Adventure is Just a Bike Ride Away

by Peter Smith

From mid-July to early August, my partner Maria and I enjoyed a 3-week bikepacking trip across many of BC’s fascinating and scenic rail trails. Maria had spent a great deal of time over the previous winter, reviewing social media posts and bikepacking routes to combine elements of the Trans-Canada Trail, the Big Griz, the BC Epic 1000 and the Tour Divide routes. 

Heading into the BC Interior in mid-summer, my biggest concerns were heat and wildfire smoke. Surprisingly, our first day, from Victoria to Nanaimo, was one of the hottest, causing Maria’s lunch to reappear. Some ginger ale at the Nanaimo airport and a relaxing ferry ride helped restore energy levels. We were fortunate to find a camp site at Porteau Cove, 20 km south of Squamish, for our first night, where a dip in Howe Sound (for me) and a shower (for Maria) helped to refresh our sweaty bodies.

Day two held some of the worst cycling of the trip, with a few steep and rocky hike-a-bike sections along the Sea to Sky trail. While lifting my bike over a concrete barrier, a cable snagged, causing me some shifting issues. After an unsuccessful repair attempt, a kind mechanic in Whistler restored my gear options, although I later learned it was only a temporary fix.

The Sea to Sky trail becomes much more enjoyable from Whistler to Pemberton, with the highlight being “Gord’s Garden” along Green River, with sections winding through a large, historic rock slide. Our route became decidedly less pleasant the next day, as we started riding up the “Highline Trail,” which is a steep and rolling dirt road between Darcy and Seton Portage. As the grade hit 24% on the initial climb (and we heard the next climb out of Seton was even harder), we decided to backtrack to Pemberton and ride over the Duffy Lake road instead.   

After a lengthy but rideable climb up the Duffy Lake road, we were rewarded with stunning alpine views and mostly downhill riding into Lillooet. We found an almost-deserted provincial campground (Cinnamon) along the Cayoosh Creek, with a dip in the river helping to cool the legs after 2,000 m of climbing.

The trail options were limited outside of Lillooet, so we took Hwy 99 past Marble Canyon to Hat Creek Road, which basically becomes a trail. As our water supply dwindled, we planned to camp near a series of three creeks. Unfortunately, all the creeks had dried up and, out of desperation, we UV-treated and then boiled water from a cow pond. Not ideal!   

Our trail eventually connected with Highway 1 heading towards Spences Bridge, then we entered the Nicola Valley and headed for Merritt. Evidence from the 2021 fires was hard to miss, with blackened trees and many new homes through the valley. It helped us appreciate the smoke-free air, which is becoming much less common during the summer in the Interior.    

Outside Merritt, the riding became more interesting, as we left the pavement heading up toward Kane Valley Road, then south past recreation sites toward Tulameen and on to Princeton, where we joined the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. Our route would have been much simpler if we could have started the KVR in Hope but, unfortunately, parts of the trail were washed out during the ‘atmospheric river’ of 2021, and due to cost, there are no immediate plans to repair it. We stayed at a small campground outside Princeton, where I was surprised to see well over 100 small tents and a few ATCO trailers. Later in the evening, about 50 BC Wildfire trucks rolled in, and a few dirty and tired firefighters came over to the small lake for a dip.  

A pleasant day, mostly on the road (paved, then unpaved) took us into Summerland, then Penticton. The KVR led us out toward Narmata, where we enjoyed views of Skaha Lake and the wineries. As we neared Myra Canyon, our luck at avoiding the forecasted thunderstorms finally ran out. A massive black wall with booming thunder was quickly approaching. With the impending storm, we decided to shorten our day and found a reasonable campsite, but unfortunately were again without water. While laying in the tent listening to the heavy rainfall, my thirst got the better of me, so I positioned all of our cups and pots along the edge of the tent fly.  By morning, we had over 2L of fresh water!

It rained for about 10 hours straight and stopped in the early morning, perfect timing! Crossing the numerous trestles and tunnels through Myra Canyon was a highlight. More pleasant forestry roads eventually led us to Beaverdell, then on and off Highway 3 to Greenwood, Grand Forks and Christina Lake. After a long climb heading toward Paulson Summit, we returned to the Trans-Canada Trail, which runs along an abandoned rail line. Historic markers described the influx of Russian doukhobors to the area in the early 1900s. We passed the site of a mysterious train explosion that killed their religious leader. I guess pacifists can have enemies too.

From the pass, we began a 45-km descent, which led through numerous tunnels, including the well-known kilometre-long Bulldog tunnel near Castlegar. If you ride this section, bring a light.   We enjoyed lovely views of Upper Arrow Lake as we made our way toward the Interfor mill on the outskirts of Castlegar.  

We followed the Columbia River Trail, part of the Trans-Canada Trail and BC Epic 100 route between Castlegar and Trail. Most of the riding was enjoyable single-, or double-track, with some frustratingly steep and sandy sections along the Columbia River. Fortunately, neither of us took an unexpected swim, but don’t be in a hurry through here! We continued to Salmo, then over to Nelson. A massive burger in Nelson was a welcome change from our routine of bean wraps and fish soup. A short ferry across Kootenay Lake brought us to a campground at the base of the infamous Grey Creek Pass, the highest unpaved road in Canada.  

In keeping with our routine, we started the climb early to avoid the worst of the heat. After being attacked by black flies for the 1,550-metre climb, we hit the summit, where the air became chillier as we transitioned from the West to East Kootenays. Another very long bumpy descent led to Kimberly, and then Cranbrook.

We were rewarded with the Chief Isador Trail leading out of Cranbrook, the highlight being the Mayook Trail, which includes a very enjoyable 17 km of rolly singletrack. The cycling became less enjoyable as we passed Elko and started up a steep rocky climb. Maria’s front wheel slipped out, and she fell onto her side, landing on her bear canister, releasing the noxious spray. While struggling to breathe, she managed to kick the canister away, but not before it had soaked into her clothes, leaving her with irritated skin for a few days. 

We continued on to Fernie and started meeting some grizzled folks riding northbound along the Tour Divide route–which is now on both of our bucket lists! As we were heading north from Sparwood, I heard a snap and could no longer shift my rear derailleur. This necessitated a two-geared 40-km time trial back to Fernie, where a mechanic replaced the cable. Rather than face the uphill, upwind ride back to Sparwood, we loaded our bikes on a local bus back to Sparwood. As a bonus, we had a good conversation with a millwright who works at the Glencore mine.  

We made our way north up the Elk Valley, and I was shocked at the extent of the coal mining operations outside Elkford. I wouldn’t have guessed that black coal lies beneath the soil on the surrounding mountains. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, watching these super-sized excavators filling enormous haul trucks. The millwright told us they mine ‘metalurgic’ grade coal which is shipped by train out to the ports around Vancouver, then off to Asia.

Along Elk Valley Rd, three vehicles pulled over to warn us about a large grizzly eating by the side of the road. To avoid an encounter, we set up camp a little early that day. The next day, we enjoyed a lake breakfast at the scenic and peaceful Elk Lake, before leaving BC and riding into Kananaskis Country. Next up was a long, scenic ride along the gravel Smith-Dorien Hwy to Canmore.  

Outside Canmore, I asked Google Maps to recommend a route to Calgary, and it directed us through First Nations land. During our trip, we passed many reserves with signs saying visitors are not welcome, so I wanted a second opinion. We stopped at a gas station where I asked a local Indigenous man if passing through the reserve was a bad idea. He said some people won’t want us there, and for our own safety, we should avoid it. So we stuck to the highway.  

Staying with family in Calgary helped ease the transition back to civilized life, before we packed up our bikes and caught a discount flight back to Victoria. All in all, we were very lucky with the weather, and this route allowed a glimpse into BC's past with the abandoned rail routes and history of some early immigrants, along with a first-hand view of the current forestry, mining and tourism industries. But mostly, it was just good fun, we both enjoyed plenty of exercise while spending three weeks roaming across the province.