May 21, Toad River BC
May 21, Toad River, BC
We are currently at the Toad River Lodge and will spend the night here.
Entering Toad River
Toad River is famous for all the hats on the ceiling in its restaurant.
Toad River Hats
We left the KM 536 rest stop at about noon on May 20th, after a very cold night. Because of my illness, we decided to bike short distances for a few days–the alternative would be for me to park myself somewhere. It seems that making some progress is better than none.
I wanted to make sure I wasn’t coming down with strep, so I had Allen take a picture of my tonsils for Dr. Hernandez at Alpine Woods Medical to evaluate (they are normal, you can relax now).
Sore throat
Elizabeth thought I looked pretty silly, so she snapped this picture of the experience:
Filming tonsils
Tonsils aside, our goal on the 20th was to make it to summit lake, and then to Toad River on the 21st. The past two days have been incredible from a scenery perspective.
Pond on the side of the road
Allen saw what could only be a pack of wolves. Then, we saw another pair of bears–this time I took the picture, using the telephoto option on my phone.
Another black bear
Almost immediately after the bear, we saw a yearling moose crossing the road.
Moose
A moose scares me more than a bear. Many years ago, my father and I were charged by a moose with a calf.
We encountered our first major road construction on the Alaskan Highway. Strangely, the contractors would not allow us to bike along the road and insisted on loading the bikes onto the back of an already packed pickup. We jumped into the cab and were driven the few miles along the project. The man driving the truck was an interesting fellow. He used to know the legendary Rick Hansen, who is one of my personal heroes.
Road construction
There are not a lot of services along the Alaskan Highway, but what there are are quite good. For miles, we had been hearing about the cinnamon rolls at Tetsa River
Tetsa River
We arrived and had a lunch consisting of the cinnamon rolls and sausage sandwitches. Totally blew the diet, but wow!
The climb to summit lake was very difficult, but not as hard as the previous day’s. For those of you who bike in Boulder, picture the last 2 miles of the ride to Ward. Now, do it 5 times, on a bike that weighs 100 pounds. That’s the climbing I did on May 19th and 20th, with a bad cold. Whew… But the lake was breathtaking.
Summit Lake
You can’t keep Allen out of an Alpine lake. I’ve personally witnessed him swimming at 11,500 feet. Elizabeth enjoyed the water too, but almost slipped on the way in.
Stepping into Summit Lake
The campground boasted a double-decker outhouse–something have never seen before. I pitty the person who uses the bottom…
The ride to Toad River was mostly downhill. My friend Rich Dixon challenged me to exceed the legal speed limit; today I encountered a run rated at 60 km/hour.
Curve in the road
Doing some quick math, I decided that I’d need to go 36.6 mph to break this speed. I gritted my teeth and then applied the brakes as soon as I hit the mark. Only later, I realized that I stopped a bit early–I’d needed 37.6 mph. Rats!
But the ride into Toad River was the prettiest yet. I’ll close out this post with some pictures. Tomorow we ride to Muncho Lake, and then on to Liard River Hot Springs.
Riding into Toad River
Allen T.
Mountain runoff
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Gorgeous scenery! I hope you feel better in the coming days, Scott. I’m enjoying tracking your ride, it’s very inspirational. Stay strong…
-John
Thanks, John! I sure wish I had thought to take some cold medicine along. We are 4-5 days away from even a simple store.
I can only do ONE ride to Ward. 5X, no way. Amazing scenery.. we are really enjoying riding the Alaskan Highway vicariously, not sure we would survive the real thing! Hope you feel better soon.
Wow Scott! So great to see the progress you are making… Inspires us to see the Alaskan Highway someday too! Keep after it!
Hi Scott, Allen and Elizabeth,
Alpine lakes this time of year are indeed refreshing! Yeah, that just melted snow chills them muscles quite quickly.
Enjoy!
Hey Scott! Hope the cold isn’t slowing you down. Thinking of you — out here at Ball for the MCS FQT. Wishing you well from the infamous FQT Conference Room! Beautiful pictures. Eric was showing me where you are on Google Maps. Must be nice to have some company!
Scott,
Hope you are on the mend when you read this. I’ve been enjoying sharing your journey through your blogs immensely! I know the journey within must be spectacular as well:) We’ll keep the light on for ya!
Hi Scott! Looks like you are having the adventure of a lifetime like you were hoping. What a beautiful time of year to be in BC and thanks very much for sharing the photos. Hope you are feeling better by now and I hope the weather favors two wheeled travelers. Take care, ride on! -Brian