A pretty white farmhouse.I had just over a week to kill before school started back up, which was enough to go and explore a bit of the interior. Being early in the season, I was slightly worried about the weather, but when some friends decided to do a bike-accessible backpacking overnighter along the way, I started packing.
I finished packing in the morning and left at a not-so-early 9:00 towards the nearest SkyTrain station. After just under an hour on transit, the riding proper started at Lafarge Lake, following parts of the Trans Canada Trail along with some nice separated greenway along Kingsway Avenue.
Crossing the river into Pitt Meadows, the maze of office buildings and low rise apartments was replaced with fields, farmsteads, and the occasional earthy scent of fertilizer. The roads were flat, the air was calm, and the still-snow-capped Coquitlam Range mountains provided a pleasant backdrop to the scenery. And the riding would have been perfect, if not for the constant stream of cars rushing past with no regard for the 1.5m minimum passing rule that must have been enacted no more than a year ago. Alas, complaining wouldn't accomplish anything, so I continued on and the cars became a bit less frequent after entering Golden Ears Provincial Park.
A pretty white farmhouse.
The rest of the day was as uneventful as it gets. Just after noon, I joined my friends at the Gold Creek Parking Lot, and was caught up with the plan. Turns out we were to hang out for a couple hours while waiting for a late arriver, which was fine with me as I got time to catch up on the sleep that I didn't get the night before. It was almost 18:00 when we finally arrived at the Viewpoint Beach camping area, and with grey clouds rolling in for the forecasted overnight showers, I quickly pitched my tent, ate dinner, and settled into my sleeping pad, listening to the first patters of rain fall on our sea of tents.
Though not early, the morning was dark and dreary when I awoke. Quietly, I retrieved my food from the bear cache and ate my favourite breakfast of tortillas and honey. It was already 10:00 when I bid farewell to the group and set off alone, slowly retracing the rocky trail I rode in on the day before. Progress was slow, as there were numerous sections which were too rough to ride on the loaded touring bike, but in my anticipation for the week ahead of me, I didn't mind it at all. I was informed by some passing hikers that the trail is usually much nicer, but a winter of rain must have washed a lot away. Before I knew it though, the ground transitioned from trail, to pavement, and eventually I joined the rushing traffic of Highway 7.
The first time highway riding in a long time always triggers an adrenaline rush, but I just turned on my blinky red light and told myself to get used to it. No point in worrying about something you're stuck with, right? And I was going to be stuck with it for the rest of day. And the day after. And the day after that.
About 70km into the ride, I came across a road closure caused by an accident. A group of friendly randonneurs I met earlier in the day was also stalled there, and I was lucky for that because they led me on a fun mixed surface bypass to avoid waiting for the road to clear.
There were some nice views on the detour.
The sun was nearing the horizon by the time I neared Hope, turning the towering mountains a sublime shade of deep blue. Delayed by the road closure, I decided to book a motel for the night to start this trip on a good note and avoid pitching my tent in the dark.
Silver Peak (left) and Isolillock Peak (right).
Breakfast was had at Hope Mountain Cafe, consisting of mediocre (to my taste) coffee but excellent poutine. Following this, I left the motel at around 9:30 and started the long ascent up to Allison Pass that would take most of the day. So up, up, and up, I went, with only the changing weather to indicate progress—ranging from 8 degrees and hailing to 25 and sunny—as I slowly climbed my way to 1342m.
Along the way, I passed a viewpoint for the aftermath of the Hope Slide, a 1965 landslide which was at the time the largest in Canadian history. There was an information board which provided some description of the site, as well as relatively well maintained pit toilets.
The aftermath of the Hope Slide.
As I went over the top, two extremes of bike touring showed themselves: I was cheered on by multiple cars as I neared the summit of the pass, and was subsequently ran off the road by a trucker as I started the descent. Try as I might otherwise, I must speculate that the latter was an intentional act, as there was an uncommonly wide shoulder on that stretch of road, and they had run substantially over the rumble strips to get to me.
The rest of the day was almost all descent, and barring a short stop at a gas station to buy some snacks (and seemingly annoy the cashier, as they merely gave a strange glare when I thanked them), went without a hitch. I got to Copper Creek Recreation Site at an early 17:00, and with only one other party there, settled at the second best campsite.
An empty campsite.
The cold woke me up just past midnight this day, with my bike computer saying it was about freezing. Luckily, I moved my water filter inside my sleeping bag before any damage and was able to get back to sleep quickly.
It was still chilly in the morning when I awoke for the final time, but the air was warming up quickly. Being far enough away from Vancouver, the initial climb of the day was exceedingly peaceful compared to the mornings recently passed, and before I knew it, I was back up at 1284m at the top of Sunday Summit and starting on the road down towards the town of Princeton. Leaving behind the coastal mountains means the terrain slowly changed from dense forests to more open grassland.
Grasslands in the background.
A long hour and a half was spent at Princeton planning for where to camp in the evening, and it was 13:30 when I started again. The last remnants of the cold night were long gone as the thermometer read somewhat above 25 degrees while under shade. Maybe because it was a Monday, but the highway was pleasingly quiet, and riding along its smooth curves as it followed the path of the valley was delightful.
There was a short steep climb as I gained the valley wall, and the views subsequently opened up to show the full extent of the grasslands' rolling hills.
The best of road riding.
This was the most difficult day of riding in a while, spanning 124km and filled with 1600m of somewhat punchy climbs, all along with a decent crosswind. The campsite at Marquart Lake was reached around 19:00, and how lovely a site it was. Unlike the vehicle-accessible campground at the east end of the lake, the west campground was a fenced "no motorized vehicle" area, which made it quiet and calm as the setting sun gave the sky a pink gradient.
A series of ethereal loon calls drew open the curtains on a brisk bluebird morning. Starting with a glorious 500m descent into town, this was to be the last full day of riding before arriving at Kamloops.
What a wonderful day.
I took it quite easy this morning, stopping over an hour for breakfast and another 40 minutes for a basic resupply. That meant it was almost noon when I left the Walmart at Merritt, and was going to have to contend with the afternoon heat of one of the warmest regions in BC.
They look like good friends.
It was good riding, though, as I took Highway 5a instead of the Coq, which spared me from most of the commercial traffic, leaving only occasional courteous recreational vehicles. The highway was also situated beautifully: gracefully winding along the east shore of Nicola Lake. After an hour and a half, I turned up onto Douglas Lake Road to really get into the heart of the grasslands, dubbed as "one of Canada's most endangered ecosystems".
Nicola Lake.
The climb up from the highway was tougher than expected in the 30 degree heat, but not unpleasant. What was unpleasant was the 20kph head/crosswinds that started up shortly after gaining the plateau and continued on for the rest of the day. I could not complain about much else though: the scenery, the wildlife, and the roads were all excellent and strikingly different from what I was riding through but two days ago.
Great roads, great views.
I rolled into Sheila Lake Recreation Site at 18:00, but after only a few minutes, the mosquitoes convinced me to leave. My camp ended up being a random patch of flat ground a few hundred metres up a hill from the site, just far enough so the mosquitoes couldn't find me, but close enough to filter water from the lake if needed. A bit of extra care was put into doing the bear hang today as I ran into a juvenile black bear nearby where I was staying.
The first interesting thing this day was that I confused someone who was working in the forest. They told me their first thought when I crested the hill towards them was "what is that thing coming towards me?"
Deep in the forest.
The second interesting thing this day was the pinch flat I got while bombing the descent out of the forest. I decided to just swap tubes instead of patching, so was back on my way quite quickly. Soon, after successfully bunny hopping an entire cattle guard (which gave me a lot of joy), the road led me out of the forest as it ended at Highway 97 by Monte Lake.
Following the highway for but 20 minutes, I turned off again for one last gravel climb and descent down to the T-Can which will cover the last 10km into Kamloops. The climb took me 300m back up for one last look at the grassland plateau, winding through the occasional farm on the hillside, giving me another puncture (annoying), before finally descending down into the valley for the final time.
Down to the valley we go.
The final stretch on the T-Can was into a terrible headwind, which I later learned is just the way it goes around here. I hopped into a bike shop at around 14:20 to get my front wheel trued, as it had been slightly warped the first day and I hadn't been able to get it fully straight, then continued on to find a place to stay, finally checking into a motel at around 15:00. The rest of the day consisted mainly of lounging around, washing clothes, being annoyed at myself for getting sunburnt, and figuring out what to do in the few days I had left before school.
An attempt was made at some more exploration of the area, which went unsuccessful. The details are left to the imagination. I rode 115km this day.
I booked a bus back to Vancouver for 16:30, and begged around bike shops until Full Charge Cycles was able to give me a box (thanks!). Also, Charlene at Cycle Logic was a wealth of knowledge regarding the cycling around Kamloops, and gave a lot of good intel for planning future routes (thanks as well!). The ride home always puts into perspective how much distance I covered.