SALMO, BRITISH COLUMBIA: Acting the Fool

July 29, 2019

I made a small tactical error yesterday when I went into the National Forest without stopping somewhere to pick up some food. I had some beef jerky and a small package of almonds but those things would never do for a complete meal. I was forced to eat a freeze-dried backpackers meal of red beans and rice that I had packed for emergency purposes only. It's a shame that the emergency occurred on the very first day. I promised myself to be more careful in the future.

That was yesterday and today is today. Today I emerged from my tent and took the following picture. It was a work of art and I believe every work of art deserves a title.

I call this "A Perfect Reflection of Pine Trees."

Morning cup of coffee consumed, tent taken down, panniers packed, it was time to hit the road. It was pretty early by my standards, but ridiculously early by the standards of all these car and RV campers. There was hardly any activity in the campground as I pedaled away at 8:30 a.m.

It was a nice day. I peeled my long sleeved shirt on an uphill away from the campground. I can't tell you the degree of ascent, but it got my heart pumping. I felt good. Sunshine and warm air prevailed for the rest of the day.

I cruised through the cute little downtown of Metaline Falls. On the other side of town was a pretty steep 2-mile climb. It wasn't as steep as the climb away from the campground, but it was a lot longer. I made it to the top without too much difficulty.

The same cannot be said for this truck. Its hood was up and the engine was screaming in pain.

With relief, I crested the hill and shifted out of that awful GRANDMAW gear. A mile or so later I came across some famous touring people. I had been reading Kelly Iniquez's Crazyguyonabike journal of her tour in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, so I knew it was possible I might run into her group. I've been keeping an eye out for them.

As soon as I spotted Jim, Gen and Kelly, I knew it was them. I veered off to the other side of the road to greet them. That is something I never do in other circumstances. Generally I just wave to other cyclists (and hope they wave back.)

We talked at the side of the road for a while. I enjoyed the conversation. Kelly told me to watch for her husband who had started several hours after they did.

Pressing on, I was getting pretty excited about crossing the Canadian border. I've had some interesting experiences at the border checkpoints while riding my bike in the past. A couple of them were comically inept on my part, and a couple of them were simply intimidating.

This time, the official asked some pretty familiar questions, which I answered with confidence: Hastings, Minnesota is my home. No weapons. No bear spray. No dog spray. Nothing I plan to leave in Canada. Only a small amount of alcohol. (He thanked me for that declaration.) The one that threw me for a loop was "are you carrying $10,000 or more in cash?"

"I wish!" was my reply.

I'm not sure if he thought that was very funny, but he let me enter into Canada anyway.

"Well, this certainly takes the bear threat up a notch, doesn't it G-2?"

My approach to the border. The U.S. checkpoint is on the left, the Canadian checkpoint is on the right beyond the trees.

A couple miles past the border I saw Kelly's husband, Jacinto. Again, I crossed the road to say "hi." Unfortunately, I stopped him while he was climbing perhaps the longest hill of his day. I say "unfortunately" because he loves climbing. He said he gets bored with flat terrain--like most of what he's ridden so far today.

I only took one picture in Canada today. The British Columbian police were very active. I witnessed three traffic stops within a five-mile stretch.

This is looking back at one of the speeding tickets. It may not be much consolation to the driver, but at least it was a very scenic speeding ticket.

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Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 100 miles (161 km)

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