Friday, July 14th - Journey to Lawn Hillx2

We were on the road by 10am, whizzing out of Masset in our giant SUV, packed with all our stuff, with loads of room to spare.

We arrived quickly at Pure Lake and saw the mini tour bus of older folks was unloading. We walked in to the lack and it was still a calm, peaceful spot.

Pure Lake... 100% less camping this time

At Pure Lake

Wide angle phone photo of Pure Lake

Driving the SUV, it was a treat to listen to radio on a radio, as opposed to when I've streamed Radio One or Radio Two on my phone when we've had wifi where we're staying.

We stayed on the highway, bypassing Port Clements, then had to stop for bridge construction between Port Clements and Tlell, before we had passed Mayer Lake. I started to get worried about time - I didn't want to start biking too late so that I pushed myself too hard or ran into bad traffic.

We stopped at the Glamping Co for more fish for dinners, then the Crystal Cabin Gallery to get a polishing cloth for Marieka's bracelet - it was crowded. We stopped at the Crow's Nest, but it didn't open until 1:30pm. I let Marieka know I would likely stop for ice cream there on my bike ride and she noted being surprised I hadn't already on the trip. I noted that this was because she can't, and I didn't want to tempt/taunt her.

The directions to the cabin eventually helped us to find it, after having gone past it (it was really difficult to see the "sawmill" at the end of the driveway that was listed as a key feature) and I got Marieka into the cabin along with our bags, her bike and my trailer, and was back on the road only half an hour later than hoped (around 12:30pm).

After fuelling up and returning the rental in Masset, I was on the bike heading South at 1:50pm (about 50 minutes later than my ideal time). It was way easier than earlier in the week when I was still pulling a trailer. I originally planned to take a break every 20km or one hour, but this was a rough plan. The first break was a quick one, just South of Pure Lake to take a quick photo with my phone of the sign about the tidal generation project.

Sign about the tidal generation project.

I was doing a lot of climbing, but felt good and maintained good speed. I set myself a rule to never push hard - to back off and spin away in a lower gear if I started to push hard.

Well, I got to the summit on the way to Port Clements and it was easier going, so I kept going past my 1 hour mark, and well past 20km. I passed Port Clements and planned to take a lunch break at Mayer Lake, but it was not to be. Traffic was once more stopped at the bridge construction, forcing a break on me, so I quickly ate my sandwich in gulps, drained out a water bottle and swapped their positions and was ready to go again after 5 or 6 minutes of break, when traffic started moving again.

There was a definite headwind that I was pushing against, making it harder to keep speed, but things were a little more sheltered by the time I got to the Tlell River bridge. I started standing and stretching during downhills, to prevent soreness.

Following the familiar road to the Crow's Nest I felt great, pulling in there (highway distance marker 65km) 2 hours and 45 minutes after leaving Masset. I first grabbed some groceries at the store: eggs, an onion, green pepper, sauerkraut and sugar-free espresso bar for Marieka, then asked about the hummingbird paddles they had hanging. They are for sale and, the lady noted, are by a Haida artist from Skidegate, Percy Ellis, whose work is not common to see. These paddles had caught my eye when we had been there before, and I now own a small hummingbird paddle.

I also had a waffle cone of chocolate ice cream, checked in via text, and was back on the road by 5:30pm.

Chocolate ice cream at the Crow's Nest

The headwind was stronger and I had trouble pushing as hard, so switched gears a lot and tried to conserve what strength I had left. It was with relief that I turned onto the Lawn Hill Road, road up it and climbed the hill to the cabin.

Marieka had not yet taken a bath in the jetted tub, so I encouraged her to go so, stretched and made dinner (Salmon baked/air friend on a bed of onion slices, subbed with coconut oil, garlic powder and salt, with sauerkraut and fresh green pepper), learning that it would have been better to slice the salmon into 3 pieces first, bake it to get the inside cooked, then airfry it (instead, I did this in reverse).

We had a nice dinner, then I soaked, massaged, and stretched in the jetted tub before bed.