Through the East Kootenays (Film)

After experiencing the western portion of The BC Trail two years ago while filming Fernie To Hope (linked at the bottom of this post), Ralph Samson was set on getting back to experience the East Kootenays by bike. This time, Ralph invited friend Alex Cormier (a first-time BC visitor) to film and ride the eastern portion of The BC Trail with him. Their loop, which started and ended in Fernie, included a bit of everything from flowy singletrack (including a 40-kilometre section on day two) to gravel roads and more technical riding behind Mount Broadwood. The duo put together a short film documenting their ride, which you can watch below. After watching, scroll down for photos and details on the route they followed.

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About The Route

By Ralph Samson (@ralph_raft)

This route combines three highlights from three different routes and merges them into a loop that starts and ends near Fernie, British Columbia. I loved this ride because every day was totally unique. Just like in Mario Bros., my friend David refers to levels to describe the various places we go on bikes. This route has at least 10 levels.

The first highlight came from the BC Trail and the back of Mount Broadwood, a remote combination of gravel roads and doubletracks that follow the beautiful Elk River. For the second day and second highlight, we mixed things up with 40 kilometres of amazing flowy singletrack.

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When I first read about it online, I thought there’s no way it actually has 40 straight kilometres of flowy trail, but it’s the real deal! Even with 65 pounds of gear, our Kanzo adventure bikes were perfect for it. Alex rode 42mm tires and I rode 38s. The third day and highlight was Bull River forest service road, a totally different level in a valley with a beautiful teal river in the middle of the Rockies (the Lizard Range behind Fernie, to be exact). For two guys from the East Coast, this was the ultimate contrast from home.

Thanks to BIKEPACKING.com and the community (including Fernie Gravel Grind and Landyatchz’s Gravel Guide) for sharing your routes. This wouldn’t have been possible without you all.

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