GDMBR Day 55

• Start: Fernie, BC

• Finish: Mt. Engadine Lodge, Peter Lougheed Provencial Park

• Miles: 112 miles

• Odometer: 2,710.2 miles

• Ascent: 5,800 feet

• Descent: 3,000 feet

• Location: https://share.garmin.com/Judice

With no camping gear, my sleeping options are somewhat limited for the next section. I traveled paved road up to Elkhorn, British Columbia but then the route took a turn onto gravel into Height of the Rockies Provincial Park. My only option for accommodation, Mt. Engadine Lodge, was waiting for me at mile 112; however, I had to make dinner by 7 PM or risk riding over 100 miles with no dinner at the end. To be clear, the lodge is in the middle of the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and there were no towns or grocery stores around.

I pushed pretty hard and had a fair amount of climbing. I traveled in a valley with rugged mountains jutting up to my left and to my right. It was the most beautiful ride on the route to date. That’s saying something. These mountains, in my opinion, are even more beautiful than the Grand Tetons.

The rain came in the late afternoon and I arrived exhausted at the lodge at 6:30 PM, just in time to take a shower before the 7 PM dinner. While showering I discovered an embedded engorged tick in my right armpit. Removing the tick was a two person job so I asked the staff for help. The lodge chef came out and used my multi-tool but was unsuccessful in getting at the head. He had to get back to food preparation so I was left using my multitool one-handed and eventually digging the rest of the tick out of my pit. I started doxycycline prophylaxis. Normally if I have a suspicion of a tick or if it has been removed early in the process I will take a one time 200 mg dose, but in this case it where it’s been embedded for a day or two, I’ll take a longer regimen. Interestingly, I felt some pain and irritation in my right armpit all day but I thought it was just a chafing problem from being on the bike for so long. I hate to ticks!

The Mt. Engadine Lodge is the most expensive accommodation that I’ve stayed at on the route to date. All of the guests were seated promptly at 7 PM, given cocktails or wine or beer, and treated to a multicourse meal. Frankly, I was a little dazed from the long ride and mining that tick out of my pit that I sat back and listened to the conversation, a mixture of polite social status yardstick measuring. I savagely inhaled three baskets of homemade bread and butter before, during, and after the main meal, leaving no crumb behind.