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After rendezvousing with my Father, Barrie, in southern BC, we spent the rest of the day driving, and then next day re-packing our gear, tracking down bear spray, and getting advice from everyone.
It was a relief when around 10 am May 18th we wrapped up the last of our chores, and started north towards Prince George BC on Hwy 97.

Starting towards the Canadian Rockies, we should have our coldest weather first, and I was quite worried about this, as my trip last fall in the Rockies, I’d suffered mild hypothermia, and frost bitten toes. Not to mention that we could see snow on the hills beside us.
Because the bears have been sleeping all winter they are very hungry (there is no bear poop, just rumbly bellies). Their normal foods: berry’s, bearies, (barrie’s?) haven’t grown yet, and favorite food - Salmon, aren’t spawning. Next choice? Chilled cyclo-tourists. After 2h or riding we had spotted 3 bears, then later a moose.Prince George is the last real city in BC, as well as being the least healthy place to live in the province. After repeatedly stopping to raise my handlebars (yes they are higher than my saddle) we had the kinks worked out.

One thing that we were to marvel at throughout the trip is how many RV trailers were constantly passing us. Farther south, it seemed that there were people going on weekend holidays, as well as bush, and mine workers, who would be in their early 20’s, not owning a house, but a dualie, quad cab and $100K 5th wheel trailers (a la Horner).

Coming up to the Mackenzie Lake cutoff, before pine pass, we got into some very cold rain. The campground was full, save one spot - and well we huddled into it, next to the RV, which we soon found to belong to Shorty Smith and family. That night their family included us (and a warm fire, and smores, and… much thanks). They told us that the only reason our campsite was empty was that before the rain had started that morning, it’d been snow covered.

Pine Pass, and the following days through the rockies were like warring weather wizards. I would often be stopping every 5 minutes to put on a rain jacket, warmer gloves, then vest, then jersey for the sun, then thermals. There was some more snow, some hail, but overall not so bad. During the first 3 weeks of this trip we spent 2 days on the highway 29 cut off, and the rest of the time slogging up 97 - which when we re-joined it because the AlCan (alaska-Canada Hwy).

Danger: Bears will eat you. Yeah, just like the bandits in Mexico, and Central America - danger exists, but being prudent, and paying attention to what the locals are telling you goes a long way. Though I guess one could successfully apply this to anything in life.

Norther BC was cool. Lots of space, and cool mountain scenery. We saw samplings of Moose, Elk, Woodland Caribou. Dad saw a Wolverine, I caught a look at a silver fox, regular foxes, eagles… Much of the area was so remote, and isolated in the mountains that there were no power/ phone lines. Which makes for nicer vistas, not having cables and all that crap dangling around. So to call someone, a payphone was hooked up to a satellite, ‘resorts’ ran on generators (around $10 000 - 15 000 a month on gas alone). Because of the gas prices, and the fact that super motorhomes dominate the roadways roughly 1/3 of the campgrounds had closed down since 2004 (when our guidebook was printed). So that meant that there were a few nights of rough camping when we had planned on getting to a store.

Liard hot springs are also a Must See, it really is a different world that you walk into. The place was beyond cool, everytime you pass you must stop. Mad shout out to Jude and Nation - who chatted until the sunset (1am) and rose (2am). Good times.
Also because the closest place anything could come ‘in’ from was a few days by truck, oreo’s cost 30 cents a pop (when buying them in the usual case). Somehow diner meals - and there were more diners then anything else along these roads- say one ever 140 or so kilometers - were reasonably priced.

Essentially if there was a diner somewhere ‘near’ our campsite, we’d make a hasty breakfast - and ride there. Just getting out of the wind, and having a seat with a back on it was sooo nice. Dad’s goal is ‘to talk to people’ and in these diners he had his captive audience. Not to complain though, because more than once his chin wagging led to ‘meals on the house’.

When we were in Mexico we would pound the Chocolate Milk, here (milk being powdered more often than not) Pops and I would drink coffee after coffee after… until my little hands fairly trembled. Then we would tear off on our bikes, and stop ever 15 minutes for a pee break after pee break.
I won’t kid you, I was excited to get into the Yukon. After being up in Alaska this past winter I realized how much of the US, and relatively how little of Canada I had seen, so this trip’s focus was checking out some of Canada’s territories.

The Yukon doesn’t look much different form BC, but Watson Lake (the ‘welcome center’) is kind of funky. Some of the ’stolen’ signs were from places down the street, as well as Santa’s Village Bracebridge, which was front and center (above my right shoulder). When we roll into town the campground operators saw our bikes and said ‘that’s hardcore, we don’t charge hardcore’. Then there was this ‘signpost forest‘, and once you exited town for 20 miles, there were scores of people’s names, and what have you gratified into the sandy banks with rocks.