August 31, 2007
To La Salle Lake: The Dome Diner: Closed
The weather starts off looking better, then it rains most of the night which makes our campsite in the shelter a good choice, despite the concrete floor. By morning the rain has stopped and there is fog hanging in the valley, the sun trying to break through. We pack up and ride back to the roadside cafe at a little before 8am. Breakfast is slow but worth the wait. We each have bacon and eggs, Rachel with pancakes to share, Patrick with hash browns and toast to share.
We hear the weather forecast for Prince George is calling for some sun this morning with a chance of thunderstorms later. Well, it doesn't work out that way. Patrick figures by going East we caught up with all the rain that passed through overnight. First, we have a few short storms, then a consistent downpour that won't let up. It's a fairly long day today. The road still follows the Fraser River on its way to the high Rocky Mountain passes.
We have regular climbs and downhills where the road crosses streams coming down from the mountains to our South. Rachel sees a bear cross the road ahead of us, but it is nowhere to be seen by the time we reach the spot. The only wildlife Patrick observes are slugs making their way onto the wet road shoulder. Patrick tries to avoid them but there are too many and he's sure many get squashed. We pass by the Dome Creek Diner, a place Patrick camped 13 years ago and where the owner lent him his dog for the night to keep the grizzly away. The place is boarded up and closed down. There still is a picnic table in the group of trees where he camped and where the dog was tied to. Patrick wonders if it is the same table. He'll compare the pictures later.
At about 4pm we reach the turnoff to the Forest Service Recreation area at La Salle Lake, happy that it's not quite the 1.5km our brochure says, because the gravel road goes very steep downhill. This will be a walk up tomorrow morning. We find a beautiful spot on the lake, picnic tables, firepits and outhouse and only a couple other campers. Best of all it is free!
The rain has not let up though, we pitch our tent quickly and manage to keep the inside mostly dry. After that we take turns getting into the vestibule take off our wet gear and get into dry clothes and into the tent. There isn't much to do but read until it gets dark. We don't feel like cooking in the rain so we settle for a ham and cheese sandwich and cookies.
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Today's ride: 101 km (63 miles)
Total: 13,732 km (8,528 miles)
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