Canada Bikepacking Summary - Jasper to Bellingham

Our ride through Alberta, BC, and Washington was fantastic. We’d love to go back and do the ride on the Great Northern Bikepacking Route from Princeton to Squamish another time (we skipped it due to a heat wave, and cut through Vancouver instead). Here are some of the highs, lows, and statistics of our trip:

Ride Numbers

Total days: 41

Rest days: 6 (3 due to Ed getting injured)

Miles travelled: 1716

Total Elevation gain: 92244’

Longest ride:  Day 19 - 80.3 miles

Shortest ride: Day 22 - 8.3 (Ed got hurt)

Average: 49 miles per day

Most climbing in a day: Day 7 - 4600’

Least climbing in a day: Day 20 - 240’

Days with rain: 12

Days with snow: 3

Number of Ferry Rides: 10

Overnights

Camping: 15 nights

Hotel: 23 nights

Hostel: 3 nights

Best Breakfasts

Mel’s in Elkhorn

Full Circle Cafe in Nelson

Best wildlife experiences

* Seeing two wolves in Alberta, near Banff and in the Peter Lougheed Provincial park

* A grouse hen, protecting her chicks, circling Ed while flapping her wings and tail

* A trio of bumbling black bear cubs in Port Coquitlam (mama bear ignored us)

* Seeing a dozen or more bald eagles by the old Cumberland dump

Most infuriating wildlife

Raven that stole 2 Clif bars off Ed’s bike along the Ice Fields parkway

Most overpriced meal

The charcuterie we ordered in a Victoria wine bar that turned out to be a cereal bowl of potato chips layered with a couple thin slices of cheese and salami. Perhaps we should have been more wary of a place called “Tourist”

Most fun singletrack (There was a lot of fun singletrack though some was hard on fully packed gravel bikes).

* High Rockies trail

* Elk Valley Trail segment from Koko Claims to Elkford

* Trails circling Courtenay on Vancouver Island after we arrived on the ferry to Comox — so much shady, winding singletrack that day!

Best swims (only when the weather turned warm):

* Horne Lake near the rec area at the west end of the lake

* Below the dam of Comox Lake

Saddest part

Learning that a wildfire destroyed much of Jasper including the hostel where we stayed

People

Meeting other bikepackers is so fun, especially those who were also on the GNBR. Super fun to get to meet and camp with the route creator, Matt Kadey.

Best berries 

Thimbleberries in Lake Cochiwan campground. I think we were a little early for berries in most place.

Fake bears and wildflowers

Wildflowers and fake bears were abundant, and we had fun trying to snap a picture of each one we saw

Canada - Day 41 - Deception Bay to Bellingham

39.3 miles, 1627’ climbing, deer

We packed up early and left the Deception Bay campground before most other campers were up. From the Deception Pass bridge, we could see the water below flowing quickly and swirling with a strong current. It looked like the tide was going out. 

We hopped on the shoulder of the busy highway 30 for several miles before turning off on quieter side roads. Near Anacortes we had breakfast sandwiches and coffee at a coffee house. A local road biker tipped us off on the safest way to get across the Swinomish bridge, and then we headed up the coast on a trail near the south Padilla wildlife area. Roads were pretty quiet, and the riding pretty easy. At Larabee State Park we turned off Chuckanut Drive and onto the interurban trail. This took us right to Sarah’s sister’s house and the end of our bikepacking trip. 

Canada - Day 40 - Eaglemont Rockery to Deception Bay

47.5 (5.5 on ferry) miles, 2001’ climbing, deer

We had a dozen or so miles to our ferry in Port Townsend, and we knew it didn’t leave until 11am due to the tides. For 4.5 miles, we were back on the road with no shoulder and a lot of traffic. When a dump truck breezed past our elbow, we could see that the driver was trying to give us space, but due to oncoming traffic and narrow lanes, there was no space to give. We were glad to turn off onto a less travelled road and finally a trail into town. We had breakfast at the Blue Moose Cafe, pumped our tires at a local bike shop and cleaned our drive trains, then finally boarded the ferry to Coupeville along with 10 other bike travelers.

After leaving the Coupeville ferry, we were on a charming road between the east and west coasts of Whidbey Island. The breeze, the clapboard houses, and the feel of the place made us think of New England, a different feel than Vancouver Island or the Olympic Peninsula. 

We passed through Coupeville and headed up the coast. Near the town of Oak Harbor, we ended up on the highway shoulder with a lot of traffic, and the riding was less enjoyable. We picked up some groceries, then continued up the highway to Deception Bay. The campground was fully booked, but they have hiker/biker sites which are available without reservation to those not arriving by way of car, and we were the only people doing that today. 

Cranberry Lake is separated from the ocean (straits of San Juan de Fuca?) only by a spit of land. We walked down along the lake and then the dramatic west and north beaches of Whidbey Island, next to our camp site.  It’s a beautiful place to camp.

Tomorrow this ride ends, which we both look forward to and are sad about. Sarah handed off her bear spray and threw the dreaded blue shirt in the garbage, the shirt that stretched and looked weird, was hot in the sun but not warm in cool weather, that was slow to dry, and that she spilled food on repeatedly. Adios, dreadful blue shirt. Throwing it out felt great.

Canada - Day 39 - Victoria to Eaglemount Rockery

 64.9 miles, 2096’ climbing

Our ferry didn’t leave Victoria until 10:30, so we had an unhurried morning. By chance, the Canadian National criterium races were being held right by our hotel and the ferry dock starting at 8am. We saw two of the women’s masters races before we boarded the ferry for Port Angeles. The ferry took about 1.5 hours, and we docked at noon then proceeded through customs and stopped at the local grocery store.

At 1pm we finally got on our bikes headed towards Port Townsend. For around 35 miles, we were on the largely paved Olympic Discovery Trail, completely separated from traffic most of the time. It passed through some neighborhood streets in Sequim where a lavender festival was being held in a park, tons of crafts and food booths. We stopped for a Coke and a snack.

After ~35 miles, our ride went onto the side shoulder of the highway. We stopped for dinner at Fat Smitty’s, a burger joint with dollar bills all over the ceiling and walls.

The last two miles of our ride were up a narrow two lane highway with no shoulder, and a drop off into a deep ditch at the edge of the pavement. There was a fair amount of fast traffic, not fun, but we arrived at our charming rental cottage at Eaglemont Rockery. There was a great view of Discovery Bay as well as historic plaques, old buildings, and some models, products of somebody’s quirky hobby.

Canada - Day 38 - Malahat to Victoria

25.7 miles, 1095’ climbing

Our hotel in Malahat was on a busy highway with fast traffic, so we looked for a quiet road to return to our route, and we thought we found a good candidate. It should be a short, easy day of riding into Victoria. 

When we turned off for the forest road to go back to our track, two large dogs ran out into the street, barking, a pit bull and a Rhodesian ridgeback with no collars. We stopped and put our bikes between ourselves and them, hard to tell if they might actually bite. A woman came out and started yelling at the dogs (they ignored her) followed by a smiling guy who looked like Charles Manson. They said the road was private and told us to leave which we did immediately. It was not a fun start.

The highway ride to Langford was loud with traffic that was sometimes close, but it went pretty quickly. We passed a coffee house near a bike pump-it track as we rejoined our route. There were lots of cyclists including small kids on the pump-it track, one on a balance bike (cute), breakfast and coffee were good.

From Langford, we got on a bike path that took us all the way into Victoria. We passed huge hotels and boats along the shore line, circled to Mile Zero Beach (photo op), and pedaled to the top of Beacon Hill, the official start of the Great Northern Bikepacking Route which we’ve been partially riding in reverse. 

We had a lazy day in the touristy part of Victoria. Tomorrow we catch a ferry back into the US. It will be about 3 more days back to Bellingham.

Canada - Day 37 - Lake Cochiwan Campsite to Malahat

56.8 miles, 2234’ climbing, deer, bald eagle

Rolling out of our campground, we were back on the gravel road from yesterday with a lot of traffic, including logging trucks. After 10 miles, we turned onto smooth asphalt, still along Lake Cochiwan. At Golden Bay, we stopped at a small store and then at a coffee shop across the street. We had a great home-cooked breakfast.

We continued on asphalt with traffic until the 20 mile mark in the town of Lake Cochiwan, we turned off on the Cochiwan Valley Rail Trail. It turned into 30 miles of easy riding — a good surface with no steep ups or downs. We saw a number of other cyclists and hikers, and from one of the trestle bridges we saw a bald eagle perched above the river below. 

After 50 miles, the rail trail ended, and our route took us onto a dirt track with some hills. We then took done side roads go a hotel in Malahat since there were no hotel or camping options along the route Sherwood we wanted to stop. 

Tomorrow should be a shorter day into Victoria. We booked a hotel since it is the weekend, and we booked a ferry to Port Angeles for the following day. As we near the end of our bike ride, we are looking forward to seeing family, wearing different clothes, and taking some days off from cycling. 

Canada - Day 36 - Port Alberni to Cowichan Lake

 59.4 miles, 3441‘ climbing, ducks

The day was forecast to be cooler, so we took our time getting started. The only breakfast option was McDonald’s, so there we went. Our ride back to the route was up a steep hill. Soon we turned onto trails through the woods, up and down for a couple miles. The following 30 miles or so were on a paved road with a layer of gravel on it, into a headwind. For some reason there was a good amount of traffic. The next 10 miles had one paved lane, soft shoulders, and high speed drivers into a head wind. Our final 10 miles had a tailwind, but still people driving fast and close. Where were all these drivers coming from and headed to? Hard to figure out. It wasn’t great riding today, but in the end we found a lovely campsite. We picked a lot of thimbleberries which we ate before dinner. It should be 2 medium-short days to Victoria.