Day 34: To Grand Forks - Western Canada 2007 - CycleBlaze

August 2, 2007

Day 34: To Grand Forks

The last two days were mostly flat but today I have a mountain to climb. I got on the road at 9 after patching the slow leak. I now have 5 patches on the rear tube.

The day started with a relentless 45 km climb. My first major stop was at the lake at Nancy Greene provincial park. Nancy Greene is a champion alpine skier, "Canada's female athlete of the 20th century".

Still another great beach at Nancy Greene Provincial Park.
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Nice view across the lake.
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The road crests at 1536 meters (5038 feet) elevation. It was almost 2PM by the time I got to the summit. Nearly 5 hours of uphill pedaling.

Approaching the scenic Paulson bridge. VERY rugged terrain.
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I could feel the temperature rise as I descended 30 km to Christina lake. Up to 35C (95F) with little wind and no clouds.

Christina lake.
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The heat didn't really bother me today but to cool off I had a swim in the Kettle river. The rocky gorge is very scenic.

The Kettle river near Grand Forks, B.C. A great place for swimming and sunning.
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I can't exactly call the landscape lush any more.
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I camped at the Grand Forks municipal campground on the edge of downtown, next to the Kettle river. Not much traffic noise but a sawmill across the river made noise all night long. The campground only allows tents on the brown grass. No tents allowed on the green irrigated grass. It took a long time to cool down after the sun set behind the hills. Much accumulated heat for the ground to dissipate. I let the ground cool down for a couple hours in the evening shade before setting up my tent.

Grand Forks, British Columbia.
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I wandered around the town of Grand Forks in the evening. It's a town of several thousand people but it doesn't appear to be thriving.

County courthouse in Grand Forks.
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Evening glow in sleepy downtown Grand Forks.
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I'm still on highway 3, the Crowsnest highway, and traffic is still heavy. The busy road has a good paved shoulder except when there is a climbing lane. My original plan was to continue west on hwy 3 to Osoyoos, 120 km with two huge mountain climbs. Instead I will detour south into the U.S. (Washington) and then go west to the Okanagan river via a route that has only one big climb.

Today was a long hard day. Lots of pedaling and not very much rest time. Nevertheless I got to the campground at 6PM which is early for me. The sky was clear and sunny all day. No clouds and no more smoke from forest fires.

Distance: 99 km / 81.9 mi

Climbing: 1200 m / 3960 ft

Today's ride: 99 km (61 miles)
Total: 2,766 km (1,718 miles)

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