Western BC Circle Tour

Port Hardy to Prince Rupert on the Queen of the North Ferry

 

Views from the Ferry Crossing

 Up at 5:30 a.m. to pack up and catch the Queen of the North to Prince Rupert. It would be more or less a rest day. We rode the 2km out to the terminal and saw our friend Eric camped on a grassy knoll, next to the washrooms outside of the ferry terminal. Free camping! We spoke to him again later and found that he very rarely used "regular" campgrounds and preferred to "guerrilla camp." Or, as he said, with his heavy French accent... "I like to camp in de bush." His tent was large enough to accommodate himself with all his gear and his bike (no wonder he had monster bags on his bike!). Apparently he had camped like this all over the world and the only place he felt unsafe was when he was in a big city; then he would either use a hostel or stay with friends/acquaintances.

 The ferry trip to Prince Rupert takes 15 hours and while the scenery is spectacular, if it is not misty, the journey is still tedious. Eric would have 30 hours more on another ferry to Skagway, Alaska after this one! We only made one stop at Bella Bella to offload some supplies and passengers.
I had pre-booked a motel in Prince Rupert as I knew we wouldn't arrive until 11:00 p.m. or later and I didn't fancy looking for a campground in the dark. The motel was very close to the ferry terminal and once again that soft bed was sure nice!

 

NOTE of Interest: On March 22, 2006, with 101 persons aboard, the Queen of the North (the very ferry that we sailed on) failed to make a planned course change, ran aground and sank. Two passengers, whose bodies were never found, were lost in the tragedy.

 

Prince Rupert to Terrace
155km

Riding along the Skeena River to Terrace

 Without a doubt the most scenic day of the whole trip.

 I had to pick up a "Tensor" knee brace in Prince Rupert before setting off though, as my knee was still bugging me. I had hoped that the rest day on the ferry would have helped more than it did, but I guess I was being optimistic. Putting the brace on, took a lot of strain off my knee and it actually felt almost painless.

 The day started cloudy, but then we looked up, and lo and behold, the "Golden Orb" was showing its face! Although it was a 100 mile day, the tail winds, great weather and lack of major hills made the ride a breeze (pardon the pun). Riding the Yellowhead Highway 16 next to the Skeena surrounded by mountains and waterfalls was nothing short of spectacular. The only damper happened at the end of the day, a massive rainstorm, when we were stopped on a hill, fixing a flat on Tim's bike, just a few miles out from Terrace, typical! Tim's tube patches washed away in the streaming torrent... He inadvertently laid them on the ground for a few seconds and off they went!

 Our campsite at Ferry Island, in Terrace, was quite soaked after the rainstorm. After pitching our tents, the rain started again, so we cooked dinner in one of the covered shelters that were available at the campground. After more inquisition from Tim and Larry as to exactly when we would see "babes on the beach," I withdrew to my tent!

 We all had a good nights rest though, and as it was still damp in the morning, we opted to go to Tim Horton's for coffee and bagels all round. I think the whole Terrace police force decided on the same idea as the place was full of cops. What's that about eh? Cops and doughnut shops? We also had to pick up a few snacks for the road, but found out that the local supermarket didn't open for another half-hour. Two young ladies in the store took pity on us, and let us in early; it was very nice of them and a treat to have the whole store to ourselves.

 

Terrace to Hazelton
142km

 Well my knee felt great, and I found that I didn't need the brace anymore. It was amazing how a day of warm weather and easy riding had helped. Unfortunately, Larry still seemed to be struggling and was still lagging behind, so we'd stop and let him catch up every so often. The only problem was that the blackflies wouldn't leave us alone when we stopped! Still no spare tire for Larry.

 Our destination was New Hazelton, but when we were close, Tim remembered being in the area when he was a boy and said that we should go and camp in the old 'Ksan Indian Village, in Hazelton, which is actually 7km north of New Hazelton, downhill and across the Bulkley Canyon. The photo is from the one lane bridge that crosses above the canyon, over 200 feet up!

 This was as far north as we would travel and we would start our journey south-east the next day.

 

Hazelton to Houston
140km

 Yes, we had that morning 7km warm-up hill, thanks to Tim's nostalgia trip! Why do they build towns at the bottom of hills? Hoping for another dry day, we continued on Highway 16. Smithers was our rest stop and we looked to find that spare 27" tire for Larry's bike, no luck. Tim had already changed his back tire and was trying to find another 26" slick for his bike, which it seemed was almost an impossibility in these northern towns; knobby tire country!

 One hill of note was, a long climb we had and at the top a road sign stated "Hungry Hill," well named. After that we had about a 10km downhill into Houston and stayed at Gerry's Campground, highly recommended. The lady owner was having a BBQ and invited us all to share in her family's burgers, hot dogs and salads. Well, no burgers or hot dogs for me, but the salads were well appreciated. We met up with an Adventure Cycling tour group at the campground, they were traveling north from Montana to Alaska heading for the Cassiar Highway (Highway 37). We had passed the junction of 37 on the way to New Hazelton and saw the signs at the gas station stating "North to Alaska." We mentioned to them that they might meet our friend Eric traveling south on the same route. I still wonder if they ever met up with him? Also, we mentioned about the 10km climb that they could look forward to in the morning. In return they told us of a similar climb that we could expect heading east; oh joy!

 

Houston to Burns Lake
90km

 Because of Larry's slower speed, we coaxed him into leaving earlier than Tim and myself, and figured that we would catch him up instead of having to stop and wait for him every so often, thereby suffering the wrath of the blackflies. Anyway, we left about an hour after Larry and found that the morning wake-up hill wasn't as bad as we were told, or were we just getting used to the climbs? The day, although remaining dry and sunny was marred by constant headwinds though.

 About two-thirds of the way to our destination of Burns Lake, Tim started to hear some unfamiliar noises from his back wheel. He stopped and found that his cassette and bearing were loose. Luckily I had some cone wrenches, so we tightened the cone a bit and figured on removing the axle and tightening the cassette later, as we didn't relish losing any of ball bearings in the gravel at the side of the road where we had stopped; on a hill of course! This turned out to be a mistake, we should have done the repair straight away. Further down the road Tim's wheel almost seized up and the axle nut gouged the inside of the dropout. Figuring that the cones and cups were damaged by now, it was time to look for a bike shop and Burns Lake was only about 15km away, so we figured on hitch-hiking a ride, for Tim anyway.

 With two of us, and two loaded bikes, at the side of the road, no-one seemed willing to stop, so Tim suggested that I leave and see if it was easier for one person to hitch a ride. I didn't really like leaving him on his own, but conceded to ride to the next rest stop, which according to the map was 5km down the road. No sooner that I had left Tim, I looked in my mirror and saw a pick-up truck stopping for him. After a few minutes Tim went whizzing by and waved. "See you in Burns Lake," I shouted back.

 I arrived at the rest stop and guess who was there? Larry! I told him our tales of woe and we took off to find the bike shops in Burns Lake, and in turn find Tim. Turns out that it wasn't too difficult, as there is only one bike shop in Burns Lake, Tim was there, but the shop was closed on Mondays. Yes it was Monday! Luckily there was a bagel shop and deli next door, so we contemplated our next move over some food; that always helps! The owner of the deli said he could contact the owner of the bike store for us and see if he'd come in and repair Tim's bike. He tried, but no answer, so then he gave us the phone number and said that we should try and call later. Tim phoned a cab for a ride to the KOA campground east of town. Larry and I followed on our bikes and stopped in town for groceries. A mickey of brandy from the liquor store went into my pannier, which I thought would brighten the mood later that evening.

 We met up with Tim at the campground and he phoned the bike shop owner a little later and managed to talk to him. Figuring that he needed at least a rear hub, the owner said that it would be easier to get a whole wheel from Smithers, as he didn't keep much of a parts stock himself. Tim agreed and the fellow said that he'd drop by in the morning to pick up Tim and his bike and take them to his shop. Very nice of him. We all had a nice shower and a hot meal, followed by some hot chocolate with Napoleon brandy, mmm yummy! (Don't knock it until you've tried it). The world seemed a better place and our troubles were of no great concern!

 One good thing, was that for a couple of days at least, I had not been hounded with the "where's the great weather and the babes on the beach you promised" query! I slept on that thought!