On my last day in Stewart, British Columbia, I went out on a boat to the Pacific Ocean with Shawn, who was kind enough to host me for 4 nights. The Portland canal was a beautiful spot for fishing, but today we were just pulling in all of his prawn and crab traps. While out there we got to see a black bear on the shoreline and enjoyed the beautiful weather, a treat in a place that I was told rained a lot. We returned with quite the feast of huge prawns and delicious Dungeness crabs.
I had planned to hitchhike back to the Cassiar Highway to avoid cycling the same road twice, but fortunately Shawn’s friend who came on the boat just happened to be driving up there anyway to his family’s cabin. I loaded my bike into his truck and we got on our way. He was then kind enough to invite me to the cabin, saying I could camp out the front and join them for beers and food. On the way we passed a grizzly bear grazing by the side of the road, I felt incredibly fortunate to be able to watch it up close from the safety of his truck instead of having to scare it away like usual. It was a really great night, and felt good to feel like I was part of a family after such a long time away from mine. It was a feeling I didn’t even realise I was missing until just then.
The next day I got back on the bike to begin making my way to the lava fields. It was a crazy day as I saw 7 bears in total including 2 black bear cubs and a rare Kermode bear! Today’s riding took me off the tarmac and down gravel roads through the Nass Valley, it always feels good getting off-road after thousands of miles of smooth asphalt. I finished the day at dragon lake where I was the only camper. It seems the “bear in area” sign scared everyone else off.
The next day I made it to the lava beds. The lichen covered fields of dried lava created a landscape which felt like it belonged to another planet. I soon after stopped by Vetter falls for lunch. I raced the rest of the way to Terrace, eager to get to my Warmshowers hosts and get myself a bed for the first time in 3 weeks. My only stop was for a black bear who stared me down for a while before disappearing into the wilderness. Upon arriving at my Warmshowers host’s they had an amazing dinner of local sockeye salmon with vegetables from their garden. It’s amazing how generous and welcoming everyone on Warmshowers seems to be.
This left me with 2 days of riding to get to Prince Rupert, the scenery was beautiful and the road was smooth. On the second day I was awoken by a hungry fox looking for my beef jerkey and I made it to Prince Rupert just in time to watch the sun set.
Check out the full story here: https://youtu.be/3G3DJQnwhoo?si=IZt-A7aJ5Hh3usIf
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by DanCyclestheWorld