Day 1: Seattle to Bellingham (106mi)
Sometimes, repetition can be mind-numbing; other times it’s just OK; at times, it can actually be reinvigorating. Today was almost an exact repetition of the first day of last year’s tour and…it felt nice! My bike feels super heavy after zipping around on an unloaded Bianchi the past few days, but that’s to be expected. In the morning, Mike was a trooper – he felt shitty, seemingly down with the same sickness I’ve had the past few days, but joined the rideout to 145th Street – the northern city boundary of Seattle. From there, it was smooth sailing along trails, then roads (mostly quiet, thankfully – perhaps due to the 6:30am start time on a Sunday morning?). I did an emergency bathroom stop in quiet, cute downtown Snohomish before heading up the Centennial Trail, which (as I remember) is delightfully continuous but long! Finally getting to the end, there was a nasty headwind getting around Lake McMurray and down to I-5, where I stopped for a quick break and cold drink.
Continuing through the Skagit Delta and valley, all went well as I wiggled towards the Chuckanuts. The hipster heaven of Bow-Edison was a madhouse on this beautiful midsummer Sunday, with city folks scattered all over the road. This necessitated a sort of slalom technique as I navigated the main street of the village. Chuckanut Drive was busy but folks were mostly respectful in their admittedly giant cars. Getting towards Bellingham, I hopped on the Interurban Trail and headed to Elle’s house in Fairhaven.
I met up with Tristan for some last minute planning and shopping. I am pretty exhausted but I guess that is to be expected for the first day touring!
Day 2: Bellingham to random Harrison West Recsite (102.5mi)
Last night was fun – we made tacos and hung out after doing some logistics and shopping. We woke up and had breakfast (leftovers!) before rolling out around 6:45. Heading out of Bellingham was easy and, after a trafficky ride up Hannegan Road to the town of Lynden, we eventually worked our way northeast on quieter farm roads to the border at Sumas. Tristan had some tire mishaps but we got through without any other mishaps. We stopped briefly at Abbotsford to check out the Save-On Foods (my favorite store!) before heading north on very busy roads. We crossed the Fraser on a bridge which thankfully had a bike deck before heading upvalley on flat but heavily-trafficked BC route 7 to Harrison Mills. We finally turned off, stopping for a snack and bathroom break before wandering up the road towards Harrison Lake. At first, the road was nicely paved, but past the junction with the Sasquatch Mountain Resort it went to gravel. This was the beginning of the Sts’ailes (Harrison West) Forest Service Road.
This road proved to be somewhat brutal: bumpy, loose gravel and often very steep. If you look at the map with just a passing glance, the road looks not too topographically crazy; however, a closer inspection reveals numerous, repeated 200 to 400-meter climbs, a near-constant up-and-down along the west lakeshore that added up quickly. The grades were steep enough that, more often than not, I was in my lowest gear. I even had to walk my bike up a few pitches. Not only were the climbs rough, the downhills were also quite steep and loose, requiring me to take them exceedingly slowly. We ended up stopping for the night just past Doctor’s Bay at a small recsite most of the way up the lake – a beautiful spot on a small point with a nearby stream. I had anticipated at least getting to the end of the lake, but the road is exceedingly slow going and we need rest! I’m worried about the other gravel roads on our route: how rough will they be? Passable? Impossible? I have lots of questions; regardless, it seems that parts of the trip will be quite slow!
We’ll have to see how long it takes us to get to Pemberton tomorrow. Tristan is quick – strong, with a much lighter bike setup than me (and bigger tires), so he seems to be struggling less. We’ll see how things continue to evolve as we head north; for me, I hope the road conditions improve!
Day 3: Harrison West Recsite to Pemberton Meadows Warm Showers (87.6mi)
This morning, for the first 5k, I thought we weren’t going to make it. There were lots of super steep gravel pitches requiring a lot of walking. Giant machinery had clearly passed through the area recently and chewed up the road, resulting in incredibly slow going. But after passing an area of active logging, the road dipped into a side valley and got better! We cruised past a strange empty logging port at the head of the lake and onto the In-SHUCK-Ch Forest Service Road, which – compared to the Sts’ailes road – was like a highway for awhile! We cruised through the rainforest valley, passing at least one bear and crossing the icy green-gray Lillooet River. Eventually, the small ups and downs with loose gravel returned – though not as bad as before, it was still rough and exhausting (for me) and, eventually, somewhat frustrating. We passed the small First Nations community of Skookumchich, with its surprisingly magnificent old church and beautifully designed new public buildings, and eventually made it to long, narrow Lillooet Lake. Here, my pannier broke, the frame separating from the bag, but I found a way to strap it on for the remaining trip into Pemberton. Finally, we made it to highway 99 and cruised into town, stopping at the bike store, hardware store (for pannier repair supplies, grocery store, and gas station (for a belated bear spray purchase). It was hot! We waited out the heat a bit before rolling upvalley along the stunningly beautiful road to Pemberton Meadows.
This time, we didn’t stay with my warm showers friends in town as they were on their honeymoon! Instead, we stayed at a beautiful, quiet homestead upvalley hosted by a kind, generous couple. They had lived abroad (mostly in southeast Asia) for many years before settling in Pemberton Meadows, where they have a stunning little compound with a bike barn and a small cabin where Tristan and I are staying. They cooked us a delicious dinner and we talked about biking, travels, and much more before washing our bikes and heading to sleep.
As an aside, it turns out that the gravel roads are hard on my setup! The narrow 38mm tires and heavy frame and panniers make rougher roads a struggle! We will likely need to adjust the route in light of this realization as well as the rapidly-spreading forest fires in north-central BC, but first, tomorrow!
Day 4: Pemberton Meadows to Lillooet via Hurley FSR and Gold Bridge (106.8mi)
Today was many things – but at least the gravel wasn’t as bad as I expected! We started by biking north with our Warm Showers host via the Pemberton Meadows Road and the Lillooet River FSR before turning up the apparently infamous Hurley FSR. This was a big ascent on gravel and, as such, was somewhat tiring – but it wasn’t actually that insane! We got to the top and, as we descended through some beautiful alpine scenery, we noticed that it was starting to get smoky. There were several small fires in the nearby mountains that we couldn’t see but certainly could smell and taste. We went over another hill on the Hurley FSR before heading down a horrifically steep descent to the Bridge River Valley, where the smoke was significantly denser. We stopped in the small, funky town of Gold Bridge – which certainly has some McCarthy-like end-of-the-road vibes – before traveling the very long road along the now very smoky Carpenter Lake towards Lillooet. The road was beautiful but at times quite hot. Eventually, the smoke cleared somewhat but the biking became a bit more challenging, with thunderstorms creating intense downdrafts and strange wind patterns. We finally made it to the dam and down the beautiful Bridge River Canyon before a short, punishing climb and rollercoaster ride above a spectacular steep gorge. As we climbed and descended along the canyonside, coming ever closer to Lillooet, the sky opened, with periods of rain, thunder, and sun making the road – which was a lot more gravel and dirt than paved – more challenging than expected.
We finally made it to Lillooet after navigating the nastily steep hill up into town. We grabbed some food at a Subway and headed to a hastily-arranged Warm Showers. Our hosts were great – he was a wildland firefighter and she did salmon biology! They both had information about fires as well as gravel roads heading north. If I was freaking out last night about the gravel, now I’m mostly worried about the fires! They seem like they are getting really bad further north. We’ll just need to see what happens and adjust as we move along!
Day 5: Lillooet to Gang Ranch (97.1mi)
Today, again, was wild: lots of different parts to the day. We started out of Lillooet around 6:30 under cloudy skies in what appeared to be clear air. I was feeling terrible, but we slowly crawled up highway 99 and its longer-than-I-remembered hills until we got to the First Nations community of Pavilion. There, we started up the steep gravel Pavilion-Clinton Road, which was a tough time but took us into some beautiful, rolling upland ranch country. As we continued up, the ground and surroundings got wetter and lusher and finally we found ourselves in some saturated red clay! We had to hike our bikes around it, through some cattle-grazed scrub infested by millions of mosquitos. It was brutal. After this, we had to clean our bikes of the viscous clay before we could ride again. I only did the most cursory possible cleaning job because the bugs were brutal! We kept going up and finally lost the mosquitos (and my breath) before a crazy steep descent into a narrow valley where we stopped at pretty, windy, lakeside Downing Provincial Park for lunch. At the park, we ran into the 3 guys on motorbikes and 2 folks in a pickup that were the only people we had seen along the Pavilion-Clinton Road – it felt like a road survivor’s club or something. Refreshed, we started climbing up the surprisingly smooth and fast Jesmond Road. After reaching a summit of sorts, we found ourselves in wide-open herding country, with beautiful old ranches that looked like sets from a western movie. The entire region was like a Wild West of times past, with massive open pastures and forests ramping uphill towards distant rocky peaks, small log-cabin homesteads nestled in the creek valleys below. However, it was also starting to get smoky. As we passed Jesmond Ranch and headed towards the Gang Ranch road, it got smokier and smokier until we found ourselves in the Fraser Canyon on a brutal washboard road with about one mile of visibility. The smoke was awful! Finally, we got to the intersection with the roads to Gang Ranch and to Dog Creek/Williams Lake. Tristan was especially frustrated by the smoke, so he suggested we try to hitch out of the worst of it. We tried! And failed. One lady who stopped initially seemed like she was going to let us hitch along; however, as she verbalized all of her ever-changing emotions around our presence, I quickly realized that she was searching for any reason not to take us. At first, she felt bad for us, but soon the predominant sentiment was that she felt uncomfortable with giving us a ride; she also said she didn’t want to scratch an antique piece of furniture that she was carrying in the back of the pickup. She and her brother eventually drove off. Other folks didn’t have space, and not too many folks passed the intersection. So after an hour we decided to get going: we descended, crossed the suspension bridge over the Fraser, and ascended a brutal hill to Gang Ranch – a place which used to be the largest ranch on the continent (over 4 million acres!!).
At Gang Ranch, it was still very smoky; the smoke and old buildings lent the place a somewhat spooky kind of aura. However, we soon met a mechanic who helped us find the ranch manager, B, who he said would be the person to talk to about staying the night.
B, with his impeccably clean buttondown, cowboy hat, and jeans crowned by a massive belt buckle, proved to be exceedingly kind and generous. As he talked to us while holding a large shotgun that he had been using to scare away a bear, he told us about the ranch and offered that we could stay upstairs in the cookhouse to get out of the smoke. B had previously worked on farms and ranches in Washington State and one of his children was attending SUNY Plattsburgh, close to where Tristan went to school. We had a good conversation before moving into the cookhouse, an old wooden structure straight out of Western movie central casting, cooking a quick dinner, and now heading to sleep. The rooms are old and creaky and there are some mice running around, but at least we’re out of the horrific smoke.
I’m feeling a bit confused and frustrated about next steps; the fires are awful and seem to be everywhere! We’ll have to head to Williams Lake and do more research when we get there.
Day 6: Gang Ranch to Williams Lake (63.7mi)
Waking up, I felt a mouse scurry across my feet! I went back to bed but was unsettled until morning.
We eventually got up and ate a basic breakfast before biking down from Gang Ranch to the Fraser suspension bridge. It was super cold – I wore my puffy jacket! But then we started the brutally steep climb towards Dog Creek. The road surface was mostly OK but the grades were intense! The road rollercoastered with multiple 300-500-meter climbs, occasionally surfacing on grassy plateaus of wildflowers and at other times traversing treed slopes or plunging into arid canyons. Throughout, the air quality was atrocious. The smoke was horrific from start to finish and probably took a year off my life. We could rarely see more than a mile away!
We eventually made it to Alkali Lake Ranch, a beautiful old compound with large barns and historic houses that seemed exceptionally well-cared for.
A quick side note: on our initial climb to Dog creek, we met some local First Nations folks tending a remote but super cool community garden! As a result, the road was lined with sunflowers. Wow!
From Alkali Lake, the road became much wider but the surface deteriorated with lots of loose gravel and washboarding. We eventually got to a smoothly paved road which, after one final brutal ascent, brought us to Williams Lake, where the air was still terrible.
We went to Save-On Foods and I messaged the woman from Warm Showers with whom I stayed last year – but after snacking and hanging out for awhile (and watching the air continue to deteriorate), we decided to get a hotel room to get out of the air. We went to Red Shreds, the awesome local bike store where they kindly let us use their pressure washer and, after breaking my sunglasses, I bought a pricey but hopefully more durable pair. The folks at Red Shreds were awesome and the place had a great vibe! We ran a few more errands and talked with our partners before getting food and making sandwiches for dinner.
I also spend quite a lot of time trying to figure out the bizzarro BC Ferries schedules: nothing seems to align! If I scrap my plans to head north and instead head west to Bella Coola, I’ll need to take a ferry to the island community of Bella Bella – and then will miss the transfer heading north to Prince Rupert – the only one for 5 days – by 35 minutes. I talked to the BC Ferries people a couple times and none of them seemed to understand the schedule. It looks like, air depending, I might try to run away from fires to Bella Coola and then take ferries south to Port Hardy before deciding on next steps. Tristan is a bit less smoke-tolerant and will bus to Vancouver tomorrow. It’s really a bummer about the forest scrambling all of the plans. Tomorrow morning, first thing: check the smoke and forecast!
Day 7: Williams Lake smoke day
Day 8: Williams Lake to Tatla Lake: 132.8mi
Yesterday was a rest day enforced by an AQI that peaked around 500. It was really, really bad. There was not much I could do. I helped Tristan get his bike packed and on the bus, a process which required a last-minute run to Rona to get a tarp to wrap up the bike for transport. I spent a long time figuring out ferries and planning contingencies for the next stage of the trip. Overall, it was a pretty underwhelming day, though I truly enjoyed the time I spent browsing in Williams Lake’s great little bookstore! Interestingly, the store had two separate histories of Gang Ranch, each claiming to be the correct and factual version – and, apparently, written by ex-spouses! I can only imagine the drama.
Also, our first night in Williams Lake, another bike tourer pulled into our hotel somewhat late. He had biked from San Diego and looked exhausted. He didn’t know much about the fire and smoke situation farther north, so we explained and gave him some resources to consider. I’m not sure what happened: we didn’t see him again and he never responded to my texts!
Anyway, finally, I’ve gotten to today. This morning, I biked out around 5:45. The air wasn’t great, but due to thunderstorms and rain the previous night it was better than it had been previously! Heading out of town, the road went up, then way down to the Fraser river before climbing the hill up to the Chilcotin Plateau. Things were somewhat smokey and not very scenic for awhile, though the Fraser Canyon was cool. I stopped in the small town of Alexis Lake where the kind Korean couple who ran the store finally had postcards! I had searched unsuccessfully for postcards in the previous two towns. I continued along to the First Nations village called Redstone in English yet confusingly located 25k past the spot on the map marked with that name. There, some kind folks told me about a small new fire close to the road on the Bella Coola hill. I hope it’s not serious and that the road stays open! Finally, the road started to get more scenic; the centerline disappeared, the surface roughened, and the Coast Mountains loomed in the distance, coming closer with each revolution of the wheels. Finally, after yet one more hill, I got to Tatla Lake recsite where I found a beautiful campsite along the shore. I got to jump in the lake, which was surprisingly war. The sky is blue, the air is clean, and there’s a delightful slight breeze! This was worth the smoke and delay for sure.
Day 9: Tatla Lake to Hagensborg: 123.8mi (not including the gap)
Last night ended up being terrifying. First, a big grizzly lumbered through the recsite right after dinner. I got my bear spray ready and yellow but it seemed blithely unconcerned and eventually just wandered away. Then, after abruptly falling asleep, I was awakened in the dark by a low roll of thunder and a bright flash.
Nearly all the major recent BC fires have been caused by lightning, so I was immediately 100% awake and on high alert. I sat up and crouched in my tent in the “lightning pose” that I was taught as a kid.
And there I crouched for the next three hours amidst perhaps the longest and most intense thunderstorm I have ever experienced. Lightning cracked from all sides, thunder grumbled and boomed in ear-splitting peals from the clouds above. The lightning appeared to be striking very close to where I sat; often, everything was clearly illuminated by the flashes and the smell of sulfur wafted through the woods. And at first, it was dry: perfect conditions for a fire. And then, the rain started to fall, first a light drizzle and then in torrents. Every time I thought the thunder and lightning had passed, a new growl emanated from the clouds above and the whole show began again! “This is it!” I said to myself. “I’m done.”
Finally, after hours of crouching in my tent, numerous false “ends” to the storm, and innumerable mantras chanted to whoever might be listening, the lightning grew fainter and fainter, the thunder dampened to a low, distant rumble, and eventually all I heard was the rain. I eventually lay back down and fell into a fitful sleep.
When I awoke, it was still raining. I slept in a bit and waited for the rain to die down before heading out. The weather was moody and cool, with low scudding clouds and only a few sunbreaks. The change was nice, though I did get soaked by a few passing showers.
I stopped by the Tatla Lake Community Center to use the free wifi and connect with Mike. with whom I communicated my gratefulness to be alive after a rough night. I then rolled onward into an ever-increasing headwind. The area is beautiful with large lakes surrounded by low foothills that abruptly rear upwards to the jagged Coast Mountains beyond. The headwind slowed me and I finally made it through Nimpo Lake to Anahim Lake, where, as I feared, I learned that the road down to Bella Coola was (at least for now) closed. I got some food, mailed some postcards, and then made my way to the west side of town where a lot of cars were gathered along the road near a community center of sorts, waiting for news. I asked some people what was happening and soon learned that the road would open for convoys of vehicles guided by pilot cars at the hours of 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm. It was just after 2:00. This was my chance! I stepped on the pedals and rocketed up the gravel road to the control point, arriving just on time! The roadworkers said that I couldn’t bike through the controlled area and had to ride in a car (and not the pilot car!), so I asked a couple of guys standing nearby who were towing a large boat if I could jump in with them. They agreed! Mike from Kamloops and his Australian-Canadian friend were heading to Bella Coola to go fishing. They were extremely friendly and gave me a beer as we drove – not ideal but much needed refreshment and hydration after my sprint to the control point. The road wound across the summit plateau before abruptly plummeting in a deep valley on steep switchbacks cut into vertiginous slopes. This was the famous “Hill,” a near-5000-foot gravel plunge from the Chilcotin Plateau into the Atnarko valley that was built by Bella Coola locals to connect their isolated community with the rest of the BC mainland in the 1950s. The road would have been incredibly fun (if brake-shredding) to descend on a bike, though it was occasionally scary in a car. Apparently, the road is even open in winter! Anyway, I could quickly see why the road was closed, as the area right below the summit was burning, with embers and fiery trees on both sides of the road! The burning stumps and branches came up to the road’s edge – scary stuff!
After innumerable switchbacks we finally got to the valley floor where a conveniently-placed rest stop was the spot to get back on my bike and say goodbye to the guys. The valley was deep and beautiful with huge towering granitic mountains on both sides, especially at the aptly-named “Stupendous Lookout!” It also seemed like there were tons of good trails and camping facilities. Unfortunately, there was also a very stiff headwind all the way, the disadvantage of heading down a valley towards the coast! As I biked, I gradually felt the air getting wetter and more humid; the vegetation became more jungly and mossy and finally, around Firdale, I felt the full coastal humidity again. I cruised downvalley before ending up at the small community of Hagensborg, where I stopped at the delightful, well-organized, and very clean Rip Rap Campsite. I missed the nearby store by 10 minutes! Oh well…regardless, the whole area is stunningly beautiful and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to dry out and take some time tomorrow to explore. It’s nice to spend some time here in this Rivendell-like valley; perhaps the elves will emerge tomorrow.
Day 10: Hagensborg to Bella Coola (11mi)
Day 11: Bella Coola to Bella Bella and Shearwater (ferry)
Yesterday was chill, perhaps a bit too much so! I biked to the shockingly hipster Cafe Bella at the Eagle Lodge for a hot drink; for a remote area, the cafe was incredibly fancy, like something right out of Vancouver! Then I headed into town. A small, predominantly First Nations settlement, Bella Coola has a spectacular location at the head of an inlet in a valley surrounded by 2000-3000-meter peaks. Town has a few well-kept old houses but mostly appears somewhat rundown. I stopped by the grocery, hardware store, and a great “everything store” which had clothes, fishing stuff, home goods, tourist trinkets, and – most importantly – lots of good, cheap postcards! They even had another book on Gang Ranch that I had not previously seen. I went to the post office multiple times to get more stamps because of my prolific postcard-writing. I also hotel-shopped; I had committed to staying in town due to the early ferry the next morning. The Bella Coola Valley Inn was cheap and comfortable so I decided to stay there. There were also lots of stray dogs, some of which chased me. Finally, after numerous rounds of town, I checked into the hotel and spent time prepping for the following day. Because the store closed so unexpectedly early (5:30pm!) that I couldn’t get any ingredients for dinner, I went out to eat at Freddy’s, a mixture of a greasy-spoon diner and Indian restaurant that, unfortunately, was not as good as the reviews had suggested. Certainly not a McCarthy-style Potato! I also finally started getting into reading Les Miserables (recommended by Mike) after tiring of floor exercises and other activities.
I met a few interesting folks in town, including an older White guy who does ultrarunning and was complaining about the lack of races, trails, and running partners/community here. He was super friendly and chatty, seemingly happy about having made the choice to semi-retire in Bella Coola but also a bit starved for companionship and community.
This morning, I woke up early (too early) to get on the ferry, the Northern Sea Wolf. The government dock area is beautiful and the ferry, compared with the Washington system, is insanely clean and nice. The crew is snarky, funny, and kind – I’m enjoying getting to know them a bit! Now, onwards to Bella Bella!
(Evening) I made it to Bella Bella only to see the ferry north to Prince Rupert leaving the terminal as we pulled in! I biked over the hill to the town, a lively Heiltsuk First Nation community where a big potlatch was underway! Town was packed with people who had arrived for the celebration. The center of town is the massive Big House, a long cedar structure covered in stunning paintings. This place appears to be a true center of First Nations culture like few places I’ve been in North America. I heard folks speaking the Heiltsuk language and saw folks prepping for dances, competitions, and all sorts of festivities! And, as a side note, the store was also excellent.
I eventually went down to the dock where I took a $10 water taxi across the inlet to the community of Shearwater, where there was a surprisingly large resort and marina. There were a lot of facilities available, which I later learned was the legacy of Shearwater being developed as a World War II-era military facility. Now, Shearwater is the marine service center for the entire region. There is a grocery, cafe, marine store, bar and restaurant, shipyard, and hotel (among other things); despite the surprising amount of infrastructure, the place is beautiful. The operation is run by the Heiltsuk First Nation. It’s sort of odd seeing this culturally vibrant (if somewhat materially poor) First Nations community contrasting with wealthy sunburned White folks stopping in Shearwater, coming off of yachts and sailboats for resupply as they cruise up the Inside Passage.
I am camping tonight; I set up in a field above the main resort area where I found another tent. I went for a nice run along the island roads – I’m glad I brought my shoes! Tomorrow, more running and exploring before getting back to Bella Bella and heading south towards Port Hardy in the evening!
Day 12: Bella Bella to Port Hardy
Today was pretty chill. I went for a nice run along the island roads and one trail, which proved quite rough. The trail was an old plank road across the island, meaning that footing was difficult the whole way. The interior of the island is not quite rainforest like I had imagined; rather, trees are small and stunted due to the exposed position, poor soils, and granite outcroppings. The landscape has low hills and rolling mountains interspersed with bogs, ponds, and lakes; honestly, it looks quite a bit like downeast coastal Maine minus the deciduous trees!
After running, I cleaned up and had a caffeinated drink at the cafe. I met some island locals and washed clothes (!) in the laundromat before taking a water taxi back to Bella Bella. Waiting for the taxi, I met a younger indigenous woman with three kids; she was using as much Heiltsuk as she could when speaking to them! Pretty cool.
The town is absolutely packed for the potlatch! I missed most of the events – I saw a bit – and also am not entirely sure how much is appropriate for me to see. Folks were kind and welcoming and said I could watch but I also don’t like being a spectator – it feels intrusive, like I’m the embodiment of the white colonizer’s gaze in an indigenous space. Regardless, it was a cool experience! I’m happy that I made it here.
Now, I’m back at the ferry terminal waiting for the ride south to Port Hardy. I’m bummed not to be heading to Alaska or the Yukon this summer – I miss it up north! Even a short trip would be nice, but I can’t justify spending more time and money on ferries. In the future, I could head to Port Hardy from Seattle and take the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert ferry direct to skip Southern BC and head straight to Terrace. Who knows! Anyway, the Bella Bella and Shearwater area has been a delightful surprise – both the lively and all-encompassing First Nations cultural environment and the strange White yachting tourism culture. I’d love to see and explore more of this beautiful coast, especially the strange partly-abandoned town of Ocean Falls, of which I’ve heard much recently! It was also great to get a couple of runs in – my knee is feeling less creaky after spending two days running rather than biking, as well as after adjusting the cleat position a bit. The trails out of Shearwater are rough, but that’s to be expected in a place with such a low population base.
Now, on to Port Hardy on the massive Northern Expedition ferry!
Day 13: Port Hardy to to Link River: 101.5mi
The ferry trip was long but good; the ferry was massive, spotless, modern, and comfortable. It had 7 levels of decks and hundreds of private compartments for passengers, a movie theater, multiple cafes, a gift store, and tons of other amenities.
It was almost midnight when we finally got into Port Hardy. When preparing to unload, I found that the boat assistant in Bella Bella had told me to put my bike in the wrong spot – and that there was actually a bike rack area farther into the boat. At the bike rack, I found a number of other people bike touring, most of whom were French. A Canadian couple who were returning from Haida Gwaii told us about a camping spot less than 5k from the ferry terminal, so after getting directions I went ahead with a French lady and found the spot. It was…mediocre. A short decommissioned section of logging road connected a residential neighborhood with an active lumber yard. At least it was along the bayshore, but it was not the most scenic or comfortable of spots. We set up tents on the road, the surface of which was incredibly hard and resistant to staking! The Canadian couple and a group of older French folks finally showed up, so at least we had a crowd.
I woke up to light rain and fog. I packed and headed out before the others, biking the 10ish kilometers to town to get resupplied. First, I stopped at a delightful coffee shop / bookstore (Guido’s) where I had a much-needed moment of calm. As I was leaving the coffee shop, I ran into the Canadian couple from the night before. The guy was wearing a Philly shirt, so I had to ask why. The woman said she was obsessed with Philly (the city) and particularly the Phillies (the team) and had been since her youth! I’ve never seen this obsession before in Canada, so we had a delightful conversation before I left to go shopping at Save On Foods (!).
Delayed by later opening times, I finally left town around 9, heading down the forest service road west towards Holbern and Cape Scott Provincial Park. Along the way, I met a couple touring who said that the road on the south side of the Cape Scott peninsula – the road I was hoping to take that afternoon – was closed for blasting. I confirmed this 35km later but decided to go to Holberg anyway to check it out.
A funky little place at the head of a very long inlet, Holberg seems to be doing OK on logging and tourism – it has a bar (“Most Remote Pub on the Island!”) and is the jumping off point for Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail. The small store, run by a Chinese family, was great! However, now I had to head all the way back to Port Hardy along the same road due to the abovementioned closure. I turned south along the main road, highway 19, which was busy and uninteresting, before turning off on smaller highway 30. This spur road to Port Alice was beautiful, almost a perfect bike road, though a few sections past Marble River Provincial Park were very steep! Finally, the road careened downhill to the icy blue inlet of Port Alice, a beautiful little community. I stopped by the store where I met a couple from California who were doing part of the Tree to Sea, a 1000km mostly gravel route on the north island that made up a chunk of the route I was doing as well. As I dug around for my wallet, I discovered I didn’t have my passport anymore. As this couple was going in reverse of my route, we exchanged contact information so that they could perhaps collect my passport as they went and we could figure out some way to get it to me in the future.
Leaving Port Alice, I went up the hill and down to the beautiful Link River campground, which is pretty busy despite being somewhat remote! I took a dip in the lake before dinner and now feel almost clean!
Day 14: Link River to Muchalat Lake Recsite: 94.8mi
Today felt long, mostly because it was almost entirely some sort of gravel, so travel was slow. I woke up and it was (once again) raining decently hard, so I decided to delay departure for just a bit. The rain let up eventually, so I got going along roads softened and made sticky by the continuing drizzle. The first part wasn’t too bad, though there were a few loose gravel sections that brought back memories of the Sts’ailes FSR along Harrison Lake. After going up a long hill, I found myself on a much rougher and more overgrown section of road – doubletrack with very large loose gravel. I took it slow but it was a pretty rough 10k of bouncing and jostling. Finally, I got to a smoother section, where I bombed down a gradual downhill after seeing a wolf (!). The chilly valley air got to me, and though I layered up my hands went numb. Near the bottom, I got my first-ever flat on the heretofore impenetrable Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires! A big nail went right through the rear tire. As my hands were numb, it took awhile to change.
After a section where the road had been rerouted due to active logging, I finally got to beautiful Atluck Lake, where the road hugged the lakeside and a mountain across the way had a massive snow patch at a shockingly low elevation (perhaps 250m) – the remnants of what must have been an insane avalanche!
I finally made it out to highway 19, where the short run down to Woss nevertheless felt interminable. At the Woss store, I ran into one of the French bikers from the Port Hardy ferry. He seemed a bit confused so I discussed the map with him and shared options. Finally, I headed south out of town and up the “Back Road” that paralleled the Nimpkish river. The road was in decent shape on the edges but very rough in the middle. I eventually started slowing down, the small ups and downs and constant jostling taking their toll. When I made it to Muchalat Lake, I decided to stay here at the beautiful lake side recsite rather than run the last 15km into the town of Gold River, where lodging was uncertain.
Another gravel Pro Tip: the roads can be slow after rain! All day, I found myself sinking into the road surface more than normal, resulting in slow speeds overall. Also, make sure that everything is tight all the time! I had a screw fall out of my cleat due to the constant grade changes and bumping – something that has never happened before!
This area is full of clearcuts and has more people than farther north in the province, but nevertheless is apparently remote enough that it has a ton of wildlife. In addition to the wolf, I saw a lot of Roosevelt Elk, deer, and other animals. Not too shabby!
Day 15: Muchalat Lake Recsite to Courtenay WS: 100mi
Today was pretty chill. I biked the quick 16km into Gold River after a delightfully dry (if windy) camping experience at Muchalat Lake. I had my classic tortilla breakfast before biking along the paved highway through Strathcona Park towards Campbell River I stopped briefly at the Strathcona Park Lodge along upper Campbell Lake to check it out – it’s quite a spot, with the full range of facilities – before continuing to Campbell River along a busy road. At times, the road was a bit sketchy with fast traffic and almost no shoulder! I resupplied at Campbell River and did a brief tour through the delightful downtown, where there was a big farmers market. Finally, I headed south towards Courtenay along the coastal highway. Campbell River is big and continues for quite a way south! It has an impressive bike path along the waterfront for the first 10-15km south, but then you are on the heavily-trafficked main road, which at least has big shoulders. Finally, I was able to get on some delightfully quiet farm roads that took me into Courtenay. I ran some errands in town, discovering a delightful new (for me) supermarket chain (Thrifty Foods!), before heading to the Warm Showers place where I would stay the night.
Around this time, I received a message from the couple who I had met in Port Alice. They were in Holberg and wondering about my passport. I called a couple places in Port Hardy and the Holberg store – and it turns out my passport was there! K, one of the couple, agreed to bring it to Victoria in a few days when she was going to be heading through on her way back to the Seattle area.
S + B are a kind, generous couple who hosted me in their beautiful old house near downtown Courtenay. S is an avid skier and biker who had recently completed a two-month tour in the western US. After a taco dinner, S and I went to a downtown brewery to grab a beer – only to be kicked out for a drag show that was going to take place! Courtenay seems like a great midsize town with a lot of awesome mountain access nearby – it’s also the closest town to the Forbidden Plateau and Mt. Washington skiing areas. My hosts were truly delightful – S was very chatty about all sorts of cool adventures and was eager to discuss plans, routes, and gravel roads on the island and beyond! I may stay later than planned tomorrow morning to take a recently-organized interview for an alternate teaching position for next year. Then, on to the South Island!
Day 16ish: Courtenay WS to Port Alberni: 50.8mi
Today I had a chill morning preparing for my interview. It was somewhat damp and raining off-and-on, which added to the relaxed vibe. I did some bike work, took a walk into town (and accidentally went to a religious coffee shop! In my defense it was well disguised), talked with S + B, and eventually had my interview! There were lots of good questions and limited time to prep. Afterwards, I said goodbye to my gracious hosts and biked out around 12:30.
After heading up the hill from Courtenay, I got to the gate past the Comox Dam which had a lot of menacing “do not enter” signs. However, my host S had said that it was OK to go through – so I went! As I went, the clouds occasionally opened up, and I got quite soaked. At times it was drizzling; at others, it was a downpour! There was some kind of precipitation nearly all the way, making the road surface quite soft. The road along the lake was occasionally very, very steep, repeated ups and downs with little regard for gradient. The rain and cold eventually got to me; I put on a jacket but my hands and parts of my arms were completely numb all the way to Port Alberni.
I eventually rolled into town under clearing skies. A surprisingly sprawling place with significant industry and also tourism, Port Alberni stretches out alongside an inlet and atop a series of hills divided by ravines. After a couple of errands, I ended up at Char’s Hostel. I’m set up in the “Camp-In,” the main sanctuary of a former church which has been turned into a nightclub and event venue. When there are no events, this nightclub space doubles as a hostel overflow, with a series of mattresses set up on the floor separated by chairs. Char, the proprietor, is a character – kind and generous, she also seems to be quite procedural and likes things done in very specific ways! Anyway, I got some real food supplies and cooked a stirfry for dinner (vegetables! tempeh!) with leftovers for the morning. I got to talking with a friendly German guy and Canadian girl, both super young but very friendly and chatty. We had a nice time discussing travel, seasonal work, and Canada-US comparisons (always a fruitful topic) before heading to bed in the Camp-In. Tomorrow: on to the South Island logging roads!
Day 17: Port Alberni to Nitinat Lake: 104mi
Ow! I just got stung by bees while hanging food! My finger and ankle are painful and swollen. I took some benadryl so hopefully all will be OK, though perhaps I’ll fall asleep while writing this. I haven’t been stung since I was quite young, so we’ll see how this affects me!
Today was mostly good. I got a bit of a later-than-desired start due to rain and organizing stuff quietly at Char’s so as not to wake others! Getting out of town was steep, but eventually got to the road south towards Bamfield, which was paved until it wasn’t, the usual washboarding making an appearance but this time on mostly gentle grades. And then, a detour: the road was closed and I had to head south, adding 15-20km of distance each way! It resulted in more of the trip to Bamfield than anticipated being on an out-an-back stretch of road.
Midday, it got beautiful before rain showers moved in again. Bamfield was predictably gorgeous and quaint, even New England-like, a town divided in two by a narrow inlet which acts like a main street. I also stopped by the West Coast trailhead and visitors center to check out the beach, which was beautiful. Nervous hikers were milling around preparing for their trip along the famous 75km footpath to Port Renfrew. It’s popular enough that there is a very strict reservation system for the hike.
Leaving the Bamfield area, I rode along bumpy roads until I eventually arrived in the small First Nations community of Nitinat. The small town has a store but is otherwise quiet. The real surprise, however, is the massive campground, which was already large but was undergoing a significant expansion. The place was packed with wind- and kite-surfers! Apparently, Nitinat Lake – which opens to the ocean on the other end – is a sort of Mecca for these sports. The campground area was quite confusing; it covered a huge area, part of which appeared to be a provincial recsite but part of which was private and owned by the local First Nation. Some folks told me that it was impossible to get a site without reserving months in advance – but I found an open site and am at least squatting in it for the moment! Regardless, I’m here under massive beautiful cedars and firs nursing my sting wounds and getting ready for tomorrow.
The next stretch of road is a short distance but with unclear road conditions. The road might be rough or may not exist at all, requiring a massive detour. We’ll see how it goes!
Day 18: Nitinat Lake to Gordon Bay Provincial Park via Port Renfrew: 79.2mi
Today wasn’t as bad as expected! I didn’t get the earliest start because I was groggy; the baby at the neighboring campsite screamed all night nearly without stopping. Between the screaming and throbbing bee stings, it was nearly impossible to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time!
Anyway, I eventually got going up quiet, rough logging roads. I took the Carmanah Main, the Haddon Main, and the Walbran Main before turning onto the random road which, my research had suggested, might connect to roads to the east heading towards Port Renfrew. And it did! There was one 200-400 meter section where the road had been intentionally destroyed; they had dug ditches, thrown massive logs across it, and for much of the stretch torn up the previously-smooth surface completely. This necessitated shuttling loads across the gap until I was safely on the other side at the Bugaboo Main road! Mission accomplished!
I headed down the road to Avatar Grove to see some big trees, but after walking down a bit I ran into two women who said they had just encountered a massive wasp nest and had been stung a bunch of times. Not looking to get stung more, I went down a bit and saw some large trunks before heading onwards to Port Renfrew.
With its proximity to greater Victoria, Port Renfrew was a gathering of fancy establishments along the water and a few houses along a stretch of road in an undeniably beautiful setting. A marine fog hovered above the inlet, partially obscuring the beautiful clear sky above. I hung out along the pier for a bit and stopped off at a few spots before deciding to head north to the Cowichan Valley along the paved Pacific Marine Road. On this very smooth and lightly trafficked road, I got into a zone, rolling along and not stopping until I got to the end! It was a great bike road. Arriving at a T intersection, I turned left and rolled into Honeymoon Bay, where I stopped off at the store and met a couple of cyclists who I had seen earlier, near Avatar Grove, as they made their way uphill. A and E, a couple from Ottawa, had taken a more direct route to get to this spot. They warned that the nearby Gordon Bay campground, where I was hoping to stay, might be full, but said that I could stay at their previously-reserved site if I couldn’t find a spot! It was full – so I’m staying with them. They have been super friendly and kind. I got to shower and am now just hanging out, feeling much fresher and cleaner than before!
Day 19: Gordon Bay to Victoria: 72.5mi
Last night, I had a delightful time talking with A and E! They are both super interesting people. They live in Ottawa and do government-related work; E works for a Senate committee and gave me a full education on the structure of Canada’s federal government. The senate is unelected!? They can stay until age 75, voluntary retirement, or death? Wow. Lots to learn.
Today was somewhat more challenging than anticipated! I rolled out of the campground and quickly arrived in the town of Lake Cowichan. I got a hot drink before heading out on the Cowichan Valley Trail, a long gravel rail trail that spans the length of both sides of the agricultural Cowichan Valley. The trail is unusual (by rail trail standards) in that there are long stretches that are far from roads. You also go over some tall trestles, which are awesome! The trail eventually ends and becomes the “Malahat Connector.” Abruptly departing the railroad grade, it plunges, winds, and climbs at very steep grades to the top of the Sooke Hills. It seems designed to maximize elevation gain as it’s constantly going up and down (mostly up) with few flat spots for respite. After innumerable ups and downs, I finally cruised the beautiful long downhill on the south side – a much gentler grade along an old logging road – before crossing a suspension bridge and coming to a “trail closed!” sign. There appeared to be no other way out: I checked the map; backtracking would mean a 400 meter climb followed by the entire up-down section along the Malahat Connector again, followed by a bike along the busy Trans-Canada highway to Victoria! Screw it, I said: I decided to see if the closure was real and/or passable. I quickly found that it was easily passable; after a few minutes walking I was on the other side and it was smooth sailing! A few more steep ups and downs and I found myself navigating paths through the suburb of Langford. After a short shopping trip, I rolled down the Galloping Goose rail trail to the house of dad’s former colleague, where I would spend the night. T and B are themselves cyclists and were incredibly welcoming!
After a shower, I biked towards downtown and stopped at the delightful Ile Sauvage brewery for a few phone calls. Eventually it started filling up, apparently for a “Queers and Beers” event! Cool. I went further downtown, cleaned my bike at a shop, and parked my bike at a free valet bike parking at City Hall before wandering around a bit! I got some bibimbap for dinner before meeting K, who had picked up my passport in Holberg and brought it all the way here! I got my passport back! Amazing.
I cruised back to T and B’s house and hung out for a bit before…bedtime!
Day 20: Victoria
Today was mostly chill. I got a good waterside run in along Victoria’s beautiful oceanfront pathways and spent time exploring. I also got to visit the MEC (I love MEC!) and a couple of fantastic bookstores. Victoria, it turns out, despite its tourist traffic is a fun small city with excellent bike infrastructure, beautiful neighborhoods, and a glorious waterfront. It also has a large homeless population and the Inner Harbor area is a bit mobbed by tourists. Regardless, it was fun to explore a new place close to home! I had some good conversations with Mike, planned my route for the morning, and did a few logistics before preparing to head out on the ferry to Port Angeles early the next morning. Also, I learned I got the job that I interviewed for in Courtenay! Time to make decisions…
Day 21: Victoria to Seattle: 95ish miles?
The dorm last night was comfortable but I didn’t sleep well. I woke up very early and got organized to get on the boat. I rolled down to the harbor, where the office was not yet open but plenty of people were standing outside. We finally waited to get tickets and then, almost at the time of departure, US customs and border patrol finally opened. Needless to say, we departed late.
The boat is a relic – while the engines are apparently modern, the decor hasn’t been changed since 1959 when it was built! The crossing was fine but the water is extremely rough in the Strait of Juan de Fuca – no interest in kayaking this! Finally getting to Port Angeles under cloudy skies, I immediately headed east on the well-paved Olympic Discovery Trail.
The trail is remarkably continuous (if sometimes narrow) all the way to/through the Jamestown s’Klallam reservation – a significant distance! As I biked towards Seattle, I managed to stay mostly on trail or on quiet roads. However, there were a few gaps where I had to jump on the main roads (highways 101 and 20) – and these gaps were egregious, with extremely heavy, fast traffic and – in the case of highway 20 – no shoulder at all. I stopped in Port Ludlow for a quick break before heading across the Hood Canal Bridge (a surprisingly painless experience), through Port Gamble, and across the Kitsap towards Bainbridge. I biked down Bainbridge and got to a ferry just before it loaded! Ferrying across to Seattle, I navigated downtown, which was insanely packed with traffic due to a parade. I made it home around 3:45 and showered before Mike and I headed to a friend’s barbecue!
Needless to say, I didn’t make it through the evening without falling asleep briefly on the couch. As compared to last year, I feel more physically intact – I didn’t get injured and feel like I’ve retained more energy throughout the trip. While this trip didn’t turn out quite how I had hoped, it was still a worthwhile adventure! After some bike repairs, I’m looking forward to more of these trips in the future!
Adventures of Jonas 
a tough route with interesting experiences.
Jonas, thanks for sharing so many wonderful details about this bike tour. I loved that it went from highlights of the beauty of nature and the people you met… to other more challenging experiences of global warming and the ravages of civilization on nature. Thanks for posting this and hope to see you at some point.