Day 38 – 51: Phase 1 complete!

We start off this segment (still) making our way down the remote Stewart-Cassier Highway with rich history in resource extraction – mining & timber – actually that’s the reason the highway exists. We deviated from the direct route by taking a side trip to the neighboring towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, Alaska – one literally walks across the street into the other town. There is no US Customs & Border patrol at Hyder but you must have your passport to get back into Canada! Eventually we completed all 727 km of the Cassiar Highway and turned westward on the Yellowhead Highway toward the coastal town of Prince Rupert where we will catch a ferry to the northern end of Vancouver Island.

June 26 – July 9, 2024

• Day 38 – Dease Lake to Morchuea Lake – 40 miles/2700’ climbing
• Day 39 – to Kinaskan Lake – 38 miles/2000’
• Day 40 – to Bell 2 Lodge – 72.5 miles/3550’ 
• Day 41 – to Meziadan Lake – 59 miles/3038’
• Day 42 – to Stewart, BC/Hyder, Alaska – 40 miles/1450’
• Day 43 – rest day in Stewart/Hyder – CANADA DAY!!
• Day 44 – Stewart to Meziadan Lake – 40 miles/2400′
• Day 45 – Meziadan Lake to Bonus Lake – 46 miles/1800′
• Day 46 – Bonus Lake to Kitwanga – 50 miles/1600′
• Day 47 – Kitwanga to Kleanza Creek – 51 miles/1400’
• Day 48 – Kleanza Creek to Terrace – 16 miles/310’
• Day 49 – Terrace to Kasiks – 39 miles/900’ 
• Day 50 – Kasiks to Prudhomme Lake – 41 miles/700’
• Day 51 – Prudhomme Lake to Prince Rupert – 15 miles/800′

At Dease Lake we showered quite quickly – it was the most expensive showers we’d encountered yet $1CAD/min! With little other options for camping close to the grocery store, we camped in an RV spot and Patricia went grocery shopping while Dustin dried out all the gear. Drying gear is an almost constant chore since we seem to have some rain early each morning.

We continued to make our way down the desolate highway crossing over many culverts and bridges – the bridges have varied in structure from concrete to steel to even wood. On a bicycle each of these surfaces presents its own challenges with steel being the most challenging especially if its wet. The steel grates are small enough for the tires to roll over yet large enough to cause a disconcerting wobble. A Japanese diplomat northbound cycling our same route was seriously injured when crossing one of these bridges and was rescued by miners (news story here). We are *very* cautious on these bridges even stopping to let all the traffic pass before proceeding.

The wooden bridge surfaces are typically fine but we watch carefully for splintering that could potentially puncture a tire. Another challenge is we are usually approaching most of these bridges at high rates of speed as we’ve just rolled down a steep hill to where the bridge is going over a creek or river.  

We’re still in a somewhat of a lake district geologically speaking which makes water easy to source and allows for awesome camping vistas. We have had to remote/wild camp on several occasions during this segment because no proper campground was available within the distances we’re able to cover. When remote/wild camping we often do a cat-bath in a creek or lake at the end of the day to rid ourselves of road grime and salt.

This abundance of water also allows for quick breeding of insects and the annoying biting insects have really started to pick up steam recently and we’ve gone to wearing headnets and spraying ourselves with chemicals! One of the small gnats bit Dustin just above his eye and caused quite a swell it looked like he was in a bar fight. 

One morning after remote camping for the evening we thought Katy had been bitten near her rectum by an insect because it was swollen in the morning. We packed up camp, as usual, and kept an eye on the bite during the day. About two hours later at a stop the swelling had become quite pronounced that we decided to give Katy some Benadryl – we cut open the human sized capsule and made the appropriate dose for her 14 lb body and mixed it with peanut butter and cycled on. 

When we’d arrived at our next camping spot the swelling was not down but rather even larger. Just as we were discussing what we should do next our neighbor in a truck camper stepped over and offered us the use of his Starlink internet – yes please!! Now we could search for some help for Katy. This swelling had gotten so intense that we decided not to use “Dr. Google” but rather contact a professional. Thankfully our friend, who is a veterinarian, had offered prior to our departure, consulting with Katy if anything were to happen. She was available and we had sent pictures of the issue over Messenger and then we were able to call her and speak directly.  

We felt relieved (and foolish) when she said it was likely an anal gland abscess and not an insect bite but we could help Katy by making a hot compress and holding it to her rear for 10 minutes three times a day. The abscess would rupture and then scab over. We were thankful there was a treatment we could give to Katy but were still worried because this was vastly different than the clinical treatment of flushing the abscess under sedation and giving an antibiotic treatment.  We do have antibiotics with us but they are mega doses for a human GI/UTI issue and we would not be able to cut one down enough for Katy’s small body. 

We’d have to continue the hot compresses and watch her carefully for infection. We extended our cycling the next day to arrive at a lodge (Bell 2) that had helicopters (they do heli-skiing in the winter) and we could charter a flight to a town with a vet clinic if Katy were to become worse. The closest veterinarian clinic was about 8 days away by bicycle – this was entirely too long to wait if an infection were to become and issue. We monitored Katy carefully for food/water/lethargy and thankfully she was eating, drinking and giving us her usual Jack Russell attitude and opinions that we decided to continue with the hot compresses and cycle onward. 

From Bell 2 we continued to cycle down the Cassiar Highway for two more days before making a side trip to Stewart, BC where we’d heard they have a celebration for Canada Day on July 1st. Additionally, Stewart is a Canadian community just a rock throw from Hyder, Alaska where we had sent our last resupply USPS box. On Monday, July 1st we cycled over to Hyder and found the post office to be closed – in discussing this with a local we were told that the post office would be closed for the entire week! Hyder is a community of about 100 people (30 in winter) and it appears they have trouble reliably staffing businesses. We cycled back to Stewart to enjoy the Canada Day festivities and discuss what we should do.

After two attempts to get our package – apparently one one the employees was there for a 40 minute window of time that we missed, we decided to leave town as planned and request our package to be forwarded to another address. We retraced our route back to Meziadan Lake and we’re glad we did – the weather was much better on our ride out and we enjoyed a lunch at Bear Glacier and endless waterfalls almost the entire ride.

The next couple days we continued to make our way down the Cassiar Highway with a stop at a recreation site called Bonus Lake and ending the highway with a stay in Kitwanga. This region is known for its mining and logging operations – we encountered several work campers at various RV parks and campground as well as were passed by the requisite trucks used as part of the resource extraction.

While riding down the Cassiar we saw many tourists but the majority of the traffic was industrial – northern British Columbia has a thriving resource extraction business. We saw several types of mining and timber operations. The vehicles associated with these businesses as well as a plethora of RVs made cycling on a highway with almost no shoulder a bit of a challenge. On numerous occasions we were thanked for our high-vis vests and flashing flare lights.

At Kitwanga we made a turn westward and began riding on the Yellowhead Highway – after the very lightly trafficked Cassiar the Yellowhead came as a shock – it also didn’t help that we started this new highway on a Friday during peak traffic hours. Thankfully most of the Yellowhead had a generous shoulder with rumble stripping. 

For four days we rode west on the Yellowhead Highway following the Skeena River toward Prince Ruppert. We stopped at the regional hub town of Terrace for a resupply and critically to get dog food. Terrace had a specialty pet food store where we were able to get Katy chicken-free dog food. 

Terrace also had the first Walmart we had seen in almost 50 days – grocery prices were soooo much cheaper than what we had paid on the Alaska & Cassiar Highways plus there were many more choices of products! While Patricia shopped at Walmart Dustin and Katy changed our bike chains while parked on the side of the building. We had new chains in the box we weren’t able to pick up in Hyder…oh well, it made us find a cool combo coffee shop/bike repair shop in Terrace called “The Fix”. 

While in Terrace we stayed at campground called Ferry Island named after the sternwheelers who for many years delivered passengers and goods along the Skeena River. This campground was unique in the carvings done by a local artist in the cottonwood trees.

At Terrace we were also able to order a PIZZA – we devoured it in about 8 minutes! Food choices have been quite limited in these remote stretches so the pizza was a welcomed treat 🙂

After Terrace we road for three more days toward Prince Rupert – a heat warning had been issued for the region so we were sure to start cycling early in the day and attempting to get off the road early as well. We also stopped at purchased ice, if we were able, to cool down our water bottles. Our Thermos, typically used overnight for oatmeal/coffee water, was also packed with ice so we could enjoy a cool drink in the heat of the afternoon. As we moved toward the western coast of BC the temperatures also dropped significantly. 

While riding toward the coast we were passed by many logging trucks making their way toward Prince Rupert to be shipped overseas. Trade has been prevalent on the Skeena River since the 1860s when sternwheelers were used to move cargo. Then in 1914 a railroad was completed and replaced river travel. Today this route continues to be important for moving goods now by both rail & truck. 

We arrived in Prince Rupert and were thankful to be out of the heat warning area and near the cooler coast. Prince Rupert is an interesting (and busy) port town for Canada – it is the shortest transpacific trade route so we saw several trains and trucks moving natural resources toward the port and containers inland.

Arriving in Prince Rupert completes our first phase of this trip – Phase 1 was very remote and challenged us with provisioning food for 7+ days as well as having to remote/wild camp because some of the distances between established campgrounds was too great for bicycling. We also didn’t have cell phone coverage for the majority of this Phase and often had to rely on Wifi. We’re thankful for the amazing scenery and experience but happy to now be closer to towns with more food, lodging, and connectivity choices.

Tomorrow we will take a 16-hour ferry to the north end of Vancouver Island arriving at Port Hardy and begin making our way toward Victoria. Thank you all for the comments – we read each and every one of them! Sorry to don’t always respond – please know we do appreciate the words of encouragement and curious questions 🙂

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