Moving into the cooking shelter was a good move. The rain did stop but I was warm and dry as a result. This helped me get an early start. The day started with a very long down hill that took me from 6500 feet above sea level to 5000 feet above sea level. As I started descending smoke was in the air and it only got thicker. Visibility got worse and the mountains were being shrouded. It got so bad that I put on my face mask, one that I obtained in Vancouver, so I would not inhale the particulate matter. Surprisingly, riding with a face mask was not as difficult as I thought it would be. It did help that the temperatures where in the 50s and I had no prolonged uphills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Saskatchewan Crossing I met another cyclist that was going the direction opposite of me. He said that he just started encountering the smoke whereas I had been experiencing it for about an hour already. Shortly leaving Saskatchewan Crossing the elevation started climbing. It did not take long before I was out of the smoke area and the mountains were visible again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was one long pass, not steep but long, up to Bow Pass and Petyo Lake. Bow Pass was at 6900 feet and it took a while to get there. Peyto Lake is something that everyone should see. It is very picturesque. Once you get to the parking lot, which is uphill from Bow Pass, there is a 2 kilometer walk to the observation area, but it is worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Peyto Lake it is all downhill to Lake Louise. The Village at Lake Louise is nothing. It the Hotel or Chateau at Lake Louise that everyone wants to see. And, if you have the money you an stay there for $1,200 per night. What I did not realize is that Lake Louise is actually 4 kilometers uphill from the village. It was worth the additional gain in elevation to see the view from the front of the Chateau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now here is the big problem. I have no where to stay this evening. The only campground in town, which is run by Parks Canada, works on a reservation only system. Unlike the campground in Jasper, the campground in Lake Louise does not set aside spaces for cyclists. Parks Canada you need a consistent policy that applies to all parks and that is you should have spaces set aside for cyclists in the popular parks. Rooms at other hotels were running $400 to $800 per night. My only choice was to camp at the watercraft inspection station 5 kilometers south. I left Lake Louise and travelled the additional distance and found a site. There were already 20 RVs stopped to stay overnight. More arrived in the evening. It was not too bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total mileage: 92.41 miles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Average speed: 12.0 mph<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elevation ascent: 4619 feet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elevation descent: 6279 feet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maximum speed: 38.5 mph<\/p>\n\n\n\n