We woke up to a thankfully dry tent and packed up for the last time! We started pedaling and pulled out of the campsite after refilling our water and throwing out trash at the exit. We finished what was left of our descent and then started climbing up to the ice fields.... Crossing over a bridge that was half closed for construction, we had lots of friends as the traffic increased throughout the day nearer the famous glacier. We wound our way up the valley and several switchbacks before descending into a lovely basin and going over a small hill. We eventually topped out and stopped at the visitors center at the ice fields. There, people from all over were queuing to go on bus trips onto the glacier itself. We found a Starbucks in the center of the building but the line was enormous so we got some small snacks and hit the road after refilling our water. A little further on, we stopped at another visitor center/souvenir shop to see if we could get some snacks and food for the evening as the campsite Ziven’s dad had booked for us was a few miles outside of Jasper. The prices were absolutely ridiculous and we almost bought a bottled coffee before it rang up as $12 and we left. We puttered on and my saddle-sores and the toll of the last hard push was catching up to me. We kept going and took a trail mix break by the sign noting that we were entering Jasper National Park. A little further down the road we tried to get snacks at another souvenir shop and this time were successful with coffee and a sweet treat. We descended into the valley near our campground and stopped at a gorgeous waterfall slightly off the road. It’s called Athabasca Falls and we highly recommend the short detour to check it out. This fork in the road would have also taken us to our pre-booked campsite but we wanted to hit the town and decided to take the risk with the campsites right outside Jasper. The afternoon wore on and the anticipation was palpable, and far greater than the views, which were more subtle and forested now that we were away from the ice fields. With Ziven getting hungry, I made us stop at the sign denoting the “city” limits of Jasper for a quick photo op before we trundled around to find a campsite. Stopping for a second at a hotel, we found they didn’t offer dinner to non guests and we kept going. At the first campsite, the lovely ladies at the front gate said it was completely full and the next campsite down the highway was nicer and a bit cheaper and probably had open spots for bikers. So we pushed off for our final kilometer on the shoulder of the once-Ice Parkway.

The final campsite was very new and the visitors center where we checked in felt like a hotel lobby. We found a cozy campsite in the trees at the end of the hike-a-bike section where we dumped our stuff and set up the tent. We then changed into some normal clothes and whooped with joy as we careened down the gravel dirt paths towards Jasper the town on our now uber-light bikes. We passed a herd of elk in the middle of the street and enjoyed the golden hour sun as we sped along the highway, under the underpass that popped us out in Jasper! We wandered around for a bit and decided on a classic American meal to end our trip and pulled over at A&W, parking our bikes and ourselves in their nice outdoor patio before ordering root beer and burgers in the broiling restaurant. Ziven had had his eye on a raspberry/mango iced tea drink and it took multiple repetitions from the cashier before his hungry and tired brain understood that they were out of the ingredients. Nonetheless we happily munched on our dinners and called our respective families to celebrate the end of the trail. We then sought out some ice cream and sped off back to the campground before it got too dark, spooking another herd of elk along the highway as we zoomed past. We took turns taking a luxurious shower at the fancy bath house at the campsite and because one man was taking so long in his cubicle I snuck into the handicap shower which had no lock but many buttons to operate the door. We then watched a bit of tv on our phones before falling into a deep and well deserved sleep.

Ziven here; of course I had to add my thoughts on the last day!!! Holy cow!!! I was VERY glad to be done. We had pushed off soooo many rest days in order to meet our meaningless goal of finishing in 40 days. I was immensely proud of Elisa, and a little mind blown that we pulled it off. While our bodies were wrecked, our souls were beaming.