Alaskan Coast

Juneau is the only capital in America not to be accessible by car (it is also at the same latitude as the north coast of Scotland). The furthest you can drive is from the city to just past the ferry terminal, maybe thirty miles, but being America, this is a totally car based city, and has no bus service from the ferry to the town. Leaving the four of us cyclist to ride in, trying to find the good, but unsigned cycle route (bikes being banned from the main road), we left Mark to try and hitch again, and met up at the hostel that afternoon.

Juneau, is set in an amazing location between the steep cliffs and the sea, and is one of the main destinations for the many cruise ships that come up the coast. The town is made up of a collection of old tradition buildings, gift shops and a few large completely out of place, ugly high rise concrete constructions. One of most unattractive examples, the city library, displayed its award for “architectural excellence” from 1981. But like all US libraries, it offered free email, so we filled most our spare time in Juneau library.The next ferry south departed from the port at a convenient 3am! I made use of the picnic tables again that evening, along with others I recognised from the hostel.

This was the longest ferry, a 36 hour voyage that took us south through the islands, past many glaciers and mountains, calling in to Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan on our way to Prince Rupert in Canada.

The small ferry takes a route that the cruise ships can’t take, the narrowest point being a 100m wide channel, offering very close up views of the islands.
Spending a day and two nights on the ferry wasn’t bad, helped by the fact that the rear deck was equipped with a sheltered area, electric heaters and deck chairs that reclined back into flat beds, allowing people to sleep out on deck. They even allow tents to be set up on deck, although getting the pegs in would be difficult!The ferry docked at Prince Rupert early in the morning, before any shops were open, and I had a whole day to fill. Exploring the town and trails between the rain showers, and spending the rest of the time in the library, Safeway and eventually checking into the hostel.

The comfortable night’s sleep was broken by the fact I had to be up, along with nearly all the rest of the hostel, to catch the 7am ferry to Port Hardy on Vancouver island.

Continuing south down the inside passage, through more islands, mountains and more beautiful scenery, the 12 hour voyage was made longer, because we were scheduled for the once a month stop in Bella Bella.

Arriving in the small port late in the afternoon, filling the small bay, the boat trapped a run of salmon, sending hundreds of the fish jumping out the water.

Along with a couple of other cyclist I met in Prince Rupert, and another traveller, we made up for our lack of good food over the previous weeks, by hitting the smorgasbord buffet. Countless plates of beef and a number of cakes later, the boat docked at Port Hardy, and we cycled off with pockets full of brie and steak sandwiches, cakes and fruit.

The ride to Vancouver, 430km, or 270miles, took three days, covering some of the most interesting riding on the trip, winding though the thick mountainous rainforest. The North of Vancouver Island is very unpopulated and quiet, the only traffic unfortunately being the massive logging trucks that don’t leave much space on the narrow road.

On the second day riding the island, passing large timber yards, I came down into the populated area of Campbell River. The new main road headed off slightly inland, and leaving the old coast road relatively quiet.

Unlike other places, private homes can own the beaches here, so most the coast is not accessible to the public. I wasn’t going to be able to free camp down here, as I had up until now. I was thinking of paying for one of the few campsites, when another cyclist pulled along side, started talking to me, and as is the way of long-distance cyclists, soon offered me a bed, a meal and shower at his home. I could not refuse.

This shortened my distance that day, but I was refreshed and started out early for the 115 miles back to Vancouver.

Another two hour ferry ride, and I was back onto the Canadian mainland. For the first time in my ride, it was a bit of a surprise when it went dark. Further north, it just didn’t get dark until very late, and the last few nights had mostly been on ferries, in hostels. For the first time, I found my lights as I crossed over the Lion’s Gate Bridge and back into the busy city.