Mountains of BC

     Reaching BC felt like a huge accomplishment. In doing so, it now meant that I was on the final stretch of Canada and not that far from Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean. While I was getting closer to finishing Canada, I wasn't in a rush to finish, rather the opposite. Instead of staying along the Trans-Canada through the Rockies, I decided to head south on a longer route that had been suggested to me by a few people. The southern part of BC has a rail trail that runs most of the length of the province and I'd been told that it was both enjoyable to ride and very scenic. Brian, who I met in Assiniboia, had even sent me the whole route from Merritt to Fernie known as the BC Epic 1000 that some people race each year. I wasn't sure just how much of it I'd ride, but decided that I was for sure going to check at least some of it out.

I'd still be riding in the mountains for the rest of BC, but they would be different from what I'd experienced so far. I'd been on roads with huge mountains in every direction, lined up along each other. Some of the mountains were green, but most were bare, gray rock. There also was a decent amount that had glaciers or some form of snow on them too. It'd still be like this my first day in BC, as I rode through Kootenay National Park, but after that it'd change. The mountains now would almost all be green, covered in trees and not quite as tall either. The roads also weren't designed for the picturesque views that you see along the Trans-Canada, but the mountains are still incredible there, just a little different.

Kootenay National Park

Before I left the campground in Marble Canyon, I noticed my back tire was pretty flat. I decided to pump it back up instead of checking to see if something was causing it to lose air, even though every time this happened, it would end up in me having to stop later and properly fix something that was causing it to go flat in the first place. The tire held for a while, but by the afternoon while I was climbing a pass, I noticed the tire was losing air again. I properly patched it this time as I found a wire in the tube. It did give me a break from the climb though, which was nice. While Kootenay National Park was still incredibly beautiful, it wasn't quite as breathtaking as the Banff and Jasper parks were. One thing though that was quite the thing to see, was the scars of previous wildfires that had struck the park in the past. I had asked a woman about them while I was taking a break during the day and she told me that some of the still standing burnt trees were from a fire over 30 years ago. I could tell that those weren't from a recent fire as there were plenty of living green trees growing among them now, but there were still so many standing from a fire that long ago, that it was hard to believe.

Remnants of old wildfires with new growth

The ride down the mountain pass I climbed during the day, down into Radium Hot Springs was probably the funnest downhill I've ever rode. The twisty roads combined with cliff faces right against the side of the roads made for an incredibly unique and fun environment to ride through. There were also a lot of big horn sheep along the way, mostly on the cliffs but some were ground level too. There were even a couple on the edge of the road at one point that I rode right next to and they weren't scared at all. Towards the end of the long downhill, I passed through a tunnel that, as I approached it quite quickly looked really cool as it connected the cliffs on each side. A little after that, the cliff faces seemed like they might have been leaning over the road as it looked like they trying to squeeze the road shut.

Big horn sheep along the road

Getting down the pass took me from the higher elevations with cooler temperatures (maybe mid-teens this day) down into the Columbia Valley where it wouldn't have been far from 30 degrees. It didn't feel too bad though descending into the heat as I had close to a week away from it with much cooler weather. The valley provided its own sights to see too. It was of course surrounded by mountains on each side and when I was higher above its base, I could see the Columbia River weaving its way through the valley and the surrounding farm land.

Columbia Valley

I ended up making it to the town of Invermere for the day. When I made it there, I looked for somewhere to go to celebrate making it to BC and also crossing into the Pacific watershed as well. I ended up finding an asian buffet and decided to take full advantage of it. Well I ended up taking too much advantage of it, as I ate way too much food and could hardly make myself finish what I had gotten for food. I was so full that when I finished. I just laid next to the restaurant for at least a half an hour before I felt like I could possibly make myself bike anywhere else.

While I hadn't minded descending down into the heat, I was back to not caring for it the next day. It was around 30 again and the wind frustrated me all day as it went back and forth on just how much it wanted to fight me. The day did start pretty good though as I found a nice paved bike trail that took me past Windermere Lake before I was back on highway the rest of the day. Shortly after I was back on the highway, I met the biker who was on the longest trip of all the bikers I've met. This was Summit who had been riding since November of the year before. He started from his home in Vermont and basically did a loop around the USA as he went down the east coast, across the south and then up the west. He didn't have an end planned, similar to how I was going at this point, but knew he was going to check out the Canadian Rockies before heading to Vancouver.

Back on the highway, the landscape started to change into something I had never seen before. I think it was called open pine forest. It became very dry grassland with scattered pine trees throughout it. It also had a unique smell as I would describe it as a mix of the pine trees and the dryness of the land combined. If there was ever an area that looked like it was destined to one day be ablaze from a wildfire, I'd say this was probably it. While it provided a unique experience, it wasn't helping protect me from the heat, sun and wind that kept beating me. The final stretch of riding was very tiring but I ended up making it to Wasa, where there was a nice big lake for me to jump in and cool down. I even got some laundry done at the lake, as the weather was perfect for it to dry quickly. Wasa was a nice little spot and some older ladies even ended up pointing out to me where there was some crown land that I could camp on for the night.

I had ridden over 100km the previous 5 days and had gotten myself excited about wanting to do a full week straight of at least 100 km days, but the heat combined with the fatigue of the distance I'd down and fighting the wind, was enough to make me concede. I decided on having a shorter day and letting my body get some rest before starting the route Brian had sent me. I made the ride to the touristic town of Kimberley and spent the afternoon in a library out of the heat.

Waterfall in Kemberley

Leaving Kimberley, I was now on the route that Brian had shown to me and starting to head west again. The start of it was very nice as I was able to get away from constant traffic for the first time in weeks, probably since earlier in the prairies. Not only that but the scenery was amazing again as I was going along a river which opened to a very nice lake at one point, with large green mountains on each side of me too. The enjoyment would soon change though as I turned off of the nice dirt road I had been on, onto a forest service road (FSR). The FSR's are basically the equivalent of logging roads but are maintained well enough that they are traversable, unlike the muddy mess I got myself into early on in the Atlantic provinces. "Maintained" though doesn't mean that they're in good condition, just that they're kept in a state such that you could get through them by vehicle, bike or foot.

Gray Creek Pass (the FSR I was on now) was incredibly rough, primarily due to all the big loose rocks all over the place. I was no longer able to enjoy the scenery around me as I had been earlier, as I found myself having to constantly stare down at the road so I could successfully bike it. There were parts of it too where it would get very steep (this road is a mountain pass) and that's when the loose rocks were at their worst. Gray Creek Pass would end up being easily the hardest place I've ever biked (successfully, I'm not counting the areas that I just ended up walking through mud) and the place I pushed myself the hardest to cycle. During the trip, I would get some comments regularly from people and one them was that I must have strong legs. Well today I was proving that true each time I grinded my way up the steep sections, even though my tires might slip or suddenly change direction due to the rocks.

As tough as I was finding it, there were some parts to it that were nice. After a few vehicles passed me at the very start, I didn't encounter a single one after that. There were also some really nice spots to stop at. Best of all though was in the moments I did stop, was just the feeling of how undisturbed the place was. There were no vehicles nearby to make noises and instead you could only hear the wind and running water. I also enjoyed in those moments, that I was entirely alone in the wilderness and I was able to enjoy it to myself.

Eventually I did reach the top and boy was I ever proud of myself when I summited. It was easily one of the physically hardest things I've done and knowing that most other people probably couldn't complete that ride (at least without walking a lot of it) was something to be proud of. The summit also marked a new highest elevation reached by bike as it was a little higher up than the passes I had done along the Icefield Parkway. I celebrated and then relaxed at the summit before heading down the other side. I considered camping up there as there was a nice camping spot but it was cold up there and I didn't feel like staying in the cold the rest of the day. It was even cold enough that I found myself in my winter jacket again.

Gray Creek summit

The other side of the pass was entirely different from the side that I had climbed. This side was not nearly as rough as the first side with far less big loose rocks. However it presented a different type of challenge. From bottom to top, there was a 1500m elevation difference and this was only over 17km of distance. This lead to the gradient being very steep with it being 9% on average and plenty of times the slope would reach the mid-teens as well. I had to ride my brakes so hard the whole way down that my hands started to hurt quite a bit. On the way down, I met another biker who was slowly working his way up. This was Charlie who was riding part of the same route that Brian had given me. I wished him good luck and continued down. On the way down, I experienced the biggest sudden temperature change I think I ever have. I was cold in my winter jacket with layers on at the top and then at the bottom it was back to near 30 degrees heat again.

When I was making supper in Crawford Bay, I was confused as the time on my phone and bike computer weren't matched up anymore. After asking around, I found out that I had crossed into the Pacific time zone somewhere along the pass. This was yet another big milestone as I had crossed into the last time zone of Canada. It was also quite the thing to put into perspective that I had gone far enough at this point that I had been in 5 different time zones. I ended the day on a beach by a ferry I'd grab in the morning at Kootenay Bay. It was a little wooded area and while there, I met Jules who had been living homeless in that wooded area for the last 10 years. It's a nice spot but I don't know how he manages it there in the winter as I would think it would probably be brutal there then.

I grabbed the early ferry across Kootenay Lake and decided I'd have a shorter day again (Gray Creek really took quite a bit out of me). On the other side I met David who was riding a lot of the BC trails. He seemed unaware of what he'd be getting himself into today, so I warned him about the ride to come, especially since he told me he was nearly out of food. I decided Nelson would be where I'd stop for the day and I made it there by noon. Nelson has a very nice, big park along the Kootenay River that I was told about while on the ferry ride in the morning. It was so nice that I ended up spending a lot of my day there before I left the small city to find a camping spot in the evening.

I decided to skip the part of the trail leaving Nelson and instead hook back onto it at Castlegar, which saved me around 200km I think. The day started with a pretty good climb and descent back down on a road with nearly no traffic. This was what I needed at the moment to help get my mind back in the right state as Gray Creek kind've got me out of my normal rhythm. After briefly stopping in Castlegar, I made it to BC's rail trails for the first time. The trails go up and down mountains the same as all the roads in BC it seems, but since these were designed for trains, the elevation change is far more gradual making them quite a bit easier than the steeper roads at times.

When I got to the trail head, there were some jeeps there trying to get in. The entrance was gated as clearly, it was to keep vehicles out of the trail (which there shouldn't be vehicles on trails). So then to my surprise, after I had stopped to take a break, the same jeeps were now coming up along the trail. They happened to stop at the same place as I did and we ended up talking. I stayed nice (and they were nice people) but I was quite annoyed that they were on the trail now. They found another way onto the trail (I even said to them back at the trail head that it wasn't meant for vehicles) and now were going to drive along it. There wasn't even room for anything besides their vehicles, so when they passed me further along, I had to pull off of the trail to let them go by. Needless to say, I wasn't happy and unfortunately this wouldn't be the end of it.

Columbia River from trail

The trail itself was very nice. It had nice views over the river as I kept slowly getting higher above it as I went. It was also very quiet and peaceful, as the section I was on went in the opposite direction of the roads, leading me out to be completely out on my own (when there weren't vehicles on the trail). Further along, I found out why there were vehicles that wanted to get on the trail. That reason being that this section of the trail had old railway tunnels along it. These were incredibly cool both in how they looked and also being able to travel in the mountains instead of just saying I was on them. I rode through a few short tunnels where you could see the opening of the other side when you entered, but then I reached the big one. This one was 1km long and pitch black inside. I couldn't see a thing and had to get out my headlamp to be able to ride in it. There was no seeing the other side of this tunnel leading to an entirely different experience than the shorter tunnels. It felt almost like I was deep in a cave, at least it did to start out, as part of the way through, a couple vehicles drove through it completely destroying the incredible moment I was experiencing. In total I ended up coming across about 10 cars before I stopped for the day.

Small tunnel

Another small tunnel

The long tunnel

Okay, now I'm gonna go on that rant I promised a couple posts ago. But first I have to tell of the asshole I encountered the next morning. I was waiting out the rain under a shelter when a vehicle pulled up. A guy came out and asked me where the tunnels were. He reeked of weed and his eyes were bloodshot. He was clearly driving under the influence and in no way, shape or form should've been driving. So here he was on the trail, a place for people to go and be safe away from vehicles, a total and complete threat to anyone he may encounter along the way. Unfortunately I didn't think to get his license plate, but I was in the middle of nowhere with no service and no way to prove anything, so not like it would've done any good anyways.

So let me start by reiterating, trails are a place for people, whether you want to hike, bike or even use 4 wheelers (I'm also not a big fan of but they are designed to be used in these places so I can't be too upset), to be able to go enjoy themselves away from the constant threat of vehicles that are present basically everywhere else you go. I don't care that there are cool tunnels on a trail, don't bring your stupid vehicle into a place that is designed to be vehicle free. Find a different way to see them; bike, hike or again, even bring a 4 wheeler in, I don't care, just not your stupid car.

Now, this rant is not just about the trail, far from it, it's just the event that tipped me over the edge. Really this more about my overall dislike for vehicles and the culture that surrounds them. First off, and this isn't even really related to the problems of vehicles, but I hate the fact that America is designed with the expectation that you are supposed buy and own a vehicle. This is especially true if you don't live in a city. Public transportation is lackluster in both Canada and the USA from what I've seen, this includes uninspiring bus networks and a total lack of rail networks that you would see in Europe. Also all infrastructure is designed specifically for vehicles with no thought given to other means. Rarely is there anywhere for a biker or hiker to go other than being forced onto a road with speeding vehicles that can kill you.

Speaking of vehicles killing you, did you know that the leading cause of non-natural death (I'm considering illnesses to be natural as they have always and will always happen plus occur in all other species we see too), are vehicle related incidents, killing over 1million people per year. Just think about that for a second, that's over 1million deaths per year that are almost all entirely avoidable. Canada has one of the lower vehicle causality rates in the world, but still has about 2000 people die each year. Another way to think about that is about 1 in every 20000 people in Canada will be killed each year, or 6-7 people will die every day because of avoidable vehicle accidents.

Deaths aren't the only problem that vehicles create, with greenhouse gasses and noise being other issues. Vehicles are one of the leading emitters of greenhouse gasses. Considering the state of climate change, which soon (in relative terms) may be better classified as a climate crisis, one would think it would be good to try to cut down on emissions. Admittedly there are some changes starting to be made in this regard with electric vehicles, however I would be pleasantly surprised if the visions some people have of them replacing gas burning vehicles actually comes to fruition. This is specifically a me problem, but being on the road on a bike means I am constantly exposed to the fumes coming out of cars as well. The noise of vehicles is another thing I hate about them. Have you ever stopped and noticed just how loud vehicles really are? Cities are very noisy places, but if you were to have no vehicles running in a city, it wouldn't be entirely quiet, but it would be so much quieter. I travelled the whole length of Canada, a country known for it's uncivilized nature, of which I was in plenty, and rarely across the whole length of it was I able to go without hearing vehicles, even more remotely the sound would still carry out into the distance.

Potentially worse than everything I've already complained about is the culture surrounding cars. A little part of this is what I've already mentioned about the expectation that everyone has one, but really this is more about how people drive and tret each other. Considering how much time I've spent on the road with vehicles, I think I have sufficient enough data to speak confidently about this. So many drivers seem to drive with a mentality that they need to get from one place to another as quick as possible . If something happens along the way that would disrupt that, they believe it gives them the right to get angry and begin acting recklessly so that they can continue trying to get to their destination as quick as possible. Something slow on, or by the road like a bike, pedestrian or animal: "Why should me and very fast death machine be slowed down by something like that?! How dare they do this to me! I should never have to leave my straight line so I'll teach them a lesson and drive dangerously close to them to teach them a lesson!". Slow driver on the road ahead of them: "Fuck you for slowing me down! You should drive at my pace so to never slow me down! Now I have to pass you even if it's dangerous and of course I'll flip you off and yell at you as I do, so it's known how wrongly I've been done in this situation!". Am I exaggerating? Yes (although road rage is generally this ridiculous). Is this actually what the common driver mentality is like but to a lesser extent? Yes. There's more to it than this that I just can't remember at the moment too that I strongly dislike about driving culture. This also isn't just a situation of a biker complaining about cars. While yes some people choose to be assholes because I'm on a bike, there are also lots of drivers who treat me well because I'm on a bike. You reading this right now who probably drives a car? Those same drivers are far less likely to be sympathetic to you in any fashion. Also consider that these same drivers I'm talking about could be you. Since I am viewed as an obstacle far more often being on a bike and get passed so much, I do deal with more crap, but this isn't just the complaints of a cyclist. This terrible culture is what I believe is the main culprit in why so many driving incidents occur.

I understand the benefits to vehicles and some vehicles are absolutely necessary, however it seems the negatives never seem to be discussed. I'm not sure whether it's because some people are unaware/have never thought about them before or just that people generally don't care. Personally, I clearly don't like how things are and wish they would change, even just a little bit, but I'm not optimistic enough to believe they ever will. I wanted to keep the blog just about my journey and keep my thoughts and opinions out of it the best I could, but my vehicle problem had become too large a part of my trip to not include this. Okay, back to the story now.

It started to rain after I made it through the long tunnel. Luckily the trail would have a picnic table every once in a while where there used to be train stations and a couple of these were even sheltered. At the summit of the trail was one of these sheltered picnic tables, which was a perfect spot to stop for the night. I had this nice spot in the middle of nature entirely to myself, or so I thought. An hour or 2 after getting there, to my surprise another biker showed up. This was Rochelle who was on the first day of her mini trip cycling part of the BC trails. She also decided to stop at the summit for the night.

Shelter at the summit

I decided to wait out the rain in the morning but Rochelle didn't want to and went on ahead of me. A bit before noon it stopped and I got to coast down the other side of the trail now. When we were on the summit, Rochelle pointed out that she thought we might be in clouds there but I wasn't sure, now after leaving and going down, I could see that we definitely were in clouds. As I had gotten low enough to be below them now, I could see them above me in the trees on the mountains. At one point I encountered a brook that crossed the trail. I had learned during this trip (especially early on, on the mess of a trail I took in NS), that I usually couldn't get across without my bike stopping but I decided I was gonna try to ride across it anyway. Well, my bike hit a bump and stopped and down went my foot into the brook, getting soaked. I could've walked across some rocks but instead got a soaked foot for the day.

Mountain in clouds

Along the way to Grand Forks, I came across a landscape that I found quite strange. On one side of me were green mountains lined in trees and the other side were smaller mountains full of grassland with very few trees. I have no idea what made the two sides so different but found it strange. I'd get to Grand Forks and spend some time there before going back onto the trail later in the day. The trail so far had lots of spots that were perfect for camping. I think it was designed with spots like this to camp on purpose as lots of people travelled them on multi day trips. I planned to stop at the first good spot I saw along the trail for camping that I could find and when I did, there was Rochelle who had already gotten setup for the night. We got caught up on what our days had been like, while looking out over the really nice view we had as we were overlooking a valley with a river weaving it's way through it.

Divided landscape

Lookout over the valley

With that, I was about halfway across BC and on the final stretch of making it across Canada.

Distance Biked: 582.8km

Total Distance Biked: 8050.2km