Wednesday was a long day of sitting on the boat! We road the MV Northern Expedition from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy along the Inner Passage. The weather was so-so - so had to sit inside with the occasional stick your head out to see the fabulous views of the mountains and some of the historic buildings such as lighthouses. We also got to see several pods or Orcas - with a couple of them jumping - which was really neat.We also saw one humpback - and there were supposed to be a few others - so that was pretty nice. We did not get checked in to the hotel until midnight - and that is why you are not hearing about this until today. Some pictures:
Thursday we got up and had a look around Port Hardy. Nice town.
We talked to a lady in the tourist info centre - and she told us that the gravel road to the "wild west coast beach" at Cape Scott Provincial Park was in good shape -so we decided to go for it. That was our 1st mistake. As soon as we had gone the 1st 5km on this shitty 60km section of gravel - I really should hd said "Let's turn back" - but I did not - would'a could'a should'a!
We ended up going out to the end of the Palmerston Beach Rd - half way between our intended destination at Cape Scott and Raft Cove Provincial Park. So - a slight navigational error - and thus our 2nd mistake.
We ended up with a very short hike to Palmerston Beach - and missed the turn to the "good trail" - and ended up on the "bad trail" down by the creek. Our 3rd mistake - and this one resulted in Laurance having a fall. Luckily - only minor damage - a small cut to the knee, a bruised thumb, and a good soaking in the creek.
So, we turn around and head back out the road. Someplace past Holberg - the bike's handling degraded badly. I thought it was because I was really getting tired - and the gravel was freshly graded and I was just having a hell of a time. When I finally stopped - after about 10 or 15 km of this - I found out I had a flat rear tire - and had managed to ding the rim by driving on a flat tire for likely 10 or 15 km. The 4th mistake of the day - and the one that I thought was going to be the disaster - not having the wherewithal to recognized the flat and stop before damaging the rim. And - at this point we were still about 3 km from the end of the gravel - and another 3 km back to Port Hardy
A guy and his girlfriend stopped and offered a can of the Canadian tire puncture seal stuff. I thanked him profusely, offered to pay for the can of stuff, he refused payment, I thanked him again, and off they went. Darn - I wish I had caught his name - anyway - thanks again.
Limped the bike into Port Hardy, nobody in Port Hardy services motorcycle tires, found out the closest Yamaha motorcycle dealer was Courtenay Motorsports, found out that my CAA membership covered about half of the towing charge, gotta tow truck, and off we went. I think the drive from Port Hardy to Courtney is pretty - but frankly - I did not give a shit at the time. I was pretty frustrated and tired.
So - ended up with good news - the dealer was confident the new tire would seal properly- and warned me to watch for vibration. So - at noon yesterday(Friday) - we were off and headed for Tofino along the Pacific Rim Highway - wow - what a pretty ride!
On the way back - we stopped at Cathedral Grove - old growth Douglas Fir - wow - very cool.
Then - back to Nanaimo - and several beers and a bite to eat. Today - we are back on track - and will head to Victoria shortly - to bag the final provincial capital! Look for an update either later today or tomorrow.
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