Tired of I.T!

After I wrote the last post I left the Tetsa Outfitters Cafe and headed on down the road with hopes of making it up the final climb through the Northern Rockies. 40km to go at 9pm doesn’t offer too much hope for success, but I rolled with it anyways. I swapped my gloves, and started pedaling to build up my core temperature, not knowing what weather I’d be in for. It turned out to be dry, and warming up fast. Steam coming off the road made for surreal riding as I continued a steady descent from my 1070 metre elevation to 633. I had my first encounter with Mama Bear and her two cubs, freaking out a bit and attempting to get it on video. Sadly, I had the wrong switch set and only have the audio.

I was faced with a choice – stop at the bottom of the hill and attempt the last 15km into Steamboat (it’s likely titled this as this is a 600 metre climb in 10km or so) or pop into the Tetsa Regional Park for the night. I was in good spirits, and knew that there was a good empty lot at the top of the climb that would give me a good stealth site for the night – I don’t need a picnic table anyways.

I noticed my altimeter in my Garmin 705 was acting funny, as in the elevation was dropping while I was climbing the first part of the hill, a 200metre climb in 1km. It’s been giving me some problems as of late, and I’ve noticed a few others on the internet voicing the same. Let’s hope it doesn’t start failing on me as I’ve come to rely on its data logging features. I was climbing up the hill and started using the “S’ technique, making wide turns to make the climb easier when i felt I was going to topple over – from the wet pavement.

I looked down and noticed that the rear tire was flat. I cursed, looked down the hill, looked up the hill, wondered if I could inflate the tire and climb the hill, then noticed it was still leaking air, but the rubber was flat as well. I tried to inflate it and head down the hill to the campsite, with no such luck. Mosquitoes swarmed me while I ripped apart the entire rear panniers, trunk bag, and pulled off the rear wheel. What I saw was an alarming site, it looks as if I wore down the rear tire to the point of showing brown rubber. I put in a new tube, one I’ve been holding onto since Southern California, a Bontrager, and found that it’s stem is abnormally long, and the valve feels incredibly loose. Certainly not up to par compared to the other tubes I’ve been using in the past. Regardless, I swapped it out, and rolled down into the Campsite.

There’s a fine layer of uncertainty over tomorrows ride, if I’ll make it out of the campground, if the tire is shot, could I swap my tires temporarily, will I be able to get a spare tire in Fort Nelson, 100km away, Should I make sure I’m on the road early and get to town before things close, Will an RV’er pick me up if I hitchhike with my gear? This is all easy stuff to deal with, and I’m not worried in the slightest at what happens next, it’s all part of the day. The weirdest feeling came over me when I thought to myself, I should go to the bike store when I get home and have them order me in some new tires to have as spares on hand – until it dawned on me, I am home, and don’t have a traditional apartment/condo/rancher with double car garage. This is it.

Sitting here enjoying the biggest Cinnamon Bun I have ever seen in my life some 120km outside of Fort Nelson. I’m making good time and still will meet my planned arrival time with hours to spare, giving me a chance to poke around some of the nooks and crannies of the town before backtracking to Route 77. I’m in the last stretch of passing through the Northern Rockies, but due to a violent storm that snuck out of nowhere I figured it would be in my best interest to come inside so that I had a chance of surviving. Metal Framed bike makes a wonderful conductor, and the multiple bolts of lightning that were coming down very close to me followed by the boom of thunder that resonated up my arms from the handlebars were starting to get a bit spooky. One and a half hours of it was enough for now… I managed to catch some good video of the storm, soaking the Zoom Q3 in the process watching water droplets appear behind the protective screen. I definitely want to move up to a GoPro Hero camera – it’s waterproof ability lures me, not to mention the superb 1080p video it takes in such a compact footprint. The company offers various mounting options – helmet, handlebars, surfboard, you name it.

The good thing to report out of it all is that my rain gear performed wonderfully. No leaks in the new pants, my head is dry, my torso is a bit moist, but certainly not from the rain, more likely condensation. The only thing I could improve on would be to invest in some Neoprene gloves. The hands and especially the digits get a bit cold, and painful as I’m forcing them into a locked position for more time than usual. Will have to do some research I think into how others are getting by.

It was raining a bit on the morning that I was to head to Liard Hot Springs, tented behind the RV’s and Harold and Cathy from Connecticut. I lied there to wait it out until I heard voices – it was Harold and he brought me a hot breakfast and left me some food for the day. This started me off on a good foot – rain disappearing shortly thereafter giving me an early start to the day anticipating the soaking I was going to give my bones.

I wasn’t moving too fast, perhaps 8km/h for the majority of the first half of riding – a pattern I’m seeing more often daily, and stopped in a cafe about 60km in to have a burger, attempt to upload photos, and post some entries, as there has been quite the back log. Getting a proper upstream internet connection has been very difficult, signs of things to come in the future, when I am overseas likely – It was there I met Eva, a cyclist from Germany who was on her way from Calgary to Fairbanks Alaska. We exchanged some stories and made plans to do some riding when I’m over in that area of the world, and left at 5:30pm racing the final 60km to Liard Hot Springs.

Earlier, I passed through some beautiful landscapes, an area known as Whirlpool Canyon offered a look at wonderful rock cuttings from repeated rise and falls of the river. I met a couple from Edmonton who began to get me excited of the trip north to the Northwest Territories, sharing little spots to stop at, and offering tidbits of information that the majority of areas are fossilized coral reefs. While one of them was explaining it, a huge smile came over her face and I could tell that the time they travelled north meant a lot – Proof was that she said she’d do it again in a heartbeat. I heard some of the downsides – the highway and the desolate stretches that are coming shortly, which actually aren’t worrisome to me whatsoever anymore. There will be traffic on the road and I can flag down an RV’er for some water if necessary, as I will have everything else.

The RV’ers have been just wonderful to me the past few days. Each day I seem to meet a handful of couples from different places in North America (typically they are American, 1:10 is a canuck) sharing stories, conversation. They are very interested in my journey and it usually involves a few photos together before I’m off – One time when leaving the Hot Springs about 4km down the road I was chased down by one of them who gave me a bag full of nuts and treats for my days journey. These are good people, who all offer waves while I cycle by. They’ve warmed this part of the trip up dearly for me and I feel pretty astonished when someone donates me food or gifts because they want to make sure I am in good hands. I make notes on each and every one I meet and hope that they are able to find me on the internet, even the ones that I didn’t get a chance to give one of my cards. For the ones who do, it’s a nice souvenir for them to hold onto from their vacation.

Wildlife has ramped up in an amazing way over the past 3 days. From the start of the day to Liard, I managed to see a Black Bear eating grass beside the road, followed by a herd of Wood Bison. I stopped for some photos, until one of them decided he didn’t like me all too much and headed towards me. Travelling in herds, the others followed suit, one obviously having an itchy back, as he scratched himself ripping out a signpost in the process! They followed me for quite some time, and I decided it was time to go and let all the other passer-by’s have a chance and make a spectacle of themselves Right before I was puling into Liard I caught about 20 of them, bulls, cows, and calfs on either side of the road. They didn’t like the sound of my bicycle and started running. I got some incredible video footage racing beside them gathering quite the crowd of onlookers.

Moose, Big horned Sheep and mountain goats seem to pop out of nowhere while travelling through the mountainous ranges, often coming within feet of me. The moose tend to charge a bit so my general rule is don’t stop too close to any of them, as I don’t know what’s going on through their minds. Still I’ve managed to catch some good photos of them, and feel incredibly lucky to have had a chance to see all of them.

Liard Hot Springs was a wonderful stop. The campground was full (It is reserved weeks in advance!) but that was no problem for me, I pitched a tent in the picnic area, and quickly cooked up a dinner, anxious to get my soak on. It’s worth it, a short 5 minute walk gets you to the Alpha pool, which has a range of temperatures dependent on the location, it’s typically the most populated, so I decided to head over to the Beta Pool, another 5 minutes walk, which actually is almost a perfect circle. Bubbles pop out of the water and it’s 3 metre depth deters most people from visiting this cooler pool, giving me the opportunity to spend some time by my lonesome treading water, stretching all muscles in my body in ways it hasn’t felt in what seems like months. By the time I was finished my soaking it was nearly 1am, and I headed back to the tent to get some reading done before an early rise the next morning. The different sounds coming from the birds amazed me, with one series of birds making sounds that I could only describe as Nature’s Arpeggio. With the sun well risen, I headed back into the pools, and enjoyed some good chats with other swimmers, before being goaded into heading over into the hottest part of the pool (I’ve heard temperatures of up to 56C occur), putting a rock ontop of the pile of other rocks as some sort of right of passage. It was hot, but I did it! Such a beautiful area, with 160 different types of plants growing in this macro area due to the unique minerals the hot springs exerts. It’s the nicest hot springs I’ve ever been to, so – if you get the chance, GO.

Not being outdone, shortly down the road is Muncho Lake, a 60km ride up some light hills offering great views of the valley below stretches out for nearly 10km lengthwise, with its emerald green colour, a by-product of the copper dioxide that leeches from the neighbouring mountains. There are a few BC Parks in the area offering campsites, an overpriced lodge, and a great restaurant named GG’s with a very friendly cook who made me feel very welcome. I was told to stop there by another cyclist who I had met 20km earlier – he was outfitted in a 2010 Black Surly Long Haul Trucker, Ortlieb gear like me, but had in his estimation 120lbs of gear, and was ready to take on worlds collapsing it seemed. It was his first tour, and he was grinning due to the fact that he’d been reading my blog. You can read his journey at “Blackhorse to Whitehorse”. He also had no issues other than a few flats along the way – sounds like we have winning combinations of gear.

I stayed in the cafe for a while, 4pm – 7pm listening to the stories from the truckers coming through, trying to upload more photos with no such luck, and drinking 6 cups of coffee. It was going to start raining and I considered stopping at ‘Strawberry Flats’ park just 2km down the road. I figured it would be a waste of all the caffeine in my system and pedalled into the night, stopping at midnight. It was the best decision I made all day. I wanted to ride into dusk to catch some of the wildlife, apt to come out a bit more often than during the hot days, the rain assisted in getting me up 1 of the major climbs that are part of the Northern Rockies, I made it up the 600 metres like a champ, keeping my breathing in a steady pattern, resulting in a good working of my heart. Also, it being ‘magic hour’, it provided a great opportunity to take some photos of the towering mountains. I camped out in the bush after I rode into Toad River ending the day with another 114km on the odometer, hoping to grab a beer, or some wifi to attempt yet again the batch upload, now at 120 some odd photos and tonnes of video.

Raining in the morning, I skipped making breakfast and stopped into the first (and only cafe) that had a great menu, cool atmosphere with many travellers stopping in to see the 7,100+ hats hanging from the ceiling. I ate a breakfast, and two lunches dawdling hoping that I could get the photos uploaded. 3 hours after starting, I was 50% complete and headed out, not before again being offered some home made energy bars and some peaches from a friendly family in Kentucky who made it clear I need to stop in and see them when I am in the area. The bars helped today while I started the huge climb over the 1300metre summit. Constantly eating throughout the day ensures my mind is clear, letting me focus on riding, not being clouded over by pangs of hunger, resulting in a lack of attention of road hazards. I became awfully dehydrated from the Hot Springs and managed to run out of water, so I pulled out the 6 litre MSR water sausage and added it to the back rack. I figure I consumed over 6 litres of water yesterday, an abnormal amount considering my body is conditioned to drink perhaps a litre while riding per day. I’ve got an experiment going and I’ll report the results when I’m done regarding my consumption.

I can’t help but think about this area and this part of the tour to be training grounds for what’s to come in Africa. I’m going to invest in another MSR water sausage, this time the 10litre one, for additional carrying ability as I’m envisioning some pretty scarce offerings in some parts of that continent. I’ve also made up my mind that I am going to learn how to build a wheel this winter, and engineer a power source that will output 5v via my front wheel, with an array of batteries offering backup power to continuously power many devices. I’m a bit spoiled with my speaker system, and the GPS is offering a great look at my daily statistics with its built in computer features, and I’d feel terribly naked without them. Unfortunately there won’t be any RV’ers that time around to help me out should I run out of supplies..

Thank goodness before I came up to the north I had a chance to pick up mesh pants and mesh shirt for when I was stationary. I’m sitting in my tent just fearful of what would happen to me if I didn’t have protection from these nasty mosquitoes. By far, tonight is the worst I have ever seen bug infestations. Looking on the mesh liner of my tent door I view 9 trying to get in, and at least 3 dozen flying around the vestibule. I’m not sure I have any more blood to give these guys however, as I’m just covered in bumps, scabs, and red dots already in the first place. I look like I’ve been infected by Captain Trips from Stephen King’s The Stand.

Even still, when I open the door to quickly go to the washroom at night (I’m keeping it classy by unzipping my vestibule, and thrusting my bits outside and going right beside the tent, bare footers beware) a handful still manage to get on the inside of the tent, and I spend a bit slapping the side of the tent randomly throughout the night when I see them. Die.

I’m camped beside the Laird River, out of the Yukon after a 90km ride out of Watson Lake. I had some errands to take care of, namely pick up my stove (which arrived intact – Thank you PW from Cranbrook) and head to the doctors to go sort out some prescriptions. I didn’t expect the one doctors office to take so long, as by the time I was done it was 12:30pm. I rode by the Downtown RV park looking for the crew, and noticed they had vacated sometime between Greyhound and Doctors Office, so I did a pit stop at the food store – grabbed a few granola bars (not before being stopped by one of the baggers who handed me a bag of chips that I had left outside in a shopping cart the night before) and made my way out of town hoping to catch up with them. 60km later I knew that by my regular pace, something had gone wrong and they never made it out of town. I won’t have internet for the next 5 days so it’s going to be a crap-shoot for contacting them, as of course cellulars are down too.

I did hear rumors however, when stopping at Contact Creek – where workers who started from opposite ends of the Alcan Highway in 1942 met up and the rudimentary highway was complete that they were looking for some propane valve in Watson Lake, and the owner of the general store had phoned up to see if it was available down the road. I can only imagine what has happened – the stove blew up again and they’ve lost their main source of meals? Welcome to my world for the past week, but at least that stretch of 450km had services every 75km. There is next to nothing for hundreds of km here – I’m stealth camped in a big parking lot along with a bunch of RV’ers. All campsites, RV Parks, and gas stations are closed down and for sale – This is a repeating trend I am noticing in the north – Obviously the tourism industry has been hit hard, forcing these businesses to close down. Knowing I might not see them at my destination of Laird Hot Springs tomorrow I\ve started to come up with ideas of what to do if we can’t connect, and my most reasonable idea is to push forward, and make it to Yellowknife for June 21, the longest day of the year and also Aboriginal Day. It’s sure to be a party there and I want to experience it. It all seems manageable with 1350km to go, 2 days are straight climbing, and 7 days are gravel roads. That leaves me with 3 days of average conditions, whee!

Saw my first Wood Bison pair today, these guys are huge! Hairy, 2000lb and standing at the side of the road I felt a bit nervous that one would get nasty and run towards me knocking me off my bike, but I managed to evade them, even grabbing a quick video clip. Am sure there will be more up ahead, as the couple I am tenting behind have told me they saw a family of 5 less than 3 miles away.

I suppose I understand another different type of touring now, the supported concept. Mind you, I’m still carrying all my gear (yet still used only half of it, of my stripped down equipment list that I only used half before – what does that say!!), food, and panniers – however tonight as soon as I pulled in Cathy from Connecticut came over to me with her husband Harold, and offered me my choice of Ham or Turkey Sandwich, along with chips, apple, and a huge cup of Iced Tea. I wolfed it down before the bugs could just in time for her to come out with a beyond huge bowl of Ice Cream. They even are letting me store my food bag in their truck overnight as the bear situation is getting a bit sketchy. I suppose I may have to reinvest in some bear spray and some bangers, perhaps a starters pistol would be cheaper. A friend has passed on to me a few times that Raid Hornet Spray is much more effective than traditional bear spray, cheaper (by about $20) and has the benefit of minimal backdraft into YOUR eyes. I’ll pick some up when I get to Fort Nelson for the real insane part of the trip.

I have to kind of laugh, at the lack of planning for this leg of the trip. I came up here not knowing a single thing, even my route, and left all the gear that would have come in handy up here back in a box in Cranbrook – I’m not sure where my logic was hiding the day I packed as I will likely not need to use it again as the remainder of Canada is going to be a bit more manageable than these neck of the woods.

My health is still good, and I’m now adjusted to the sun nicely. Other than the bug issue, my body looks and feels great, but I’m starting to get a bit annoyed at the hair concept. I regularly shave my head, and I’ve got almost 2 full months of hair on my face and at least 3 months on my head. We’ll see how long this lasts – at least for a couple more weeks I reckon. Gear is holding up well – although my merino wool shirts are starting to have holes in them. I love the products, however just can’t afford the price tag they command. Need to figure out a way to get a sponsor or something.

Every night I mark down a log in a spreadsheet of where I stay, distance covered and money spent. I hope to have this available online for you to see, but since it’s not ready yet, I’ll give a few brief stats since it’s been 2 months for me on the road today:

Days: 62 | Total Distance: 4313.11km | Total Cost: $2586.65 (Food accounts for $1334, and my beer consumption comes in at a whopping $428) | Total Ascent (Climbs) 37653 metres | Total Descent (as in cruising down the hills at 60km/h baby!) 37217 metres | And the reason why it doesn’t give two shakes as to what I put inside my body as it just gets burned in a matter of minutes anyways: Total Calories Burned 178144.

More thoughts after I’ve had a chance to soak in some hot springs tomorrow.