Manning Park to Princeton – 68.59 kms

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Friday June 26, 2015

The plan was to get up early and be on the road for 7:30 am. We did get up early (5:30), then faffed around getting breakfast and chasing away the Columbian ground squirrels, or yellow bellied marmots that thought we would feed them some of our oatmeal.

\"Another

These little rodents were not shy and as soon as they saw us setting up for breakfast they were all over us. Even stamping our feet at them did not deter them.

\"Gas

We were on the road at 8:00, and the first 20 kilometres was downhill, what a joy.

\"East

We stopped at a little gas station/post office and chatted to the owner.  On the way out we spotted this vehicle, it will never pull this trailer.

\"Not

We knew we had some climbing to do today, one big pass and three smaller hills.  We climbed 668 metres, a lot less climbing than yesterday. I didn\’t have any problems today, this is the first big pass we crossed.

\"I

The scenery was very typical of BC, soaring pines with clean, clear rivers.

\"Clear

It was a beautiful ride. We saw a moose with two babies.  There are actually two babies here, Mum was being protective.

\"Moose

At one of our rest stops, we spotted these wild roses.  You miss this kind of thing in a car, we are able to really stop and smell the roses.

\"Wild

The last hill we crested was opposite Copper Mountain!  Between 1927 and 1996, approximately US$6-billion worth of copper had been dug from the mountains south of town, extracted by at least five corporations, now all long gone. What was left, most traditional assays concluded, wasn\’t worth the cost of pulling out of the ground.

But by 2011, change was on the horizon, driven by both new technologies and distant market forces 9,000 km to the east. Under new management, Copper Mountain again began producing raw copper for export.

\"Copper

I always shake my head when I see signs of \”remediation\”.

\"Soil

We arrived in Princeton at 12:00, as we came down the hill, we could feel the heat rising. The temperature rose by three degrees as we descended into the Town. First things first, we had lunch, then we made our way to the campsite. It is situated about 10 minutes outside of Princeton on the Simikameen River. The owner brought us two camp chairs to sit on and we have been relaxing in the shade all afternoon.

\"River

I am currently sitting here in the campsite looking at two deer standing in the river, cooling off. I managed to figure out how to use Ralf\’s camera and got this photo.

\"Two

Later on in the evening the deer came back to the river and Ralf got this shot – this is why he is the photographer and I am the writer.

\"Deer\"

It is over 35 degrees in the shade. It is going to be a warm night in the tent. Tomorrow is going to be even hotter.

 

10 thoughts on “Manning Park to Princeton – 68.59 kms”

  1. Glad to see you two progressing towards the east (sort of). In about 10 days I’ll be following your trail on the same road as I start a circle ride out of Osoyoos to Princeton to Jasper then south to east Glacier National in Montana then west back to Osoyoos. Considerably less miles than your travels will take you.
    Hope your ride goes well and your blessed with sunshine and only good things.

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    • The scenery is stunning around here. Enjoy your ride, it was great to meet you and we hope to see you again sometime in the future. I can’t wish you wind at your back, because that would mean we get the headwinds:)

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  2. I don’t think my last comment came through so will try again. Do you feel as tho you are “home” now you are back in Canada or are you ready for another adventure. How long will it take you to get back to Barry, if thats where you are heading? lol.

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    • It did come through, I do feel as if I am home now. We are heading all the way across the country to Sidney Nova Scotia, about 6,000 kms. Then back to Barrie, probably early October.

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  3. Somebody asked me how many miles/Klm you had done and how many you would have done when you have finished?
    Al, thing good here, had my pre op so phase 2 should be svhefuled shortly, will let you know. Xx

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    • We have done 24,000 kms and we have about 5,000 kms to go. Countries visited New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, N.Ireland, Eire, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Spain, Gibralter, Cuba, U.S., Canada (in order).

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  5. We have this wonder 84 years old cyclist who cycles from Bristol to Sherston to our coffee morning at the church, he is loving hearing about your trip and he is following you on Winter rides, he is still in New Zealand with you at the moment, and loves the photos and narrative, he is having a giggle with me at the moment wondering if your still as enthusiastic now your nearing the end, I laughed and told him I wasn’t going to spoil it for him, he’s worried he might “trip over the pail” without finishing with you, he’ll be fine though.

    I am still so very proud of you both, and brag about you all the time, I must admit I cried when you crossed over into Canada… What a trip

    Love you both. Xx

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    • Gotta love those old cyclists. Did you cry because you thought it was almost over or because we are almost home?

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  6. I think a bit of both, but mostly due to you being on your own soil, and nit from relief or anything like that, I just had an lovely feeling in my heart that god had looked after us all, and the different journeys we have been on these ladt 18 months.

    Xx

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