Another 1,000 miles down

This has been the quickest thousand miles so far (now 10,000 miles since April). In the last three days I've ridden 1400 miles through scenic British Columbia from Alaska to Alberta almost exclusively following the Trans-Canada rail lines. Early sunrises and late sunsets have made these long days easy.

British Columbia is a covers a vast area. When I heard in Vancouver that forestry was its main industry, ahead of tourism, I was a little surprised. Tourism in Florida, my reference point, is way bigger than trees. After more than a thousand miles of forest, I can see that it's going to be a very long time before tourism catches up.

On the way to Alaska I drove through the Lakes District which was covered with, you guessed it, lakes, rivers, and streams. Unlike the arid Colorado Plateau and California, BC gets its share of rain and snow. I heard on the radio a couple days ago here that there was a chance of flooding, so I was on the lookout. The above average heat seems to have accelerated the melting of the snowpack swelling streams and rivers. While no river I passed had completely breeched its banks, most were close. Several still sections had glacial blue or perfectly clear parts, but the majority I noticed were brown. The high sediment load gave most of the water a chocolate milk color.

I passed many stands of trees that obviously weren't born underwater yet were in enough to look like they magically floated upright. I imagine the trees along the banks and islands in the middle normally enjoy some space from the water. Many islands and sandbars were submerged and the water on the banks was up to the grass. The normal buffer zone was definitely in use. A number of fallen trees bobbed up and down whole with roots creating a prow.

The railroad seems to have cut a relatively straight path across following valleys cut by streams and rivers. The road, the 16, the Yellowhead Highway, that follows this route is in places built on elevated earth, showing that high water has happened before. I drove two 100 mile sections of road with nothing, no lights, no gas, no billboards, and almost no traffic. Anyone who's worried about running out of space should pick something else to worry about, like watersheds and pollution. I was glad to have a full tank when I passed a sign that said "No services for 202km" (120 miles).

For the most part where I drove was hilly at the most, but as I approached the coast the mountains grew first like on the horizon and then along the road. The road bent north after Smithers to find an opening. The real drama came when I got on the beginning of the Alaska Highway, the road to Hyder. It was 40 miles from the turn off passing between mountains that had the steepness of the Alps or Rockies down to the Portland Canal, the start of the Canada-US border.