Hike Eastward to Trek Westward : Olds to Torrington

When we set out this morning we looked to the west and caught a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains!  They were playing hide and seek in a bank of dark clouds, but beyond any shadow of a doubt they rose up like a solid wall across the horizon.  For that brief moment it felt like we were finally getting close to our first goal of reaching the Pacific Ocean! 

We watched the mountains disappear into the clouds, and then reluctantly turned our backs to them.  In true Trans Canada Trail fashion, instead of heading towards our destination, the trail took us in every direction except west today. In fact, we spent seven hours walking more than 50 km east!  At the edge of town we came across a sign at the entrance to an off-ramp saying 'Wrong Way' and we couldn't help but agree. 

Despite our disgruntlement at going east, we saw a lot of beauty today, and it began with an impressive rainbow over Olds as we headed out of town.  This was followed by a stunning sunrise with a band of pink and gold below a cover of fluffy clouds through which rays of light filtered, creating long golden shafts.  The puddles of light on the hills and fields below moved and shifted as we walked, presenting a spectacular show. 

Traffic was intense as we walked through the beautiful countryside, heading towards the junction with the very busy QE II highway that connects Calgary and Edmonton.  We had been a little worried about navigating the bowties of the on/off ramps, and given our past experiences with extremely busy bridges that lack shoulders we'd been worried about the overpass as well.  We never enjoy being wedged between crash barriers and high speed vehicles, but obviously we survived the experience despite feeling like we aged about half a decade in those few minutes. 

After this somewhat stressful crossing, we continued walking east on the shoulder of highway 27 for most of the rest of the day.  We had hoped that traffic would ease up once we passed the junction with the QE II, but we had no such luck.  A steady stream of double-long trucks hauling dirt, sand, or grain passed us in a never ceasing loop. They were joined by pickup trucks, RVs, oil tankers, transport trucks, and a plethora of smaller vehicles.  Although the traffic was constant, the drivers were mostly extremely courteous, and we got a couple honks and highly enthusiastic waves from the passing trucks. 

During the first part of the day the landscape was relatively flat, with fields of grain and canola extending out in all directions.  An exciting highlight was spotting a mule deer with a very impressive set of antlers standing posed beside a lone tree in a field of brilliant yellow canola flowers.  A second pair of antlers was just visible in the canola in front of the first mule deer, and suddenly both males rose in a single movement and sped off in perfectly synchronized leaps and bounds across the fields. 

While the excitement of seeing these large ungulates gave us a big boost, most of the rest of the day was spent walking the shoulder of a steadily warming highway.  About halfway through we took a break in front of the Reed Ranch School.  The small red brick school reminded us a lot of the elementary schools of our childhood.  We sat for a few minutes on the mowed lawn out front, enjoying a respite from the traffic. 

As we continued on through the second half of the day, we noticed that the landscape became more hilly once again.  The undulating highway provided panoramic views out over a landscape of hills covered by a patchwork of green and yellow.  Picturesque red wooden barns and sparkling blue ponds dotted the landscape. In one small slough we spotted a group of Redhead ducks, a family of American Coots, and a whole flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  

Turning in the other direction, we spotted a graceful Great Blue Heron flying off over the hills.  Somewhat surprisingly, we haven't seen too many Great Blue Herons since entering Alberta yet the valleys of the badlands seem full of them along the riverway.

 

 

After our birding break we climbed another tall hill, and then saw a beautiful ravine stretching out below us, which reminded us a lot of the Qu'Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan. Steep, soft, grassy slopes led down to the remains of a meandering river.  The discontented mooing of a large herd of cattle could be heard along the river valley, and overhead the sky was full of a wheeling crowd of chattering Tree Swallows, Cliff Swallows, and Barn Swallows.  

As we crested the next hill we suddenly heard the squeak of bicycle tires coming from behind us, followed by a tentative hello.  We had been joined by a man who came from France, and who had just cycled down from Tuktoyaktuk, NT! It was extremely exciting to meet someone else on a Trans Canada adventure, especially when he said that we would love the trek up to Tuk.  We had a thousand questions for him, but with an exchange of well wishes he was off before we could learn more.  He said he would reach the south end of Calgary by tonight (where we will be in 4-5 days), and the speed with which he disappeared over the next hill left us feeling more than a little envious. 

Shortly after this exciting encounter we passed a set of signs indicating that we were leaving Mountain View County and entering Kneehill County.  The bottom of the sign welcomed us to the Canadian Badlands.  This unique landscape includes a series of canyons, hoodoos, and plains that extends from just east of Drumheller to Saskatchewan, and south to the US border.  

We have seen the World's Largest Dinosaur in Drumheller, explored the hoodoos in Dinosaur Provincial Park, and learned about paleontology at the Royal Tyrrell Museum on a previous road trip 20 years ago, and we are somewhat saddened that the Trans Canada Trail bypasses these special places.  

It feels like we are walking east to little purpose at the moment, but if we are going to do so, we may as well at least visit that unique and picturesque region. 

Just before arriving in Torrington, which was our destination for the night, we took a break at the West Torrington Cemetery.  The sun was extremely hot by this point, and we were grateful for the opportunity to stop for a few moments, even if there wasn't any shade.  I had noticed recently when reading about the settlement of communities that cemeteries were among the first things to be established by early settlers.  A few days ago, a gentlemen we briefly hiked with clarified that this was because there was a need to properly bury and remove the bodies of settlers that may have died from contagious diseases that could spread.  In that way they were just as important as churches, schools, and general stores in the development of a new settlement. 

All day we had been wondering why on earth the TCT had lead us eastwards, and not only that, had made a seemingly pointless box north, east, and south again to go through Wimborne.  At the edge of Torrington we came across a clue to the puzzle.  We crossed an old abandoned railway, and when we looked at the satellite imagery of the region we realized it went from Wimborne down through all the communities we will visit in the coming days.  I bet that at one point there was a plan to make this a rail trail section of the TCT and we are following the course of a route once hoped for. 

Torrington is a very small, quiet, hamlet in the midst of rolling fields.  The main claim fame of this quiet community is the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum.  This unique establishment features 77 stuffed Richardson's Ground Squirrels in 44 anthropomorphic taxidermy settings.  Dioramas depict gophers as waterfowl hunters, firefighters, priests, bank robbers, RCMP officers, and pool players among other things.  Much to Sean's dismay the museum was closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so we couldn't visit it, although around 5,000 people do every summer, and it comes highly recommended.

The gopher theme extends throughout the village, with all 11 of its fire hydrants painted to look like gophers.  There is also a very large outdoor sculpture of a gopher (12 ft tall) which is named Clem. T GoFur.  It sits proudly at the corner of the municipal campground where we are camping tonight. 

It is now 10 pm and there is a beautiful sunset outside and the temperatures have dipped making the world much cooler.  It is a fitting ending to a very beautiful day.

See you on the trail!

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