Day 10: soggy starts, speedy riders, and a whale of an ending 

Day 8 of riding began on a somber note. Suneet is heading home to take care of her arm, leg, and finger. All going well – she will meet us in Squamish.  

The team split up, with Heather driving Suneet to the Port Hardy airport while the rest of us took to the road. 

The night before had been a wet one. It rained heavily, and by morning everything was soaked, tents included. We took it slow and tried to dry things out as best we could, but in the end, there was nothing for it. Everything got packed wet, we loaded, and off we went. 

We enjoyed smooth pavement for a while before turning onto the usual gravel. The rain never let up, so we kept our heads down, ate our share of gravel, took splashes to the eyes, and kept riding. Eventually we realized the gravel road was just running parallel to the highway, so we took the hint and finished the journey on the paved shoulder, with traffic whipping past us at full speed.

After riding, riding, and more riding with minimal breaks, we rolled into a beautiful little town called Telegraph Cove, where Heather and Will were waiting. Our guide Will took one look at us and said there was no way, absolutely no way, we made it that fast.

That evening we settled into a campsite at Ida Lake and laid everything out to dry. The weather was on our side, and beautiful sunshine quickly air dried our gear and left it nice and toasty. With camp set up, we headed back into town, where we were treated to 3 humpback whales, 2 pods of orca, porpoises and dolphins. The salmon were jumping and the sea otters playing. WOWOWOWOWOW. 

Farid