On to Jasper, August 23-24

Mt Robson, August 23

It's wonderful to get out of the tent and find a beautiful array of breakfast items ready to eat.  Especially delicious is bread, toasted on the fire.  We decide to spend the morning going on a short hike by Mt Robson with my parents.  It's very clear and we have a spectacular view of the mountain as we drive towards it.  

At the visitor's center, we decide to hike out to Kinney Lake, a short but rewarding hike.  When we reach the parking lot at the trailhead, we find it packed with cars.  This is a popular place!  Luckily, although the trail is busy, it is not as bustling as we expect. We take a long time to hike out to the lake, enjoying everything along the way.  The trail follows the roaring Robson River, which is glacial aqua-blue and full of fast-flowing rapids.  Signs along the trail teach us a little bit about the local geology.

As we get near the end of the trail, there are no longer rapids in the river.  It becomes quiet, flat water.  The lake is breath-taking.  Along the shore where we're walking are picnic tables and tent sites.  We stop to have a snack, skip rocks, and take pictures.  The water is calm, the same stunning aqua color as the river.  Along its edges, cliffs rise steeply to the mountains above.  On our left is Mount Resplendent, an enormous peak with a large glacier and clear avalanche paths.  On our right is Mount Robson, its striated cliffs towering over us. Quite the view!

Kinney Lake 

photo credit: www.hqbackgrounds.com

The hike back goes quickly, and we have a late lunch at the campsite (the hike took longer than we thought).  We spend the rest of the afternoon just hanging out and relaxing.  My parents go to see some giant salmon.  Even though the stove runs out of fuel, we still have a tasty dinner of soup and polenta.

Yellowhead Pass- Easiest pass ever August 24

We've had a horrible night of sleep.  A rowdy drunk at the nextdoor campsite has been cursing and complaining all night.  Fed up, we wake up early and pack our stuff.  Around 10 am we part ways with my parents.  It's a bit sad to see them go, but I'm very grateful for the time we had together.  

The first part of our bike is over rolling hills, and before long we're on a downhill shooting us towards Mt Robson.  It's as clear as yesterday, and the mountain is spectacular.  

We stop at the visitor's center to fill up water.  Right after, the road begins to climb steeply, but the climb is short and shoots us out onto a long, flat road that travels through an incredible mountain valley.  As we bike, we pass small signs that point up to the peaks and show their names and elevations.  The aqua-blue river we've been following turns into a giant lake named, rather oddly, Moose Lake (I would have expected a Moose Lake to be far more marshy).  

After the lake, we continue to follow the Fraser River, the same river that flowed quickly past our campsite, bright blue in color.  Up here near the headwaters, it is much slower moving and muddy brown.  We stop for a quick lunch on the side of the road.  When we reach the top of the pass, it's a surprise because the road has been so flat.  We feel like we have barely gone up at all (Yellowhead Pass is the lowest in the Canadian Rockies).  

Shortly after, we pass into Alberta.  Time zone change!  We lose an hour.  Lakes and rivers are replaced by marsh on the left, and the road hugs the cliffs tightly on the right.  So tightly, in fact, the rockfall has destroyed parts of the shoulder.  It's not long before we hit the Jasper park entry gate.  Our excitement is quickly squashed by the attendant, who tells us it is a $20 per night charge to stay in the park.  We pay for one night and decide to figure it out later, since it will take us longer than one night to bike through this large park.  On the way into town, we see a giant male deer right on the side of the road.  We're so focused on battling the headwind, and he's so quiet, that we almost bike by without noticing him. Once in town, we find the hotel that my parents have reserved for us.  It's very exciting!  Our room has a mini-fridge and a king-size bed.  What more could we ask for?  My parents have generously included dinner with the hotel room, so we shower and put on our nicest clothes to go to the snazzy Italian restaurant downstairs. Was it just by chance that they put us in the corner?  The food is absurdly expensive, but definitely delicious.  We finish our night in the hotel's rooftop hot tub.  How wonderful!

Tam's Parents Visit! August 21-22

A Supportive Day, August 21

We woke up in our comfy hotel room and packed up as we usually do, choosing to eat our peanut butter and jelly and bananas in our room instead of heading downstairs to the restaurant.  We had met Tam's parents the preceding night in Prince George.  This morning they took our bags in their car, and we headed off for the day feeling much lighter than before!  The plan was for Andie and Michel to act as our "SAG Wagon," meaning Support and Gear.  They met us down the road about 20 miles in and provided water refills and fresh berries! Yum!  We ate lunch just another 20 after that; we had hoped to go farther than 50 before lunch, but the constant headwind limited our progress.  The lunch was great!  We had our usual hummus and cucumber sandwiches, but with pie and ice cream for dessert!  We digested for a few minutes while talking with a motorcyclist from Argentina who now lives in Ireland.  He will be going to Argentina as well over the next six months.  We were glad to hear that he is taking his time; motored travelers sometimes forget that the journey is the destination.

We set off after lunch and, powered by the great food, went another 30 miles relatively easily.  Not hauling all our gear was a treat!  Even with the headwind, we kept up a solid 12 mph through rolling hills, a decent speed for us.  We met Tam's parents again at the Ancient Forest, a short interpretive trail through the rainforest, which, at 800 km from the coast, is a rarity so far inland.  

Huge cedar trees bearded with hanging lichens covered the sky above while devil's clubs, with their immense leaves and spiny defenses, soaked up the remaining light that filtered through to the floor.  It was quite a sight!

A campground was marked on our map as being about 15 miles up the road, but our tireless support team drove up the road and couldn't find it.  So, after a wonderful dinner of brown rice pasta with pesto, and chips and salsa, we are camped by a river at the nicest rest area I have ever seen.  There is running water in the bathrooms, picnic tables galore, even tent spots by the river!  The soft sound of the river masks most noise from the road.  I am glad to have a relatively nice place, because Andie and Michel are camping tonight too!  They rented gear and are giving it a go, and we are flattered and excited to have them here with us.

Pie! August 22

Our rest area turned out to be pretty quiet, and we all slept well.  Nutritious oatmeal complemented with berries energized us for the first few miles.  We had done 30 miles by our first break, Down to big rivers then back up again, but the headwind was starting to get to us so we stopped for lunch just 15 miles later. Tasty bread, hummus, and avocados were a great treat.  During lunch, the wind switched directions to a tailwind!  We didn't get our hopes up, expecting it to change around more, but the tailwind held and we FLEW down the road.  Our average speed for the day rose from 11 mph to 13 mph in just a few hours.

We stopped in McBride to stock up on groceries.  The farmers market had been open earlier, but we unfortunately were about 30 minutes too late.  Lucky for us, Tam's dad, Michel, managed to get there just as the pie woman was closing up, and he snagged a strawberry rhubarb pie!  About 20 miles down the road from McBride (which took about an hour- thank you tailwind!), we met Tam's parents again, and this time we tried the pie. It was so good we each had a second piece.  That and the tailwind powered us through the next few miles, and at the next rest stop with the SAG Wagon, we finished the pie.  Didn't mean to, it just kind of happened.  

From lunch on, we had been biking through a wide valley between the Rocky Mountains and the Cariboo Mountains (not a typo).  The road was mostly level and relatively flat, and we got to feast our eyes on the snowy peaks all around.  

As twilight fell, traffic diminished and we biked side by side, listening to Ratatat.  We saw a dog-like creature far off in a field and think it may have been a wolf.

We arrived in Tete Jaune Cache around 7:30 having done around 94 miles... Not too shabby!  Tete Jaune Cache is the last stop before heading up into the Rockies.  Tete Jaune (yellow head- he had blond hair) was a fur trader in the 1800s who discovered what came to be known as Yellowhead Pass, the lowest pass in the Canadian Rockies.  We are camped tonight at a campground next to the Fraser River in a nice little spot away from all the other campers.  

A delicious dinner of brown rice pasta with beans and tomato sauce, supplemented with some strawberry rhubarb wine, was absolutely scrumptious. Late night potatoes baked on the fire with brie and balsamic vinegar were a perfect end to the day.  We'll have sore legs tonight, but that's nothing new.

Prince George

We have a delightful breakfast of oatmeal with nuts, dried fruit, and honey.  The food is shared over many stories and much laughter.  It's a bit sad to leave such friendly people, but everyone is going their separate ways.

Pierre, April, Mike, and Jen

 As we bike out of town, the traffic gets worse and worse.  There are an incredible number of logging trucks on this road!  Some are carrying the raw lumber, others cut wood.  You can smell it as they roar by.  An enormous truck passes every few minutes, and often there are multiple trucks in a row.  Forests along the road are less dense and more shrubby.  The lakes we've been passing have shrunk to murky ponds.  There are more billboards and the occasional small business.  Scenery is unremarkable, and I spend very little time looking at it because I'm so focused on biking and staying out of the way of all the traffic.  At first we start off with a good shoulder, but then it shrinks to almost nothing, and we have to get off the road each time trucks pass.  Despite these challenges, we make amazing time: 42 miles before lunch in 3 hours and 40 minutes.  We find a shady, sandy area off the road to eat.  A bit down the road we see my parents!  They've driven out to meet us with water and delicious snacks.  It's so wonderful to see them!  They take our backpacks so we have a lighter load, and since the shoulder is pretty good for the rest of the ride, we make really good time into Prince George.  PG's slogan is: Northern Capital of BC.  It's a crossroads town: lumber and railroad routes cross here.  All sorts of raw materials are constantly moving in and out.

 It's a big city, but luckily the hotel my parents where my parents have reserved a room is on the edge of it.  Standing in the pristine lobby with our dirty bikes, we feel a bit awkward, but it sure is wonderful to have a clean and cozy room.  Waiting for us are exciting gifts from my parents, including a small set of paints and all of my favorite snacks!  We shower then go out to an amazing dinner, which includes bruschetta, salad, pasta, and a brownie with ice cream.  It's great to catch up with my parents and share stories.

We Get Adopted, August 19

Exciting happenings in the world of bike touring east on the Yellowhead Hwy today: TAILWIND!  We did about 15 miles in our first hour, a feat considering the many rolling hills.  More rolling hills took us through the towns of Fraser Lake and Fort Fraser, where we stopped for lunch on a shady side road.  Anything to get out of the inexorable sun!  Because of the unusually hot, dry weather this summer in BC (in contrast to the record-breaking rains in Alaska), there was a forest fire burning nearby, and we could smell it in the air.  In fact, the road had been closed just a few days before.

I took a short post-lunch nap in the shade while Tam caught up on her journal, then we hit the road again. 20 more miles to Vanderhoof.  The wind was still blowing, so we got there in no time.

While waiting for the light to change, a guy came over and asked us the usual questions: how far are you going, where did you start, where will you stay tonight, etc.  We talked with the guy for a minute then went to the bakery, thinking nothing of the encounter.  But just a few minutes later, in walked the guy we had talked to.  Small town.  In fact, he had driven home then returned to find us and invite us to his place for the night!

On the way out to Pierre's place, a different guy stopped a little ways down the road from us then beckoned for us to stop, too.  He was the husband of the only warmshowers host in the area, whom we had emailed but was out of town, and when he saw us asked if we had somewhere to stay for the night.  We couldn't believe the hospitality of the people in this tiny, unassuming town!

We arrived a few minutes later at the home of Pierre and April (after seeing Pierre again on the road- he drove back out to make sure we weren't lost).  They live next to a bird sanctuary!

Pierre retired recently from his job and took a few years to build a boat, and he is setting off next week to bike to Key West.  He is a boat builder, bike tourer, birdwatcher, ironman triathlete, and still very humble about it all.  And he makes a mean cheesecake!  I spent less time talking with April, as she arrived later, but she, like Pierre, could not have been more kind and welcoming.  We also hung out with Mike and Jen, two old friends of Pierre and April who are touring around in their RV.  Tam cooked up polenta burgers with beans, and I had fun sharing pictures and stories with Mike and Pierre.  Then showers, then bed.

Frogs! August 18

Our campsite is blessedly quiet.  The only noise is the laughter of children from across the lake, where there appears to be a summer camp.  The toys they have in the lake look like fun!  Our riding day starts off with a long downhill into Houston.  It's a small town with a large industrial park on the left and a shopping mall on the right.  There's not much else.  A friendly guy I meet outside the grocery store asks about our trip and tells me he moved here 20 years ago for the fishing: "The salmon are always running."  Houston's claim to fame is that it has the world's largest fly fishing rod, and so it does: a large statue in the middle of town.  We do some errands and it's already 11:30 before we leave.  The road is mostly flat, and we have a bit of a tailwind, so it's good riding conditions.  After 20 miles or so, we hit a huge hill.  At the bottom we see signs that say "Chains On, 6 Mile Hill."  Dreading six miles of uphill, we are pleasantly surprised when it's only about one.  We pass through the small towns of Perow (just little houses and farms by the road), and Topley (houses and a few small businesses that seem to be shut down).  We stop for lunch about 43 miles in when I see a small picnic area with swings by a lake.  This turns out to be Rose Lake Memorial Park, 1911.  The picnic tables are old style with thick logs.  There is a shed full of dry firewood and a pavilion that says, "Tent shelter. Campers welcome."  It's adorable!

We start lunch at a table but move under the shelter as it starts to rain.  As the rain clears and we finish lunch, we notice tons of little frogs hopping all around us.  They're all less than an inch in size, patterned with all shades of green and brown.  We catch some and have tons of fun watching them all hopping around.

Add caption

I was filming this and Danny started narrating

At some point, we have entered what is known as the 'lakes district."  Our afternoon ride brings us through more flats, some hills, farms, and lots of lakes.  Late afternoon, we reach Burns Lake, where we fill up water and drink a lot of chocolate milk.  Looking for a campsite, we bike 13 miles or so to the recreation site out of town.  Right before the turnoff, I see the biggest logging mill I've ever seen. Piles and piles of logs!  The logging industry is huge here.  The rec site is 2 km off the road but we soon realize that it's 2 km on gravel and steep uphill.  We decide to find a different place.  There's nothing on this road, so this soon becomes a challenging task.  It's starting to get dark when we finally see a turnoff for another rec site, where we find a perfect little campground.  We are incredibly grateful for this quiet spot.

Crashing, Enjoying Smithers, and Shameless Plugs, August 15-17

The Yellowhead Highway took us east into Smithers around 8 pm on Friday night.  We called up Debbie and Lothar, the folks we had contacted on warmshowers.  If you're not familiar wih it already, warmshowers is an online community for cycle tourists.  Tourists stay with hosts, then the hosts stay with other hosts while touring themselves.  If you're at all interested in having adventurous people of all ages and nationalities stay with you, sign up on warmshowers.org!  No, you don't have to be a cyclist to host people.  (That's shameless plug #1)

The folks we stayed with in Whitehorse were amazingly friendly and welcoming, and we found Lothar and Debbie to be just as wonderful.  They invited us right in, and we had a great time hanging out with them and their dinner guests at their informal Friday get-together.  And we were able to experience Debbie's amazing cooking!  Great people.  Next year, they will be beginning their own bike trip to Argentina!  We look forward to sharing with them our stories and favorite places from down the road.

 Debbie and Lothar

The next morning we headed off to the farmer's market.  No bag necessary, we're just getting some veggies.  This is how that turned out:

That's kale and a giant zucchini strapped to my rear rack.  Both our handlebar bags were overflowing as well with bread, jam, and more local veggies.  What can I say? We love farmer's markets and will definitely bring a bag next time.

We then headed to the bike shop.  I needed to replace my chain, having ridden over 3000 miles without changing it, and I ended up getting a new cassette and handlebar tape as well.  Tam got a new chain and tape, too.  Oh, and we had to fix this:

  Very bent chainring on my bike

The day before, I had gone over to slap a sign on the side of the road (why not?) and spun out and fell in the gravel shoulder.  Tam was behind me and hit me as I fell, then she fell too.  Thankfully nothing was broken on either of our bikes except this chainring, and out of the two of us only I lost a little bit of skin on my knee.  Lesson learned.  I won't be attempting to high-five road signs any more (if you're curious, I did hit the sign).  The bike shop eventually led across the street to the cupcake shop, where I bought a bunch of small yet delicious treats for the two of us and our bike mechanic, Dave.

Dave took extra time to show us exactly what he was doing and how we could do it ourselves.  If you are ever in Smithers, go to C.O.B. Cycles and have a chat with or get your bike fixed by Dave!  He's also a world champion in kickboxing, definitely not your average joe. (That's shameless plug #2)

From the bike shop, we headed back "home" and sent some emails, wrote postcards, etc.  Then that night, with some contributions from Tam, Debbie cooked up the most incredible dinner for a friend's birthday.  She even baked a lemon poppyseed cake and made two types of lemon frosting!  What a cook she is!  She would tell you she's not a baker, but I would say she is quite a good baker!

Falafel, salad, chicken, the giant zucchini filled and baked, potatoes, tzatziki sauce...

The beautiful and delicious cake, candles ready to be blown out

Instead of heading out early today, we made pancakes for Lothar and Debbie, packed our stuff, then met up with their friend Dave (different Dave, not the bike mechanic).  Dave is in a wheelchair after an accident many years ago and cannot drive, so we drove him up the mountain (in his wheelchair-outfitted van) to the end of the road, where he wanted to hang out in the mountain air and sunshine.  The end of the road is also the trailhead for a popular, short hike to a crystal clear alpine lake, so we hiked while Dave hung out.  The hike brought us quickly above treeline, an expansive view for under a kilometer of effort.  

And the lake really was pristine.  Even though it was very cold, we, of course, went for a quick, refreshing swim.

It was bittersweet to be back on our bikes again after the good times in Smithers.  Sad to say goodbye, as always with friends new and old, but good to be back traveling, free, on no schedule but our own.  We biked about 30 miles then camped next to a lake close to the road.  It's a day use area, but there are no signs that prohibit camping, so here we are!

On a totally unrelated note, our friends Jess and Ricky, who we cycled with for a few days, have entered a competition to win money to donate to their charity of choice.  They asked me to vote for them, which I gladly did.  If you have an extra moment and would like to help them out, copy this link into your browser (sorry, I can't do hyperlinks from the phone) and vote for them too!  It takes maybe 30 seconds.

http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/charity/entries/ricky-and-jess-cycle-lots-e2105.aspx

(That's shameless plug #3. I'm done.)