Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Slept well in Smithers, nice and quiet campground. Some of the parks are close to the major roads, so you’ll hear cars and trucks or see lights. Williams Lake was close to an industrial area and was bright the whole night through. It doesn’t bother me, because 1) I sleep like a dead rock, and 2) the tent is light-proof. That’s a blessing, since it’s bright quite early and stays bright quite late now.

Had breakfast in McDonalds, and they don’t have Hazelnut flavor for the iced coffee. How is a man supposed to live like this? Is this the best that civilization can do? It disgusts me.

The road out of Smithers was, as expected, beautiful. Farmland with horses running around, with snow-capped mountains whose peaks are obscured by fog. I had to stop a few times to take pictures and just take it in. Occasional rain, which wasn’t so bad. My windshield is an insect graveyard, so rain is a welcome attempt to clean some of it.

Eventually, the road found and followed a small river, which turned into a medium river, which turned into an enormous river. This led to a city called Terrace, which seemed to be a nice, medium size city that straddles a riverbank. The river snakes around the city, and mountains ring that, so at all ends of the horizon you have imposing mountains with snow runoff – even waterfalls!

It’s a pretty place, but it’s also the last stop for 100 miles until you get to Prince Rupert. I had enough gas, so I kept going. The road just west of there turns into loose gravel, as they’re doing improvements and construction to the roads. It seemed like 40 miles of these semi-paved roads; they were better than dirt, but not quite as smooth as asphalt. They were more dusty than anything else, as they were still groomed and relatively smooth.

The road continues alongside the now-enormous river in a very scenic drive. There are a number of provincial parks, similar to National Parks in the US. It seemed like a nice area, and there were occasional rest stops on the side of the road. These are just paved areas with a bathroom and picnic tables, so there aren’t any services there; it’s literally a place to stop. But I’ve made a habit of stopping at most of them to get out and enjoy nature a bit. Some of them have small forest trails nearby. I’m not sure who drives 50 miles into nothingness as a starting point for their hikes, but they were small foottrails, not particular established hiking paths. Still, it’s a nice spot to stretch your legs.