September 1
40mi/64km
1600ft/488m elevation gain
Today was the soggiest day we’ve had on this journey. We woke up to a steady rain that never seemed to let up. We packed up in a grumpy mood – packing a wet tent while getting rained on, loading wet bikes, putting on wet shoes. We didn’t bother making coffee, just eating some food as quickly as possible before hitting the road.
We knew there was a recreation site around 12mi/19km down the road. I think we were both secretly hoping there would be a covered picnic table so we could at least take a break out of the rain. But we never found out, because we passed a general store with a covered porch. We stopped in to find they also had hot coffee, so we took a nice break from the rain under the shelter.
Although our initial plan was to stop in Terrace after 40 miles (64km), pick up a few groceries and ride out of town to camp, we knew that this was no longer a realistic option. The tent was soaked, much of our gear was soaked, and there would be no way to dry anything out, meaning we’d be in a very wet tent, on a wet sleeping pad with a damp quilt that would probably get soaked simply due to how wet everything else was. So we booked a room in Terrace before leaving the general store.
The rest of the way was rain, rain, rain. We took no photos, because it was too wet to get the phones out. We saw (almost) no wildlife, save one small Black Bear and a Northern Flicker. We rode past Kalum Lake, which was big and beautiful, but we hardly paid attention. We got to town around 2, stopped for coffee and a quick bite before checking in. We took over the entire space in our hotel room, draping wet gear over chairs, the luggage rack, the ironing board, and the shower rod. We even used the blow dryer to help speed along the process.
It’s nice to be indoors and dry as it continues to rain outside. Fortunately for us, the next two days should be both drier and warmer!
