Red Rock Canyon Redemption

In my last blog I talked about being bamboozled by a suspiciously lifelike bear sign put up by the folks of Parks Canada to warn people to stay far away from the critters. The rest of that ride came up empty in terms of real bear sightings so yesterday I took my brave wife Sophie (to protect me) back up the Canyon in the full light of day to show her the sights (and yes, the now infamous bear sign).

Red Rock Canyon is a special treat right now because it's closed to motor vehicles due to last year's fire but remains open to cyclists up to Coppermine Creek. The fire swept through the Canyon, which is more of a wide valley, and it's both beautiful and eerie to cycle in silence through the landscape. The trees, lots of Aspen as well as huge swaths of evergreens, stand as silent sentinels to the catastrophic destruction that raged out of control last August. Make no mistake though, the ecosystem is already starting to recover and with the forest canopy gone the ground cover is flourishing. While in my lifetime I'll never see forests again in this area it is wildflower Mecca and is reminiscent of Crested Butte in July.

Oh, and by the way, I did redeem myself and spot a bear - and not one made of plywood. A sow and her cub ambled through the undergrowth just off the road as we cycled by. Normally within 30 seconds of a bear sighting you'd have a bear jam of cars lined up with their occupants straining for a quick but fleeting glimpse of fur. Perhaps because we were so quiet with only the gentle whir of bike tires mama bear didn't seem so in a hurry to skeedaddle and we were able to simply stand and watch as mother and cub munched on the flowery smorgasbord. It seemed at that moment we were as part of the landscape as she and her cub but after 15 minutes or so off they went into the silent stillness of their forever home. Goodbye bears, it was truly ( and redemptively) nice to see you.