I am lying on my back looking up at the stars and watching shredded muslin clouds unfurl across the sky. I wonder, a little, at the wisdom of my plan to sleep on a beach without a tent on Vancouver Island – sleeping on the beach in Croatia is one thing and in British Columbia [...]
Also tagged canada, pacific oceanThe fourteen hour ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy passes uneventfully enough. There are occasional whale sightings pointed out by the ship’s watch; humpbacks puff water vapour, a distant pod of orca put on an acrobatic display, a pair of porpoises swim alongside the boat – but I spend most of the time [...]
Also tagged camping, canada, first nation, pacific oceanEventually, I drag myself away from the revitalising waters of the springs and go back to my bike which I have left hidden in the bushes on the roadway.
I have been tarrying the last few days, in Stewart and here in the Nisga’a valley, and I feel the need, now, to cover some miles. I [...]
I continue on my way down the valley crossing a deep fast flowing bright green river.
As the shadows lengthen, a sign indicating the Dragonfly Provincial Campground opportunely appears and I find myself on the shore of a narrow lake. Low mountains lie opposite, higher snow-covered mountains to one end of the lake and open sky [...]
Before I leave Kinaskan Lake, I ask the fisherman camped at the next site for some line. I bought a couple of lures in Dease Lake inspired by my tantalising near success at Cottonwood River, which was a fishing experience inspiring and frustrating in equal measure. I want to repeat my the attempt to catch [...]
Also tagged berries, camping, canada, cassiar highway, fish, on the highway, wildfoodRestored by my pancake breakfast, I cycle another 20 kilometres or so and quickly come to the Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park. The last few camps have been hurried, rain-soaked affairs and I want to spread out and get my gear in order, so I pull in.
It is early in the day and I have my [...]
Finally I get on the road and see the boy that dropped by my camp last night and we agree to ride together for a while. He is good company, happy to stop and explore, to pick berries. We talk all day about our trips, the people we have met, adventures and the road. Our [...]
Also tagged berries, camping, canada, cassiar highway, mountains, people, rain, wildfoodI wake at my mosquito ridden wild campsite just past the Junction 37 turn off. Breakfast is porridge sameness. I pack and get on my way by 9AM.
I am very pleased to finally be off the Alaska-Canada Highway. The Cassiar Highway, more commonly referred to as Highway 37, is narrow, without a shoulder, but the [...]
I start to dream of Whitehorse long before I get there. Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon Territory – the territory has a population of around 32,000 and 26,000 of those people live in Whitehorse. It is my first break since Anchorage and my real introduction to Canada.
I arrive on a day that marks [...]
Finding somewhere to sleep as an itinerant on a bicycle is the biggest daily challenge. I have had some fantastic experiences with spontaneous hospitality offered by people that I meet on my way but, in general, I spend most of my time camping. The quality of my campsite makes a big difference to how agreeable [...]
Also tagged camping