AK to AZ Day 48: 2000 Miles

August 20
50mi/80km
2700ft/823m elevation gain

I’m not sure exactly what the temperature was last night but I think it was our coldest night so far. Everything was damp this morning after the rainstorm last night. We were a little slow to get up and going.
While we were eating breakfast, a car came down to the lake, and 2 guys brought their canoe to go fishing. They drive gravel trucks up and down the Cassiar for work so they are used to seeing cyclists. We watched some Spotted Sandpipers bobbing along the shoreline as we drank our coffee.

It was sunny and clear, despite being chilly, so it was a lovely morning for a bike ride. In the morning we passed 2000 miles (3200km), so we stopped for a quick selfie.

After a few hours we came to a rest stop, so we took advantage of the sun and the picnic tables to dry all of our soggy gear. We chatted with a few people at the rest stop before moving on.

We had a headwind most of the day. While it wasn’t crazy or gusty, it just makes everything a little harder. We stopped at Good Hope Lake for a pretty late lunch, enjoying the views of the lake and the mountains all to ourselves.

The final stretch of the day seemed to take forever. We knew there was camping at Jade City but we both assumed we’d go past it, at least a few miles. However, we didn’t arrive until 6pm and were looking at darkening skies that were threatening to rain. And the camping turned out to be free, so we took it. We’re the only tent here, and we recognize some of the vans and RVs here from out on the road today.

Jade City isn’t actually a city. It’s a Jade shop, gift shop, and workshop. Apparently there’s a lot of jade in these mountains. And this place has a television show, called Jade Fever, according to the guys we met at the lake this morning. They just finished season 8. Aside from the free camping, they also have free coffee. It doesn’t look very promising, but free is free, so we’re definitely having some in the morning. Just about everything else in the shop is pricey, but we bought a sticker.

Almost as soon as we set up camp it started to rain, and although it didn’t last too long, I’m glad we didn’t have to ride in it. There will be plenty of that in the coming days.
Apparently at some point today a fox was following me and I didn’t even notice. Paul got a picture of the fox but only after it had run across the street. I saw some Savannah Sparrows and more Dark-eyed Juncos, and we saw a couple of kestrels today. And the Canada Jays are everywhere. The forest is more pine than spruce now, with plenty of aspens. And we are starting to see the first yellowing leaves on the willow bushes. Fall is coming.