I wished I had stopped in Lillooet because there weren't any places to stay in Pemberton...or in Whistler...or in Squamish...or in Vancouver. There was a lumberjack competition in Whistler and it was a Canadian holiday weekend with a major rock festival in Vancouver. I ended up getting the last room at the motel in Blaine that is friend of the Four Corners Tour (which I started in Blaine on Monday). What I hadn't counted on was US Customs at Blaine only having one gate working. I was in a stop-and-go merging line for nearly three hours before finally getting through customs and to the motel at 4AM on Sunday morning. I think it was the most tiring day I've ever had on a motorcycle. I still want to go back and ride that road again! Enjoy and take lots of your pictures.
My only question would be about weather in June -- how likely is snow in early June?
Pictures from left to right: The Frazier River before Lillooet; just west of Lillooet; looking back toward Lillooet; The motel in Blaine; near the top of climb between Lillooet and Pemberton.
A loop I recommend is the Kananaskis Loop, Hwy 40 and 541 from TC-1 around to Longview (south of Calgary). I rode it from Longview to TC-1 back in 2004 on my way to Prince George and Hyder. It was fairly late in the afternoon and there was light rain falling and the combination of sunlight and mountain shadows on the rain was awesome. (You'd have gotten some incredible pictures -- even mine weren't too bad :smile: )
The road from 97 through Lilooet, Pemberton, and Whistler was great...until it got dark. Jim and I had gotten to Prince George fairly late on Friday. We were separating there and both of us needed clean clothes. The fancy hotel we stayed at didn't have laundry facilities, so I went across town to a different hotel in the same chain. I had to wait for a washing machine and then for a dryer, so I didn't get our laundry done till about 1:30 on Saturday. I woke up long enough to say "Bye-bye" to Jim as he headed home and then went back to sleep. I didn't get out of the hotel till 11 and then as I was riding to breakfast, my left pannier came open. It took me close to an hour to get it to where it would stay closed, so it was 1:00 or later before I got out of Prince George.
It poured rain from 100-Mile House to where I turned onto 99. The views of the Frazier River before Lillooet were impressive and from Lillooet to Pemberton was great. It was only 61 miles and it took me close to two hours. I saw bunches of deer and met riders close to Pemberton who were just starting west. The sun went down very soon after that and I would not have wanted to be riding that stretch at night.
I wished I had stopped in Lillooet because there weren't any places to stay in Pemberton...or in Whistler...or in Squamish...or in Vancouver. There was a lumberjack competition in Whistler and it was a Canadian holiday weekend with a major rock festival in Vancouver. I ended up getting the last room at the motel in Blaine that is friend of the Four Corners Tour (which I started in Blaine on Monday). What I hadn't counted on was US Customs at Blaine only having one gate working. I was in a stop-and-go merging line for nearly three hours before finally getting through customs and to the motel at 4AM on Sunday morning. I think it was the most tiring day I've ever had on a motorcycle. I still want to go back and ride that road again! Enjoy and take lots of your pictures.
My only question would be about weather in June -- how likely is snow in early June?
Pictures from left to right: The Frazier River before Lillooet; just west of Lillooet; looking back toward Lillooet; The motel in Blaine; near the top of climb between Lillooet and Pemberton.
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Go for it and enjoy. Do what makes you feel good. Some stats from my trip this spring. Number of rooms I don't want to stay in again. 1. Number of reservations made. 1. it was the second most expensive of the trip and one I was glad not to miss. Number of "beds" where my phone didn't work. 1. Phone didn't work half the time I took it out of my pocket. Food Fuel and Lodging came to about $2500. From the 2nd of May till Memorial day and I did stay with Family twice. Value of the ride to me. Priceless.
I rode from Banff to Jasper National park via the Icefields Parkway on June 4th on the way to Alaska and I did have some snow flurries that day.
But overall I had a good ride!
Here's a few photos from that day and a quick video of the snow flurries.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnnLz4BNfxg
P.S. Good luck and I hope you have an awesome ride!
But overall I had a good ride!
Here's a few photos from that day and a quick video of the snow flurries.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnnLz4BNfxg
P.S. Good luck and I hope you have an awesome ride!
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banjoboy
0
Chris, I've been off the forum for awhile as we're moving permanently to Port Townsend from Edmonds, but I saw your PM. Yes. I'd love to go with you two. It looks like you've picked a great route.
Terry
Terry
Tourguy
Guest
You camp when you tour Chris? I'm open to sharing a tour ride if you do, and we can get together on time and route but not this one because I did this one last year. This year is a Yosemite and left coast ride in mid June for me . . . if I can get my TPS/throttle body problem solved in time.