In Prince Rupert we had organized to get our rear CV joint fixed at Franks Auto. They had us in and out of the shop in just over an hour with amazingly friendly service, so a huge props goes out to Frank and his guys in Prince Rupert.
As we left PR we hadn't driven 100km before we started to feel our front bearings go. Some times it's just one thing after another, but we have driven Kumu pretty hard and over some very unfriendly roads not to mention we have clocked over 10 000 kms since we left on August 16th, so I suppose she was due for some TLC. We managed to get the bearings done in Prince George and started heading south, next destination, Whistler, B.C. our home away from home. Being the people that we are, there was no way we could just simply drive down the highway (not to mention our van is no match for the speeders of the highways). So we headed west from Williams Lake determined to get some great driving and great scenery on the forestry roads. For those of you who haven't been to BC... they have more logging roads than they know what to do with, but we were confident we could navigate them with ease and the use of a vague CAA map. Apparently we were wrong
Our Camp site on the Fraser River just south of Riske Creek was a pretty amazing spot!
Kumu peeking through the grass
An old run down shack near where we camped.
We ran into a couple of guys from Ontario and Victoria and proceeded to have a great campfire on the beach. The next day they decided to follow us on an adventure through the logging roads. Perhaps not the smartest decision they have ever made. When we finally figured out where we were they made a quick exit for Highway 97 and didn't look back.
The next day we started driving with our new friends following behind in their 1984 BMW. We were confident where we were headed and excited to explore. Our confidence slowly dwindled as the logging roads because smaller and smaller and rougher and rougher. A couple of times we conceeded defeat and admitted we had made a wrong turn somewhere a ways back. So we would turn around, with the BMW in tow and try another road. This lasted a couple of hours till we finally saw another vehicle and flagged it down to ask where we were. Turns out we were about 40km west of where we needed to be in an area that was completely devoid of roads according to our map. Oops! We finally managed to get on the right track but what was supposed to be a nice 4-5 hour drive to Whistler turned out to be a 9 hour drive and we only made it to Lillooet! However it was filled with incredible views and a feeling of adventure, so we weren't too stressed about it all.
Big Bar ferry over the Fraser River followed by a seven kilometer uphill of 23 degree slope... a little rough for ol' Kumu, but she made it up and made us proud. This is about 100km north of Lillooet, BC.
One of the many incredible views over looking the Fraser Valley
We finally made it the next day to Whistler. A place that is pretty special to both Andrew and I. That being said, it was pretty strange to have travelled for two months non-stop only to end up in a place thats only 9 hrs from home! However, this made it easy for my parents to pop over from Canmore and come for a visit. It was great to see them and my dad and I even managed to get a few wicked Downhill bike runs in on the last day of the Whistler Bike Park! A big thanks to Craig and Juniper for letting us crash at their house! It has been great fun catching up with friends and being in a place that is so welcoming and comforting. It will be a little bit hard to pull ourselves away from the fun of this little mountain town, but the south is calling our name and there are two surfboards somewhere in California or Mexico that are just itching to be bought by us so we can begin the next great chapter of our journey!
My dad Clive and I after shredding some gnar at the Whistler Bike Park!
No comments:
Post a Comment