Featured First tour, heading out of Kamloops

[Hellfire]

Just wanted to say I thought the wildfire pics looked incredible. Those fires look enormous.

 

[dallaskelly]

After getting a lift into the Similkameen to hang out with a friend for a day, i biked back into Okanagan Valley over Richter's Pass on highway 3. It's a pretty easy climb and for me is the most scenic part of Canada yet. I just love that arid, barren landscape.

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That was just a practice, though, for Anarchist Pass, which is one of the more brutal climbs in Canada. It's not super steep (average around 5%), but it keeps climbing for almost 20km without much of any flattening off. Here's a picture from halfway up.

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I'm not afraid to pull over to take a rest, drink some water or eat a snack, so it turned out to be less bad than i expected. The long road climbs that rarely push above 6% are definitely easier than going up logging roads that are all gravel and rubble and regularly exceed 10%.

After the mountain i took a break by getting onto the tail end of the Kettle Valley Railway and then riding the entire Columbia and Western railway. These rail trails are pretty easy going on a loaded touring bike, you don't really need a mountain bike although the mountain bike nerds you meet along the way cringe at trying to tackle them with a 32 rear tire. The grade is never above 3% and even though there is a lot of loose sand and rocks, it's not a big deal to push hard through them or slow bumpity bump over. Worst case you can get off and push for a bit, but i rarely had to except when i went into a logging road pull-out to try get a cool photo.

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Remember to take a light on the rail trails, at least up here some of them go through long, unlit tunnels. Also in several sections you are out of mobile signal and many miles away from any populated areas, so you will be backcountry camping with all that entails (bears, collecting water from creeks etc). The views are awesome, though.

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Active logging roads are a much rougher ride, so it pays off to head to a coffee shop or bar beforehand and see if you can get the inside scoop from a fellow rider on how torn up they are. My rule so far has been to never plan a route on a logging road more than about 20km away from a main road or settlement, that way i can always turn back - even walking - if it's too rough.

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So far, so good, though. I am now in Fernie BC about to cross Crowsnest Pass into the prairies. I think the riding will be a lot easier there (no hills), but services are much more spread out and i'm not sure where to get water or camp.

I thought i would be doing a lot of stealth camping on this trip, but the truth is i have mostly been going to established campsites - either in provincial parks, or in rec sites, or sometimes a family/RV camping site.

In provincial parks and rec sites you pay about $15, but if you're in the backcountry or a "user serviced" site then it's free. Family campsites max out around $35. This is much, much cheaper than a motel, and i've found it's worth it to be able to have a warm shower, launder clothes and get on the wifi. They're also a good spot to meet people who used to bike tour when they were younger, or occasionally another active tourer.

Honestly, if you have the cash, i would recommend "legit" camping, especially after a long day cycling. I have done several 100km+ days now and at the end i can't imagine having to try find a stealthy spot, and then pack up again quickly in the morning instead of just lazily giving yourself an hour or two to warm up, eat breakfast, dry the condensation off your tent etc.

Oh, the other thing i learned is if you do hit those 100km days (like 60 miles and up), you end up eating twice as much food as you expected. It's important to budget for that, because it might seem like you are saving money by skipping over an expensive town or campsite to press on to somewhere cheaper or free, but then you eat two days worth of food along the way. Also, there's less opportunity for sightseeing.

That's it for my tips, i didn't want to bore you with too many scenic photos although i have many. Let's finish up with a couple of shots random tourists offered to take of me.

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I'm heading out to hitch along Crowsnest into the Kootenays pretty soon and this was such a nice post to read! the country out there is spectacular and I'm excited to see it. I love when I search a travel destination and get a nice write-up like this from someone else's journey, it makes me feel less alone. So thank you for posting, even if it was 2 years ago lol

 

[ohmegatron]

After getting a lift into the Similkameen to hang out with a friend for a day, i biked back into Okanagan Valley over Richter's Pass on highway 3. It's a pretty easy climb and for me is the most scenic part of Canada yet. I just love that arid, barren landscape.

View attachment 66459

That was just a practice, though, for Anarchist Pass, which is one of the more brutal climbs in Canada. It's not super steep (average around 5%), but it keeps climbing for almost 20km without much of any flattening off. Here's a picture from halfway up.

View attachment 66460

I'm not afraid to pull over to take a rest, drink some water or eat a snack, so it turned out to be less bad than i expected. The long road climbs that rarely push above 6% are definitely easier than going up logging roads that are all gravel and rubble and regularly exceed 10%.

After the mountain i took a break by getting onto the tail end of the Kettle Valley Railway and then riding the entire Columbia and Western railway. These rail trails are pretty easy going on a loaded touring bike, you don't really need a mountain bike although the mountain bike nerds you meet along the way cringe at trying to tackle them with a 32 rear tire. The grade is never above 3% and even though there is a lot of loose sand and rocks, it's not a big deal to push hard through them or slow bumpity bump over. Worst case you can get off and push for a bit, but i rarely had to except when i went into a logging road pull-out to try get a cool photo.

View attachment 66461

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View attachment 66463

Remember to take a light on the rail trails, at least up here some of them go through long, unlit tunnels. Also in several sections you are out of mobile signal and many miles away from any populated areas, so you will be backcountry camping with all that entails (bears, collecting water from creeks etc). The views are awesome, though.

View attachment 66464

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View attachment 66466

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Active logging roads are a much rougher ride, so it pays off to head to a coffee shop or bar beforehand and see if you can get the inside scoop from a fellow rider on how torn up they are. My rule so far has been to never plan a route on a logging road more than about 20km away from a main road or settlement, that way i can always turn back - even walking - if it's too rough.

View attachment 66468

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So far, so good, though. I am now in Fernie BC about to cross Crowsnest Pass into the prairies. I think the riding will be a lot easier there (no hills), but services are much more spread out and i'm not sure where to get water or camp.

I thought i would be doing a lot of stealth camping on this trip, but the truth is i have mostly been going to established campsites - either in provincial parks, or in rec sites, or sometimes a family/RV camping site.

In provincial parks and rec sites you pay about $15, but if you're in the backcountry or a "user serviced" site then it's free. Family campsites max out around $35. This is much, much cheaper than a motel, and i've found it's worth it to be able to have a warm shower, launder clothes and get on the wifi. They're also a good spot to meet people who used to bike tour when they were younger, or occasionally another active tourer.

Honestly, if you have the cash, i would recommend "legit" camping, especially after a long day cycling. I have done several 100km+ days now and at the end i can't imagine having to try find a stealthy spot, and then pack up again quickly in the morning instead of just lazily giving yourself an hour or two to warm up, eat breakfast, dry the condensation off your tent etc.

Oh, the other thing i learned is if you do hit those 100km days (like 60 miles and up), you end up eating twice as much food as you expected. It's important to budget for that, because it might seem like you are saving money by skipping over an expensive town or campsite to press on to somewhere cheaper or free, but then you eat two days worth of food along the way. Also, there's less opportunity for sightseeing.

That's it for my tips, i didn't want to bore you with too many scenic photos although i have many. Let's finish up with a couple of shots random tourists offered to take of me.

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The Similkameen valley is a dear place to my heart, I spent a few months there, working the garlic farm, a few other short gigs at other farms and orchards, drinking by the river. Did ya see my bike stashed there by the grain tower by chance? lol probably not, this would have been back in 2011. Man I miss that bike. It had a beaver skull I found in Drumheller mounted on the handlebars.

Also, I know that graffiti tunnel! I'm pretty sure I tagged it, but with a sharpie on concrete, it ate more of the sharpie than I left behind.