May 4, 2025
Once I left Miracle Beach Provincial Park, there was one more tourist area I had to get through. Campbell River isn’t just a tourist town. It is a port and a major ferry gateway to Quadra and Cortes Islands. It was also the last significant town on my route until I got to Port McNeill, about 145 miles further up the road. In between these towns I entered the resource extraction portion of the island where logging road after logging road transects extensive forests rising above the river valleys. What I saw was reminiscent of the “managed forests” observed during my ride last year through southwest Washington and northwest Oregon. It’s not pretty. It’s reality, though.
I first learned about Campbell River around the third week of April, 1980, forty-five years ago. It was an outpost, one of the last vestiges of civilization I remember passing while on a ferry to Wrangell, Alaska. My friend Tom and I boarded an Alaska ferry in Seattle earllier that day. As the daylight grew dim, the ferry captain announced we were passing Campbell River, and the town’s lights slowly faded to darkness. We were going to Wrangell in order to charter a flight to Telegraph Creek, BC and hike 150 miles across Mt. Edziza Provincial Park to Iskut on the Cassiar Highway. Three days later we arrived in Telegraph Creek to start our journey.
The asphalt shoulders of BC 19 from Campbell River to the Sayward Junction were in mint condition. My guess is the highway department recently sweep away the winter sand and detritus. The ride was glorious. The traffic seemed much lighter and the ride passed quickly.
Arriving into White River RV and Campground at Sayward Junction, I met a few folks with tents nearby in an open grassy area we shared. Sylvan and Christy lived in the Comox Valley and were completing a “mini Tree to Sea” bikepacking trip. The Tree to Sea route primarily follows logging roads for 500 km and starts in the Comox Valley. It is a very challenging route for mountain bikers. Their route was only 200 km. The other group used the campground as a basecamp for the purpose of foraging Tsitka Spruce tips and will return in a few weeks to gather Douglas Fir tips. Their buyers are local markets, grocery stores, breweries, and distilleries. Since I was offered to try them, I did. There was a citrus quality to them and a very nice flavor profile. Go find spring spruce tips!
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Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 214 miles (344 km)
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