Hope to Manning Park

Distance: 76.48 km, Total ascent: 1,746 m, Time: 05:56, Trip distance: 482.32 km

Ever since I started planning my route, I knew this day would be one of the hardest. The first day in the mountains. The previous day's 150 km was tough, because it was a long day, but not because the cycling was hard.




Looking at this elevation profile it was pretty obvious that the cycling was going to be very hard. The day started at a touch above sea-level and went along Allison's Pass, which summits at 1,342 m.

Here's an account of the day's events (more photos):

The first climb went up to about 745 m and I quickly realized that my bike's gearing was slightly too high; meaning I really had to stomp on the pedals to get the bike to the top. My legs were quite weary at this point, and I still had another 700-odd metres to climb. I believe an "eish" is in order. The picture above is the site of a massive landslide that killed six people in 1965. The slide, triggered by two earthquakes, completely covered an entire lake and shot up 60 m into the air at the other side of the valley. Awesome forces at play.

Just when the final ascent started I came across this guy. I passed with extreme caution. Luckily there were some other people around and bears (apparently) rarely attack groups of four or more. This was a black bear, which is a bit smaller than grisly bears. He was hardly small though. He would easily fit me in though, and have room left for seconds.

Looking back on the final climb. I don't think I'll forget this day any time soon.

I felt an immense sense of achievement. I was nearly overcome with joy.

I did not manage to get a spot in the reservation-only Lightning Lake camp site, so I tried my luck at the first-come-first-serve Coldspring site. I got lucky and I was greeted by this deer as I was about to set up my tent. This made all the hard work feel worth-it.

Yet another hideous campground. The facilities are on a different level in comparison to what I'm used to back home.

I did manage to get a reservation (at Lightning Lake) for the following night, so I moved camp to the new spot about 8 km down the road. On my way over I stopped at the restaurant at the Manning Park Lodge, where loads of these ground-squirrels hung out. Very cute. Just wish the people wouldn't feed them. I guess it is not as bad as feeding larger wild animals. But still...

The view of Lightning lake; mere metres from my tent. My -12 C sleeping bag came in handy during the night. Can't believe that the peaks are still covered in snow mid-summer.

It also happened to be July 1st, which is Canada Day. The equivalent of the Independence day in the US. Huge celebrations were going on all around the camping site, but I was passed out in my tent. Passed out, but happy.

The gist: Getting over the summit at Allison's Pass was one of the hardest bits of cycling I've ever done. It was hard, but the rewards were great too! I'll try to get a smaller gear at my next stops, to hopefully make the hills more bearable. That said, most of the remaining days will have far less climbing, so this day was a bit of a deviation from the norm.

Vancouver to Hope

Distance: 152.69 km, Total ascent: 1,076 m, Time: 07:57, Trip distance: 405.84 km

After two weeks of working in Vancouver I finally resumed my trip. As I need to be in Calgary in less than two weeks, I had to make up some time. I decided I'll try to get to the town of  Hope, some 150 km east of Vancouver.

Here's the photos (more):

My time in Vancouver was quite dull. The work kept me busy and I've seen most of the sights on previous visits, so I kept a low profile. I did meet quite a few interesting travellers in the backpacker's. One of which was Japanese Nishihara. He is doing a 3-4 month sea kayaking trip up the west coast. We chatted a lot and I learned much about the far-eastern cultures. A very interesting guy.

I sat off at 7am, which was just early enough to miss rush-hour traffic. Not that it would've made a big difference, since Vancouver is such a bicycle friendly city. I managed to get well beyond the down town area using designated bike routes. This is BC Place, where Canada won the gold in hockey at the winter Olympics. Good memories.

The first half of the day went by at a descent pace. The scenery wasn't too spectacular as most of the route went through the outer suburbs and the surrounding towns. The photo above is pretty much what the scenery of the latter part of the day looked like. Farmlands, with the mountains in the background.

I like the look of these barns. Felt like a twister was going to come through at any minute. Speaking of which; the wind was at my back for the most part of the day, and I managed to clock several speedy kilometres. Shhhwooosh...

I made it to Hope at 5:30-ish. My estimates was around 8, so I was very pleased with my time. It was still a long day of cycling, but I think I got the hydration and nourishment just right. Naturally the wind and the fresh legs also helped a lot.

The name "Hope" allegedly comes from the early settlers whom marked this as the spot where one "abandons all hope". Not too sure if that's true, but it is the last town before the mountains start, so I wouldn't be too surprised. This nice little town on the banks of the massive Fraser river lays claim to be "the carving capital of the world". With all the carvings dotted around the centre, that might just be true too. I camped in the middle of town at the natively owned Telte-Yet camp site, right next to the river. The perfect spot to end a long day on the road.

La Pause

I have to put the tour on hold for a while. Some urgent work came in and I have to get it done while I'm here in Vancouver. Not ideal, but hey, what can you do? As a freelancer, it comes with the territory. The legs are getting some good rest and I'm earning a bit extra, so there is a big fat silver lining. Hopefully I'll be able to get going again over the weekend or early next week.

The backpacker's isn't too bad either. Free filter coffee and wifi. That's pretty much all the tools I need to do my work.

Port Alberni to Vancouver

Distance: 116.2 km, Total ascent: 1,582 m, Time: 07:28, Trip distance: 253.15 km

It was a very tough day today. I underestimated the distance and total ascent somewhat. My navigation skills also withered as the day progressed, and I saw beautiful suburbs in Nanaimo and Vancouver I didn't exactly plan on seeing. The prettier they were, the more hilly it seemed.

The scenery was still spectacular though, and catching the ferry over to Vancouver added a little extra spice to the day. Here are some of the day's photo's (and some more here).



The day started with a bang! A total ascent of 600 m over 15 km. It hurt quite a bit, but luckily the rest of the day should be flat right? The views helped to ease the pain though.




Especially if you are rewarded with a winding (downhill) road through a forest filled with massive spruce trees, and thereafter...

A lake such as this (Cameron lake).

The rest of my trip on the island flowed through some farmlands and suburbs. I saw the white-picket-fence-life in action.

I left the island by ferry from the aptly named Departure Bay in Nanaimo. The trip took about 2 hours, which allowed for some rest on the comfy seats in the passenger's lounge. Some nice views from up there too.

After cycling on the picturesque Marine Drive on the north Vancouver shore, I reached Lion's Gate Bridge, which runs into Stanley Park.

Also cycled passed an inukshuk on the shores of the English Bay on my way to the HI backpacker's in down town.

The gist: I gave myself a little pat on the back after a hard day's riding. The legs were hurting quite a bit. The surroundings were, as the two days before, pure magic. Going by bike is definitely the way to take it all in.

Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park to Port Alberni

Distance: 56.55 km, Total ascent: 853 m, Time: 03:24, Trip distance: 136.95 km

I awoke to a beautiful sunny day, being very grateful that there were no bear encounters during the night. I packed all my stuff and headed out towards Port Alberni. Got some great photo's along the way too. (More)

Idyllic. It's mid-summer and there's still snow on the mountains.

Sproat lake, just outside Port Alberni.

Sproat lake is also home to a pair of the world's largest operational water bombers. The Martin JRM-3 Mars is capable of carrying 22,700 litres of water. Insane. The only larger flying boat was the Spruce Goose (the one in the film The Aviator) and it only flew once.

This is the view when entering Port Alberni. The rest of the town wasn't too impressive. From what I could tell, it is mainly a logging port. It looks like the recession hit this place hard.

I stayed in the Fat Salmon Backpackers. A classical backpacker's in the sense that it's quite personal. You get to have a beer with the owner and some of the other travellers. Some of the HI-Hostels tend to be a bit impersonal.

So the gist: As the inclines were more gradual and there was only one really big hill to get over, it was a much easier day than yesterday. I probably could've made it if I kept on cycling yesterday. I'll try to make it to Vancouver tomorrow, otherwise I'll stay on the island in Nanaimo.

Tofino to Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park

Distance: 80.4 km, Total ascent: 886 m, Time: 05:01, Trip distance: 80.4 km

After 6 months of planning, the journey finally started. The plan is to start cycling from the east-coast of Vancouver Island, over the Rocky Mountains to Calgary, in time for the Stampede. Here are some photo's and a brief account of the first day's events. (More photo's here)

Ready to leave the backpacker's bright and early.

The first 30 km was very easy and quite flat, but that is all about to change as the mountains nears.

This is the point where I ran into Shaun, a Brit whom cycled from Port Alberni to Tofino as a warm-up precursor to his cycling trip across Canada. Crazy. He told me that he scared a black bear out of a ditch by the side of the road a half-a-mile back. I luckily never saw that bear, but...

After a few tough uphills I approached a line of cars with loads of people taking pictures of a seemingly interesting tree. Turns out to be a black bear cub up in the tree. I took a few photos and was off again. I wasn't too keen on being around when mom arrives.

Some incredible scenery. The photo doesn't do it justice.

After 80 km and a total ascent of approximately 800 m my legs were shot. Having a 25 kg monkey on your back will really take it out of you. So I started venturing down side-roads in search of a camping spot for the night. I found a slightly overgrown Jeep-track road, with a side branch that led down to this spot at the foothills of the Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park. How perfect is that!? Some 200 m from the road and right next to the river. Couldn't have asked for a better spot.

Pitched the tent below this massive spruce tree. I must say that I felt out of sorts camping alone on the forest with all the bear stories going around. I did hear a few funny things during the night, but I guess your mind will play tricks on you in these sorts of situations.

Looking back it was a pretty hard day. The final 50 km on Highway 4 was quite tough. I had to swallow my pride a few times and push my bike up the hills. It also seemed as if the most dangerous sections of the road, were the ones without a shoulder. The road was quite busy and I had to stop several times to let cars, RV's and trucks pass. Everything turned out fine though and Canadian drivers are extremely well mannered and aware of safety. Some touring cyclists opt to take the ferry from Ucluelet (just south of Tofino) to Port Alberni, but then you miss out on this spectacular scenery. Pulling off, to let an RV past every once in a while, is a small price to pay.

Sea kayaking at Tofino

Another great day. I went on sea kayaking tour around the local islands. It was a really laid-back trip. We rowed for about 10 km and hiked on a board-walk trail for another 1 km or so, spending roughly 4 hours out there. Doing a trip such as this, you realize that there's still quite a few places in Canada where things are very raw and wild. The natural beauty is truly breathtaking.

Now for a few some snaps. There's more here.

Reaching the point of departure

After a couple of hectic days of shopping and packing I left for Tofino, British Columbia.

I caught a flight from Edmonton to Nanaimo, via Vancouver.

Quite a load.

Arriving in Nanaimo.

A view of the harbour, which is right in down town in Nanaimo. The Coastal Mountains in the background.

Waiting on busses.

Finally arriving at the backpacker's in Tofino.

Very nice hostel with a very cosy feel.

The view from Tofino's harbour, which is pretty much the same view from the backpacker's. The mountains are hiding in the clouds on this rainy day.

One of the nearby islands.

An aerial view of Tofino. Mountain, sea, sky. Heaven.

Tomorrow, I plan on going Kayaking around the islands and I should start cycling on Friday. It's a tour after all. Not a race.