I continued around the lake all the way to Thunder Bay, where I stopped again after years at the Terry Fox memorial. I visited both the place where his run began and where it ended. From there, I wanted to continue along a route unfamiliar to me, so I went to see Kakabeka Falls, which are referred to as the “Niagara of the West.” And because there are many wildfires in northern Canada, resulting in a lot of smoke, I decided to continue along the border with the United States, sticking to the least-traveled roads as much as possible.
I traveled the rest of Ontario via Highway 11, which leads all the way to the border with Minnesota. This stretch was very scenic and had little traffic. Then the landscape started turning into prairies, and by taking a shortcut through Minnesota, I quickly found myself in Manitoba. There, I chose Highway 201, which heads directly west but turns into a gravel road somewhere past Altona. It wasn’t very pleasant, so I took a small shortcut to Highway 3, which I followed all the way to the province of Saskatchewan.
There, the highway number changed to 18, and it gradually became a narrow road with almost no traffic, eventually leading me to Grasslands National Park. This is the largest protected area of the original prairie landscape, showing what the prairies looked like before people arrived. In the town of McCord, I discovered that my stove was leaking gasoline again—this time from a different spot. So, I knew I’d soon need to visit a larger town to find a replacement.
Manitoba was more agricultural, with more trees planted, while Saskatchewan gradually turned into vast pastures with very few trees. Trees are mostly planted around homes or places where people used to live. About 50 km before the end, Highway 18 also turns into a gravel road. When I reached Highway 1, I noticed that my chain guard was barely held on by one screw, so I tightened it and headed to Medicine Hat to find a replacement. When I got there and bought the screws, I realized I no longer had the guard—it must have fallen off somewhere along the way, although I still had it halfway through the trip.
I had my eye on a stove available at Canadian Tire in Lethbridge, so I decided to go there. It took me until 10 PM to arrive, so I stayed in a hotel. From the hotel, I could see a steel railway bridge over 116 years old that still spans the valley carved by the Oldman River. In the morning, I bought the stove and headed west on Highway 3 to Crowsnest Pass. Along the way is Frank Slide, where 110 million tons of limestone from nearby Turtle Mountain is buried in part of the town of Frank. From the town of Coleman, I took forest road 940 north, eventually reaching Banff. I arrived on Friday afternoon, met up with a friend, and we planned a relaxing Saturday trip to Sunshine Village. The forecast warned of possible storms, so we didn’t want to venture too deep into the wilderness. There’s a ski resort there, and in summer, it offers a scenic walk around lakes and meadows. After returning to the resort, we listened to her friend perform music.
For Sunday and Monday, we planned a mountain trip camping at Red Deer Lake. We reserved a spot and left early to catch a bus that was sold out online but always kept some seats for walk-ins. We arrived before 6 AM and were in Lake Louise by 7. We caught another bus that took us to the trailhead, and then we hiked over 20 kilometers past several lakes to our chosen destination. We arrived around 3 PM, rested, then went to Red Deer Lake to cook dinner and enjoy the mountain scenery. There were three fishermen there, so we had some entertainment. Fishing in mountain lakes seems to be a popular Canadian sport—we saw more anglers heading up with rods.
On Monday morning, we hiked back via Skoki Mountain and Merlin Meadows to Skoki Lodge, originally built for skiers. More cabins were added later to increase capacity. We decided to try the trail over Packers Pass, which wasn’t marked on the map at the trailhead but was clearly shown on Mapy.cz. There was even a sign from the Skoki side. I wondered why it wasn’t marked from the other side, and when we reached a waterfall dropping from a 15-meter cliff, I realized it’s now considered a wilderness trail—likely because falling rocks destroyed the original path. But we managed and saw beautiful glacial lakes behind the cliff, each with a different shade of azure. The water flowing from them through the waterfall was crystal clear, filtered through the rock. It was a bit of an adventure, and after the pass, we rejoined the trail we had taken up.
As soon as we reached the road, we tried hitchhiking, and the first car—tourists from Montreal heading to Calgary—gave us a ride back to Banff. I packed my motorcycle again and left the park, finding a nice spot above the Kootenay River. In the morning, I reached Kimberley and found a shortcut over Gray Creek Pass. According to a sign there, it’s the highest point in Canada accessible by gravel road. The road was built to run power lines over the mountains to the town. The road from Kimberley isn’t maintained and is quite rough in places—I agree with the recommendation for a vehicle with high ground clearance. Good tires are also essential, even in dry conditions, because there are many large rocks you can’t always avoid. It’s a popular route, and I saw a few cars and motorcycles. The other side is in much better condition.
Then I continued paved roads, where I started seeing more motorcyclists, and arrived in Nakusp. This route is very scenic, winding along lake shores and between mountains—a welcome change after the flat prairie roads. These are popular stretches, as confirmed by a friend I visited. I’m now planning to change the oil and give the motorcycle some care, and then continue south into the United States, eventually heading back east through several parks.
All photos are in the gallery: https://fotky.kapi.cz/gallery/WuKzXn6lj-yV3YQnTJhEXRBi
And the link to the current map: https://mapy.com/s/nebedecema