Day 14 ? Welcome to British Columbia ? 109.56 km
I have learned that dinner meals work equally fine for breakfast as well as lunch. Today for breakfast I made myself mashed potatoes, lightly seasoned with chicken something, along with my favorite combine with everything food, bread. What can I say, I would love to make eggs with sausage and bacon, but that?s kind of hard to carry around, and every bear within a 100 km radius would probably sniff me out!
After breakfast I covered a distance of roughly 80 kilometers before I hit the junction of highways 1 and 37. Before that spot, there was absolutely nothing. I spent a few hours here in order to eat, update all my loyal readers, send a few messages to people, as well as upload some new pictures.
I tell you, there is an absolutely amazing café at this junction. I received a beast of a burger with cheese, bacon, mushrooms, mustard, relish, mayonnaise and who knows what else. I mean, it was seriously twice as tall as it was wide! That was followed up by the largest cinnamon bun I have ever seen in my life, which was equally delicious. There is a picture of it included in my photos with my business card next to it for size reference purposes.
I am currently next to highway 37 in British Columbia, more commonly known as the Cassiar, roughly 30 kilometers past that junction. I should note that as I turned onto this road there was a sign which said ?Check Your Gas ? Next Gas 254 km?. In other words, there?s not going to be much on this road for awhile
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As for my first impressions of the Cassiar, well, you know those creepy roads in horror movies that people turn onto while everyone in the audience yells ?No!?? Well, it actually reminds me a lot of that. Additionally, it?s quite the rollercoaster ride. The downs are quite fun, but the ups are another story since you have to climb them manually.
Unfortunately the last kilometers of the day involved me getting rained on. It didn?t look like it was going to stop anytime soon and it was getting dark, so I ended up setting my tent up in the rain for the first time of the trip. Definitely not a fun task as you have to essentially set up your tent in reverse. As luck would have it, it stopped to rain about 20 minutes later and it hasn?t rained a drop since. That?s Murphy?s Law for you!
These next 700 kilometers or so of road should be the most desolate, challenging, and dangerous with respect to wildlife that I should encounter on my whole trip. Wish me luck, and don?t be surprised if updates don?t come daily, there?s not much out here!
Day 15 ? Rough Day With A Relaxing End ? 141.20 km
I will admit that today was a really rough day, and it wasn?t because I covered more mileage than I usually do. The first 80 kilometers of the day, which took me from 10:30AM till 5:30 PM were simply excruciatingly painful. I would have thought that heading south I can worry less about headwinds. But oh my dear readers, how wrong I was! Today I battled some of the fiercest headwinds that I have ever experienced. I would explain in more detail, but the mere reflection of them makes me cringe.
The next 60 kilometers took me a mere two and a half hours. The winds had mostly died down and the road was either flat or downhill with very few climbs. I saw an advertisement for a campground that would have ended my day at kilometer 127, however they were unfortunately sold and closed. I continued on fourteen more kilometers to another campground, where I am right now. Along the way I also saw a fox as well as a moose, both didn?t seem to mind my presence the slightest bit.
When I initially asked for a cabin at this site, they told me one could be had for $45. I told them that my poor college student pockets couldn?t afford such a hefty fee, and thus took a campsite instead for $15. Of course, me being so charming and likable, after some sweet talking I managed to eventually get a cabin for a mere $25. Inside my cabin can be found a table, two chairs, a kitchenette, a light, and two beds. Most importantly, it?s warm! I made myself another gourmet meal of some instant food from a packet along with some bread of course. I tell you, those instant foods taste really good when you mix some of them together. What more could I ask for? I have to give myself a pat on the back for being able to organize this one!