There is no accumulation of strength without making choices that stretch you
Vancouver –> Cache Creek (207 Miles)
I was in no hurry to leave early after being delayed four days. I thought I may be a little rusty riding my bike after the accident, but I felt just as confident as before. I headed up to Whistler and took the Sea to Sky Highway. The ride was beautiful. For most of the trip I was surrounded by mountains and had either a large body of water or a river on my side. The water up here has a unique color from the glacier and snow run off.
Before I left the Accent Inn I saw a picture of what looked like a large stone stick man with an awesome backdrop of a mountain range. The stone man is called an inuksuk, and is used by people from the Arctic region of North America as a landmark or cairn. The lady at the desk said I could find the same one from the picture at Whistler. It had been constructed for the Olympics. I knew I had to make a stop.
I had been hoping it would be a slow day but then realized I was visiting on a Saturday. When I arrived at Whistler, it was somewhat busy with tourist and mountain bikers. I took the Gondola up to the summit, grabbed some overpriced lunch (I guess you’re paying for the experience), and got a look at my first inuksuk.
I continued up to the highest point and when I got there I felt like I was on top of the world. I had an awesome 360 view of the snowcapped mountains and the village below. It had been hot most of the day but it was cool at the summit. As I sat up there I had a deep feeling of euphoria.
After a few hours up on the mountain I headed back down and continued on my ride. When I bought my gondola ticket, the lady behind the desk said I had to visit Joffre Lake. She didn’t say why, but it was only a 5 minute walk from the road so I figured why not stop. I’ll let the picture speak for itself.
Lower Joffre Lake
After I passed Whistler it was me and the open road. I rarely saw anyone else and could really enjoy the scenery without feeling I needed to get somewhere or have someone riding my tail. It doesn’t start getting dark until 9:30pm but I wanted to find a campsite sooner than later. The first place I stopped had only gravel sites and my tent isn’t self supporting. I continued on and saw an overgrown road that led behind some bushes. I was thinking of primitive camping there, but it was hot out and I wanted to make sure I had a water source for the night. I made it all the way to Cache Creek and ended my night at the Historic Hat Creek Ranch. It was a windy night, which was great because it kept me cool and bugs away.
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