Sunday was our planned departure day from Banff. While we had a loose plan for the trip, we knew we had to keep moving if we wanted to make it to all of our Canadian destinations. I was a little bummed to be leaving already as I wanted to do more riding. We awoke to rain and had a wet pack-up of the campsite before heading into town to go to church. It was pretty cool to go to church in another country. Being in a mountain town, the church building looked like a little lodge you would find in the woods near a ski resort.
I had hoped to ride after church, but it was still raining lightly when we came out. We drove by a trailhead on the way out of town and I couldn't just pass by. It was going to be wet, but I had to go for it anyway. I half expected it to be too muddy and I would have to turn back, but the trail was actually really good. The dirt was not soggy and the trail design allowed for great drainage. I didn't know much about the Topp Notch trail, but it was rated Expert so I put it on my short list of trails to try out and see what "Expert" means to Canadians.
After a short, steep climb, the trail entered the woods and continued a gradual climb up Tunnel Mountain. The trail was true singletrack, but benched beautifully. It was the kind of trail I try to design at my house. I have always said you can bench a trail without turning it into a road, but most people won't take the time to do it. Everyone wants to build a trail with a bulldozer instead of sweating a bit on the end of a shovel or McLeod tool. The sweat and extra time is worth it and this trail proved it! Topp Notch has everything. There are fast, flowy sections, steep ups/downs, berms, flat switchbacks, wooden features, rocks and lots of dark, mossy forest. You could not wipe the smile off my face. It was my kind of place, making you work every second and definitely checking that "busy" box I am so fond of. There were sections I pushed myself to hold more speed and others where I had to work just to make it through. There were a few sphincter-clinchers too. The trail did plenty of climbing on the side of the mountain, but ultimately worked its way lower toward the Bow River. Some of the lower sections were spectacular with log rides, tall ladders spanning gaps between massive boulders and some steep rock drops. I cannot emphasize enough that I was in complete heaven.
The trail reaches a spot overlooking the river very near where we had turned back on our first ride here in Banff two days before. A return trail up the mountain quickly took me back to the trailhead with a bit of leg burn and heavy breathing. The rain had stopped so I grabbed Shannon. She had been reading in the van while I rode. I told her in my most excited voice how awesome the trail was and that she had to see it. She agreed to hike in and take come pictures. That was probably a good idea as it was bit technical and physically difficult with all the climbing for her liking on a bike. We worked our way down the trail together as I session literally every section. I don't know if she was quite as excited about it as I was, but I was glad she came in to check it out with me. We came upon a herd of elk about halfway down the trail. They would not move and were a bit aggressive. Another rider came up while we were waiting. He was a bit less patient and just tried to ride on by the elk, which they did not like. One charged at him, forcing him to eject from the bike and run down a ravine. He was out of places to run to when the elk stopped charging. It was crazy. Don't mess with mama elk.
I tried to cut down Shannon's hike distance by showing her a shortcut that I had seen. We separated as I wanted to ride all of the trail and would catch back up to her. While the shortcut did cut over to a trail, it was not the Topp Notch trail. I realized it when Topp Notch kept going further away from where I had sent her. I ended up hiking back up in the middle of the woods toward where I sent her. After an hour of looking for her and running into a giant bull moose, I managed to find Shannon on another trail. I had no idea there was a slopestyle trail cutting down the mountain between Topp Notch and the return trail. It was a cool find. I climbed back up to the top and hit the jumps and giant wooden berms a few times on this trail called Star Wars: Return of the Jedi as Shannon hiked back out. It was fun, but most of the features were too much for my Epic. I had to hold back quite a bit.
She urged me to hit Topp Notch again and scrap our plan of leaving the area tonight. In I went for lap three while she went back to the Tunnel Mountain Campground to try to get us a campsite again. This time I went hard, trying to see how fast I could run a lap. I was getting tired, but it was too fun to back off. I felt it more in my upper body than my legs as no trail at home works you quite like this. By the time I ended this loop, my hands were cramping and hurt so bad I could barely open them all the way. I was definitely having to hang on tight on this trail. I had plenty of blisters too.
Shannon had secured us a site in a different part of the large campground by the time I ended my lap. My hands couldn't handle any more mountain biking, though I wanted to do laps until it was too dark to see. The legs wanted more, so I pulled out the road bike and headed over to the Lake Minnewanka Loop we had driven through the first day. It was late in the day so the wildlife was coming out. I encountered plenty of elk and a few bighorn sheep as I climbed up to the lake. The views were great with mountain peaks all around and plenty of cascades streaming down the mountains. The climbs finished off my legs.
The campsites around ours were full of wood left from the previous campers, so we went ahead and got that burn permit this time. We relaxed beside the fire and ate dinner, complete with a bag of Crispers. It you have never had these chips, you are missing out! We have a Canadian friend that got me hooked on them years ago. She would bring me a couple of bags every time she went home to visit. I was pumped to find a few bags in the Lake Louise Village. I hope we find more because there is no way a few bags will make it back across the border, let alone all the way home.
