To Continental Divide: sign

August 8, 2007

We sleep well, a soft bed, and very nice thick full sized pillows! Next best thing is a full sized towel.

Patrick expects to see rain, but when he opens the door about 7:30, there are only clouds and patches of blue sky. It's still cold though, and windy, not from the right direction. We will have headwinds for most of the day, not terribly strong but enough to throw off our momentum.

The road follows Swan Lake a bit longer, then climbs away. After that mostly rolling hills. We cross the 60th parallel and enter British Columbia for about 68km before crossing back into the Yukon. We are almost 100km when we reach Swift River Roadhouse. A rest and a can of pop, before a long steady climb to the Continental Divide; water on the West flows into the Yukon and out into the Bering Sea (part of the Pacific), water to the East makes a similar long journey via the MacKenzie River to the Arctic Ocean.

A rainstorm catches up with us just as we reach Swift River and we escape to a nearby shelter in the roadhouse. Looks like there is more rain on the way tonight. When we arrive at the Continental Divide Lodge, we quickly pitch our tent in the campground, start a fire and start cooking. Rachel tends the spaghetti as Patrick showers in what appears to be a converted CN railway cars. Doesn't matter, the water is hot! There is a sign "not to open the door while the train is moving.

Rachel is cooking in raingear in the rain. There is a break, long enough for us to eat, clean up and stand around the fire letting our raingear dry.

Just before the next storm moves in.