July 27, 2024 to July 28, 2024
Port Hardy to Prince Rupert via BC Ferries
We had a restless night of sleep, not only in anticipation of our early departure for the ferry but also because incoming ferry traffic flooded the campground at approximately 12:30am. With only a couple of hours of fitful sleep, we got up at 4:30 to pack up our tents for the last time and ride the four kilometers to the ferry terminal.
The Northern Expedition was much larger than either of us had realized, and from what we were told it would be like a "poor man's Alaska cruise." Check in was a breeze and we soon rolled our bikes on board and went up top to watch as we left Port Hardy.
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I'm not sure if there's much I can say about this ferry that hasn't been said before. It's a spectacularly beautiful ride the whole way up, and the captain would give out regular sightings of different animals and points of interest. We saw several humpbacks and orcas, and most interestingly a black bear swimming to a nearby island. We spent most of our day pinballing from one side of the boat to the other to watch the passing scenery, interspersed with trips to the cafeteria and a few short naps.
It was a long, 16 hour haul to Prince Rupert and we were each feeling the lack of sleep by the time we pulled in just after midnight. Once the automobile traffic left, we threw on our lights and rode out into light rain, happy to be back on solid ground. It was a quick three kilometer ride to the Pacific Inn, where I reserved us a room for 2 nights. After checking in, we wheeled our bikes up to our room and quickly passed out.
Sunday morning we slept in, enjoying the luxurious feeling of a full matress and cotton sheets. Early afternoon, we biked over to Chucky's Bike Shop, who I'd contacted about picking up some boxes to pack our bikes. Meeting Chuck was a true highlight of our trip; he was raised in Prince Rupert and had boundless enthusiasm about the area and biking in general. He's got a great old building that he is refinishing to house a bike shop, and he gave us full use of his tools and space to disassemble and pack our bikes. He was even kind enough to drive us with our boxes back to our hotel, and he refused any form of compensation for the help he provided. Heck, he even gave us free t-shirts for his shop and recommendation for fish n' chips, which I've been itching to have this entire trip. I'll be happy to use his shop again when I pick up on my next adventure north in Canada, hopefully from Prince Rupert to Whitehorse and up the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Ocean. But that is a blog for a different day.
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