Day 62: Upsala to Kakabeka Falls

Today I headed into the Eastern Time Zone, but not before buying a few squares of locally made fudge from an Indian Craft store.

I had a slight tailwind from the start, but it was still hot and hilly. Today there were no services on the road until I made it into Shabaqua, where I stopped for lunch in the shade on the porch of the local cafe and general store.
Water bottles are now having ice added to them to keep the water cooler for a little longer.

Just before turning into the Kakabeka Falls, the road took a sharp turn to the right, and ramped up in gradient substantially. The sweat immediately started pouring off me, running into my eyes, the salt causing them to burn fiercely. Once at the top there was no reward for the climb, just more flat and no decent at all!

Finally the turnoff to the park appeared on the right and I peeled off the highway and coasted into the parking lot, where I met Martin Saunders. We had a long chat about where we were each heading, and then he invited me to share his camp site for the night. I agreed to join him and then set off to view the falls.

From the road the falls are very unassuming; the river just ends. There is no noise or mist in the air to indicate that anything is there.
Once viewing the falls from downriver, they are quite majestic, and the canyon beyond them is beautiful.

I went and found the site that Martin had mentioned, met him, and setup my tent. He was a proper camper and the site was laid out in a pleasing manner.
Piles of firewood of different sizes lay near the fire, a zinc bucket was filled with river water and placed next to the table for washing/rinsing, a washing line strung between two trees...he knew what he was doing.

As he handed me a cold beer he insisted I share his food with him, and that I fill my water bottles with water from his water can. I asked why and he said it was because the water was from Calgary.
"It just tasted better."
Cheese and meat followed the beer, before a nice fire was lit and we chatted into the night.

Martin was travelling back to Calgary after being on the east coast for a wedding, as well as scattering his parents ashes across the country.

Distance: 114 km
Time: 4:51:00
Height gained/lost: 670m /-977m
Calories: 3668