Yellowhead Highway

Post date: Jun 30, 2016 9:46:01 PM

I left Prince George a lot later than I wanted given I had planned to ride almost 600 miles this leg down the Yellowhead Highway. I had an issue with my bank that cost me half an hour on the phone. I also needed to pick up a spare fuel can just in case. As you can imagine, there are long stretches of road up here with no services whatsoever. The last thing I want is to run out of fuel.

Chieftain Auto Parts had a 1.5 gallon fuel can that hangs perfectly off the side of one of my dry bags.

Finally, I headed out, and many miles later, I stopped for fuel. The attendant said, "Watch out for the storms." Great.

As I was gearing back up, several adventure riders pulled into the parking lot. I chatted with them for a bit, and they too talked about the impending storms. One of them also told me that the road ahead had been washed out in several places. Great!

I almost made it Chetwynd, BC before the heavens opened up. The storm was hanging over a valley, and you could see the rain falling well before actually hitting it. I was prepared. What sucked was the road construction to fix the roads. The road was mud and slick as a banana peel. Add in the rain, and let the fun begin. I was forced to sit in traffic a couple of times in the pouring rain too. Not fun.

Arriving in Chetwynd was really cool though. Apparently, it is the chainsaw carving Mecca of the world. Both sides of the road are lined with impressive examples of human creativity every 50 yards all the way through town.

I made a pit stop in Dawson's Creek at an Asian place that made good bibimbap, a Korean delicacy.

Outside of Dawson's Creek, there was a wonderful smell in the air. Lilac, jasmine, honeysuckle, pine, many others all mixed together. It was relaxing.

Now, the really sucky part. The Alaska Highway from Dawson's Creek through Fort Nelson and beyond is mostly flat, straight, and boring for hundreds of miles. Zzzzz...

Because of the late start, weather, and construction, I didn't make my planned destination of Tetsa River Regional Park. Instead, I got a room in Fort Nelson for the night.