CODY SHIMIZU

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Jasper Weekend Bikepacking

Aug 30/2018

So, since my disastrous last trip along Forestry Trunk Road (Highway 40) I was feeling quite discouraged the first few days afterwards, not being able to complete the route and the feeling of helplessness I felt when I was camping out in the woods in the pouring rain, but a few days later that feeling of nerve turned into feelings of accomplishment, and confidence. That I managed to survive and overcome the adversities of that trip. Looking back probably for most bikepackers out there a night spent in the pouring rain in probably common, but for a guy who lived in the city his whole life and his definition of “camping” with his family is in a trailer, a night like that is as extreme as it gets. But with this feeling of accomplishment got me looking forward to the next adventure. Looking around I’d caught wind about a new event called the Buckshot in Kamloops happening labour day long weekend. 600Km over 3 days, “What a way to end off the summer!” I thought to myself as I rolled around the idea of participating in the race. That got me thinking about my bikepacking set up and how to improve it to make it lighter, to use what I had learnt from my first trip. As well as to avoid living the disaster that Id rode myself into last time.

I wanted to use my xc hardtail rather than my cyclocross bike to make it as comfortable as possible. But the last thing I wanted to do was jump straight into a 600km event without even testing my setup. So I planned a quick weekend getaway in Jasper. Id park at the Overlander Trailhead about 15Km east of Jasper (Parking lot 9) and ride the single track into and around town then stay at the backcountry campground by Saturday Night Lake. I made a general route beforehand but since there were soo many trails going in the general direction I left it quite open ended. I booked my campsite 2 nights before I was leaving carefully following the weather forcast to make sure there would be absolutely no chance of rain.

The Trip

I left Edmonton around 8Am, a little later then I’d had hoped for but Costco gasoline wouldn’t open till then. I was never a fan of the drive to Jasper from Edmonton, very few towns/stops of explore, and the scenery is quite boring in my opinion. Made a quick stop at Edson and Hinton to break up the monotony and finally made it to Jasper national park. Once you enter the parks the views are amazing, hard to keep your eyes on the road! I finally made it to the parking lot and pulled off the main highway. Got changed and gave my bike a quick check over.

Fortunately, the trailhead wasn’t as busy as I had expected it to be, there was only 1 other car there. The trail started out with a super steep hike a bike, since I had heard that the trail was a famous mountain bike trail I expected everything to be rideable so it was a bit of a bummer walking my bike not even 5 min into my adventure. But, it was worth it. At the top of the short walk (~10min) it spits you out already on a nice exposed area giving you an amazing view of the valley. The Overlander trail is hands down my favourite trail in Jasper. There isn’t much elevation yet is still super exposed so it has amazing views throughout the 15Km long trail. The trail is fairly smooth with lots of flow. Only the beginning and one steep climb in the middle that was a hike a bike, but everything else was rideable! Rolled through town quickly for a short climb up to Pyramid lake where I stopped for lunch along lakeside. Then I headed towards Pallisades lookout. I’d had heard about this hike/bike a while ago but considering the trail was apparently a moderately steep double track for close to 10km I never bothered doing a hike on it, but this time I had my bike! The trail itself was actually really boring, the tall trees surrounding you blocked the view of the mountains while the never ending super steep double track was pretty demoralizing. After 2 hours of solid suffering, I finally made it to the top. The view was actually quite amazing, I was on top of the mountain that over looked that valley where Overlander was in, I could see the trail I was on hours earlier. The descent was a quick one, hitting speeds of 70km/hr on my mountain bike weighted down by all the bags, I’d occasionally stop and spray water on my brake rotors as it would sizzle and dry immediately. After a quick 20min descent down I rode across to the Saturday Night Trail Loop.

At this point I was already quite tired and even the shortest of punchy climbs had gotten the best of me, I was walking a lot. Also the trail itself, although on Trailforks (a trail finding app) it said that the Saturday Night Lake Loop was thew smoothest piece of single track in Jasper area I rode in to find out that it was fairly overgrown full of massive roots of kill any flow you had going, it was aweful to be honest. I wasn’t a fan of the trail. From the turn off from the main trail to go to the Saturday Night Lake Campground was a steep 400m hike a bike just to crush your soul right at the end. But I had finally made it, a back country campground, ridden into on a bike. By the time I got there it was already fairly late, close to 8pm so I quickly rehydrated one of my meals and went to bed in my small bivy.

The next day I woke up to the sun blinding me as it glistened off the surface of the lake. It was a beautiful day and a warm one at that. It was already nearing 10Am as I quickly packed my things and hit the trails. I quickly chowed down a clif bar for breakfast. I made my way to the trail and the first 1.5 hours of the day was a continuous, terrible climb on the first half of the Saturday Night Lake Loop. It was awful. Absolutely zero flow, roots everywhere, I was walking more than riding. But it was only until I got to the top (the halfway point of the 24km loop) that I found out why the trail was liked by mountain bikers. The descent was blissful! Like promised it was fast, flowy, with a little less foliage to give me some amazing views as well! It was nice to at least end the trail on a high note. After a quick stop at my favourite café The Bearpaw Café in Jasper I was planning on doing the Signal Mountain Fire Road Climb but I the palisades lookout took a lot out of me than expected so I just decided to ride the Overlander trail back to my car. As always, the Overlander was amazing! Although there was a bit more climbing on the way back the trail was still flowy and everything was enjoyable!

Fortunately, the weather was great the whole two days and I still got close to 100km of riding over the two days. Definitely worth it if you are interested in Bikepacking, its close enough to town that you are never truly off the grid, yet the trails are isolated enough that it makes you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere. Also, totally doable as a weekend trip over two days, including the drive! \