Sunday 14 October
What a cold start! Minus 2 Celsius, as we said goodbye to Huan and Annalore, who dropped us off at the start point where we ended a few weeks ago 25km past the Coquihalla summit. We’d all had a great breakfast at the Home café in Merritt, consciously parking in the sun to keep the hydraulics in the seat posts from collapsing.
We started off riding over frozen ground in the shadow of a huge mountain and were grateful for the first 10km of uphill work to keep us warm.
As we rounded a corner into the village of Brookmere (four houses?) the trail levelled off and we felt the sun on our backs and frozen fingers for the first time. The puddles – and cyclists – slowly thawed and the ride settled in to ranch lands and golden poplar groves.
A few delays on the way – Gill took a wrong turn and had to scramble down a shale cliff, several washaways and rockfalls, and some seriously dumb cows on the path.
The beautiful landscape tried hard to make up for the frustrating track, which was either thick sand or gravel, and populated by corrugated ruts caused by quad bikes (ATVs as they are called here). It made for a day of always-on concentration and bile management, and no leg rests.
Lunch 43km in at the Trading Post in Tulameen came after a gorgeous few km along the Tulameen Lake. A few km further on along the Tulameen river lay the semi-ghost town of Coalmont. Then down the valley with towering cliffs, tunnels and bridges along the Similkameen River and in to Princeton. The last hour was in the cold late afternoon with gorgeous golden light.
Finally found the first big wildlife of our journey – a few deer wandering the streets of Princeton! They are locally known as the town street gang.
Today’s distance: 70km
Totally covered: 717km
#transcanadatrail
#thegreattrail
Trans Canada Epic 