Day 22 - The Cassiar Highway (Route 37) Won

This looks like the remains of an avalanche. The break in the snow on the lower left is emitting the glacial blue color.

Look close and you'll see two moose.

The skys were cloudy and the temperature right around 50 this morning. Once again I bundled up in heated clothing and rain gear so that I could ride without having to stop if it started to rain. (Which it did off and on the whole day.)

I had known all along that the Cassiar Highway had two 16 mile unpaved stretches that could be a challenge to ride if it has been raining but I had no idea how much rain those sections had gotten as the rain has been very intermittent during my travels. So I left Stewart and headed north on the Cassiar hoping for the best.

After about 250 miles of wonderous scenery (and the sighting of two bears (no pictures)) I reached the first unpaved streach. Typical of BC signage, there was not enough warning to slow down and I hit the muddy surface much faster than I'd have liked. I did get slowed down without loosing it but I never really felt in control. The road surface was covered with approximately 2 inches of very slick mud and the road base below was rutted. This transition also took place on a very steep decent which didn't help. Anyway, after about one and a half miles I still felt VERY uncomfortable and realized that I was NOT IN CONTROL. The bike was kind of scooting around in the ruts and I was just managing to keep it upright. I tried slowing down and speeding up but nothing gave me enough confidence to continue. So I stopped, considered pitching a tent on the side of the road and stay put until the road dried out. (Forever if necessary!) I realized that this was not a good plan so I very slowly got the bike turned around and headed up the hill. The 1.5 mile return seemed like a dozen or so miles and by the time I got back to the pavement I was a white-knuckle case!

Backtracking down the Cassiar, I stopped in Iskut and talked to some locals and verified that the weather was calling for more showers over the next few days. Knowing I couldn't wait for the road to dry out, I continued to head south. (On the return, I saw two moose and got pictures to prove it!)

After 530 miles, I have backtracked all the way to Hazelton, BC to spend the night. The trip needs an obvious reroute. I plan on spending tomorrow night at the Best Western in Prince George (I stayed there last time.) and visiting their Wal-Mart to restock my supplies. (Oh, I discovered that whoever broke into my luggage in Prince Rubert took my propane burner I use to boil water.) I'll have to decide before leaving Prince George if I'm going north on the Alaskan Highway or go on over to Jasper and start winding my way home.