91km – note this shows days 3,4 and 5 due to blackouts in coverage.

After finishing off the remainder of last nights snacks I packed up and headed onto the highway then quickly turned around realizing I was out of water, is that ironic? Just up the highway after the park exit is a gas station/restaurant. The restaurant was closed so I popped into the gas station store to get some quality nourishment.

The sounds from a world war one documentary was blaring out of the TV which the store barley took his eye off to acknowledge me. He had the exact number of tatoo’s showing to tell me he was kind of friendly but not too friendly. I looked for something digestable that was not from1985 and found some homemade somoza like meet pie somethings in the fridge. I grabbed a couple of the pies, a bag of chips and a bottle of gatorade for $15.30.  Outside I ate one of the pies which was pretty meager and at least a day old. I also cracked the chips mmmm lays!!!!

It was cold so I headed off for what was a pretty decent downhill. The forest was quickly turning to pine and I was now following the similkamen river. Eventually the fun ran out and I had to make a climb up to Sunday  Summit which sits at 1282 meters but I was probably most of the way there anyway since there wasn’t extensive downhill from Allison Pass. After that climb there is a lot of downhill and I got going pretty fast in a couple of stretches but decided to slow it down as the odd gust of wind would push me off center. It was also a little cold so I welcomed the small and few up hill sections.

Closing in on Princeton I made an astonishing discovery: 67 year old Pierre Paul.

Walking along then highway with what I would call a sport baby stroller was a man with pretty tan muscular looking calves. This led me stop and ask questions because no one in their right mind would be taking a baby out for a stroll along the highway. With a heavy Quebecois accent and several missing front teeth Pierre described where he had walked previously:  Alaska – Yukon, Central and South America including Guatemala, Ecuador,  Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia. Now he was doing the same route as me but expected to arrive mid October – only a month later than me! We hugged, shook hands many times and I even captured a video of him describing his treks. I have a lot in common with this man in that I sometime welcome solitude and a bit of loniness over social interaction. Of course this is one side of me because at times the complete opposite is true.

We will get deeper into the story later but to continue I rode into Princeton bought some booze and passed out on a park bench. Actually I went to a diner and had a burger and caught up on e-mails and posts since Princeton is not a dead zone. I chatted with the lady running the restaurant and she described that 5 or 6 years ago a lot of cyclists came through Princeton and mostly in larger groups. I guess she meant she was happy to see me?

Since it was mid day I figured it was a good idea to make some ground between Princeton and Osoyoos but not to go out of my and have another long day. I need a bit of recovery so I can handle the next big set of mountains. I settled on Bart Boulder provincial park, it is a small campsite right between the river and highway. It was basically empty and would give me a good chance to test out my gear.

For starters the rain cover was not packed with my tent. This is a problem. Okay keep unpacking. I ate the rest of the lays and strategically placed to Strongbows in the river with safety harness for later. Back up to the campsite I tried the stove. Nothing!

It is jammed or something. It is a little cloudy too. Decision time: open a Strongbow.

Though I may look the part when unshaven I am clearly not the Grizzley Adams type. I played with the stove some more then went to the only other campers to see if they had a tarp I could use. It turns out they didn’t as they were a very nice German couple who had rented a camper. They seemed somewhat surprised that I was unprepared and offered plastic bags which I declined. I also apologised for the crappy whether but I think they are still really enjoying all of the lush green forest: we really take this for granted! They are going to Banff and Jasper so I think they chose an awesome itinery and I hope they get some sun.

Back at camp I got creative and cut open some plastic garbage bags (thanks auntie Donna) and tapped them over the open parts of my tent. I relegated myself to cider and power bars for dinner but before that I slept for an hour and a half until the Park Ranger came by looking for money. She was somewhat sympathetic which was nice.

I figured the stove required one more shot so I read the instructions on how to clean it. This was also futile as the fuel is eradically dispensing from the canister. I decided to think on it and have another cider. All the while I could here hissing which I thought was the river or the fuel canister. It turns out it was the last can of strongbow had sprung a leak and was seeping under my sleeping bag! I scrambled to wipe it up so my bag wasn’t soaked and then had a good laugh since nothing more could go wrong. The one thing I did do right was pack my gear inside my tent so I could make a quick exit in the morning if it started raining. I tried to sleep but it was cold and damp all night.