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Published: June 25th 2009
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June 20th
The ferry docked at Prince Rupert just shortly after 5 AM. Once we were let down to the vehicle deck, we needed to repack our bikes and unfastened them, all this while cars, RV's and truck drove by while the ship began to unload. The motorcycles basically left the ferry last. As soon as I drove up the ramp I could see the customs plaza and the lineup of vehicles waiting ahead of us. Just to make it interesting, it was also raining. The whole customs process took roughly a half hour, 29 mins of which were spent waiting in line.
Once clear, we headed for downtown Prince Rupert to find a service station, Pat's rear tire needed air. Once that was taken care of, we hit the Yellowhead highway headed east. It rained lightly for a bit but soon stopped. The scenery was gorgeous and lush, not at all what I had expected northern BC to be.
When we arrived in Terrace, we stopped for some Tim's. I had just spend 7 days in the USA with not a single Tim Horton's to be found, so I had some catching up to do. For anyone
reading who is not from Canada, you should know that Tim Horton's is a chain of coffee shops here that are considered to be part of our national heritage!
I knew a mountie in Terrace who used to work with us in Saskatoon. I told Pat R that I wanted to try to track him down. We were going to part ways later that day because he was in a hurry to get back to Saskatoon due to a comitment. We said our goobyes at Tim's and he headed for Jasper, some 1100 km away. Meanwhile, I headed for the local RCMP detachment but had no luck locating my friend, it was Sunday and no office staff were in. It also appeared all the mounties were out at that time.
I made my way through Smithers and Prince George before settling on Quesnel to stay the night. I was completely ignorant to the beauty of this part of the country prior to this trip.
June 21
I headed for Williams Lake from where I would take a route described to me by a woman I met on the ferry. She said it was a beautiful way
to get to Invermere that involved back roads and a short stretch of gravel along a lake. Invermere is where my friend Wolgang lives, a former colleague who retired a few years ago.
The route described by my fellow ferry passenger was wonderful. It took me through vallleys and over mountains and kept me far from the highway. The gravel part, about 20 km long, followed the side of a mountain that overlooked Adams Lake and made for some spectacular views.
I crossed Rogers pass in the rain. Still an impressive road, but it is no Top of the world highway!
I arrived in Inververe at 9:30 PM, a little later than I had wanted due to a high volume of deer activity on the road. Nonetheless, the hot tub was still waiting for me when I arrived.
June 22-23
The weather was just awful on the 22nd so I opted to stay another night at Wolf's. I just spent the day reading and did a little shopping. Invermere is a touristy sort of place in the shadow of the Rockies, so there are quite a few interesting little shops.
I ended up leaving
Gov. Sarah Palin's house in Juneau
during a 5 hour layover on the ferry on the 23rd headed for Jasper national park. I camped near the Miette Hot Springs, which are about 50 km east of the Jasper townsite. The campground is 2 km off the highway but the springs are another 15 km up a narrow road.
After I got my tent set up, I went for a short hike to an abandonned 19th century mine site and then rode up to the springs. That is when I spotted my bear. I had seen at least a dozen bears on the trip, but never had I had such a great opportunity to shoot one. I stopped the bike and turned the engine off. The bear was about 10-15 m off to the side of the road, on a hill. I got my camera from the tank bag and began shooting, the bear was eating leaves from a small bush. When he was done with that one, he moved down the hill a metre to the next bush, which meant he was now a metre closer to me as well. He did this a few times before I decided that he was a little too close to me. Of course the people in
the car that stopped behind me seemed okay with the proximity, snapping pictures from the safety of their metal cage...
I had a relaxing soak in the warm water while taking in a majestic view before grabbing a bite at the cafe and heading back to my campsite. My fire making was hampered by green firewood at the campground, at least that is my excuse for not having a campfire. I crawled into my tent and listened to the sound of a small creek that ran right behing my campsite. I was asleep by 10:30.
June 24
I left Jasper at 9:00 intent on making Saskatoon, some 850 km away. I rolled up to the house at 7:15 PM.
Last year, I learned that travel memories are not just made up of the places you go, but, to a larger extent, from the people you meet when you get there. You just have to read the patanderin blog to grasp that.
I set out on this adventure not only to see amazing things, but to meet great people too. I think I succeeded again. Alois & Ely, Bill who crashed his bike, Tom & Nolan,
Jean-Luc the mountie, Kate the kayaking guide, Doug from Rochester, the Columbians and the Swiss, they all became a part of my trip, whether they knew it or not, and whether they wanted to or not.
Another amazing trip that solidifies in my mind that motorcycling is the best way to travel, exposed to the elements, vulnerable, you experience your environment and become a part of it. Strangers feel comfortable talking to people on motorcycles given the absence of physical barriers, like a car door...
Thanks again for reading, make sure you leave me a comment so that I know you were here.
-Patrick
P.S. this entry has links to 2 short videos I shot
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David Finley
non-member comment
Great Trip !!!
What an amazing adventure. Barb and I would like to do something similar but in my pickup with the truck camper. Your pictures demonstrated just how awesome a trip that would be. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us !!! Stay safe out there my friend.