BC Tour — Prince Rupert to Port Hardy

People

I met two bicycle tourists just as I arrived at Prince Rupert, the City of Rainbows. They were starting out at Prince Rupert because that’s where the Yellowhead Highway starts. He is going to spend the summer going across Canada, and she is riding to Jasper, Alberta. I got them to take my picture in front of the Prince Rupert welcome sign. I am wearing the top half  of my rain gear (helmet cover and jacket) to keep warm. It’s not raining, so my rain pants are still stashed in one of my panniers.

A curious hitchhiker on his way out of Prince Rupert waved me down just before that. He had all kinds of questions. Where did I come from? Why did I come? Why didn’t I drive? I imaging there are quite a few bicycle tourists that come in and out of Prince Rupert, but most people probably don’t come into contact with them.

I discovered that the same woman (and her husband) that came over to talk at the Kleanza Campground are now here in this campground. They are waiting for a ferry to Alaska. They have a “Slumber Queen” RV, and it turns out they were one the three Slumber Queens that I spotted from time to time on the way from Osoyous to Williams Lake.

We had all traveled the same distance, but my choice of RV kept me on the road for eight or ten hours a day, while they drove only a couple of hours. One of the fellows in the other Slumber Queens had been a medic in Africa and Italy during WW-II. He was also a Radio Amateur, and we talked about that for a while. The other fellow ran a junk yard and a motel. He was taking the summer off to travel.

Weather

When I tell people I live in Spokane I’m often asked, “Don’t you get a lot of rain there?” Or something equivalent. Then I get to explain that Spokane is not Seattle, and that we are on the other side of the desert in the middle of Washington. Precipitation in Spokane is barely adequate for pine trees. If you said you lived in Ketchikan they’d probably ask the same thing, and they would be right. They might not even think of rain if you said you lived in Prince Rupert though.

According to Wikipedia, the average annual precipitation for Ketchikan is 153 inches per year. Prince Rupert is almost as wet at 103 inches, and Port Hardy is relative dry at 75 inches. Prince Rupert has them both beat — 244 days per year with measurable precipitation compared to 229 for Ketchikan and 216 for Port Hardy. In other words, the the Pacific coast is wet. Seattle is way behind all three of them at 38 inches per year and around 100 days of measurable precipitation (the Olympic Rain Forests are nearly as wet as Ketchikan though).

My day off in Prince Rupert wasn’t a big success (fun though). It rained lightly all day, with just enough letups to let me get some essential things done, like fixing the slow leak in my rear tire. And I was able to go downtown a couple of times. There are people who live in tents here for the summer. It’s too cold for tropical fungus here, or they’d have a real problem though. The weather had one more gift for me when I left. I got soaked by a downpour on the way to the ferry.

Downtown

About 12,000 people live in Port Hardy, so it has a prosperous downtown. I had some great seafood at Smile’s Seafood Cafe. The next day I made the info center/museum my center for business there. After looking at the displays, I went next door to Peg Leg’s (probably a fisherman, not a pirate) for lunch. Then I went to Safeway for Kaiser rolls, cheese, an orange and a couple of bananas, pita bread, and a bag of black figs. The later two are important cycling staples. I took a shower, and did some laundry when I got back to camp.

It would be fun to spend more time at Prince Rupert. There are many interesting things to see and do here, but I was on a journey, not at my destination. Also, the rain would make it difficult to access outdoor activities and adventures while living a tent. I see in my notes that I had some ideas for warmer clothes for this climate too. I’d need to do something about that. So it’s off to the ferry after my day off here.

Ferry to Port Hardy

I went to buy my ferry ticket early in the morning of my day off, but the computer system for the whole ferry system was down. I was able to buy my ticket later on in the day though. I didn’t want to leave that task to the day I was taking the ferry (which turned out to be a wise plan). Then I came back to camp and planned my departure in the morning. The ferry landing was less than a mile away from the camp, so getting there was no problem, but the rain might be.

The ferry was leaving at 6:30 am, but I woke up at 4:00. I ate a quick breakfast, and then got everything stowed on my bicycle. I had a plan if it rained. I had one waterproof bag with dry clothes to change into, and another bag to put wet clothes in (if worst came to worst).

It began to rain lightly as I left the campground. By the time I queued up to board the ferry the worst did come, and I was dripping water when I got on the ferry. People on the ferry stared at me. I guess they wondered what kind of fool would board a ferry with a bicycle on a day like today.

After changing to dry clothes, and buying a latte and some chocolate kisses I went to the Prince of Wales Lounge on the ferry. There I was surrounded by a cluster of Germans. What a dour bunch. Later on a more energized German came in though, and he got them all going.

I had a reservation at Wildwoods Campsite “on the road to the ferry” at Port Hardy — shaded sites, flush toilets, showers…. The lady on the phone seemed cheerful about my arrival at 10:30 pm. I rode to the campground as soon as I got off the ferry, and there she was. I discovered that there were no lights in the tent camping area though.

All I had was a small flashlight, and it was drizzling. Oh well. I just got my tent pitched, and my gear inside it when a young woman arrived in the dark on her bicycle. I helped her find a somewhat level spot and pitch her tent. Then I retired for the night. It was after midnight, so I went right to sleep. I probably dreamed about my plans for the next day.