Today was our second attempt to ride up to have a look at the place as it's been a few years since I was last there... Was glad to see the road bare of snow this time after the slipfest we had in our attempt a couple weeks back... We turned back after 20 km of this the last time... Todays ride was interesting as the roadbed was frozen with an inch or 2 of wet muddy goo on top... Half the time it felt like you were riding on a flat tire... On the return trip my speedo quit reading because the goo built up on the sending unit near the front axle... A few teasers from today: Nearing Port Hardy Looking down Holberg Inlet.. Probably the worst hazard to watch out for are the Fat Trucks... Not much room for a bike to pass when you meet them, Vanisle is one of the last holdouts for these big beasts... We met this guy as a downhill surprise and all we could do was swap our intended direction in a hurry... Winter Harbour store... It's only open 1 hr a day in the Winter... Possibly because there are only 6 fulltime winter residents so shortening their hours is a way try to survive till summertime brings the people back... They do have their own post office.. The settlements original main road consists of a boardwalk that runs along the waterfront... And they grow big carrots.. This would be my proposed end/start for the TCAT... The roads dead ends at a trailhead about 20 KM past Winter Harbour... Park the bike and take a short path to the beach... I guess you'd be looking at Japan if you could see that far Good spot to take a celebratory dip..
The island looks great, very unique from the rest of the country If there are only 6 residents in the summer, what does the count jump to in the summer months do you think? Good to see you can get a cold beer there Oh and I along with most Canadians are very jealous that you guys were out riding yesterday Ron, NW Ontario looks very desolate....looking forward to getting up into that wilderness and enjoying the solitude.
Man, everytime I see photos of the Island, I think, damn, what am I doing out here! Thanks for posting 'em I knew there had to be an off-road way across the Island, nice work, can't wait to be back there again
yeah yeah yeah, so you westerners are claiming the end, but don't forget it all starts in the east! And I believe it starts in MY island!!!!!! Can't wait to get out there and hoist a few with you lot
I would imagine the summer population would swell by at least 10 fold from what is there now... The last time I was out that way it was in conjuction with the VanIsle 360 Yaught race, so it was quite busy... It likely got quiet in a real hurry once the racers pulled out..
My biggest concern and the biggest hazard on the Island routes are the areas where they run the larger logging trucks... I shot this bit of video: <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DoiJ7VmJ8Ig" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="349"></iframe>
You can meet the same (14 feets wide) in the (not so) north of Québec. Fortunatly, most of the time that means you entered a ZEC, where you have to sign in and the road are wide enough for two of them.They all have a radio and every workers on these roads quickly know some bikes (the today attraction ) are comming and your are traced all the way accross. But you still have to be carefull, they can't brake and they need all the road to pass the curve (that's why they have a radio, to announce them in the curve) :eek1
Your east-west battle of the pics is sure making the winter hard to take, not sure how much more I can take. Minus 31 degrees celcius today without the windshield. Coming into work and staring at these photo's sure has me twitching to get back on the bike.....9 more weeks to wait Some stunning photo's BTW
A balmy -27 here in Montreal. This is a great thread. Hope to start riding some sections this summer. Don't forget that some of us on bigger bikes are stupid and like the occasional tough section!
I dont think that the optional "technical sections" will dissappoint The main route is primarily gravel roads and pavement where gravel was not available. There are a few short "holy crap" moments to be had on the main but nothing crazy. That being said, some of the main route will be challenging when wet depending on the surface and I believe that the remoteness in some areas adds it's own challenges Glad your enjoying the read, the route is really starting to take shape now and it is becoming easier to see what the end product will look like, and.....well....it's looking great
You have some great photos, here's a thread that could use some updated pics:http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=474826
Fantastic photos!! Mailed a letter from the Winter Harbour post office a couple winters ago. Think they only collect it there once a week or so. A letter home from each end of the trail with the post mark would make a great suvinior (sp?). Don't forget to dip a sleeve in each ocean. An interesting factoid a full timer there told me was the Dept. of Highways still looks after the wooden "main street". They have been trying to give it to the town but it would be big bucks to maintain for such a small pop. The Scarlet Ibis in Hoelburg is a good place for a burger and beer. Surprising how many people have a story about that place. The town used to be the worlds largest floating camp. There was a radar base and associated town nearby that even had a theatre and hospitol during the war. The old radar site would be a great view point but was told it is sometime gated.Never made it up there myself. There is a couple places to camp in Winter Harbour. Stayed in some very nice cabins on the water front one winter but not sure about vacancies in the summer.
Winter Harbour has a pretty nice campground right in town... When I worked for the Regional District Parks it was on our rounds.... The building in the backdrop is the Scarlett Ibis, it's still in business on the waterfront {when the tides in} in downtown Holberg... The base during the war years was at Cape Scott and was dismantled in 1945... During the 60s the San Joseph base near Holberg went into service until about 1990 when it too was dimantled ...The area where this CF base was has completely gone back to nature in the 20 years since it's demise...The gymnasium from the base was loaded on a barge and towed around Vanisle to Sointula where it is in use today by the elementary school... The road up to the radar station is a no go as it is heavily gated near the bottom of the hill ... I believe these old piles are all that remains of the worlds largest float camp
http://www.rdmw.bc.ca/files/{7576BB7B-77FE-488A-B5B1-1880F4C2DE8C}Brochure for Kwaksistah 2009.pdf Going by this brochure who knows? I see they added a fee that may or may not get collected...
Now you're starting to sound like one of those people who puts down our end of the country yet has never actually been there to see for yourself. Either way it is a beautiful country we live in, with a lot of places to see and ride from coast to coast
Just a suggestion.. but if we're gonna ramble off-topic and digress, can we please clean up the quotes so that we're not seeing 20 in-line quoted pictures over and over in each quote? Its hard enough envying all of Jager's (and everyone else's) pics ONCE while I look out the window at the 3' of snow on the ground.