Clay and Wattles

Well, summer is here again. That means we’re leaving tomorrow on another sustainable vacation. This time, my wife Roberta and I are traveling from Yellowknife to Prince George, BC by bus, on to Prince Rupert by tandem bike, over to Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) by ferry, and down to SGang Gwaay Llnagaay at the south end of Gwaii Haanas National Park in a double kayak. We’ll paddle back up to Sandspit or Skidegate, possibly bike to Port Clements or Masset and back, then take the ferry to Prince Rupert again and the bus home.

The reason I call this trip “Origami Tour 2009″ is because we have a folding bike, a folding kayak, and a folding house (i.e. a tent) that we’ll be using on the trip.

The map below shows our planned route. The little sailboat represents our kayak, which actually does have a sail.

Rough distances for the human powered parts of the trip (assuming we don’t take any shortcuts):

• Prince George to Prince Rupert by bike: 721 kms
• Moresby Camp to SGang Gwaay and back by kayak: 340 kms
• Skidegate to Masset and back by bike: 204 kms

View Origami Tour 2009 in a larger map

We’ll try to update this map and post our adventures when we can.

We did it! We’re in Vancouver!

The day before yesterday we rode on Highway 1 out of Hope towards Vancouver. We took country roads through Chilliwack and into the city of Abbotsford (thanks for the tip, Cheryl!). The Fraser Valley is full of cornfields and views of mountains in the distance. Once we reached Abbotsford, things got a bit tougher for cyclists and we had to ride on the sidewalks through a blighted region full of big-box stores. We were anxious to get to the Fraser Highway on the other side of the city, so we pushed as far as we could until dark and stayed in a motel.

Before we left Hope, we decided not to ride over to Victoria after all. We figured we deserved a break after 41 days of cycling. We were also getting pretty tired of lower mainland traffic. We’ll still go to the island, but as pedestrians.

Yesterday morning, we got on the Fraser Highway and were relieved to confirm that it had a good wide shoulder most of the way. We were on the road at about 8:30 and made good time through to Langley where we stopped for bubble tea. We soon crossed the border of Surrey – we were in Greater Vancouver!

There were intermittent bike lanes through Surrey, which was nice, but eventually they petered out and the traffic started to get heavy. We reached the King George Skytrain station and decided to find out if bikes were permitted on the train. I didn’t relish the thought of riding the last 20 kms to downtown Vancouver on the last day of a holiday weekend, so we were thrilled to find out we could roll right on to the train and travel to the Vancouver waterfront without risking our lives.

Once we were at the harbour, we stopped at the tourist info centre nearby and got some help finding a bike shop downtown. Our plan was to have the bike shop dismantle our bikes and box them for shipping back home. We rode a few blocks to Burrard and Pacific, dropped off our bikes, then took a cab to a hotel (all the hostels are booked solid, unfortunately). We made a quick trip to MEC to buy a couple of large duffel bags to ship our gear home and day packs for the stuff we need for the rest of the journey. We walked back downtown to our hotel, and slept in until 8:30 this morning for a change!

We’re having fun in Vancouver. We already managed to eat sushi and visit a couple of bookstores. We’ll head to Victoria for a day or two when we’re good and ready. We need to leave for Yellowknife by August 14th. To keep our greenhouse gas emissions low, we’re taking the 24 hour train ride to Edmonton, then the 23 hour bus ride to Yellowknife.

It has been a great trip. I’m very proud of Martin for travelling all this way – I think it takes a very mature and determined fifteen year old to accomplish a feat like this. I’m now convinced that cycling is the best way for anybody to travel long distances. We’ve seen and experienced a hundred times more than if we had travelled by car.

I’ve filled fourteen 80 minute videotapes, so you can all look forward to seeing the video. I’ll write more reflections on the trip once I’ve had a few days to digest it all.

We managed to get Martin’s wheel fixed in Princeton and haven’t had any difficulties since. Yesterday, we had to climb to over 1200 metres to Sunday Summit, then down several hundred metres to the entrance of Manning Park. It was a windy climb with only intermittent paved shoulders. Fortunately, the gravel shoulder was flat and solid enough to ride on when we needed it. The traffic was very heavy heading east from Vancouver (because of the long weekend, which we’d totally forgotten about), but not so bad going our way.

We reached the first of a series of campgrounds in the park at dusk. All the campgrounds were full because of the long weekend, so we ended up asking to set up our tents beside somebody’s camper. They weren’t using the tent pad anyhow and didn’t mind sharing so it worked out okay in the end.

This morning, we climbed back up another hill to reach Allison Pass, the highest point on the highway through Manning Park. Manning is in the Northern Cascade Mountains. I’m not sure how many mountain ranges we’ve crossed, but I recall the Rockies, Kootenays, Selkirks, Monashees, and now these. We didn’t have too much trouble getting over the Cascades, but I suppose we’re getting to be experts at hill climbing now.

After Allison Pass, it is mostly downhill for 50 kms to Hope, BC. We arrived about 3:30 pm, stopped for sushi, and then looked for the Visitor Info Centre. We were worried about finding a place to stay this weekend. We were hoping to ride on another 20-30 kms this evening, but there are virtually no campsites available in the lower mainland or Fraser Valley. There was a cheap motel room available, so we decided to take it and spend the evening in Hope.

Tomorrow, we’ll reach the neighbourhood of Abbotsford. We’ve decided to go from there to Tsawassen and the ferry to Victoria. Not sure how long we’ll stay or when we’ll come back. More later…

We’re in Princeton, BC heading for the local bike shop to get Martin’s wheel fixed. It is working fine since I fixed it, but there are still three broken spokes I’d like to replace. I had to change one of her brake cables this morning as well, but that wasn’t too difficult.

Last night we camped at Stemwinder Provincial Park next to the Similkameen River. There was a tailings spill into the river just upstream in Princeton yesterday, so the river water is undrinkable for at least a while. Luckily we stocked up on town water before we left Keremeos.

We’re hoping to get over the last big mountains of our trip today – Allison Pass, 1341 metres. Luckily, it is a little cooler here now that we’re out of the desert. There were actually clouds in the sky this morning, which we haven’t seen in a while.

We’re less than 300 kms from Vancouver now. East Indian vegetarian buffet, here we come…

After Midway, we took the Kettle Valley Railway trail as far as Rock Creek. That part of the trail is very rough, but worth taking. It follows the river and mostly passes through pastures for horses and cattle. We had to open and close lots of gates along the way.

At one point we encountered a mule deer on the trail in front of us and flushed a big flock of quail at the same time – the quail ran right throught the legs of the deer. We were about as close to that wild deer as I’ve ever been. It would scamper down the trail in front of us as we approached and then stop to watch us, then scamper away again. After a few minutes it finally hopped over a five foot fence and bounded across a field.

We arrived at a crossroads called Rock Creek where we holed up in a restaurant until the worst of the afternoon heat had passed. It has been way over 30 degrees for the past week and shows no sign of cooling down. We needed a good rest because we had the dreaded Anarchist Mountain to climb before we would reach Osoyoos.

I received my first warning about Anarchist from Gary at Overlander before leaving Yellowknife. We’ve been hearing about it ever since. The heat of the desert plus the steep, high mountain makes a big impression on people I guess. It took us three and a half hours, but we finally reached the summit with less than an hour of daylight left. It was a tough climb, but at this point we’re both superhumans and not much phases us. One of the best discoveries I have made on this trip is that no mountain, no matter how high, is a match for a determined person on a bicycle.

After the summit, we descended a bit and still had to get over a few more smaller hills to finally reach the big 8 km hill down to the town of Osoyoos. It was getting pretty close to dusk by this time, but we put on all of our lights and decided we’d better go for it. The descent is very steep and takes several switchbacks to get down the side of Anarchist. The traffic was light and we took it slowly. We finally arrived at a rest stop where we could massage our sore hands (braking for that long is very tough on your hand muscles). There was a long stick at the edge of the road, but when we looked closer it turned out to be a 4 foot long rattlesnake! At first we thought it must be roadkill, but quickly figured out that it was alive and well. I’d just reached the end of my last videotape, but Martin got a couple of photos. What a thrilling way to start our visit to the desert!

We reached the bottom of the hill just as it was getting too dark to ride and checked into the first motel we saw. It was a 100 km day over a huge mountain through the scorching desert, so we figured we deserved it.

We spent yesterday in Osoyoos having a fun visit with my in-laws Cheryl and Jim and nieces Kyra, Sara, and Olivia. At about 7pm, we left Osoyoos to get a head start on the big climb out the other side of town: Richter Pass. We travelled about 10 kms up a steep hill but couldn’t find anywhere to camp that wasn’t fenced. We decided to knock on the door of a house next to a big pasture where we thought we might ask to camp for the night. The people (Bryce and his wife, whose name I didn’t get) were very nice and happy to let us camp right on their large lawn. This morning they invited us in for cereal before we headed on our way. On our way out the door, they handed us delicious fresh apricots from their own tree. Thanks, guys!

We finished the climb over Richter Pass without much trouble, but when we headed down the other side, Martin’s bike started to wobble a bit. I stopped her and checked her rear wheel – she had three broken spokes and the wheel was way out of true. I did a quick spoke-tightening job to get her on the road and we continued over a roller coaster of hills through orchard country. It was strange to see sagebrush and other desert plants beside the road only a metre or two away from lush green peach trees and grape vines.

In Cawston, just east of Keremeos, we stopped at a fruit stand where we ate fresh cherries and I did my best to balance Martin’s wheel and make it rideable. We continued on down a gentle slope to Keremeos, where we are right now. There’s no bike shop here and perhaps not even in Princeton, the next town enroute. I’m crossing my fingers that Martin’s wheel will get her there.

Yesterday we saw our first sign specifically pointing to Vancouver. The last one said we had 389 kms to go. We have a few big hills, but only one real mountain left to cross in Manning Park just before Hope, BC. We can almost smell the salt air….

Last night we decided to take a little jaunt through the states. We followed the road south from Grand Forks to Curlew, Washington where we camped next to the Kettle River. This morning we’re already back in Midway, BC on our way to Osoyoos. We aren’t in the desert yet, but the landscape has certainly changed. The rocky hills are dry and grassy with scattered pines and shrubs – like something from a western movie.

We have not yet seen one single deer in British Columbia on our trip. At the customs stop at the border, we saw several right next to the building. In one hour of riding last night we saw at least 50 altogether, mostly whitetails but also a couple of mule deer. We also couldn’t believe the variety of birds we saw: quail, eagle, osprey, kingbirds, kingfishers, wrens, hawks, woodpeckers, you name it. This morning we actually saw a flock of wild turkeys! There must be something in the water south of the border.

Three movies in one day is quite a lot, but I managed to squeeze them in. I saw the Simpsons, Hairspray, and I now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry. They were all good. We saw them in Castlegar, but now we’re in Grand Forks. The trail is very dusty.

The Columbia and Western railroad trail turned out to be a lot of fun. We travelled very very slowly upward for 50 kms then back down again almost the same distance to Christina Lake, BC. We rejoined the highway, took a 30 minute trip to Laurier, Washington, for a snack, and are now in Grand Forks, a town which is full of Russian restaurants and names because of the Doukhobor heritage of this region.

We visited the Doukhobour museum in Castlegar a couple of days ago and learned all about the odyssey of these Russian pacifists who lived communally and ate a vegetarian diet. 7000 of them, with the help of Count Leo Tolstoy, emigrated to Canada at the turn of the last century. They settled in Saskatchewan and then most of them moved to the Boundary region of BC. Their leader, Peter Veregin, was murdered in the 1920’s by a bomb that blew up a train on the very Columbia and Western line that we’ve been travelling. We passed a monument at the spot of the bombing last night.

The rail trails have been fun and we’ve made fairly good time on them. Even so, they are very hard on our bikes. I had a flat last night from bumping downhill on the gravelly surface. I think we’ll take the highway for the next while and perhaps rejoin the trail in Princeton. We’re starting to feel like we are in the home stretch now (we’ve travelled over 2500 kms thus far), and we’d like to get the last few hundred kilometres over with. I can almost taste the sushi on Robson Street….

We stayed at a motel in Castlegar last night for a break from the heat. It has been hot, hot, hot this week. We’ve climbed some big hills in 30 degree plus conditions and are still doing fine all things considered. We spent a morning in Nakusp three days ago, then stayed in New Denver where the locals invited us to the opening of an exhibit of photos taken by a fellow cyclist. We ate an entire home-baked peach pie at the farm market the next morning and had a great time.

The Nakusp & Slocan railway trail from Nakusp to New Denver didn’t work out as it was too soft and sandy for our loaded bikes and smooth tires. We did manage to get on the trail again in Slocan and had a very good ride for 40kms or so. The trail is full of grouse and other birds (and bear droppings) and follows the lazy Slocan River most of the way. It was great riding without sharing a road with motorized vehicles. Travelling on the trail was a highlight of a trip that has already had a lot of highlights. Unfortunately, we got caught in the dark and had an hour of dark trail riding to finally reach a camping place next to the river in the hamlet of Crescent Valley.

We’ve only seen one other cyclist since we left Revelstoke, so I guess we’re off the beaten path. From Jasper to Revelstoke we saw at least one or two per day.

Today we’re taking the Kettle Valley Railway trail in the direction of Grand Forks. It will take us a couple of days. This section is true backcountry riding most of the way without a highway or other roads anywhere nearby. I can’t wait!

Today we’re in Nakusp after spending the night at the community campground (with showers!). We just had breakfast at the very cool and funky Honey Bear Bakery – located in a garage behind the owner’s house. We have some errands to do and then we’ll be taking the former Nakusp & Slocan railway bed to New Denver and parts south.

Yesterday was more challenging than we expected. We went up and down a lot of hills and it really wore us out. We encountered our first 12% grade (going downhill luckily) of the trip between the Galena ferry and Nakusp. The Arrow Lakes are beautiful and there are lots of ripe thimbleberries beside the road. The traffic has been light and we’re having a good time. I had two flat tires yesterday, the first of the trip. The rail trails may be harder on tires, but the grade should be much less steep than the highways are.

Still haven’t decided the details of the rest of the trip. We’re leaning towards taking a side trip to Washington for a day or so and otherwise just taking our time getting to Vancouver.