Day 14 & 15 - Wild Camping and Dinosaurs

Day 14
I decided to shave my mountain beard since I was in a civilized hotel. Glorious before and after pictures below!

Every night of this trip I've stayed at a campsite or at someone's house but putting the tent down in some wild place has been my goal the whole time. I almost did it in BC a couple times but I always lost my nerve. One evening outside of Cranbrook I was scoping out spots on the side of the road when a young black bear ambled across the road. I stayed in a Provincial Park with lots of people that night.

Willing falling asleep alone in the wilderness, even close to a major road way, is difficult. Almost every night of my life I've gone to sleep feeling secure. That feeling might simply come from knowing that if I'm going to be mauled by a wild animal then at least we'll be mauled with someone else. The security of having others around crops up so frequently on a trip like this. I'm not worried about huge trucks running me off the road. I know other people are in those trucks so I feel great. I am worried about things that go bump in the night. I'm way more likely to be killed by the trucker than an animal but my mind doesn't see it that way at all.

Last night I worked up the nerve to do it. Alberta feels much more tamed than BC; everywhere you look the landscape is altered and wide open. Distances between towns or parks are larger too. It was evening and I was simply too tired to make it to the next town (I had planned it this way, kind of). There was also a storm ahead of me and after Wednesday I thought it would be good to bunker down early. I found a sheltered area by the road and set up shop. I read until the sun set, then went to bed. It was just like being at a provincial park without any neighbours.

At midnight there was a rustling on the edge of my tent. This was it. Sabertooth tigers have come back from extinction and they're hungry. Maybe my tire pump could be a weapon?

I tensed up as the noises circled around my tent. To the north the storm was still rumbling and occasionally lightning cast shadows on the walls of the tent. Predator shadows? Tree shadows? The noise happened again, right on top of me this time. It was a slick kind of sound. Fur on man-made fabrics.

Lightning struck and a small shadow was displayed on the top of the tent. The slick sound happened again as the rodent slid all the way down the side of the tent to the ground.

Day 15
Drumheller, home of the Royal Tyrell Museum. I'm stoked to see some fossils!