The day started very early as some evil minded clown opened up his very high power car stereo at 4am to get everyone going. It made me realize my sleeping mat was not fully inflated and my hip was resting on a lump in the grass. Too lazy to do anything about it, I made do until we got up a couple of hours later. We ate a very good breakfast of bacon and tomato sandwiches made with fried bread using the bacon fat. Mmmmmm.
On the road just after 7:15 am in a brilliant morning, the sun being low kept us in shade for most of the first couple of hours of this nicely graded climb. We stopped to refuel and hydrate every 40 minutes or so, and though the total time to the top was about three and a half hours it was not as painful as we had been warned. The views over the valley were impressive, the traffic quite light and the shoulder wide. What more could we want…. A downhill of course and it came after 31km. Most of the rest of the ride down into Rock Creek required minimum effort, and we positioned ourselves in the middle of the road at over 60kph for almost 20 km.
We spent a long time getting an excellent burger and fries in the Rock Creek Café, but the service was sooooooo slow, I think some of the pensioners in there had just left school when they went in and had spent their whole life waiting for a cup of coffee. Of course I exaggerate.
A somewhat larger guy than I came into the café, removed his helmet and took out ear defender plugs. Guess what sort of motor cycle the thoughtless individual rode? There are lots and lots of these un-muffled machines around and they tend to ride in packs. (Clue:You can hear them coming for ages, then as they pass the noise is like being in close proximity to repeated shot gun blasts.)
The next 20km follows the Kettle River valley on a newly surfaced road, and for the first time in BC we had a head wind. It served to keep us cooled as by now it over 36C in the shade, and we had none of that. We opted to stay at the Mile Zero Motel which was another one of Marge’s brilliant decisions. The couple that run it are very helpful and accommodating, if you don’t mind the double entendre. An excellent place to stay and highly recommended if you are in the area.
Showers taken, laundry done, we polished off a 2 liter bottle of A&W Root beer and went comatose for an hour and a half. Coming round slowly we forced ourselves into the heat and bought supper: steak for the BBQ, potatoes, mushrooms and peas with a six pack of KB Black Bear Ale.
So that’s all the news that’s fit to print for today. It will be relatively easy for the next two days till we get to Salmo. Night Night.
Margie’s observations: Mostly centered on wild life, bird song and a couple of exquisite deer which were too quick to be photographed.
Pictures
17.5kph average
Distance: 69km
Total Distance: 2670km
Alt change: 1000m
Total Alt change: 17149m
Speeding again!!!
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