Ride For Rand : July 2017

Day 55 - Lake Superior National Park to Montreal River

Today, I woke up to nice-looking Skies and a full day ahead of me in the National Park. I got ready for the day and as I was just about to set out, I met a guy who is driving across to the West and he gave me a lot of advice for around the Cape Breton area because he's also a cyclist. We shared some coffee and then I headed out on my trip.

I rode my bike through the park, stopping only to take pictures and a few times to stop at places where I could get coffee or ice cream. There were quite a few hills in the park and many beautiful vistas to be had. At the end of the park there's one huge hill before Montreal River, and my campsite was not too far after that. I arrived at my campsite not too long before dusk and I had the unique opportunity on this trip to set up a tarp in the rain. It's funny that the camp site cost about $40 as well. I was hoping for a little bit cheaper of a price, but at least they sold some food items there. I bought a block of cheese and some noodle soup and waited patiently as I cooked my can of soup directly over a fire and ate it. I went to sleep under my tarp and it actually wasn't too damp. Tomorrow will be sunnier...

Morning rabbit lake

Park

Lots of palettes like this

Beach

Beautiful coast

And still Rocky

At the Petroglyphs

Down by the rocks

I saw the sinking sun

And felt connected to ancient history

A calm moment alone

Amongst ancient drawings

Going up....

Top of the world

And back down to the bridge

Rain is on its way...

Hi again

Nice afterglow when the rain slowed down

Camp site around the corner...

Day 54 - White River to Lake Superior National Park

Waking up in White River, I said goodbye and continued on my journey. Originally, I planned on stopping in Wawa, but the day was going so well that I ended up staying in Lake Superior National Park.

Most of the day was uneventful, but I ended up meeting Russell the Australian who fixed my bike in Wawa after not seeing him for a while. Russell was the guy who fixed my bike in the middle of nowhere. We shared some stories and I ate some food in Wawa and then continued on to the National Park, but a word of warning.... right now there is so much construction going on in that area that it's difficult as a cyclist to get through. I went through one of the worst construction gauntlets that I had ever experienced in my life most of the road was chewed up and ready for a new a new layer of asphalt, but there was a section where everything had been ripped up and I was sliding my way through loose gravel with a group of cars waiting to get by and then later on with trucks and cars passing me. Not only was this a tiring moment for me, but it was dangerous as well because the gravel was so loose that it was hard to stay on my bike.

I successfully crossed the construction gauntlet and continued on my trip. It was starting to rain quite a bit and I considered wild camping again in the National Park, but just as I stopped to eat some food, I encountered some of my many friends: I was swarmed by mosquitoes and black flies. In addition I took a closer look at the gravel beside me and there were fresh black bear paw prints. I decided it was better to just cough up the money to stay in the park, so that's what I did.

Today was a long day and I managed to ride a good 150 kilometers. I should be in Sault Ste Marie within the next couple of days.

Flowers are out.. Is it spring? Sure doesn't feel like summer...

Flowers

Beautiful

Love the clouds....

Forgot to mention the random heavy downpour

Love

My camp for the night

Sign

Rabbit lake

Edit: Wawawawa

Edit: National park :)

Day 53 - Marathon to White River

It appears that I forgot my headlamp in Thunder Bay, so before heading out for the day I stopped at the Canadian Tire in Marathon and bought a new headlamp in case I needed to use it at night. Today was also very similar to the previous day, with rolling hills and constant movement to the east. The countryside was really beautiful, and the day was also really nice. Approaching dusk I arrived in White River and to my surprise there were a few people camping in the park, so it was a chance to meet some other cycle tourists. I meant one guy from Newfoundland heading east and his name was Matt. There was also another guy who came here from Germany, he was going west. I thought this was really interesting because here we were in the middle of White River, a relatively unknown town and a bunch of people all assembled in this park were able to share tea, food and stories. There was a Husky next to the park and I took a shower there thinking that it was for free, but they weren't...

Anyway, beautiful day and skies!

Inland

A little lake

Another lake

This one is called "cigar lake"

Nice bridge!

Lovely clouds

Dynamic!

beautiful

Reflections on the water

Sunset!

Day 52 - Terrace Bay to Marathon

I woke up in Terrace Bay and continued on my trip through the Northern Shore of Lake Superior. Today was a very straightforward day because really there wasn't a lot in between the two destinations--not to say that it wasn't beautiful because it was. I rode my bike through the Rolling Hills and made my way through increasingly steep ascents and descents. Some of the hills had truly magnificent views. The hills were a littke tough, but fortunately the weather was beautiful and I was in good spirits. I used any opportunity I could to get food because shops were so sparse and I was so hungry. At the end of the day when the clouds came rushing in, I was already almost at Marathon.

Marathon isn't on the highway. It is about 3 kilometers downhill from there, and there's a really nice private campground. I recommend taking the time to see this little town.

Anyway, by the time I was getting close to the campground I could see the dark clouds and thunder showers coming close and I assumed that it would rain very soon.

I arrived to the campsite just as it was raining buckets and set up my tent under a covered area. Earlier in the day when I was eating my breakfast in Terrace Bay, I met another cycle tourist and he said that he might be in Marathon as well. Just as I was setting up my tent for the night, I saw him passing by and invited him to join me for a coffee. We had a chance to chat for a while and then the mosquitoes came in force. Right at dusk there was a great sunset, and I felt grateful to be on this trip. I was awed by the beauty surrounding me.