August 14, 2007
To Iskut Mountain Shadow RV: Over Gnat Pass
The rain has returned when we wake up! So demoralizing laying there dry in a warm sleeping bag and thinking about putting on raingear, packing a wet tent...so we wait awhile...it slows, starts back and slows again. We make a break for it.
It still rains softly, the tent is wet, but we have our breakfast and head out. It doesn't rain much after that. From the Tanzilla River we climb about 8km at about 6% grade, then it levels off to the summit of Gnat Pass at about 15km from our camp. The mountains around us are volcanic lava. We stay high for awhile, following a pretty valley with several lakes. Then a long downhill to Stikine River, the last part on gravel and steep. There is road construction with one way traffic at the bottom, but we get through okay.
Across the river, then a long and sometimes steep climb back out of the canyon. Almost at the top we return to asphalt. We have a lunch with only 15km to go, but it gets hard. Another climb then a downhill to the campground. The tent sites are in a wooded area, nice but with lots of bugs. The sun comes out through, we dry our gear, pitch the tent and both take nice warm showers. We take a short walk to the lake after dinner of instant chili-mac. We retreat to the tent to get away from the bugs.
At about 9pm, a van with a group of loud Australians pulls in and party on. It's almost midnight when Patrick first, the Rachel complains about the noise and we get some sleep.
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Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 12,572 km (7,807 miles)
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