Summit Lake to Galena Bay

May 28, 2023

Completing the loop

It was a warm night. Once again, we woke to blue skies. After a bit of instant oatmeal to tide us over, we coasted steadily downhill on a great rail trail to a full breakfast in Nakusp, avoiding hilly bits of the highway.

There were lots of lupins and wild roses in bloom when we popped out back out from the forest onto the sunny highway. No more unpaved sections from here to the end.

A sunny start to our day at Summit Lake.

Downhill ride on the Nakusp & Slocan Rail Trail.

Although we biked in the Selkirk mountains, there was a nice view of the Monashees when we popped out of the woods.

Despite travelling right on the shore of Upper Arrow Lake, it was hot past Nakusp on the pavement until it clouded over mid afternoon. Once again, the highway has a good shoulder

In the afternoon, we witnessed a truly Canadian sight - there was a kid wearing rollerblades skating along the highway shoulder, carrying a hockey stick, and wearing a drag chute for resistance. Must've been some power-skating thing. The Dad was following in a car.

We stopped at the Ione Falls rest stop for a nice cool break and water refill. After one more big climb, we had a 6 km downhill to the ferry at Galena Bay - remember that big uphill that started our trip? This was the reward. The lake was dead calm when we arrived. Then while we were on the ferry back to Shelter Bay, there was a short rain shower - maybe 1 minute and the wind picked up. Typical of our short trip, the rain shower didn't last long enough to get us wet. We sure lucked out. No bear sightings on day 4 - we front loaded by seeing them all on day 1.

And here comes the ferry to take us back to our vehicles. It would've been a great day for a paddle.

We finished up at Shelter Bay. After showers, there were celebratory burgers at the Big Eddy pub in Revelstoke.

We were riding quite a variety of bikes and tires, and they all worked out, except one flat for Steve. We all agreed that the unpaved sections of the trip were our favourite bits. Pavement-wise, the rail trails we chose are all completely avoidable. But the 80 km unpaved section of Highway 31 is mandatory for anyone attempting this ride.

It was also good to have a mix of our own food and checking out the restaurants en route. The Angry Hen in Kaslo is a new favourite.

All-in-all, a fabulous trip with great friends.

Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 294 km (183 miles)

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Jacquie GaudetI hadn’t known about this loop before reading your journal but now I want to do it! Next year sometime, I hope.
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