Day 11 North to Alaska
Sunday May 30th, 2010, Stewart BC to Burns Lake, BC 292 Miles
With no schedule to adhere to, Merritt and I got a late start leaving Stewart B.C. around 1000 hrs. By that time most of the other riders had left, letting the town settle back down to its relaxed and peaceful pre-Hyder Seek existence. Our ride plan was to cover somewhere between 300 to 500 miles per day, depending on what we wanted to stop and see or do. Plan “A” was to head to Vancouver B.C. board the ferry to Vancouver Island and proceed down the west coast to California and for me, San Diego.
My last meal in Stewart and the King Edward Hotel, Egg and Corned Beef Hash.
Merritt got this great shot of a Black Bear, the other two we saw ran off before we could get camera’s out.
Hwy 37 B.C.
Wood Bridge on Hwy 37 which can be slippery when wet.
Typical scenery along Hwy 37
Canada is Idle Free!
River scenes like this are a dime a dozen, running swiftly from the thaws and filled with Glacial silt.
The weather outlook ahead called for good weather but with major storms, wind and rain hitting the coastal area of Canada, Washington and Oregon moving in the following day. Its one thing when you are gong somewhere and have to go through a storm to get there. When your final destination is to be engulfed in a major weather system, that’ another thing. “I never plan to leave during a storm”, well there was one time…. If the weather continued to developed as forecast, Plan “B” was to head inland a few hundred miles and then divert back to the coast if weather improved.
Here is my front wind screen. I think British Columbia has more BPM (Bugs Per Mile) than just about any state I have been to. Here a helmet is a must!
The front of my bike. I lost count of the bugs after 12,345.
We retraced our route from Stewart to Kitwanga, our first fuel stop. The skies where blue with some clouds and the temperatures were in the low 70’s. Besides the scenery and stopping to take a few pics, the ride was uneventful until I had to pee. I stopped at a rest stop and saw a car full of Native Indians milling around there car. I inquired if I could help, as the alternator belt had slipped of its pulley.
The driver Billy (Sleeping Horse), said he wished he had some tools. Billy was an out right Native with chiseled features and you could have easily put his silhouette on the back of the Buffalo Nickel. I produced an adjustable wrench from my tool kit so he could loosen his pulley. With some yanking and pulling we got the belt close to being on. I had Billy crank over the engine and it pulled the belt back into the track. Billy was very thankful and shook my hand. I was hoping I had evoked some good medicine for the rest of my ride.
Sleeping Horse and his tribal friends who showed up after we fixed it. My good deed for the day. They thought I was a native American from Texas. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I was a “JapaGermankowa”
Before leaving, I tossed away some garbage I had accumulated and saw that the Canadian’s were not a kinder and gentler sort. I found a group of recently disposed of Kittens in the dumpster.
“Kitty Litter”. I kept a couple for hand warmers and to scrub my windshield but they started getting stinky.
Moving on and with assurance of good weather for the night, we stumbled onto a Municipal Campground in Burns Lake, B.C.. The price for the night was right…Free! After setting up camp, Merritt and I headed downtown for dinner. There is a a large population of Ethnic Chinese in Canada so good Chinese Food is a plenty.
Watching Merritt setting up his campsite. Burns Lake Campground is located on Canadian Hwy 16. Click here to read what kind of camping gear I use.
Burns Lake at 10:30 P.M. from our campground. The campground is fully stocked with free fire wood. Won’t see that in the States!
After dinner I made a fire which Merritt and I stared at, mesmerized, while talking about our ride and ride to come. As a substitute for Smores, I whipped out a candy bar and we satisfied my evening craving for a snack.The day light lasted until about 11:00 p.m., playing tricks on my body clock before we finally retired to our tents around midnight. Although it was about 39 degrees according to Merritt, I slept on top of my sleeping bag all night long in my shorts and t-shirt. Merritt assured me I was fast asleep because my sleep indicator (snoring) had kicked in after we said goodnight. I must have been tired, as it was one of those nights when you lay down and don’t remember anything else.
With Hyder Seek over, my main thoughts were about getting out of Canada and back to the U.S.. Canada is beautiful, it’s people are nice but reserved. In the cities the Canucks drive like maniacs and only the tourists seem to abide the speed laws. Other than Metrics, we are similar peoples separated by a common language and National Health Care.
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