July 8, 2007
Day 9: Watching the rain in Prince Rupert
It rained almost continuously overnight. I got up at 8:30 and noticed a bald eagle in a tree in the wetland next to the campsite. I made breakfast and packed up in the covered picnic pavilion. Finally got on the road at 11, in light rain. The forecast called for rain all day, so I just loafed around in Prince Rupert. I rode all the downtown streets and bought a jade Inukshuk that I need to mail home tomorrow.
A few blocks from downtown is Cow Bay, a former wharf that is redeveloped as a visitor center, cruise ship dock, and shopping mall. They get two cruise ships a week now and hope that more ships will dock in the future. Prince Rupert is also where the Alaska Ferry connects to B.C. Ferries. Most visitors arrive via ship.
I got a $21 bunk at the Pioneer Hostel in a historic building between downtown and Cow Bay. The hostel wasn't much more than half full but it was still crowded. I took advantage of their oven and baked a (frozen) BBQ chicken pizza. Something different from the usual camp stove food.
The rain finally stopped for a while at 8 PM so I took a walk down to the waterfront. The waterfront is 50 feet below downtown.
Today it rained most of the time until about 8PM, so I just stayed in Prince Rupert. I hope I will have better weather tomorrow because the scenery is supposed to be spectacular. I just had two consecutive rest days, so I need to hit the road.
The only road out of Prince Rupert is the Yellowhead Highway. I plan to ride 1100 km on this highway to the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Jasper, Alberta.
Distance: 12.6 km / 7.9 mi
Climbing: 149 m / 492 ft
Average speed: 10.9 km/h / 6.8 mph
Today's ride: 13 km (8 miles)
Total: 598 km (371 miles)
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