Okanagan to Alberta! Pt. 3(4) - Gray Creek

A cool morning and we were on the trail early. There is a side road from about half way between Castlegar and Nelson that dips away from the highway and along secret lakes and creeks.

We skipped a big hill by riding along the BC Hydro canal on which they allow non motorized use. 

There seems to be a good bicycle culture in the area. We encountered several commuters and cyclists out for a ride on bikes of all types. 

The road climbs a bit through rural residential areas layered up the mountain. A senior black lab meandered out to greet us at the road as we stopped for a photo and a rest.

If we were goldilocksing towns to hang around, the pace of life here felt juuuust right, and matched our ambling speed perfectly. What a beautiful lifestyle.

A French bakery was our first stop in Nelson and we enjoyed a wonderful treat in the bustling downtown. 

(I think the ‘LC’ stands for ‘License to eat Carbs’)

We spent a good part of the day in Nelson and really enjoyed the town a lot. We wandered the shops, visited the library for wifi and phone charging, and then to pick up essentials…like a travel guitar (‘Nelson’ of  course).

The locale gets more stunning around every corner, and as we rode out it was impossible not to stop and take it in. 

Lunch break was at a public dock up the lake, 

and we rolled in to Balfour just as the ferry was loading foot passengers and cyclists. Perfect timing on a perfect day. Despite our seemingly slow pace we had still managed around 80kms. Nice when everything is going right! 

We stocked up well in Crawford Bay in anticipation of the huge hill climb and remote mountain pass to come.

We encountered some bear scat on the little trail we had gone down looking for a camp spot. The best course of action was to skedaddle….so we skedaddled.

Camp was a corner of community park and we woke to the sunrise ready to tackle the steep hill.

We had done our due diligence, studied the elevation charts, looked at pictures and anecdotes from other cyclists, spoke with locals in Nelson and Crawford Bay, and even chatted with a bikepacker that had just come over the pass.  The consensus was that it would be difficult, but doable for us.

Nothing would have prepared us for the degree of difficulty. The Gray Creek pass begins with 17 kilometres of what is essentially vertical face.  There were sections of 16% grade that required pushing our bikes on foot for kilometres at a time. 

We had started the ascent at 7:30am and by lunch time we were….maybe half way.  We stopped by one of the many creeks to have lunch and an extended break. 

There was not much talking. 

A bikepacking couple from Germany came crawling up the road behinds us and stopped for a lively chat. We were so glad to see we weren’t the only “suckers for punishment” and they carried on past, assuring us we’d catch up to them. 

Continuing the climb we came across someone’s gruesome sense of humour around a particularly steep bend in the road.  The chuckle did actually serve to motivate and gave a sense that there would eventually come an end to this madness.

We did manage to catch and pass the Germans when they had stopped for lunch and again enjoyed a friendly exchange. This is a hard climb!  You’ll want to share it with as many friends as possible. 

Near the top we met Timothy the poodle, and Denise, a lovely soul from Kimberly who gave us cold drinks and some sage advice.  

There is zero cell service up here, and this is really some incredibly remote territory.  We had reached an elevation around 2000 metres and were surprised by how hot and humid it was. Denise called it an interior rain forest.  

We spent some time at the top enjoying the scenery with Timothy and Denise with whom we had made instant friends.  

The pool looked so inviting!  We were glad she warned us not to swim in these still little mountain lakes (‘swimmers itch’)

We attempted some fake smiles at the summit, but we were not having an awesome time. 

The downhill side that we had been looking forward to was more treacherous than the climb. Huge rocks and boulders scattered across the road made a speedy descent impossible. 

ATVs and enduro motorcycles have destroyed the road and the surface has been stripped down to rocky ruts and huge loose stones. 

Parts rattled off our bikes as bolts came loose and various attachments went flying. We were not equipped for this kind of road, but frankly no bicycle would be even full suspension downhill bikes.  

It was looking like there was no way we were going to make it to Kimberly before dark. 

We crossed paths with a group of Spanish cyclists who gave a happy wave and stopped for a long chat with a few hilarious chaps from New Zealand on their way up. 

They confirmed that given the road conditions it was unlikely we would make it to Kimberly before dark and seemed concerned about where we would be able to camp.

The German couple, Patrick and Catherine passed us again at a stop for a meal and water refills. We had a long chat and exchanged contact info. 

They were going to try to make it to a camping site in Kimberly, but without cell service could not confirm a spot. We were going to try to make it to a home that we had arranged to stay at, but we had not met our host, could not call, and would be arriving very late, if at all.

We spilled out of the pass like this rock slide on to freshly gravelled road, and eventually to paved road and cellular service just as it started to pour rain.  

We called our host who insisted we continue to his place even though we would need food and laundry and showers quite late. 

“Don’t worry, I have water!!” 😂 “I’ll make you something to eat!”

We texted Patrick and Catherine and were glad to hear they had also safely made it to a camp spot for the night. 

Rough day. 

READ NEXT: Okanagan to Alberta! Pt. 4(4) - Crows Nest