Mountain Passes in the Canadian Rockies

Soaking tired limbs in the beautiful clear water of the Liard Hot Springs was a fantastic tonic and did wonders for our tired, dirty bodies. After a good night's sleep we packed up and headed south along the Alaska Highway towards our destination for the day, Toad River Campground. The day promised some climbing over a couple of passes as we had now crossed, once again into the Rockies. We weren't expecting anything horrendous and our bodies are pretty well honed now so it's just about doing the time to get up them. The road took us past Muncho Lake and at one point, as we looked back the blue of the water with the float planes and stunning sky made us both think of the Caribbean but I'm sure the water would not have been so pleasantly warm. Carrying on a little further we stopped for lunch at Strawberry Flats and got some fuel on board to tackle the first pass of the day.

Going down a couple of gears and chatting, we reached the summit with much less effort than expected and enjoyed the long downhill into the valley. The scenery changed and we entered into sub-alpine. A few trees but mainly dusty rock surrounded us and we were flanked on both sides by rocky mountains. Along the road side we spotted two goats that bounded up the cliff side and just after our second pass of the day we spotted a moose just chomping away in the grass. This second pass again is hardly worth a mention but again the scenery changed once we came down and we followed a fast flowing river turned milky blue from glacier melt water. This valley closed in around us and the peaks rose up sharply from the road, it really felt like we had entered the Rockies once again.  We carried on following the river until we came to our destination for the evening, Toad River Lodge Campground.  At a whopping $32 not including tax we were fairly stumped at the price but after a long day we didn't want to have to find a wild place to set up a tent and there was WiFi and showers so, with some reluctance, we paid the bill. The cost of the camping wasn't the only shock of the day.  This was also the day that Sophie's pink bag had finally departed this earth and was no longer fulfilling it's one and only duty.  So, with a heavy heart, we said farewell to Pink Bag, he will be remembered in our hearts and our photos.

The next morning had us one the road slightly later than we would have liked but set off we did only to bump into four cycle tourists from Florida.  They were heading up to Prudhoe Bay and had set off only a couple of days before we had on the 25th February.  One of their group was also sporting a 4 month beard which, Sophie likes to point out, was almost exactly the same as mine.  They gave us two helpful pieces of advice: 1) Get the cinnamon buns at Tetsa they are amazing and 2) go to the breakfast buffet at the Fort Nelson Hotel.  We tried to give them advice but could only suggest not staying at Toad River.  After saying goodbye to Keys to Freeze we checked the map about both suggestions.  Tetsa was a shoe-in, no worries there. We would go past it just before another pass, it would give us the energy to get to the top.  Fort Nelson was more of an issue.  We couldn't get there today, it was too far, but if we carried on on our normal distances we wouldn't be there for breakfast but it wasn't worth staying an extra night just for breakfast. So a challenge was set to get to within striking distance of Fort Nelson today (we wanted to get to within 30 miles) and get up early and get to breakfast before carrying on further south.

The ride to the cinnamon buns was gently up and down and caused no concerns and we got there at the heat of the day.  We ordered two bundles of joy, the first to eat for the fuel for the pass we had coming and the second for pudding when we found a place to stay.  Oh my were they tasty! We both wanted to eat the second one straight away but we did save it for later.  We talked to a couple of motorcyclists and they were surprised we were heading south to tackle the pass.  But we weren't worried, if it was anything like the other "passes" then we would be fine.  They said their goodbyes and added 'well better you than me'.  Steamboat Pass is a proper mountain pass.  We climbed for 90 minutes and it had some steep sections, plus it had false summits.  But we summited the beast and we had a granola bar at the top and headed off down the other side.  With still 20 miles to do before we started looking for a place to camp we had some cycling to do, but it was all down hill so all was fine and dandy.

Bees panic when travelling at 30mph while trapped in leg hair.  When they panic they lash out with their sting and stab anything they can find.  I panic when a bee is stinging me while travelling down a mountain at 30mph.  I panicked down Big Sur when it happened the first time and I panicked again down Steamboat Mountain Pass.  After getting rid of the bee and removing the sting we carried on down.  After a couple more miles the CamelBak we use for extra water decided to take a dive into the road and rip meaning that we had to decant the water into the empty bottles before we lost it all.  Once this was done we again headed out to start our search for a suitable wild camp site.  This is when we again noticed the lack of suitable trees to hang food from as Sophie has already mentioned and no sign of a litter barrel either. So we carried on and finally we found a water monitoring station to set up camp and hide our food.  We ate our dinner quickly, noticed some tracks in the dirt but we were too tired to move on so just set up the tent and crashed out.

In the morning we were up early to get to Fort Nelson for the breakfast.  We raced the 30 miles into town and arrived at 8:15.  We found the place and started eating the eggs, bacon, hash browns and sausage on offer.  The buffet closed at 9:00 but we had three goes at the food and were stuffed well before the close.  It was a very different way to start the day but it was starting to feel like we were getting back into civilization so we headed to the Tourist Information to get some free WiFi and check out our options for heading south.

Wild Fire and Hot Springs

Leaving Watson Lake was hard, not because it's a nice town with amenities we'd miss, but because we said goodbye to Justin and Melissa. I couldn't really say much as I was trying not to get tear-y as we said our farewells and as we pedalled away I welled up and Tom laughed at me. We'd spent the last 11 days together as Team Baby Bunnies, we'd jumped into cold lakes together, cursed the bugs together, got through tough days together, celebrated our most western and northern points together, laughed together, felt the collective disappointment of arriving into Stewart and then Watson Lake and them not being the shiny metropolises we'd hoped for together. It really felt like a big loss and we really miss riding with those guys. But our path headed south and east and their's north and west so we turned left at the signpost forest and down the Alaska Highway.

It wasn't long before we spotted our first buffalo. Wowsers! They are HUGE! And such iconic incredible looking creatures. We weren't entirely sure of our destination that night, far enough for a short ride the next day to Liard Hotsprings. We passed a second buffalo and then a herd with babies laying in the verge on our side of the road. We crossed over to the left side to pass them as we'd heard that they can be very protective of their young and trust me you don't want a fight with a buffalo. We passed an ambulance parked on a forest service road and a helicopter coming in to land, our initial thoughts were that a forestry worker must have got injured, but as we rode on the sky got hazy and we could soon smell smoke so put down the chopper and ambulance down to forest fire. We pulled into a rest area we'd spotted on the map as a potential camp spot just after lunch and due to the fires and the early hour decided to check the view and use the loo then keep riding. Another loaded cyclist pulled in and we did the usual story exchange.  Julie had ridden from Connecticut and was headed to Alaska to find somewhere to live. She was hardcore. She'd ridden all that way in 2 months! She was averaging 75 miles days and had taken a total of 1 rest day in Glacier National Park to go kayaking. Incredible. We said our goodbyes and cycled our separate ways. 

We were low on water and unlike on the Stewart-Cassiar we hadn't passed any accessible creeks or rivers in hours. We decided to camp at Fireside so we weren't wild camping while there was forest fires about and to refill our waters. We were pleased as we'd covered about 90 miles and it had felt easy. It seemed like the last week of pushing it, followed by a rest day had improved our stamina and fitness even more. And it meant we only had about 45 miles to get to the hot springs. We asked the campground owner about the smoke and she informed us there were fires on both sides of us, but seemed blasé about it so we weren't worried.  It was still smoky in the morning as we made breakfast and coffee. We'd been doing without coffee on the road before we rode with Melissa and Justin, but lucky for us Melissa was a coffee drinker and kindly made us fresh coffee each morning. She even more kindly gifted us her coffee filter and coffee as a parting gift, which is just awesome and has made mornings much better for us!

The first hour of riding was hindered by a mobile herd of buffalo, 8 adults I think and 4 calves who were thundering along the side of the road. We stopped to let them get away and not feel threatened by us. We'd lose sight of them and ride on, but they stayed along the roadside and as we'd approach again, they'd start up their stampede again, we'd stop, wait until they were out of sight, continue and cause them to run again. There were 2 males at the back who kept stopping and eyeing us. This worried me. I did not want them to decide we were a threat and charge us, so we kept our distance and wondered when we'd get past them. The verge eventually rose up away from the road, whilst the road curved away down a decent sized hill and we seized the opportunity to pedal like mad to try to outrun them whilst we were separated by a small cliff. We did just make it past them with the help of the descent, but as the verge rejoined the road we were now in a situation where they were behind us, running towards us. Bearing in mind we'd only just outrun them with the help of a hill, having them thundering at us was nerve racking. Luckily we had a bridge to cross, which the buffalo were not keen to go over and we finally felt like we'd got away from them. 

The rest of the ride to Liard Hot Springs was easy enough and after setting up the tent and eating lunch we headed for a soak. This place is fantastic. It's so so hot when it comes out the ground, unbearably so for us, but as it flows down it cools down to a wonderful hot bath temperature which was heavenly on tired legs. We walked back to camp, mooched about, made dinner and then went back for more soaking which set us up perfectly for a good nights sleep.

The Bright Lights of Watson Lake

It's always a good idea to have an aim while touring and since leaving Terrace our goal was Watson Lake. It would be an emotional time because it would see the end of "Team Baby Bunnies" but it would also mark Soph's and my northern most point, a landmark moment. But we still needed to get to our next campground, Boya Lake, before we were in striking distance of Watson Lake.

We headed out of Dease Lake along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. Being on the road for less than 30 minutes we arrived at the site of the road accident that had closed the road the day before. Skid marks, torn up pavement and discarded latex gloves were the only reminders of the tragedy that had befallen this stretch of road. Moments later Justin spotted a fox and out the corner of his eye also noticed a black fox but couldn't be sure. None of us had heard of a black fox but could it have been a wolverine? Happy that Justin had seen a wolverine we carried on further and further north.  We also happened on a Rabid Grizzly, thankfully it was just a rest stop and not the bear kind. 

Doing longer days and a lot of days back to back takes it toll mentally and physically and as we headed towards Boya Lake we were all feeling fatigued from all the riding. To break up the repetitive riding Justin set us riddles such as:

• A car pulls in front of a hotel, a woman screams and a man loses all his money. What's happening?
• A man is dead in a field with a bag, how did he die?
• Jack and Jill are lying on the floor dead. They are surrounded by water and glass. What went down?
• There is a room with a closed door. In the room is a light bulb. Outside the room there are three switches. One of the switches turns on the light. With only opening the door once and going in, how can you tell which switch turns on the light?

These helped us to take our minds off the negative emotions we might have been feeling and helped us to focus on something different; it was a really nice touch. 

As our afternoon break we decided to check out food at Jade City. We had it described as a tourist trap but none the less a place we should stop at as we are passing through. After a bit of confusion regarding where to get food we headed to the cafe. The waitress was a happy soul and showed us to our places. The prices, which we were expecting to be high, were really reasonable but since it was just a snack time Sophie and I shared a sandwich, while Melissa ordered the soup and Justin a loaf of freshly baked white bread. Our food came and Sophie and I were surprised to see two plates, half a sandwich on each and both with a healthy serving of fries. Although all eyes were on Justin's bread, he offered around a taste and I for one was experiencing the dreaded food envy. We order ice cream and the waitress, who we found out was called Randy, had a very heavy hand when it came to portion control and we all were extremely satisfied with our stop. About 500 metres outside Jade City I had a blow out on my rear tyre.  Checking it over we all figured that it was now a dead tyre, thankfully we had a spare folding tyre as a replacement but it was frustrating to say the least.

Soon after we met two separate groups of cycle tourists. The first were two guys from Alaska heading to Boise, Idaho. They had a homemade trailer with a dog in the back and the first guy was wearing flip flops, they were far from your usual cycle tourists but they were loving it. They had loads of enthusiasm and were so positive about their adventure. The second group were a man and wife couple from Birmingham, UK. They had the same make bike as us, Thorn, but had a different model. We exchanged stories and after mocking the colour of our bikes they told us they were heading to a wedding on Vancouver Island. I always have mixed feelings when meeting other cycle tourists. My first reaction is generally really positive "Woo other cycle tourists!!" My second reaction is normally much more sarcastic "oh, other cycle tourists". I want mine and Soph's trip to be special and unique, which I know is ludicrous since we did research about other peoples routes and journeys, and seeing other cycle tourists just highlights to me that what we are doing isn't this wild, wacky adventure. It's just a thing that people do.

After a long day in the saddle we finally arrived at Boya lake. After setting up the tents we all took a dive in the crystal clear lake. The water was cold but our bodies quickly adjusted and we were all able to enjoy a few minutes faffing around in the water before heading back for food and sleep. The next morning we decided against an early morning swim as the weather wasn't great so we settled into our relatively short day over the border into the Yukon and our exciting destination of Watson Lake. We were so excited about the town at the end of our long northern journey. We talked about splitting a motel room (maybe it'll have a hot tub?) and we all wanted pizza as our treat. We just needed to get past our next bear sighting, which actually was the most impressive, and we'd be there. This bear encounter was pretty cool, it wandered out just in front of Justin and I so that we both had to slam on our brakes. After watching him for a while he noticed us but carried on his journey down the road. A couple of blasts on the air horn just seemed to pass the bear by and still he carried on. He looked at us again and stopped. It wasn't scary but it was different to the other bears. We both started talking to the bear and clapping. This seemed to register with the bear and he very slowly went back into the bush, well he started to but stopped to check us out again. Then a quick back scratch and he was gone. It was cool because he just didn't seem to care about us. Everybody was just going about their business. And our business was the bright lights of Watson Lake.

The disappointment of Watson Lake was very upsetting. There was no pizza (there were frozen pizzas reheated for $25, therefore no pizza). The rather poor excuses for motel rooms were a similar vein to the pizza, $130 for a dark, smelly, small room. We settled for a burger at a gas station watching the wind howl and the rain pour trying to figure out a place to set up camp. After dinner we headed to the supermarket for desert and ate on the sidewalk. It was the first time I really noticed that I lacked a place I call home.

Long story short (I know too late right) we found a camp site round the back of a gas station and had a frustrating rest day wrestling with super slow WiFi and expensive groceries. As Team Baby Bunnies had our last supper together: barbecued sausages with courgettes, onions and salad and prepared to say our goodbyes in the morning. Watson Lake had not been what we wanted but we enjoyed the time with Justin and Melissa immensely and both Sophie and I commented that the entire section from Terrace to Watson Lake was made richer with their presence.

Wild Camping in Bear Country

Searching the roadside for a suitable campsite in bear country involves keeping an eye out for a nice flat bit to pitch the tent along with a nearby tree that has a suitable branch for hanging food or alternatively a roadside 'litter barrel' as these bear-proof bins can be accessed from the back and you can stash your food bags inside, safely away from Yogi's grasp. It's somewhat ironic that so far, as far as we've seen, the trees you find in bear country are skinny and nigh on branchless, at least they totally lack any limb that sticks out any distance with a big enough width to support our hefty bags of food and toiletries. Luckily we found a lay-by with a litter barrel and enough flat ground on the otherside of the road to pitch both our tents. We set up quickly, stashed all the edibles and smellies in the back of the bin and retreated from the insects of prey that had suddenly started to swarm. Lying in the tent we thought it had started to rain but actually it was the pitter patter of a thousand winged beasts trying to force their way into the tent to bleed us dry.  I was the last one awake, I often am, lying there reading my book when I hear a twig crack in the bushes and some rustling. I decide that I won't wake Tom up, but deal with what I fear will be a bear encounter myself. So I get my bear spray and head torch (it's not dark, but I've read you can scare them away with lights so...) and I start to peer out the window of the tent to see what I can see. The bushes rustle again and then there it is, a pair of eyes staring at me from the undergrowth. Luckily they belong to a bunny who looks terrified of me and retreats. Glad I didn't wake anyone up for that I settle back to keep reading.

It wasn't the best nights sleep any of us have had and the bugs in the morning were horrendous so we packed and got moving as fast as we could opting for a granola bar to keep us going and the prospect of proper breakfast when we got to Bell II about 20 miles down the road. We were borderline giddy when we arrived at the little roadside stop and checked out the menu. Tom, Justin and I all ordered the breakfast (eggs, toast, hashbrowns and either sausage or bacon) plus a side order of pancakes, Melissa just ordered the breakfast and the waitress informed us that the side of pancakes was a good size and were we sure we wanted both - oh yes! We explained our ride and our ensuing hunger and she totally understood. So much so that when she brought out the three orders of pancakes as a wonderful breakfast starter she said to Melissa, "you didn't order pancakes right?" To which Melissa replied "no, but I wish I had now" and she said "I thought that might be the case so we made an extra plate and it's on us!" Awesome! After polishing off the pancakes and the breakfasts we got back on the bikes fueled up for the oncoming miles. Our aim that day was to push all the way to Kinaskan Lake where the three British cyclists had told us a nice lady gave them meatballs and they got to camp for free. 

We were into some beautiful mountain scenery now and had a good sized climb to do which in and of itself would not have been much of an issue, unfortunately the mosquitoes made it a totally hellish experience. Unable to outrun them we were forced to labour up the hill trying to maintain momentum and balance whilst swatting wildly at each of our body parts in turn. Justin resorted to turning around and whizzing down the hill a bit just for a few moments of respite. Tom had what he referred to as his 'soul-crushing moment' when he'd over estimated how far we'd gone and Justin gave him the painful truth. Nevertheless we all soldiered on and made it to our destination. Alas no meatballs were offered to us, but we had a beautiful site right by the lake and we all enjoyed a warm down stretch in the gorgeous surroundings as for once we were fairly untroubled by bugs. We had planned a swim, but after Melissa braved it and came out saying it was bitterly cold we decided to give it a miss.

The next day we had our big climb of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway 'Gnat Pass' which we hoped would not live up to the name and after that a restocking session in Dease Lake where we planned to find somewhere to stay. We'd only been on the road a couple of hours when we got to Tatogga Lake and decided to call in at the cafe there for coffee. Coffee turned into ordering breakfast in a bun and using the wifi, a rarity in these parts. It is well worth a stop if you're passing, they have a bunch of stuffed animals in there which are pretty impressive, including this huge moose. The owner is a character and the lovely kitchen ladies gave us a free apple each, which is a kingly gift.

The grind up Gnat Pass wasn't too taxing and incredibly we arrived at the summit moments before a cyclist coming the other way so we all cheered him up the last few feet. He did stop and talk to us, but boy was he a dour chap. He was young, looked like he was direly in need of at least two cooked breakfasts to get a bit of meat on his ribs and seemed incapable of smiling or being excited. He warned us that the road was closed just north of Dease Lake due to an accident, but since Dease Lake was our destination for the night we weren't too concerned.

We hungrily arrived at the grocery store-cum-gas station-cum gathering ground and demolished some microwave burritos before making cleverer decisions on food.  The atmosphere was pretty sombre as there had been a fatality in the accident and they were having to wait for the coroner to arrive from Prince George, a 12 hour drive away. We made a shared dinner of chicken curry and rice noodles, with apple pie for pudding and then Melissa and I headed to the Samaritan's Purse youth centre to ask if we could pitch our tents in their yard.  Very kindly they agreed and we were sorted for the night.

From One Bear to Another

As we headed north on the Nisga'a Highway with Justin and Melissa we were looking forward to, and at the same time apprehensive of, the 32 miles of unpaved road that lay ahead. Being unpaved meant there would be less traffic that had the benefit of us being able to ride next to each other and talk, but had the disadvantage of being frequently frequented by bears. Having not seen bears Sophie and I were still nervous about these, seemingly, terrifying beasts. After a few climbs we hit the hard, packed gravel road and worked our way towards the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. With the appearance of some bear scat we were preparing for the inevitable sighting but all that appeared was the stop sign signalling the pavement and our left turn north. Before getting onto the road we ate our lunch and all did the customary dance to ward off the bugs.

Carrying on north Justin and I took the lead while Sophie and Melissa brought up the rear. It was fantastic to talk to somebody else while riding, some different stories and experiences. Please, don't get me wrong I love talking to Sophie but we had been on the road almost 4 months and adding conversational topics made the time fly as we completed the long ride to Meziadin Junction Provincial Park. At this point Team Baby Bunny (as we were now calling ourselves) were about to split with Sophie and I heading west towards Stewart while Justin and Melissa were going to just head north and blitz it to Watson Lake. However, after the couple of days of great riding we decided to keep Team Baby Bunnies together and all four of us were going to spend our 4 month-anniversary celebrating at our western most point of the whole trip.

Waking up on the 27th June, exactly 4 months after flying into San Fransisco, was great. We headed to the boat launch and jumped into the cold water to refresh our bodies and bring our minds into focus. The day ahead promised a down hill to the ocean, glaciers within touching distance and root beer floats with our new friends. There wasn't as much downhill as we had hoped (or had been promised) but we hoped that would mean an easier return the following day. As we climbed one of the unmentioned summits in the distance we spotted our first bears; a mother with her two cubs.  She looked at us and ushered her young ones into the bush, only to reappear moments later since Justin and I hadn't moved a muscle.  Justin went down to let the girls know about our furry friends while I tried to catch them on camera.  Unfortunately the battery was pretty low and I only managed to get a couple of seconds, from a very long way away.  When the trio arrived so to did an RV which caused the mother to stand up and investigate the situation before heading once again into the bush.  It was so brilliantly fantastic to finally see these wonderful creatures and what a treat to get to see a mother and her cubs.  We carried on further down the road to be wow-ed once again by a bear, but this one in ancient ice form; Bear Glacier. The glaciers were astounding. These massive frozen relics, snaking down valleys of their own creation were jaw droppingly beautiful, but tinged with sadness knowing that every year they recede up away back into the mountains. The other issue we faced was the head wind, but this is where the benefit of four riders came in. With the final promise of root beer floats just a few miles away, Justin and I alternated eating the wind as our four person peloton headed towards Stewart and the US border.

Stewart had once been a sizable town of 10,000 people. However, it's glory days are somewhat behind it and those hoping for a fast food establishment were quickly disappointed. There are two good grocery shops, however, and after some fevered snacking we were all well watered and fed and ready to organise a place to camp. The store owner of one, a Swizz guy that had lived in the town since the 70s and had seen quite a few changes in the town and wasn't afraid to let us know them, offered us some grass next to the shop but wanting showers we decided to head to the municipal park. When were arrived at the campground we were welcomed with the question "Can I help you?" with the subtext of "Roll your bikes off the property before I cut somebody" but looking past this we headed into to have an uncomfortable conversion and zero compromise. After rolling the bikes off the property the shouts of "You'll find nothing cheaper in town" fell on deaf ears and we pitched for free next to the grocery shop. After a wonderful steak sandwich made possible by Melissa and Sophie, and the awesome root beer floats sourced by Justin we really felt like we celebrated in style and prepared for the climb out of Stewart and back north towards the Yukon.

The climb was easier than first feared and actually, because we were not hindered by the brutal winds of the previous day actually managed to do the "climb" in just over 15 minutes longer than we completed the "descent".  Again we passed the glaciers and again we spotted a bear, this time a lone grazer in the grass that again left once it had noticed our presence.  After the climb we stopped for a break at the services at the top of the hill when 3 fellow cycle tourists turned up.  All 3 three from the British Isles and all heading south, one was heading to San Francisco while the other two were aiming for Argentina.  We exchanged camping and bear stories and found out that there was a lovely German lady at the Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park that would let cycle tourists stay for free.  Well feed and buoyed up with the knowledge of free camping in a couple of days our troupe headed northward.  After another 37 miles of riding we ate our camp food by a river and headed on looking for a suitable place to camp.  Justin was the only person that was completely comfortable about wild camping with bears around but there was no official campground around and all the trees were too small to hang our massive weight of food to keep it from wandering bears; what would we do? 

Coyote Ugly and Beautiful Baby Bunnies

After saying goodbye to Bryan and Theresa we stopped briefly in New Hazelton (another tasty bakery) and I managed to resist the urge to buy a 1.56kg bag of peanut M&Ms (just). We then briefly detoured to check out the suspension bridge at the K'san junction and continued on to Seeley Lake Provincial Park.

There was almost no one in the campsite when we arrived, but another couple were checking the place out and we arranged to share a pitch with them to save costs. Chris and Gil were from New Mexico and were road tripping up to Alaska. They had an amazing netted gazebo they put up over the table so we enjoyed a lovely evening outside without being sucked dry by the skeeters. They were great to chat to and very kindly gave us a taste of the trout they had just caught.

We got an early start the next day and enjoyed riding down a section of road that was no longer viable for cars which Bryan and Theresa had tipped us off about. It was great, the forest looked like it was reclaiming the road and we spotted a lot of bear scat, but still no bears. We joined the main highway again and had our first run in with Canadian wildlife. We spotted a coyote up ahead on the left side of the road, it stopped, turned and then despite us dinging our bells to try to scare it off crossed the road towards us. Tom shouted at it a bit, then yelled at me to 'GO! GO!' at which point we both pedaled hard and it started to give chase. Eeeek! Scary stuff. It was looking pretty scrawny and we guessed it must just gave been really hungry and thought we might be an easy meal. Despite following us for a while, we got away and then some cars passed us which we hoped would further scare it off. After this little burst of energy we kept our pace up and before long pulled into the gas station at the junction at the same time as Chris and Gil. We had a coffee, another chat and got to try our first fried bannock.

Although as the sign states you can turn North here for Alaska and the Yukon, and overall we're heading north, our usual convoluted route took us straight on, west, towards Terrace on the road to Prince Rupert. We'd arranged a Warm Showers host in Terrace but arriving into town much earlier than expected we made for the grocery stores to get stocked up. While here we met a German couple, Barbara and Matthias, who were heading the same way as us and we agreed to meet up the next day on the road or at the campground we were both headed for in the Nisga'a Lava Beds Memorial Park. 

Arriving at Cheryl and Sandy's house we were welcomed with the exciting news that there were another couple of cyclists due to arrive that evening too, an American couple heading north to Alaska. We also got to shower and, rather wonderfully, got a soak in the hot tub. Cheryl cooked us a gorgeous, hearty dinner of mashed potatoes and moose stew, with salad out her garden and then pudding! We shared this wonderful feast with Cheryl, Sandy and the two American cyclists, Justin and Melissa. After dinner Melissa and I joined in with the drumming circle that Cheryl was hosting. Honestly I was pretty rubbish and found it quite stressful to begin with, but I got more into it and it was fun to be part of something quite different. Cheryl cooked us a scrummy breakfast the next day and the four of us rode out together. Justin and Melissa had decided to alter their route a little and ride with us up the Nisga'a highway and we were stoked to have company to mix things up a bit. Tom and Justin rode ahead with Melissa and me bringing up the rear. I think it was nice for everyone to be able to ride at their pace, but still have company. And it was cool to have new people to talk to. It heaved it down with rain for the start and then the sun came out and we ran into Barbara and Matthias drying themselves by the side of the road.

We all stopped at Rosswood for coffee and lunch. It was funny to be in such a big group. For the majority of our trip we've seen barely any other cyclists and when we have they've rarely been going the same way, it was actually really nice to have a little gang of us. We stopped a number of times along the way to look at sights along the 'Auto Tour' and then rolled into the campsite. 

Tom and I had planned a rest day the next day to explore the Provincial Park, but as Justin and Melissa needed to keep going as they're on a much tighter time scale than us and as we'd all so enjoyed riding together the four of us packed up and headed off together in the morning. We thought we'd bump into Barbara and Matthias down the road, but sadly that didn't happen. As alluded to in my last post we've been a bit down in the dumps recently. We've found the weather challenging, the scenery a bit boring (though I really hate to admit it) and we'd not had as many lovely people encounters as we'd had during our time in the States. We needed something to change it up and riding with Melissa and Justin was the perfect antidote to our pedaling blues.