We arrived on the mainland BC around 4 pm, which meant we still had hours and hours of daylight to get to a beautiful campsite. Just like Vancouver Island, northern BC is filled with so called “rec sites” – primitive, clean campsites, usually in stunning locations. The only issues we encountered were that the sun stays up very late, and the mosquitos are absolutely savage.
Next morning we stopped in Terrace for breakfast. Before leaving we dropped by a motorcycle shop to buy some oil. Apparently, Alex’s bike was consuming a bit of it. While topping it up and checking the level, we put the bottle on the ground, where it was promptly driven over by a truck driver deciding to drive in and park right over the pedestrian walk way which led to the store. Damaged but not destroyed, we figured it was safe to take the remaining nearly full bottle with us, provided it’s double bagged and kept strictly upright. The loop created by the roll top buckle on the Mosko duffel bag proved a perfect match for this task.
We planned to follow Cassiar highway north, but took a slight detour along the Nisgaa highway in the first part of the day. It is an absolutely spectacular ride through the landscape formed by Canada’s most recent volcanic eruption. Around 300 years ago Tseax Cone erupted, sending lava flows over a large area and destroying two Nisga’a villages, killing an estimated 2000 people. Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park covers a lot of this devastated area, and it’s a very unique place. Turquoise streams snake around forests and black lava beds, with plenty of offshoots leading to waterfalls, pools, lava tubes, lava tree molds, and all sorts of other volcanic features.
Since we had lots of time, we went all the way to the end of Kincolith Rd, to the community of Gingolx, where we finally found a place to have lunch. Along the way we encountered many bears by the road, most notably a mama bear with a cub. With us still far away, she walked out into the middle of the road, looked up, made a sign to her cub to follow, and crossed the road. The little bear ran across and disappeared into the bush, while mama bear stood up on her hind legs and checked out our bikes as we passed. She was probably disappointed it wasn’t a KTM.
To continue north, Nisgaa highway turned into a dirt road for the final few dozen kilometers, before connecting to Cassiar. From there we encountered more and more bears, mostly eating grass that grows on the side of the road. Apparently, the particular grass that road crews plant on the embankments to prevent erosion is delicious to bears. That’s why it’s very common to see bears feeding on it, and even more common to see poop piles they leave behind on the shoulders. We kept count of the bears and it got fun because there were so many. At one point we were passing tall grass on the side and out pops a bear. The surprise encounter was met with a cry of fear and excitement all rolled into one with the sound of my engine.
There is no cell coverage for most of the way, but in Meziadin Junction, along with gasoline, cold drinks and sad sandwiches one could purchase WiFi access in hourly increments, if one really absolutely needs it. We got the sandwiches, because there aren’t a lot of options up here, but enjoyed them a bit further away in a scenic spot, because we still have standards.
All in all we counted 13 bears that day. With that in mind I was a bit apprehensive about camping in an empty rec site. What made the choice a bit more obvious was the fact that after a 14 hour day covering 620 km of riding, with some hiking added in for good measure, I was about to fall off my bike, despite the sun still happily shining in the sky. The nearest campsite was a busy provincial park, with the next one being another hour away. We got one of the last remaining spots. Subjectively, I feel like with other people around the mosquitoes were about 8% less aggressive.
