The slightly odd service and set-up continued in the morning. I went back into the cafeteria for breakfast hoping for something light rather than a fried affair. I’d seen they had cereal so said I’d just have some of that, assuming they’d be some sort of continental offering. However, the woman proceeded to ask me what cereal I wanted, poured it into a bowl and then poured in the milk. It all just added to the atmosphere that being there was a bit of an inconvenience. 

 

Spoke to an American guy called John who’d started in Alaska but had just been in Stewart for a few days, so was able to give some pointers. 

 

Knowing I was at about 1,500ft and that I would be returning to sea level for the first time since leaving San Diego, I naively assumed it would be downhill the whole way. Instead, there was a pretty big climb before starting the run down towards town. But it was a really pretty ride surrounded by steep mountains with waterfalls extending down the cliff faces. Stopped at Bear Glacier and pretty crazy/worrying to see how much it had evidently retreated. 

 

I got to town and rode straight through another mile or so to the Alaska border. Came round the corner and was greeted by the ‘Welcome to Alaska’ sign but also no US border presence so I could just roll right on through. I had a brief look at the small town of Hyder and then, after a five minute stay in the US, I went to cross back to the Canadian side. Canada does have border guards, who rather comically go through the whole process of a formal border entry - despite having just seen me pass through in the opposite direction. It all feels slightly tokenistic but who could blame the Canadians for being wary of their neighbours to the south (or north in this case). When I first concocted the idea of a long bikepacking trip, riding to Alaska was my initial thought. Visa issues meant riding the GDMBR, through Canada and then into Alaska proper wasn't an option. However, it still felt very cool riding into this little corner of the State and looking at the map now there is an enormous sense of how far I've come.  

 

Trundled over to the campsite to get set up and shower before picking up a few bits of shopping. There are a few other cyclists staying here including a Swiss/German couple who were doing the Alaska-Argentina run and an Australian guy who is making his way around the world. Not quite sure how long he’s been going but it included over a year crossing Russia in the winter! He seems pretty done and ready to go home. We all made our respective dinners and shared stories. 

 

Day 77 - Stewart 

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I woke up to rain so chilled in the tent and finished my book before making some breakfast. 

 

Didn’t have too much planned for the day so just went on a short walk into the woods from the campsite before looping back into town to go to the museum. This was slightly better than the one in Burns Lake but still quite a lot of just general old tat without much narrative or explanation. They did have a thing about the films that had been shot nearby, including Insomnia - which is good and one I’ll have to rewatch when I’m home. 

 

The only real cafe in town was closed because the owner was ill, so I picked up a few bits from the grocery store for lunch and sat on the boardwalk which juts out into the Portland Canal. Back to the campsite and the Swiss/German couple had been replaced by a friendly motorcyclist from Quebec. His English was fairly limited but we managed to communicate with lots of hand gestures and me lobbing in the odd French word.