To Kuskanook, BC

June 26, 2024

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Boy, did we have a night last night. We were just starting to get settled for the evening, at 9 PM. That's when the tree people started hooting and hollering while playing basketball. It did get dark eventually, and they left. We thought all was good and went to bed. At a wee hour of the night, I could hear a train blowing and blowing it's horn. Maybe that was a dream, because I don't think trains blow their horns that often. I eventually surfaced from sleep enough to realize I was hearing a deep bass musical thump. Ah, the tree people . . . . hell. I went to the bathroom, then tossed and turned for long enough to be really awake. I finally set a white noise app on my phone. That wasn't real successful, because I had to adjust the volume so high that it gave me a headache. After being awake a couple of hours, I realized the music was now quiet. I turned off the noise app and finally went back to sleep. When I did wake up, I still had a slight headache.

We weren't excited about staying in Yahk anyway. Between the non working TV, the non working coffee pot, and the all hours noise, I would say this is a stop you can pass on unless desperate.

Jacinto doesn't like to do routing until the morning of. No advance planning for him. He found a nice little paved go around that totally misses Creston. I had planned to stop at Subway, and Jacinto was stopping at the grocery. We decided we had enough food, the small grocery on the way would be good enough. This route was 3 miles shorter, but had 400 more feet of climbing. We both decided to avoid the city riding.

I was out the door at the relaxed hour of 10 AM. I hadn't gone five miles when I saw a loaded tourist on the other side of the road! Jim cross over and we had a nice talk. He was on the road for 44 days, with a goal of 120 km a day. I asked if Jim had done the Lakeview side trip, but he likes main roads and doesn't trust google bike routes. We agreed that Highway 3 was fine riding. Jim had come from Crawford Bay and told me that 3A had plenty of short, steep climbs and descents. Jacinto would be happy. Me? Not so much! Jim said there was a 70 year old bicycle tourist perhaps 15 minutes behind him. Since I had spent time talking to Jim, I didn't stop to talk to the second man. We each gave a big wave.

My first 20 miles of the day reminds me of riding in Tucson, going down the Rillito to the Santa Cruz bike path. Downhill the entire distance, pedaling sorting and going ~15 mph. What's not to like?

The problem is, that when I made the turn and immediately started climbing, my legs weren't so interested in the work! I had a rolling climb for five miles. It was a rural route with little traffic. Eventually I needed to use the bathroom. I pulled over at a field entrance, looked left, looked right, and hid behind my bike. I thought I could hear tires coming, but I couldn't hear an engine. ??? I was just pulling up my pants, and here comes two E bikes, at a fairly good rate of speed. No wonder I could hear tires. The man was first - he asked if I needed help. I think it's pretty obvious what I was doing. They were far enough away when I started pulling up my pants to not see details, but to identify my actions. He continued on. The woman stopped. Did I need help? I laughed and said I was just peeing. What? She says - you were what? Do you need help? Eeegads. Is this not the done thing in Canada? I would think bicycle riders would know about the need for a stop in remote areas. I gave up trying for a little humor, and told here I was fine. She continued on. I hope that wasn't a big social error. My apologies.

Not long after that, I had a giant downhill, with several very snake-y switchbacks. There's no way I would have climbed this side, I would have continued on to town. As I was descending, I felt some rain drops. I hoped as I got lower in elevation, the rain would quit. It did.

Now I was on 3A. It didn't have a shoulder, but not much traffic either. It's ironic that I hadn't spent much time watching my rear view mirror on busy Highway 3, but I didn't. I had my nice shoulder and it was good riding. With 3A, there's a need to keep an eye on the rear view.

I was reluctant to stop at the store, for fear it would really start raining while I was inside. I took a quick walk around the store to evaluate my choices. It was well stocked. No fresh veggies at all, but they did have apples, oranges, and bananas. I bought milk, eggs, and salami. I called Jacinto to let him know what I had. He was just started the side road. His plan was to stop at the pub when it opened at 3 PM, and buy us burgers to go. That plan didn't work out. He was there at 2:20 and didn't want to wait for them to open. We had enough food, he kept going.

We both had sprinkles off and on in the afternoon, but no serious rain.

I struggled after the grocery. I don't know if my legs thought I was done, or maybe it was those short, steep climbs Jim had warned me about. We've been having some pleasant riding days - not many miles, or much climbing. Today didn't have a lot of climbing, but it was steep. I really counted down the miles to our motel. I'm glad we didn't ride all the way to Crawford Bay today. Let's see if I say that tomorrow - it's supposed to rain!

We are in apartment 3, of 4 apartments. The Montel Motel is in the middle of nowhere. We have a living room, bedroom, and roomy bathroom. It's a good deal for the money. I was hardly in when Jacinto arrived. We've snacked on a variety of foods we are carrying. Jacinto has already checked out our choices for tomorrow!

I hope my legs are in the game tomorrow. The elevation profile looks like shark teeth. Then there's the rain . . . . I think perhaps we have an extra chance here, being right next to the lake. It might be an early night tonight. It's mighty quiet here, and I'm tired.

Looking out our bathroom window at the campground full of ‘tree people’. I innocently thought these were workers planting trees. Except there are plenty of trees here already. In the end, Jacinto said he thought they were homeless people living in the trees. They certainly didn’t get up and go anywhere in the morning.

The provided coffee pot did not work. Jacinto is resourceful- he has his own coffee pot!

I met Jim not even five miles from Yahk. He was going uphill with a headwind, but had a good attitude. He has a journal going on that other website.

Look in the window to the left. Does it appear the vines have taken over the room and are escaping out the roof?

I live in Rifle, CO. Someone there needs this ranch gate.

These are interesting, delicate flowers. Bill says Columbia Lilies. They were only in one small area. I’m glad I stopped when they caught my attention. There were no second chances.

There weren’t many boats for how big the lake is.

Look at the details of this photo on a bigger screen. It’s kind of creepy. The house was miniature size. Jacinto didn’t even see it. I thought it was as noticeable.

The start of the big downhill/switchbacks on Lakeview Road.

I think Jacinto took a photo at the same spot I did, at the beginning of the down.

Every once it a while we got a lake view. Mostly it was trees.

Jacinto arrived about ten minutes after me. He was in much better shape. I was done in.

We have a back deck which looks on this attractive creek. No way are we sitting out there. The mosquitoes are waiting!

Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 887 miles (1,427 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	8

Wayne EstesI'm surprised that you don't mind the traffic on Hwy 3, Crowsnest Highway. I planned to ride it all the way west to the Okanagan river, but turned south in Grand Forks to escape the traffic. No shoulder, mostly big trucks. Log trucks, livestock trucks, etc. Maybe the bad part I remember was mostly west of Castlegar, where Hwy 3 is the only highway. All the traffic was concentrated in on one road.
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5 months ago

Wayne EstesPeople warned me about awful traffic on 3A, but I found that road to be delightfully quiet compared to 3. The hills give good views, but it was quite smoky when I pedaled it. Helicopters were constantly scooping water out of Kootenay Lake.
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5 months ago

Wayne EstesI'm pretty sure Hwy 3 didn't have a shoulder when I pedaled it in 2007. Lots of things change over that many years.
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5 months ago

Kelly IniguezTo Wayne EstesIt’s interesting how having a roomy shoulder makes all of the difference. There have been a few cattle trucks and logging trucks. Not notable. What I have noticed is not too many RV’s. I’m more concerned about inexperienced RV drivers than I am professional truck drivers.

There were a few narrow pinch points in canyons, but mostly Highway 3 has been fine riding. I again qualify my statement with the background that home is Colorado, which often does not have ideal riding conditions.

I’d say the worst road of the trip so far was that five miles on Highway 141 near Ovando. I think that was partially hitting it on Sunday afternoon.
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5 months ago

Wayne EstesTo Kelly IniguezMy upcoming tour has 3 segments on I-90. The first segment is 5 miles if I go down an embankment to an access road, 8 miles if I go to the next exit. Hilly and not very scenic. The other two segments are 4 miles and 3 miles, both in a canyon with the Yellowstone river on my right. I can stop and take pictures in places where cars aren't allowed to stop. The wide shoulder makes it doable.
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5 months ago

Jeff LeeTo Kelly Iniguez"I again qualify my statement with the background that home is Colorado, which often does not have ideal riding conditions."

I believe I'm a very timid bicyclist, and the thing that scares me and upsets me the most is heavy traffic on roads with narrow, or no shoulders. I think that's why I've had bad experiences on every tour I've done in Colorado.

But I guess it's possible to get used to it? Maybe I need to toughen up, haha.

But not on my current tour :)
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5 months ago

Jeff LeeOne of the most unpleasant things on a bike tour is trouble sleeping due to noisy neighbors in motels (or, worse, in campgrounds.)

So, I sympathize.

I've been very lucky on my current tour in this regard, but I'll see what happens tonight at the Border Inn Casino motel :)
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5 months ago

Kelly IniguezTo Wayne EstesWe've ridden on the interstate, on occasion. The part I don't like is the shoulder always seems to be full of retread tire chunks, waiting to give me a flat tire!
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5 months ago