Kicking Horse Pass, BC

Kicking Horse Pass (el. 5339 ft) is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies lying within Banff National Park. The pass is of historical significance because the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed through this pass in 1880s. The pass was first explored in 1858 by Captain John Palliser. The pass and the adjacent Kicking Horse River were given their names after James Hector, a naturalist, geologist, and surgeon was kicked by his horse while exploring this region.

The photo is from August 23, 1982. That is my still lovely bride, horsing around for the camera and pretending to kick our two ‘horses’ back. At this point we were over 4,300 miles into a 5,000 mile, six month bicycle trip, which ended in Seattle, our great adventure. We actually got to coast across the Continental Divide, because we were coming downhill from Lake Louise. On the long decent from the divide to Yoho National Park, we had to stop to cool our brakes.