The Last Mountains

Nigel in the snow

Crossing the Okanagan Connector highway from West Kelowna to Merritt was some of the toughest and coldest riding we have done on this trip.  The hill that rises up out of the warmth of the Okanagan Valley and carries you into the Cascade Mountains is long and arduous, and although we managed to stay on the bikes and not walk them, we stopped frequently to ease the burn in our legs and stretch out our backs.

Frosty tent 

As we neared Brenda Mines it began to snow.  It's actually quite nice to ride in a flurry, so long as the ground is clear, because snow fails to saturate you the way rain does.  It's also a beautiful sight.  But the unexpectedly challenging hill painfully slowed our progress, and meant that we wouldn't make it over the pass and back to lower elevation before sunset.  It was a very cold night.  Winter camping can be oodles of fun if you are prepared for it, but if you're not properly geared it is far from enjoyable.  We didn't bother with cooking dinner.  Instead, we huddled in our sleeping bags eating candy bars and trail mix and trying to warm our ice block toes.

Coldwater River

In the morning the tent was a sheet of ice.  I have never seen frost that thick before, except perhaps in the freezer of our old refrigerator when it had not been de-iced in months.

Fortunately the Coquihalla Highway proved to be a far simpler ride.  We followed Coldwater Rd to cut out the first portion of the highway: A massive ascent followed by a massive descent that brings you to the foot of the actual climb over the summit and therefore makes the uphill not worth the effort.  From there it was a good climb, but nothing compared to the Connector.

The descent on the Coquihalla

The descent into Hope was awesome.  Some 40 odd kms of downhill ranging from 8% grades to a gentle slope that's just enough to keep your bike rolling.  It's fast.

We were glad to get to the Lower Mainland and coastal BC.  The major mountain passes are now done with, and the threat of snow and freezing appendages if significantly reduced.  All that's left now is the Malahat, and a bit of uphill around the centre of Vancouver Island, and rain rain rain rain rain.  Hopefully the weather gods will smile on us and turn off the taps for a few days.

We've been in Victoria the last few days, recovering from the cold of the mountains and searching out coastal birds.  It's been an excellent break, but now it is time to continue... on to Tofino!