In the morning I took a peaceful ride from Lillooet, down on the Fraser River, up to the Alpine and glacier terrain outside Mount Currie. The towering mountains standing nearly 10'000ft around me seemed limitless in recreation. Many BC recreation sites dotted Hwy 99's many twists and river valleys.

By midday, I had reached Pemberton after descending 3000 ft in 8 miles on one of the steepest descents encountered on my travels. Over 7 truck runaway ramps gave me an idea of how serious this could be in snow or ice. Pemberton was warm in the 80's in the sunshine so I had coffee and soaked in the warmth while updating the ol blog.

Continuing down Hwy 99 toward Squamish, I noticed an uptick in traffic and volume until arriving in the large town of Squamish nestled at the end of a long bay. Blue Green glaciers towered over town on the steep peaks and each direction looked like a painting. I found a campsite on Maqmam Forest Road overlooking town for the sunset then scooted down to Raffuse Creek to camp beneath the mossy Cedars.

In the morning, I set out for some hiking then made my way down Hwy 99 pulling over frequently to let the high speed traffic past. This is my last forray into highway driving for a while since this is the only N/S route for 75 miles until Vancouver. After an afternoon of hiking in Lighthouse Park, I drive down into West Vancouver, one of the most pricey new communities in North America. More exotic cars and high rise apartments than LA! Taking my time before meeting my relative Brad, I go for a hike in Lynn Valley and bounce my way across the suspension bridge to the 30 foot pool. Gorgeous city park.

I have had 3 of 8 flats within the first 1000mi of the last 3 tires. This one took 10 minutes to fix and get back on the road. Near Lillooet in Fountain.

With a fresh rear tire, I set off from Prince George in a thick fog from their pulp mill. Down the highway, the fog gave way to smoke from the forest fires to the south. It grew worse through the day until I reached my BC Provincial Rec Site for the night. The otherwise picturesque lake had an air of apocalyptic dread hanging overhead. This too shall pass.

The following day revealed worse smoke and I finally made it on back forest roads from Dunster to Valemount. Down on Kinbasket lake, the glacier views were totally obscured. I did run into my buddy Matt though who finally is free and travelling with his 4x4 Tacoma and CT110 postie.

The next day brought rain and an immediate clearing of the smoke. We shifted camp down the road to Mystery Lake, perched over 3300 ft in an inland rainforest. The fogs and quick changing weather lent credibility to it's namesake.

The final night hanging out with Matt was down on Goose Lake off Hwy 24. We ate well and were accompanied by a vacationing couple from the Netherlands who parked less than 20 feet from Matt's truck. Fortunately they were pleasant and gave us something to keep busy through the evening, though I feel we were both humoring them more than we let on. The sunset over the pond was vibrant and rich in account of fires on horse lake. The loon called over the pond as the sun faded in the west and I was glad to have another friend out on the road.

It was a relief to finally remove the buggered rear tire in Prince George. Below you csn see the egg shaped bulge on the tread. Ordinarily there would be another 1000 mi out of this tire but not in this condition.

A big thanks to Northern Powersports in Prince George for helping me seat the bead on the new rubber. It took their shop a good 30 minutes of ratchet straps and grease but she finally set. Afterward, I took time to rewire the 12v plug to a switch and remove my second failed USB plug. I'm hopeful that by cleaning up my battery terminals and removing the parasitic drains should help my battery stay charged.

With a clean load of laundry and a full belly, I'm quite refreshed after my visit with friends Joan and Dave. The conveniences of water from the tap and electrical plugs is a real treat after being on the road. Heading toward Mt. Robson then down toward Kamloops to avoid forest fires and meet up with Matt this weekend. The weather has been warm and dry so the inch or more of rain on tap this weekend will be a welcome change and perhaps quell the fires.