Day 1 Barnes Lake

Distance traveled: 220.4

Cumulative distance: 220.4

Maximum speed: 135 kph

Moving average: 90 kph

Temperature range: 25.0-40.?

What we counted: motorcycles with two-up* count: 6 out of dozens.

*Editor's note: to entertain ourselves when we ride, we will often count something motorcycle related. We will occasionally make disparaging remarks, or happy remarks, about those other riders, depending on what we are counting.

This was the most leisurely start to a road holiday ever. We got out of bed, laid around and drank coffee and waited for the painters to show up and get a muffin. And painters love their treats! Painters have been our guests for most of the week as we are having some “feature walls” painted and these guys are so polite, we discuss inviting them to move in with us. The head painter is from Bosnia & Herzegovina and has a distinct eastern European accent. He reminds me of my dad and my imagined little brother all at the same time: my dad because he is doing such a good job of looking after me and my little brother because he and his guys so appreciate when I pull out the muffins.

We were not in too big a rush because our intended destination for the day was a mere 210 km away: Barnes Lake Campground. Little did we realize that Barnes Lake Campground is the armpit of BC. But more on that in a minute. Our real objective was to slice 210 km off the total trip ride to Bella Coola and make for “easy” days of riding.

We were locked and loaded early and sitting around waiting
before hitting the road about 11:30. Riding over The Connector (again), I think about how we have done this ride numerous times so it is not so interesting anymore and then I kick myself because the view is really quite lovely. Making the trip on a regular basis makes it easy to overlook how spectacular the views are! If you live in the region, I challenge you to relax on the drive/ride over and enjoy it.

Once past Merrit and the Logan Lake turnoff, we continue along Hwy 97C towards Ashcroft. For a “highway”, it is a not-bad motorcycle road with lots of sweeping turns without being overly challenging. We judge the “fun quotient” of a motorcycle road by the number of lines painted on the road and there is an inverse relationship to the fun and number of lines. More than four lines, NO FUN. No lines, LOTS of fun, because those roads are usually remote, twisty and often scenic.

Along the way, we pass the Highland Valley Copper Tailings Facility. It is quite funny because this is an incredible eye sore, looks like an environmental disaster zone but they have signage that makes you think you are arriving at the Grand Canyon. The tailings facility is a tourist site! (look up "Highland Copper LL Dam" on Google Maps satellite view) But they are quite proud of the fact that they employ 1300 people and mine incredible amounts of copper out of the area. I guess if we would like to all give up our cellular phones, it wouldn’t be necessary.

Shortly after that disaster zone, we came across another: the Barnes Lake Campground. I was quite surprised to be bombing down the highway, know it was coming, and seeing the sign for Barnes Lake Rd but no sign for the campground. This was odd to me and I had a little doubt that we were actually on the correct road. I wasn’t worried about it at all because I had plotted the route in my GPS but hadn’t turned on the route-finding, preferring to rely on my manly sense of direction. Nan chimed in from the back that she saw a tent site, which wasn’t really a tent site but then I knew we were on the correct road because I remember from the description and all

the wonderful pictures that the campground would be preceded by a picnic spot. Well, the campground, and I use that term loosely, made the Highland Valley Copper Tailings Facility look downright inviting. The supposed campground was some gravel along the side of the road, some picnic tables interspersed and a couple of outhouses. The “lake” was more of a slough and no water for cooking, cleaning and especially not drinking. We don’t expect potable water but we at least expect it to come from a pump. There’s nothing. And not even a tree for shade. And this campground had an average rating of 4.5 from 19 reviews! I’m embarrassed because Nan generally relies on me to do the planning, which I do with OCD fervor, and this is an absolute dud of a destination. I would only camp here if I was evacuated from my home being threatened by a wildfire and every road to the area was closed. Fortunately, that is not the case and even though I had “planned” for a backup (in case the campground was FULL), I knew there was not a BC Recreation Site in the area so we pushed on nonetheless. You can bet that I will be leaving a review.

Shortly, we were in Ashcroft. It is quite pretty coming over the rise and seeing the Thompson River winding its way past the town. Ashcroft looks like it has seen better days, though. However, what it DOES have is a municipal campground right beside the river AND a legion! We take a turn through the campground and there is already one tent plus a number of “fifth wheel” style trailers but few vehicles parked alongside the trailers. It made me wonder if people are living in the campground and working

somewhere in the area. The campground looks infinitely better than our planned stop and the hosts are sitting outside their fifth wheel having a “cool one”. We are told the campground can accommodate us, charged $21 (I would have happily paid much more at this point – it’s hot and we are wearing motorcycle clothing.) and they inform us that given it is Friday, the Legion servers dinner for $10 and it is worthwhile. BONUS: there is an electrical outlet at our tent site and we can charge our electronics!

We set up the tent, organize all our crap, then walk down to the river and I go for a “swim”. The water is flowing fast so there is no real splashing around because several times, even though I am in only an inch of water, I am swept off my feet. Nan plays is safe and stays onshore. But I cool off.

Now we are in the Legion and I’ll have to say this is NOT what I expected. Yes they serve beer and yes, they serve snacks like Cheezies and roasted peanuts (no pickled eggs) and yes, the patrons are all older than us with several older gentleman sitting single at bar tables with their backs to the wall and facing the front door to keep an eye on whomever is entering but, as of this writing at 6:00 p.m., the place is PACKED. (The picture is deceiving, like everything else in this part of the province.)

When we arrived in Ashcroft, I didn’t really think there was this many people in town, and the place has a real buzz! I’ll have to say that it is a pleasant surprise. I have a sneaking suspicion people are here for the $10 Italian burger, which is served buffet-styled. It’s pretty basic but considering what we had planned to eat, it is actually a bonus, too. Plain white bun, M&M (or facsimile) burger patty, Rip-L chips, Caesar salad (and I use that term loosely), tomato sauce, fried onions, raw onions and sliced lettuce and a one inch square of cherry pie. What was odd though, was the serving. The cook stood behind the table and, with his hands, put the bun on the plate, then grabbed a handful of chips and put them on our plates. Now, to his credit, he was wearing surgical gloves, I’m sure because this procedure required the surgical precision required to portion out the correct number of chips. At the next station, the patty with something white melted on top was served onto the bun and then the cooked onions were portioned out with equal precision but with a pair of tongs, as was the same for the sliced lettuce, Caesar salad and three count ‘em THREE slices of red onion. They are clearly monitoring their food cost.

Hard to believe we have been in here well over three hours. Or was that three beers?

When we walked back to our campsite, we see the neighbouring tent’s occupants were our neighbours

in the bar. They are a young couple from Quebec City on a six week tour of the western part of their country, camping every step of the way. They are very chatty and friendly and on their way to Tofino before heading back to Quebec. They are too young to remember The Quebec Crisis, which is just as well. They just excitedly announced they were able to book a tent site at Tofino!

I was able to finish charging all of our electronic paraphernalia, which will hopefully last into the evening tomorrow (Saturday) night. Either way, it won’t matter to you because where we will be tomorrow is in the Middle of Nowhere and there is no cell service out there. I will try to update the blog if we are at a café or restaurant with cell service but otherwise, the next report will be Sunday night from Bella Coola.

Here are a few random photos from the day.

Welcome to the Legion on Friday

A sweet metal sculpture...

...of musicians playing...

...to a captive audience.

Ashcroft Main Street after the Legion

The campground resident deer.