We got legs and we know how to use em. Admittedly they might be getting a bit tired, but we’ve got remedies … compression socks, rest stops, stretch-it strap, happy hour, Motrin.
Heading west out of Jasper on highway 16, we overnighted in Beaumont Provincial Park. When we need to put down some miles, a stop like Beaumont was a No-Clam, No-Drop stay. With the T@G staying on the hitch and no protected place to relax, it is difficult to even recall the park. The laminated flyers warning of aggressive biting wood thatch ants helps place it in our memory. Surprisingly, plenty of families around us made peace with the insects and appeared to be having fun. Canadians are a more hearty bunch than us Floridians.
We rolled in late to Beaumont because we had been choring it up in Prince George, British Columbia. Five thousand miles out of the Sunshine State, it was time to effect some modifications to our teardrop, which was letting in too much water and light. Boss needed an oil refresh.
Prince George is one of two cities between Jasper and Kluane, our next National Park destination located in the southwestern Yukon Territory. It’s a working class industrial town divided into two distinct sections – one with a Costco, Walmart and reputable oil change facility and the other with drug users sleeping in the middle of the street and thrift shops that give out backpacks and clothing to the homeless with vouchers from the city. Unaware of this layout, we started out at St. Vincent DePaul to find a solution to 18 hours of sunlight a day interfering with our sleep cycle.
The T@G has a roof vent that needs to be open for ventilation when sleeping. Already, night is limited to after midnight and before 3 am. Soon we will be in Midnight Sun where it shines 24/7. The open vent makes it feel like daytime even when the shades are down. We brainstormed many ideas, from weed barrier on a frame velcroed to the ceiling inside, to a box pierced with holes that would cover the vent on the outside. None of them sounding plausible, we decided to leave it to the thrifting gods and what presented itself. The solution involved some discarded baby window shades, a needle and thread and 4 velcro tabs. Creative reuse!
Out of Beaumont, we did a dogleg right to 37 North, aka the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, a 500 mile scenic drive through central British Columbian wilderness with overnight stops in Meziadan and Boya Provincial Parks to preserve our sanity. Now in Leg 3 (Reposition to the Top of the World) of our Tropics to Tundra journey, the weather has come full circle.
In Leg 1 (Cross the US) it was shorts and dresses by day, windows open feeling the cool down by night. Leg 2 (Traverse the Canadian Rockies) it was jeans and coats by day, long underwear huddled in the sleeping bag by night. Sitting on the bank of Meziadan Lake in central British Columbia on the same plane as Juneau, AK, but instead of 55 and mild, the sun was high and strong topping 80, 15 degrees higher than average. We were sweating and swatting; not the most favorable combination.
The stretch-your-legs segment up the Stewart-Cassier Hwy into Boya Lake was a four bear day. Bears out numbered gas stations 2:1. One hundred miles or more is common between service stations where fuel runs more than $10 per gallon when one can find it. Fortunately, Boss is averaging 14 mpg which is actually decent for a big truck towing. If fuel services were rare, all other connectivity was non-existent. Massive triple-tow rigs hauling raw materials and the occasional RV were our only companions on the highway. There were no lack of stunning lunch locations as long as you brought everything needed except the scenery.
Transitions are taxing. 1500+ miles in a few days means repeated same day camp pack and unpacks with little time to enjoy the view. Transitions break rhythms, test patience, challenge moods. Just as we were lamenting the weather, mosquito and light transition we met Luca and Andre, two guys on a 2 1/2 year journey to cycle from Brazil to Alaska. They just crossed 20,000 miles. They carry everything they own on their bikes, sleep on mats, clean up in public restrooms, eat out of convenience stores. Are they broken or are they brilliant? We look at our truck and T@G in comparison. Maybe Leg 3 transition is nothing taxing after all.
