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nomad adventures "bike, paddle and adventure - that´s what life is all about!" emma & scott

Fernie single track!

CANADA | Wednesday, 18 July 2007 | Views [1423] | Comments [14]

Hey yo all!

Time for a new update! Right now we are in Fernie, supposedly riding some single track... (see story further down for details). We still have a great trip in the blasting Canadian sun. It's hotter than hell!! Some hightlight stories will follow, again, in no particular order;

* Had a great day off in the Okanagan Valley. It was so good to just lay in the shade under a tree a read our books, eat cherries and just relax. Emma finished sowing the Swedish flag, so now we are once again flagging the blue and yellow off our BOB trailer. We get many coments and questions about it, and it even forces Scott to respond spontaneously to strangers who address him in Swedish :)

* A few days ago, wad a really epic day of 8 hours cycling time -- 14 hours total! Decided we would take a "short cut" over the mountains, instead of riding around them. So we arose at 5 am to try to beat some of the heat, but already it was pretty hot. Climbed over Gray's Creek pass, 1500 vertical meters over a distance of 22 km, with grades of up to 14% !! It was brutal! 40 degrees Celcious (110 F) and very little shade. The climbing time was 8 hours, with many rests along little creeks where we would plunge ourselves in the water to try to cool down, and 10 minutes later we would be all dry again! Many parts were so steep that we would have to get off our bikes and walk. But that's not much easier, pushing fully loaded bikes up loose gravel roads! Two thirds up we met a guy in his big truck, going downhill, who said "I would love to tell you that you are almost there, but you are not! Now comes the steepest part! It's too hot for this kind of stuff, you guys should turn back" That's not exactly what you wanna hear! But we made it! Scott says it's the hardest climb he has ever done, and he has done many hard climbes... Then we just had to bike another 95 km, both up and down hill! What made us keep going was the surprise that awaited at the goal...

* So the surprise was for Emma's 25th birthday the next day. A super super nice B&B in the ski resort town of Kimberly! And our first shower in two weeks! Boy did it feel good!! (well, we had washed in lakes and creeks along the way so we weren't totally stinking!) It was worth every painful pedal stroke at the end to get there. The next morning Emma woke up to a delicious pancake breakfast and a beautiful flower wreath that Scott had made (taking over the tradition from Emma's mom). We decided for a day off after our epic previous day. It was needed. The hosts were really nice so we got to borrow their porch and barbeque to make a great birthday dinner! (oh, and do some laundry :)

* To catch the days we were behind, we decided to cheat a little and took the Greyhound bus between Oliver and Christina Lake. We saved two days of riding. On the bus we met this really nice guy Jonathan, from Fernie, who invited us to come and camp in his back yard in Fernie and ride some single track on Fernie's famous trails! Right on! So five days later we showed up in Fernie. Jonathan and Melody are really nice and make us feel really welcome. They have a great backyard with lots of shade and with a view overlooking the Three Sisters (the famous mountain skyline of Fernie). Had a great barbeque last night, and another one is awaiting us tonight.

* Had a fabulous single track ride with them and their friends on the evening when we came in. It was getting a little cooler in the air, and the sun was setting behind the mountains turning the sky all pink. The trails were world class! Smooth and twisty and up and down, in and out between the trees. So awesome! The next day we set off on a full day of single track riding, just the two of us. Didn't get very far before Emma took a big digger in a super steep, loose gravel down hill. Flew over the handle bars with bike landing on top of her! Busted her knee and got quite a few big scratches. Luckily we could just roll down/limp off the hill (and saw a cool Moose on our way down), and when we got down to the road a nice girl stopped and took us to the hospital. Got an x-ray and luckily nothing was broken. Quite swollen and blue and red, but nothing serious. A few days off is good, said the doctor. It feels much better today, so hopefully we can ride north tomorrow.

* During a great section along the Kettle Valley Railway, we passed through a 1 km long tunnel that was pitch black and refreshingly cool.  Again, the temps that day were over 35 C (100 F) so it felt great. Headlamps were mandatory.

* We camped one night at a lake that was rec'd by Jonathan - it was famous among locals because it had great cliffs to jump off into the turquoise (and deep) water. It was a great little place, but it did require a B.O.B. portage to get up the steep hiking trail. Once there, we met some other locals that were camping out and one had brought fireworks and the other had brought a twirling baton with fire on the end, so we got treated to a free "fire" show (yeah, given the fire danger, I'm guessing the Ranger wouldn't have approved it ...)

* We took our first ferry, crossing over Kootenay Lake - an extremely long and skinny lake that runs north-south in BC.  The ferry was at 9.40 pm and we had a great sunset on the way over, enjoying the nice cool evening temps.  That night we camped alongside the ferry terminal on a little hidden sandy beach that we found through the woods.

* Next up: Canadian Rockies.  This is our most anticipated part of the trip. It includes the off-road Great Divide Route to Banff, then through Lake Louise, and the famous Icefield Parkway up to Jasper. We plan to stop for some hiking, swimming, and hopefully get our hands on some whitewater kayaks for some paddling. We will end this section in about 10 days in Prince George where we will catch the train out to the Coast at Prince Rupert (where we'll get the ferry to the Queen Charlotte Islands).

thanks for all the comments on the website, they are really fun to read ! Please keep them coming! Sorry we don't have time to respond to them all.

We're having trouble with pics, please enjoy the ones we did manage to get up under gallery "cycling bc 2"!

Take care and be safe, and we will try to do the same!

Emma and Scott

Tags: Adventures

 

Comments

1

Hej!!
Mycket spännande att läsa om era upplevelser! Ni verkar ju har det björnlugnt än så länge, vi får hoppas att det håller i sig! Apropå vädret så ska man ju aldrig klaga på värmen heter det ju.. ;-) Här hemma växlar det mellan strålande sol och störtskurar, helt omöjligt att ta sig i väg på inlines...

För övrigt så mår dina små älsklingar bra Emma, har inte tagit död på någon än och doftrankan står i full blom!!!

Fortsatt trevlig resa!
Kramar Anna och P-A

  Anna Jul 19, 2007 2:44 PM

2

Oh my gosh emma, what a way to get two days off of biking! I hope you are okay, it sounded very scarey to me and to your mom too I am sure. I am wondering if you are back on the trail? The updates you are both doing are fabulous and I love doing my armchair traveling. BE CAREFUL both of you and keep singing to keep the bears away..........love me

  acole Jul 19, 2007 11:43 PM

3

Doctor says a few days off will be good...hopefully we'll ride north tomorrow. Yeah, all right! That sounds about right. Will have to let us know how the Canadian ER compared to Michael Moore's "Sicko"

Enjoying the reports and the ride sounds like an amzing adventure. Keep it coming and keep the rubber side down! :-)

JenS Shultis

  JenShu Jul 20, 2007 1:33 AM

4

Glad you found some places to stay in that area of BC. I keep thinking back to when I was biking through there and I am definitely jealous of you guys! I shouldn've gone the off-road route. Sounds like you are having some great adventures. Don't forget to ice your knee and think about getting a tensor bandage to help with the swelling, Emma!

  Jill Calkin Jul 20, 2007 2:15 AM

5

Wow, the adventure continues! Poor Emma - that sounds painful. :( Sounds like you have met some cool people along the way, and that the scenery is beautiful. From the map, it looks like you are close to Glacier and I know that area is just incredible. Stay safe! Love, Kelly

  Kelly Jul 20, 2007 3:12 AM

6

I'm enjoying the updates from Seattle and hope emma's knee is OK. We (DART) just got back from Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlottes for RTNX...totally awesome and you guys are going to love them. Stop by the Haida Heritage center in Skidegate and let them know you heard of them from Raid the North...that will probably make them happy! Ride safe.
Ryan VG

  Ryan VG Jul 20, 2007 3:16 AM

7

Hey there - I'm a friend of friend. I work with Scott Weiler, who you guys know.
I live in Canmore, and although I won't be in town when you guys pass through (working in Regina, Saskatchewan), I'd like to make some suggestions.
Banff is where the world famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is located. Within the hotel, is the equally famous Willow Stream Spa. The treatments (massage, etc.) are expensive, but you can buy access to the pools and hot tubs for about $60 CDN. The European mineral pool experience is worth the price of admission alone. There are also saunas and steam rooms with aromatherapy. Well worth spoiling your hard working muscles for a few hours.
Also, a great place to eat in Banff is the Coyote Grill - awesome breakfast (mmm...stuffed French toast) and awesome tex-mex lunch and dinner.
Have a great trip! I also recommend you ride along highway 1A from Banff to Lake Louise - it's much quieter than Highway 1, and the speed limit is slower for cars (60 kph vs. 90 kph). And, you'll love the Icefields Parkway - it's epic!

  Jouni Jul 20, 2007 5:30 AM

8

Congratulations Emma!! Sounds like you´re celebrating in the best of all ways!!

Back in Sthlm it´s really a break just reading bout your adventures!! Heading north today, hoping to see some nature, dos some kayaking and some wakeboarding. That´s pretty much it for this summer, hearing bout you guys is really inspiring and hopefully, some day, somebody else would get out on some adventures!

Grown up with stories and, i think, Lake louise, involving alot of black bears. hope you get to see some, at a safe distance.

take care, hoping the bruising heel well adn the adventure keep on going!!

love Mark

  Mark Jul 20, 2007 5:03 PM

9

Ah... Only Scotty would say "A few days off is good, said the doctor. It feels much better today, so hopefully we can ride north tomorrow."
Nothing like some quality Scott Cole rest to get you going :-)

  Grant Jul 21, 2007 2:00 AM

10

Hej på er! Va kul de är å läsa om er resa, det låter verkligen tufft....på alla bokstavliga vis. Det är första gången jag skriver, men jag har läst om hela er resa. Hoppas på att få veta mer om vad som händer i liver för er även före och efter cyklingen.
Hade ju tänkt ni kunde få kolla ut ett shysst hus åt mig i Fernie för vintern, men ni har väl redan trampat vidare antar jag ;-) Ha de bäst i vart fall! KramKram

  Anna Karlström Jul 24, 2007 6:11 AM

11

Happy Birthday, Emma! You and Scott are amazing people!

  Carole Burnett Jul 29, 2007 10:18 PM

12

Happy birthday Emma! Lovely to read about your adventures! When you come back to Sweden, bring some warm air, because here it's cold... The water is far below 20... normally we have over 20 degrees in the lake, but this year it's freezing cold... See you!

  Mattias Nyström Jul 31, 2007 10:01 PM

13

Hey there! Haven't heard from you guys in a while. Hope everything is going well. Any chance we could get you guys to take the ferry down to Seattle at the end of your trip? I know it's a change of plans but would give us the chance to all hang in the new house on Vashon which would be fun. Let us know!

  Kelly Aug 1, 2007 3:18 AM

14

Kul att läsa om er och era eskapader (nytt ord för dig Scott?) blir faktiskt riktigt avundsjuk... Snart, snart om "bara" 6 veckor kan jag börja röra mig utan kryckor.
Fram till nästa inlägg:
Må lyckan stå er bi!

  Henrik J Aug 2, 2007 3:44 AM

 

 

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