Terrace to Smithers

After a prolonged stop in Terrace where I enjoyed the city amenities and avoided the sun, I started cycling on toward Smithers, planning to camp near a nice hiking area on the way. I wanted one more wilderness excursion before the population density got too big. I was looking for a nice day hike where I could follow a stream to be sure to find my way back, and in the middle of nowhere so it would feel like Alaska. If I could find some alpine, that would be a bonus.

However, I didn't make it that far before it got dark, so I pulled over in a nice looking pull out and laid out my sleeping bag on top of the rain fly for my tent: too nice out for the tent, and I wanted to be sure not to sleep in.

I was on the road again by eight the next morning, and had more or less changed my mind about hiking that day when I saw one of the Seven Sisters (a string of ~9000 ft mountains) peaking between two hills. A stream was running under the road, presumably fed by one of the glaciers on the Seven Sisters. This was too good to pass by! I spent about an hour stashing my bike and gear in the woods, tying most of my food up in a tree, and packing a day bag with the rest of my food and enough clothes to spend the night if need be. I sent a message with my SPOT, so that someone would no where I headed into the woods (I'd told my dad the day before that I was planning on going hiking).

The walk along the river was beautiful: lovely forest with no undergrowth. Eventually I stumbled across a small boulder patch that gave me a view of a small peak poking above tree line that started rising just 200 meters from the river. I took a compass reading (just in case), turned away from the river and went straight up to the alpine. It worked out better than I imagined: I gained the alpine before my turn around time, and it afforded beautiful views of the southern most peak in the Seven Sisters, as well as the road and Skeena River I was traveling on by bicycle.

I got back to my campsite early, although a bit dehydrated, and enjoyed some rice with powdered beef gravy for dinner before turning in.

After a good night's sleep, I resumed the cycle toward Smithers. I got a later start than I'd hoped (without a reliable alarm, it was somewhat inevitable sleeping in my tent), and ended up pedaling through the heat of the day. I sad to see the traffic begin to pick up, and the towns get closer together...definitely getting into more people! On the other hand, I enjoyed a delicious cinnamon role from a bakery in New Hazleton, and am now taking advantage of a wonderful library in Smithers...I'm looking forward to beginning to meet more new people as well.

Tonight, it's on to MacClure Campground, and then Saint George in two days or so.