July 2020, British Columbia
There was at least 15 days of food on the bike and I wobbled and creaked my way out of the Chilko Lake campground
It is always a nice ride in the Nemiah Valley and I took the road to Tusuniah Lake. I still can’t figure out if these are wild or not but they sure do behave like that. No hello, just run into the forest from the moment they see me, this one hung around to asses the wobbly creature coming up the road.
All the planes at the lodge were lined up and I really wanted to say hi and see if Bonnie is still here to thank her for that breakfast 5 years ago. But with COVID, I decided it’s best to just pass through.
like with the rest of the area, the COVID closure signs from spring are left on. There were two gates in total and I still had hand sanitizer.
There was a rec site here and I decided to take a short day. I was surprised to see people and they were surprised to see me.
Sam and Lucy kept an eye on my bike while I tried a kayak on the lake. I had a very ambitious plan to find a kayak in Prince Rupert and paddle down to Vancouver but I was slowly realizing that it won’t be as easy as get on a kayak and go. It was great talking to people last evening by the campfire and while we had to social distance, that did not apply to Sam, Lucy and Shadow.
Sam the dog was quite taken by me and you can see the glow in his eyes or maybe it was that the last time I did laundry was over a month ago.
I think we are both thinking the same thing here: “what are you doing on the road?”
The road improved a lot and the weather was perfect. This is what bikepacking is all about! No pushing or lifting or walking.
The north campground was empty, there were few signs stating that it was closed but it wasn’t. The campground also shuts down later in the summer due to grizzlies and I don’t think they would respect the 2m distance. Lots of water, sun and shade. It was one of the best campsites so far.
the trail was tough and slow going but through some very cool trees.
and I could finally see Chilko Lake and more of the big mountains to the south and west.
and so I leave you here with the big views from the Potato mountain. There are so many places to go but how many of these trails still remain? The backroad mapbook promises adventure or lots of two way trips.