Lethbridge Viaduct, Second Attempt, 13-15 Jun 2023

Vimy Peak

On Tuesday, I awoke around 7:30, having slept better than I anticipated. I made a quick tour of the town and found that most cafés did not open until 9. I checked out of the motel and inquired about reserving a room for the return trip without committing fully. That would be okay, given that the trail closures meant they were unlikely to be turning away guests. I assured the clerk that I would call by noon the following day to confirm whether or not I'd be taking the room.

Mt. Crandell, Bertha Peak

There was a light wind out of the southwest, so I made very good time. I stopped in Mountain View for a hot breakfast and then rode on. By 10am, I was in Cardston -- about halfway there. It was starting to get hot, with the high predicted to be around 30C. 

I bought a sandwich at the Subway store there to serve as my lunch. With stops, I was averaging about 25kph. I stopped at the intersection -- not much of a town -- that defines Spring Coulee and ate the first half of my sandwich, then rode on to Magrath and ate the second half. I stopped at the only café in Welling, and asked to have my water bottles refilled. I continued north all the way to Lethbridge, arriving about 1:30 in the afternoon.

Waterton Park

Sofa Mountain

Checkin for the B&B did not start before 3, so I had some time to kill. I rode to the center of town to look for views of the famous viaduct. Whether of the viaduct or merely the river valley below, views also seem to be popular with condo developers. The best view of the bridge from the rim of the canyon is obscured by a recently-built condo complex, so I dropped down into the canyon to find my best view along the length of the bridge.

Lethbridge Viaduct

There is a parking lot and trail about halfway down. I stopped and climbed to the top of the bluff, and got some decent views. Then I rode down to the bottom of the canyon and turned north toward the Nature Center. There were signs for a water fountain, but I found it was not turned on. At that moment, I heard a freight train approaching from the east, so I prepared to take pictures of it as it crossed the bridge.

The bridge rises 96m above the river bottom; the span is just over a mile long. My hosts said that when they first moved to Lethbridge, the longest trains would take up only about a third of the span. Modern trains will stretch from one end to the other. But clearly, the periodic design of the bridge means that if it can support the load across one tower, it can support similar loads across the entire span. There is a single suspended span toward the west end of the bridge that is slightly longer than any of the others (33m vs. 30m). But clearly that is still within the bridge's margin of safety.

I refilled my water bottles in the Nature Center and then headed off on the paths toward the river. I wanted to get right under the bridge to study the steelwork. The cross-bracing uses open-lattice fabricated box girders, to provide the necessary rigidity with less weight than a solid-faced girder. It's appearance is reminiscent of the steelwork in the Eiffel Tower.

The cross-bracing at the base of the tower closest to the river on the east bank is only 1m above ground level. This made it convenient for me to climb on it and walk to the joining plate at the center of the tower. I had removed my biker shoes and socks for better traction, but that meant that I had to choose my footsteps carefully: The rusty metal had been baking in the hot afternoon sun, so I could only step on the parts that had recently been in shadow.

After photographing the bridge from various angles, I made my way out of the valley and went toward the B&B via Scenic Drive (along the edge of the canyon). I found a few more good views of the bridge along that route. I had promised to check in at 5pm, but arrived at the B&B around 4:30. Just as I dismounted and started walking toward the front door, the hostess drove up and introduced herself.

The hosts conduct a tour group, and have a stead influx of guests through that connection. It does not particularly matter to them that Google Maps refuses to show their establishment (or any B&B in Lethbridge in fact). They were nice enough to wash one set of my clothes, so I would have a clean set to wear for dinner. And while that was going on, I had a long discussion with the hostess and her other guest on what I had seen in Waterton Park, the prospects for the weather, and what they were going to do with their tour group the following day. After dinner, I learned more from the host about their history in Lethbridge. I could have stayed at a motel for half the money, but I was much more comfortable as a guest in their house. Again, I slept very well.

Chief Mountain and Rain Clouds

Rain was predicted for later in the day on Wednesday, so I requested an early breakfast. Enid prepared a fine breakfast of eggs and toast, and sent me on my way by 7. It had rained during the night, so the pavement was wet, and it sprinkled a bit as a I got under way. I was happy that I'd taken the trouble to put the fenders on my touring bike.

Rain in Waterton Park

There was a steady breeze blowing from the southwest (as usual, I suppose). That wasn't much of a problem as far as Welling. But there, AB 5 turns westward so I was riding right into the eye of the wind. After 5 gruelling hours, I reached Cardston. As I rode along, I could see that the bowl containing the Waterton Park Village was filled with clouds. It looked very dark and foreboding all day. Thus, I had already concluded by the time I reached Cardston that I did not want to return to Waterton Park. The fatigue of the long trip was also beginning to tell on me; I did not relish the thought of traversing the International Peace Parkway going the other way. It would be enough for me to return to St. Mary and find lodgings for the night there.

Still an hour before reaching Cardston, I phoned the clerk back in the Bear Mountain Motel to say that I would not be returning. After getting lunch there, I headed south. As I approached Chief Mountain, I kept expecting that the terrain would cause the wind to curve around toward the south and become a following wind, but it never did. It was pretty tough going all day long. Four more hours brought me to Babb; it took most of another hour to crank out the last 8 miles to St. Mary.

New Snow in Glacier Park

I got started again before 8 the following morning. I arrived for breakfast at the St. Mary Village Lodge, just as they were opening for business. I had the veggie omelette and then started up the long grade climbing out the the St. Mary River valley. As I climbed up the ridge along Divide Creek, I stopped several times to take pictures of the new snow on the high peaks. It was quite chilly leaving St. Mary, so I was happy that I had packed an insulated jacket and my full-fingered gloves.

Lower St. Mary Lake

Close to the top of the ridge, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, that looked like an animated teddy bear. It was running back and forth, trying desperately to find a gap in the pine scrub on the far side of the ditch, so it could escape from me. It was hard to make out what kind of animal it was, since it was down in the ditch; I had mostly a top view of the creature. It had short, fluffy fur that was almost a chocolate brown, but it also had white paws that looked enormous relative to its size. At that moment, I concluded that I was getting a close-up view of a wild Canadian Lynx. It finally found a gap in the bushes and disappeared.

There were a few sprinkles in the morning, and I had no idea how much rain had fallen south of St. Mary. Given that heavy rains had caused landslides on MT 49 the preceding weekend, more rain might have closed the road again. Heading back, with plenty of time to make my train, I had already concluded that if MT 49 were closed I would play it safe and take the long way back through Browning.

As it turned out, the road over Looking Glass Hill was open when I arrived. Just the same, I decided to go by way of Browning. I might be able to buy a pair of Tevas to enable a hike near East Glacier while waiting for the train, and I could buy some provisions at less-than-resort prices. 

I arrived in Browning before noon. At the Trading Post, I found a style of sandal that I liked, but they did not have it in my size. I visited the grocery store and got some beer for later. I decided there that it would be cheaper to buy a sandwich at Subway than to build my own (no good bread, anyway).

The trestle over Two Medicine River

Again, there was a pretty stiff breeze out of the west, but I had all afternoon and part of the evening to make it to East Glacier. I made good time over the last 10 miles, and ducked below the new highway bridge over Two Medicine River, to see if I could catch sight of freight train going over the trestle there. Sure enough, one came by after 20 minutes or so. Then, I continued on to East Glacier.

Arriving there, I decided to stay close to the station and wait for the train. I went to my favorite spot near Midvale Creek, drank beer and read my history book.

The train was delayed nearly an hour into East Glacier. By the time I boarded the train, they had only one opening left in the dining car. Therefore, I missed getting dinner on the train, which was a disappointment. However, the rest of the trip home went as planned.