Thursday  July 11        Cycling Day 7

    Bush Camp (Y) to Engineer Creek (Y)

Distance:  (Km). 93

Time:  5:00

Average Speed: (Km/ hr). 18.6

Ascent:  (m).  712

Heart Rate: (beats / min). 113

Cumulative Distance:   (km) 699

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 6683

Punctures so far : 0

An interesting day meeting a character and a change of scenery.

Luckily the expected rain never materialized last night. That’s a relief. But around 2am it turned extremely cold. Everyone reported waking and adding another layer inside the sleeping bag.Before breakfast there was great demand for the hot coffee - everyone clutching onto the hot cup with both hands. The fresh piping porridge was just what the doctor ordered for breakfast. Also of course I prepared two sandwiches for the journey. Before they were all packed onto the truck, I retrieved my fleece from my daily bag. As it turned out, I needed it for most of the day.

For the first20 km I had my doubts about the efficiency of the Ogilvie Highway Maintenance Section. It seemed they had a surplus of crushed rock and a shortage of gravel. It didn’t bode well for the rest of the day.

 But by day’s end I had better experiences and my confidence in them is restored..

As for the shape of the road for the first half of today’s 93 km it was much the same as for the last few days - the road twisting and rising through the trees. I didn’t expect any great change. And then a long long 5 km climb curling around a mountain. It seemed never- ending and the surface was stony and plenty of loose gravel.Then after the 20 km mark the landscape changed somewhat. Rather than softly undulating hills that we have become accustomed to, now bare rocks appeared. Initially just small cuttings by the side of the road but later whole hillsides devoid of trees or growth. And as the day proceeded this became more evident. By day’s end we were cycling beneath some spectacular crags complete with avalanche notices.

Weather today was cold till late afternoon became milder. But no rain and no significant wind. Tops of the mountains were in cloud at one stage we cycled up into that same cloud for a period.Now for the interesting character. Today was my first encounter with a grizzly bear. At 26 km on a level stretch Benedicte cycled past me. When she was 500m ahead of me I spotted a grizzly bear (hump on his neck) coming out of the growth on the right hand side somewhat behind her. She was totally unaware of his presence and then he turned and started ambling towards me - not aggressively.

 Bears basically have no interest in humans. I halted, starting waving my arms and raising my voice. He noticed and slowly drifted back into the brush out of view. I moved to the left hand side and cycled forward cautiously. Then he re-appeared ( now just 100 m ahead) but moved along the edge more interested in spotting something juicy in the ditch. We both passed each other like ships in the night with each minding his own business. I did take a photo as he was directly across from me. Understandably my hand was less than steady resulting in a blurry image. Others had various experiences with the same bear later on. A talking point in camp this evening.

Shortly after this I paused at the viewing point on Ogilvie Ridge at 900m ASL. It was here I informed Benedicte of her close encounter back the road. From here there was a view down the valley to the Peel River - the river we ferried across last Monday morning out of Rock River campground. It is a main tributary to the Mackenzie. Information boards here explained how we are now looking at glaciated landscape.

From here we had a 12 km descent ( sometimes scary with the loose gravel) down to the Peel River bank which is called the Ogilvie River in its upper reaches. 

From here it was a super 50 km ride to camp along the rivers edge with striking scenery ahead. The road surface was almost pavement and possible to move along comfortably at 25 km/ hr. I’m sure if the salmon were running we would have seen umpteen grizzlies sourcing their supper.

Lunch appeared at 65 km and I savored a bean salad and sandwich. Simultaneously swarms of mosquitos were attempting to lunch on us.

Along the glorious stretch after lunch I met up with Sven and Cindy for the last few kms to the Territorial Campground in Engineer Creek ( which flows into the Ogilvie River).In at 1:30 and tent all set up on Site 4 in no time at all. Still overcast and dry and constantly on the reach for the mosquito net and spray.

An interesting day indeed finally encountering some wildlife and moving into new scenery.

Tomorrow we tackle the Ogilvie Mountains.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.