Day Two - Hope

This morning I awoke at 4:45 hoping to leave camp early to beat the heat as yesterday when I arrived at camp the temperature was 34 C.  Breakfast was cheerios and banana as breakfast is normally served at 7.  By the time I got my lunch made and my camp packed up at was close to 7 and before I left camp shortly after 7 I put some maple syrup on a piece of french toast folded it and scarfed it down.

It was nice to get on the road before it got too hot.  The air was a little cool and I wore my jacket for about the first 15 minutes then took it off after I was warmed up.  The route took me along the same road that I rode on yesterday when I missed the turn and ended up doing an extra 2 kms.

The cue sheet had 11 instructions on where to go which could be replaced by “Stay on Route 7 until you enter Hope”.  Most of the day was relatively flat which was nice as I made pretty good time and was averaging about 24 kph.

As I was looking around I noticed a very very tall tree that only had branches at the top.  It looked odd and I was trying to determine what species it was.  As I looked closer I saw that it was a cell tower disguised as a tree.

Before Agassiz I saw a trio of raptors within the span of 30 minutes.  First I noticed a huge eagle’s nest built on top of a piling that was used to secure a number of log booms.  As I got closer I notice a white head which was an adult eagle. Next I heard the call of an Osprey which I learnt when we stayed in Mission.  Then the bird flew right over my head quite close.  Lastly perched on the top of a telephone pole was some kind of hawk.  Not sure if it was a red tail as the tail was more brown than red.

Just before Agassiz I pulled over to meet a cyclist riding to meet his wife on Highway 3, I can’t remember the exact spot.  His name is Steve Dykstra from Abbottsford.  He asked me about the tour and I was happy to tell him the details of our journey.  At Agassiz we went separate ways as he was visiting a friend before continuing on.

On of the riders told me in came tonight that their cycling computers said that it reached 45 C today.  Even though I didn’t know it at the time when I got close to Hope I was feeling overheated and headed straight for the Chevron and drank 2 litres of water and waited in the store for about 45 minutes until I felt almost normal.  

I met up with a couple of other riders and we took the alternate route on Bud’s cue sheet along the trans Canada trail that went through the Othello Tunnels.  The tunnels were very cool, literally.  The temperature was at least 15 C less than in the sun on the highway.  In the canyon below I noticed 20 or so salmon that were in the water just above a small waterfall that were probably feeding on whatever floated by.  If you have never seen the tunnels it is very worth while.

Before dinner Duncan told of about a swimming spot in the Coquihalla river and a bunch of us went down to check it out.  I was hesitant about getting back on my bike and riding the 2km to the spot but I was still feeling the effects of the sun and I went. 

The water was moving swiftly but not enough to carry you down stream too far.  It was cool but refreshing and cooled me down totally.  It was a challenge to swim across and all the practice I did in the pool really helped.

Diner was a vegetarian kind of shepard’s pie and was very good.  Desert was strawberry shortcake that I hovered down.

Tomorrow is a tough day as we will be climbing up the Coquihalla to Merrit and it is going to be hot again.  Once again I will be rising early, 4 am, but with Matt and Sam it will make the hills easier.

Eagle's nest on a piling

Enjoying the amazing views at Othello tunnels

Steve from Abbottsford