On July 12th 2022 I packed my car to the brim with a folding mountain bike and camping equipment, strapped a canoe to the roof, then set out on an Epic Trip, exploring more than 15 national and provincial parks in Canada. Along the way I also stopped in Alberta, Edmonton and Winnipeg to catch a CFL game and see their stadiums.
I started planning late in 2021 with a rough itinerary I made based on the route I wanted to take, the proximity of the parks along that route and the timing of CFL games. Later I looked more closely at the activities and camping options available at those parks. Then, used that info to determine the amount of time I would stay in each park. I also needed to consider the amount of time driving between parks and the kinds of activities I was planning to do once I arrived. The following is a copy of that rough itinerary.
Once park reservations opened in early 2022 I was able to see more clearly what my options were. I determined which parks and activities wouldn’t work for me and discovered other parks on my route. Having reservations in place gave me peace of mind, though I did realize early on that my plans were probably a little too ridged. So I was prepared for the chance that I would need to cancel and change plans along the way… and I did. In some cases I got my money back and overall it did cost me a few extra bucks here and there but it made for a more interesting and sporadic adventure.
To see what I mean about the rigidity, below is a copy of my itinerary that I worked on right up until the day I left. I did actually build in some flexibility… for one day on August 21, LOL. I ended up making a lot of changes on the fly so in a few cases I never actually stayed at some of these parks and in other cases I made my stays longer or shorter. At one point I actually started a food section in the itinerary, based on using up some of the food I already had at home… I barely followed it at all.
