British Columbia I

On Monday August 14^th I located the Cassiar Highway and rode out of the Yukon and into British Columbia. This route provided some awesome scenery through Glacier covered mountains and rain forest. It was a full days ride with the weather along the way forever changing – heavy rain – sunshine – heavy rain – sunshine.. There were two thirty KM sections of unsealed road both of which were in the heavy rain weather pattern. This section was basically mud – It was fun to ride this stuff but did I have one filthy bike at the end of the day.

I rode to the coastal town of Stewart and located the camping area to settle in for the night. Three other bikers had set-up in the same area – I walked over for a visit and met Stephen and Bruno from Switzerland they had shipped their bikes to LA and have been touring the west coast of Canada and the US. A third rider from Calgary Al had met them a few days ago and the three were now riding together. They told me about seeing Grizzly's feeding on the salmon which were heading up river to spawn. They were to return to the same site at 6 AM the following morning. I was invited to join them.

We left the camp site a 6 AM and crossed into Hyder, Alaska. At 10 minute ride took us to observation deck. Which was constructed on the banks of a small river. Here I witnessed on of a most amazing natural activities.. Salmon were heading up river to spawn. This section of river was at it's end – The salmon could not proceed any further beyond this point. Here the female salmon would turn on their side and frantically whip the river bottom with their tail in order to create a cavity to lay their eggs. The male salmon would battle each other for the rights to provide the sperm to fertilize the eggs. While all of this was happening grizzly, bald eagles and sea gulls were having a feast. All of this was transpiring within 10 metres of where I was standing. I observed a grizzly catching a salmon – hold it in his mouth and headed for the river bank – the salmon was fighting to escape - on the river bank the salmon was dropped – the bear placed it's left front paw and with it's teeth tore a section from the side of the salmon – the bear lifted it's paw and the salmon escaped into the river to complete it mission before it would die. It was simply amazing to witness such an activity. Once these large mature salmon completed the spawning process they would die.

We left this area and went for breakfast. Over coffee,toast and eggs we decided we should ride to Salmon Glacier. We'd follow a dirt road through the mountains along edge of cliffs which dropped 100 or more metre to the bottom below. The early morning sun was bright and high in the sky thus providing for some amazing colours and views. We made a number of stops along the way to admire the view before we reached the base of the glacier. The ride was rather bumpy but most enjoyable. We arrived at an abandon copper mine. A helicopter was parked off to the side. We rode over to chat with the pilot. Al assumed he must be in the tour business and asked if we could get a ride. The pilot explained that he was with a mining exploration group and was not in the tour business. However if we wanted a short ride up to glacier he'd take us.

What a blast this turned out to be. The control this man had over this machine was remarkable. The ride was as smooth a silk which made it all the more thrilling. We slowly made our way up the glacier and hovered at the top near the mountain face. He took us over to a different section where we observed the large crevasses in the glacier. He then banked the aircraft hard to port side and leveled out at 10 metres above the glacier and raced over the top of the snow to the bottom. What a rush!!! This is the next best thing to skiing.

What a day we're having – we seen see grizzles feeding on salmon – we rode along edge of cliffs to a remote glaciers – we've rode in a helicopter to the top of a glacier and it's not noon yet.

My ride south over the next couple of days was somewhat uneventful. The temperature was noticeable increasing and so was the traffic. The day light hours was substantially shorter - I had rode out of the mountains so the scenery was not as spectacular – I am missing the North already.

Riding towards the community of Williams Lake a vehicle with New Brunswick license plates overtook me – all of the occupants waved as they went by. Later that evening I stopped at the grocery store, while there an individual approached me. He had noticed my parked bike and the riding jacket I was carrying. He was the operator of the N.B. Vehicle. As it turned out he was an RCMP constable who had recently transferred from Woodstock, N.B. to this region. He also is the brother of a good friend and once co-worker. How cool is that!!!

I camped in Williams Lake a very clean and picturesque community - the home town of Rick Hanson / Man in Motion. The following morning I chatted with the park attendant. He recommended I ride to Bella Coola. I was unaware of this community. But with a name like that it's gotta be special. It was a 5 ½ hour ride west of Williams Lake through a region known as the Cariboo Chilcoton Valley. The road crossed the mighty Fraser River where the landscape changer completely. I had entered the Chilcoton Plateau. Grasslands covered part of this region known as the Becher Prairie characterized by sagebrush, grasses and prickly pear cactus.. These grasslands are in the shadow of the coastal mountains which causes their summers to be hot and dry.

Approximately 100 KM of this route is unsealed but in relatively good condition. The true high lite of this ride was what the locals refer to as “the hill”. The hill is actually Hickmans Pass – a 16 KM ride down the mountain along narrow single lanes of switch backs cut along the edge of the cliff with grades in excess of 18%. The road surface although dirt was in excellent condition. It is by far the most exciting hill ride I've completed to date.

My two day stay in Bella Coola and the adjacent community of Hagenborg (founded by Norwegians in the late 1800's) was most enjoyable. I managed to complete some hiking trails, sit at the river's edge and once again watch the salmon proceed through the spawning cycle and then die - “Spawn til you Die” Truly Amazing.

I camped for two night in a very picturesque park at the forest edge. On Friday evening August 18^th a fellow camper came by to tell me he had just seen a bear passed through the area next to his site. He had talked to the camp owner Carl about the sighting. Carl then requested him to stop by my site (because I was the only other person in a tent) to let tell me what had transpired and ensure my food was properly stored.

My approach to this whole bear thing is this.. Ensure that the camping area's are clean. Properly store you food and an number of other precautions - etc... When one considers the number of people killed by bears in North America over the past 25 years and compares that statistic to the number kill in motorcycle accidents..I consider the odds to be in my favor in my tent even in bear country.

I returned to Williams Lake on Saturday August 19 and remained in this community until Monday. Sunday was a easy day. I went to Canadian Tire (only place in town open on Sunday) to change the oil in the bike and later sat around a very pretty downtown park and worked on the blog / off line...The following morning I rode to the ski resort area of Sun Peaks. This is one of the few of the larger ski resorts in Canada which I have not skied but it's on my to do list. I booked a room in the local hostel and went out for a few cool ones and dinner.

This roof comes with a lawn mower and life time warranty – some leakage my be expected.

At this location I had experienced a change in the weather. The rain had recently stopped and the sun broke through rain clouds to provide an spectacular setting – Mother Nature the Artist

More of Mother Nature the Artist.

We rode along a dirt road some of which was cut from the cliffs edge to Salmon Glacier – The scenery along the way was amazing.

The back drop is Salmon Glacier – Al from Calgary, Bruno & Stephen from Switzerland and Jimbo

Bruno and Stephan display a little excitement about our pending ride in this machine.

We're back on solid ground – What an amazing ride we've had – we offered the pilot $80.00 but he wouldn't accept it – He was content with knowing that he had given us something very special.

In Smithers I followed the signage down a dirt road to Twin Falls.. Some 10 KM of canopy cover trees – I am loving this off road stuff – The view at Twin Falls was equally pretty.

The fishing fleet in Bella Coola Harbour – The sea, boats and mountains are but some of my favorites comfort ingredients.

My Pad in Bella Coola Valley.

A taste of the road through Hitckman Pass in to Bella Coola Valley.

This photo location is at the top of Hitckman Pass – The clearing through the trees is the part of the road through the mountain. It is a 16 KM ride to the bottom - It is referred too as “The Hill” by local residents but to this outsider it's definitely a mountain.

The Chilcoton Plateau - Grasslands covered part of this region known as the Becher Prairie characterized by sagebrush, grasses and prickly pear cactus.. These grasslands are in the shadow of the coastal mountains which causes their summers to be hot and dry.

Grizzly's feeding on salmon in Hyder, Alaska – It was difficult to get good photo's in the early morning light.