June 18: Fernie to Hosmer: Mountain Biking! (just 11 miles)

 

          In Fernie, a couple deer out for a stroll in the yard

A view of the Elk River Valley

Today started innocently enough.  But it became a portent of what was in store for me on this part of the TransCanada Trail.  We had stayed at a hotel in the middle of downtown Fernie.  The guidebook indicated that the TransCanada Trail didn't actually go into the downtown area, but circled around the town, and crossed the Elk River at the highway bridge on the north limit of town and then stayed on or near Highway 3, as  the highway travels on to Sparwood, 29 kms away.  Between Fernie and Sparwood is little Hosmer, a tiny community we would find, which was just a small collection of residential streets - no businesses, etc.  Audrey and I had planned  the first part of the ride for today.  She would go on ahead to Sparwood so that she could visit the Information Center there.  Then return back to Hosmer where she would meet me on the bike. Meanwhile I would ride the path of the TCT.

So let's talk a bit about the nature of the TransCanada Trail.  It is not just a single line drawn on a map.  It's a fluid path that can move as time passes.  People in the communities visited by the Trail may make improvements along the way; perhaps a smoother path, or a reroute to a safer area, perhaps off of the major highway, in some cases.  Also, while riding the route, sometimes there are multiple paths, both having the TCT signs. A good example is Baines Lake, where I saw signs on two different paths.  The multiple paths would converge eventually to the same path as the Trail departs the area.  All of this is part of the fun of exploring the area as I ride along.

As I leave I start to climb as I travel in town, but away from the Elk River.  I find the trail and begin to ride along it on the city streets.  I see a couple of deer in town, using the trail for their own purposes also!  (Early on in the trip, I would try to get a photo of deer;  soon however, seeing deer became too commonplace, to stop every time.)

Eventually I picked up a path called "Old Stumpy", which had the TCT signs.  I watched for a sign to indicate, a turn off Old Stumpy, and return toward Highway 3. I never came across that expected sign so I stayed on Old Stumpy, which eventually turned into the Coal Discovery Trail.  By my GPS, I could see that I was travelling in the correct direction toward Hosmer.  The TCT signs were abundant, so this told me that this new route was the correct route for the TCT.

 However, the nature of the trail had changed markedly.  The trail now was a mountain biking trail.  The trail surface was good, but the trail began to mostly ascend, and make tight turns, like one would expect on a mountain biking trail.  I found that I had to slow way down and get off of the bike to walk difficult sections. On a photo below, you can see a bridge  that trailmakers had made. Bridge areas required extra caution.  Typically the trail would be making a steep descent then a turn onto the bridge, then another turn and a steep ascent away from the stream.  There were no guardrails should I make the turn too wide.  My average speed reduced to about 4 mph, while I was on the bike.  Walking the bike was slower than that.  And the trail was going up,up,up.  Eventually I topped out at 3900 feet, which was 650 feet above the elevation of the Elk River.

Of course, Audrey had no knowledge of the trail experience I was having.  I was able to text successfully to her letting her know that I was going to be much later in arriving at Hosmer.  Most of the time I was in trees along the Coal Discovery Trail, but occasionally, the view would open to show the Elk River Valley below me. Beautiful.  Eventually, I came to the end of the Coal Discovery Trail where it came out along a gravel road.  My sense of direction indicated to take a left turn on the gravel road.  My GPS did not show Hosmer.  But after a while I became concerned that I might have passed by Hosmer while riding the trails.  Maybe it should have been a right turn?  That would only make sense if the gravel road did a hairpin turn. But then I still should have come upon the road earlier. and still it would have to be a left turn.  The geometry didn't make sense to me, but I certainly thought I had been riding too long to not yet be at Hosmer.  

Eventually, the gravel road began to descend and at the end of a steep downhill, I saw my car waiting.  To her credit, Audrey had figured out where I was most likely to arrive, and had the car waiting for me.  She had joined a couple other tourists to view a mineshaft that was nearby.  Always with bears in the  area, there is more safety in numbers. As for me, I didn't account for how slowly I was travelling; It would have been very unlikely that I could have passed the little village.  However, it was quite a discovery to see what type of trail the TCT had become.  Just 11 miles today.

A sign post indicates this is part of the Elk Valley Trail

Tall tree territory

Is this why they called the trail "Old Stumpy"?

Tall aspen trees

From the foreground, a tight left turn onto a bridge. No guardrails.

        Another view of the Elk River Valley

Begin: Fernie, 3283 feet elevation  (also lowest elevation)

High:   Coal Discovery Trail, 3934 feet

End:  Hosmer, 3510 feet

11 miles

4.6 mph average speed