Western Saskatchewan: Big Muddy to Consul, 840 - 1360km, days 45-65.

South Western Saskatchewan has been a delight! Big Muddy was such an iconic location, offering a small taste of the badlands and a history of outlaws and settlers. We were lucky enough to be guided through Circle Y Ranch by owner Michael Burgess who showed us some epic vistas and rolling prairie with castus in bloom and iconic red prairie lilies nodding in the breeze.

From there we scooted along to Coronach and Rockglen, a very welcoming little town with a great visitor centre and campground. Resupplied we skirted North of Grasslands NP, heading through rolling hills and everything seems to be gaining in scale. The weather suddenly became a lot hotter and the mosquitoes exploded as we headed down to Val Marie, another lovely little community with a farmer's market and a cool grain elevator. After a rest day in the hot weather, it was a series of very early starts in hot as we followed Hwy 18 through Climax, Frontier and Claydon. We climbed up over Old Man on His Back and got the first glimpse of mountains since Quebec, with the Bear Paws Mountains in Montana rising up in the distance. Now we've arrived in Consul for a rest and reprovision day before heading off to cross into Alberta.

Thank you to the lovely folks who have hosted us along the way, including Jill and Pete, Charity and Ritchie, Jenna, David and Maxine, Morgan, and Brandy, as well as the legends Hannah and Julia who helped me with getting packages delivered 🙏

It looks like summer is now here with a vengeance, so it will be shorter days and early starts to get across the remote open ground between here and Warner AB. Wish us luck!