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Tuesday, May 30, 2017 – Abbotsford to Vancouver

Kilometres: 87

Final day - arriving HOME!

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Saturday, May 27, 2017 – Monday, May 29. 2017 – Abbotsford Rest Days

Kilometres: 0

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Friday, May 26, 2017 – Hope to Abbotsford

Kilometres: 93

On our way to a friend’s place! Wild to be close to home! Very strong tail breeze from the trucks.

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Thursday, May 25, 2017 – Otter Lake to Hope

Kilometres: 135

Part 2

(does not include photos to Hope because it was a loooong day! lots of rain at Coquihalla summit and a very quick, wet decent down to Hope)

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Thursday, May 25, 2017 – Otter Lake to Hope

Kilometres: 135

Part 1

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(photos not readily available)

Wednesday, May 24, 2017 – Stemwinder Provincial Park to Otter Lake

Kilometres: 62

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Tuesday, May 23, 2017 – Osoyoos to Stemwinder Provincial Park

Kilometres: 86

Part 2

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Tuesday, May 23, 2017 – Osoyoos to Stemwinder Provincial Park

Kilometres: 86

Part 1

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Monday, May 22, 2017 – Osoyoos Rest Day

Kilometres: 0

Rest day

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Sunday, May 21, 2017 – Boundary Creek Provincial Park to Osoyoos

Kilometres: 81

Ridiculous descent into Osoyoos

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Saturday, May 20, 2017 – Cascade to Boundary Creek Provincial Park

Kilometres: 71

Started on the trail

Decided to take the highway to Grand Forks

Nice to meet other bicycle tourists

Chatted for a while, left grand forks super late

Decided to go to Osoyoos and not up to Beaverdell

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Friday, May 19, 2017 – Shields Station to Cascade, part 2

Kilometres: 74

The Bulldog tunnel super intense

Little bit of snow up top of the trail

Nice decent

Lots of obstacles on the trail but still fun

Christina lake beautiful

Stayed at an RV park in Cascade for the night

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Friday, May 19, 2017 – Shields Station to Cascade, part 1

Kilometres: 74

Nice decent trail, met some bikers going opposite way; let us know conditions

The Lower Arrow lakes are beautiful

Met and chatted with ATVers

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Thursday, May 18, 2017 – Nelson to Shields Station (continued)

Kilometres: 70

Met president of the trail association in an escavator while going up the trail

Great info about the Columbia Western trail on their facebook groups

Work on the trail - recently graded

Nathan saw a moose as we camped near Shields station

Nice place to camp

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(going through the archive and clearing out the backlog of posts - no full story for these, just photos and a few bullet points)

Thursday, May 18, 2017 – Nelson to Shields Station

Kilometres: 70

Easy ride to Castlegar

Beautiful scenery

Got good info at the museum after asking around – some people said there might be a lot of snow up on the Columbia Western Trail

Unsure about approach to the start of a trail through an active lumber yard, but it was the way to go!

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Wednesday, May 17, 2017 – Crawford Bay to Nelson

Kilometres: 44

It was an easy day – we decided to get up early to catch the ferry over Kootenay Lake and then spend the rest of the day in Nelson. It is the longest free ferry ride in Canada, as it’s considered part of the provincial highway system.

First we had a short climb to get up the ridge to get to the ferry. We blasted down, enjoying the lack of traffic, and took in the beautiful views along the lake while waiting for the ferry. The temperatures were still a bit cool, but it was exciting to explore a new part of BC.

Rebekah hadn’t been to Nelson before, and got several tips from her friends who grew up there. First though, she got her hub serviced at Gerick Cycle and Ski – while checking it in Creston (thanks Daniel for letting us use your tools!) we’d discovered that it was pitted again. We’d ordered the part to Nelson, and the shop overhauled the wheel in a few hours.

It was fun exploring Nelson, we stayed at the municipal campground close to the city centre. We went to one of the new breweries, and had some delicious muffins at a local cafe. Nathan found a cheap fleece to help keep him warm in the cooler evenings.

That night as Rebekah was making dinner in the shelter provided by the campground, she spotted a bear very close. It was young, and ran away as she stood up. We found out the next day from a conservation officer that it was a nuisance bear, who had grown a taste for garbage. Luckily it didn’t return that night.

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Tuesday, May 16, 2017 – Creston to Crawford Bay

Kilometres: 85

It was hard to leave Creston after an incredible stay. We said our farewells to Daniel and Christine, promising to visit again, and hit the road. It was wet, and great. Because of the unpredictable conditions (and snow) at the top of the pass on highway 3, we’d decided to take the ferry to Nelson before picking up the TransCanada trail at Castelgar.

The morning was consistently damp and rainy. We passed our first cycle tourists since Canmore – two guys on a super old-school tandem who were heading in the opposite direction of us. We waived and kept going, wanting to keep our momentum in our descent. The road snaked along Kootenay Lake and provided some beautiful views. One tourist stop was the “glass house” which was made years ago out of old embalming bottles. Took a brief look from the outside, and then continued on our way.

We had one great stop at the Crawford General Store. It seemed to carry everything from lumber to books, to antiques on its second floor. As we were warming up with a hot chocolate on the deck, the owner (in his 80s) stopped for a chat. He was a keen cyclist, and knew so much about the area – we learned later that he’d authored several books! He’d ridden several sections of the TransCanada Trail and told us to look forward to the Bulldog Tunnel.

Hitting the road again, we decided to try to find a place to stay in Crawford Bay as it was getting late. We found a campground with hot tubs for a decent price, which was great. We took full advantage of the hot tub, a welcome relief after a chilly day.