Canada - Day 34 - Powell River to Cumberland

 47.1 miles (19 on ferry), 1362’ climbing, deer and more than a dozen bald eagles

We’ve had a lot of beautiful and fun days on this trip, but today may be the best for fun riding even though the miles were short.

We were up early to make sure we were able to board the Powell River - Comex ferry. This is a longer ride, and rules seemed stricter than on many of the bc ferries. We were able to grab a scone and coffee before waiting to board. The ride was 19 miles and an hour and 40 minutes plus all the time to board and unboard. It was past 10am when we started pedaling away from the Comex terminal on Vancouver Island.

Almost immediately, we turned off on a small path, somewhat overgrown, lined with thimbleberries, it took us to a neighborhood street and then to a path that felt like something established by the neighborhood kids. We had a few miles on pavement, and then we were back on flowy singletrack through the woods, easy and fun, winding around trees, sometimes coming through sunny patches lined with ferns and berry bushes. And so our day went, circling the town of Courtenay without going in, lots of fun singletrack. The neighborhood roads had small farms advertising eggs and berry picking. We made one stop to pick wild thimbleberries, then we rode alongside a beautiful river for a few miles. We saw a few people, but it was peaceful and uncrowded and away from traffic.

The river flowed out of Comox Lake, and we stopped for a swim below the dam. After about an hour, we got back on our bikes. We saw a couple more fabulous swimming holes before heading back into the woods. Eventually we ended up on “the old dump road” into Cumberland, a couple miles of gravel that did indeed pass a dump site. Overhead we spotted two bald eagles, then two more, then at least a dozen. They soared overhead and perched in tall fir trees. Were they scavenging at the dump? From there it was smooth pavement into town where we booked a room at the Riding Fool’s hostel. Cumberland is a small, funky town with a lot of bike infrastructure. It’s 87F here, so plenty warm.