PCT 2007 - Day 159 - Manning, BC - Chilliwack, BC

Day 159 8-31-07 Motel
Manning, BC – Chilliwack, BC
80.13 miles; 80.13 (88.96) total miles; 4589.73 trip miles
50-60’s overcast, rain Day ? of rain
Days camped alone 32
13.6 avg mph; 37.6 max; 5:51:56

2007 PCT Critter Tour General Category
1- Marmot count is 170
2- Deer count is 135
3- Pika count is 85
4- Elk count is 65
5- Goat count is 21
6- Slug count is 17
7- Bear count is 7
8- Rattlesnake count is 6
9- Martin count is 1
10- Badger count is 1

Last night I went back to the restaurant to show some of my photos to one of the waitresses who plans on thru-hiking the PCT, next year with her sister. She and her co-workers invited me to join them at their outside camp fire. I brought my Dad’s computer back to him and let them know not to wait up for me. We went to the fire and I told the Scatman story. I also had around 4 beers on top of the 3 from earlier. I was totally slurring my words at one point. They all thought it was funny. Chelsea, Loops, Stephanie and I went back to Chelseas to eat some foods as it was 1:30 by this point. After that we drove to the lake, stopping at the front desk for candy. We were suppose to get some towels so we could go swimming but we forgot them. After hanging out at the lake, we drove back to the resort and I decided that it was time for me to go to sleep. I got to my room at 2:45 AM. My Mom starting talking to me like it was 6 AM and I was getting up to leave. She said something along the lines she wanted to say goodbye to me. Dad had to wake her up and tell her I was just coming in.

I got up around 6:20 AM and got around 4 hours of sleep. I ate, and then packed the bag in my trailer. I was riding to Seattle and once again pedaling at 7:20. I was only 20 minutes behind my intended start time.

I started with a small climb and felt winded already. I would go up and down for a bit then finally had a 9 mile downhill. At times I didn’t even have to pedal. I had a Brit come by heading east. He also had a Bob trailer. I saw two R.S.P’s (Road Side Pikas), in the rock slides next to the road.

The skies didn’t look friendly all day and the wind was picking up as the day went on. I made good time but after about 2 hours of riding I started to feel really tired. My legs were burning and the wind was kicking my butt. I missed my turn and had to a u-turn on Rt. 1. I stopped at a Shell station to get some sugar. I made some phone calls as I ate my snacks. Later my folks told me Hope, BC was the town they filmed Rambo, First Blood in.

I rode out of town and headed for Rt. 7. 7 follows the Frasier River and is mostly flat. There were a few climbs but they weren’t steep or long. The hard part for me was the road was straight as hell and it was like riding on a treadmill. You felt like you weren’t going anywhere. The other bigger issue was the wind. It was like a wind tunnel down in the river valley. At one point I had to pull over, luckily there was a rest stop. When I pulled in, I still had one more hour before lunch in the next town. I sat on a picnic table and just wanted to lie down and sleep. I felt like I was another solo 24 hour race. My whole body was tired. I ate a bar and slowly got on the bike so I could get to lunch. The whole hour just burned and dragged on.

I finally reached town and found the Subway I had been seeing signs for, for the last 2 hours. I got in line and the lady asked me what I wanted, then she looked at the expression on my face and said she’d give me a minute. When she looked at me I was just finishing an eyes closed sigh. I ordered my sandwich and sat down to eat. Once I was done with my sandwich, I just sat there in a very hard uncomfortable wooden chair and felt my eyes start to close. I then caught myself in the middle of a head nod. I almost had fallen asleep right there in Subway. I decided at that point to go to the library next door to try and find a hotel in Chilliwack.

When I got outside, the rain had just started. I rode over to the library and when I got inside every computer I tried was broken. I went outside to find my rain suit and failed. I decided I had forgotten it and just then the kid using the only working computer walked out. I went back inside and found a couple of hotels right on my route. Outside it was raining even harder now. I mounted my bike and off into the rain I went. I passed a handful of bikers huddled under a visitor sign just on the outside of town. I gave them a wave and thought, “wimps!”.

I had to cross the Frasier River and the bridge was quite narrow. I had a number of large trucks sharing my small lane as I went over. Once over the road got wide again and I was safer. Since Rt. 7 I had been riding in farm land and it smelled like cow shit everywhere. I turned off of Rt. 9 onto Yale Rd W. and started to head west once more. The rain had let up by now, but it was still falling pretty steady. I rode Yale Rd for what seemed forever and finally I entered downtown Chilliwack. I saw a movie theater was playing the new Matt Damon movie, “Bourne Ultimatum” and thought I might come back to see it. I got almost the whole way through town so it seemed and decided to ask someone where the hotel was. The first guy I asked just moved there and had no clue. So I cross the street and found a very helpful woman at a gas station. She gave me directions right to the Days Inn. I was at the hotel in 5 minutes. Once there I checked in and hit the shower asap. I talked to my folks a bit and then I watched some TV. Soon it was time to eat and go see the movie. I went to the front desk and asked the gentleman to call me a cab. While I waited for the cab I searched the internet. The cab brought me right to the pizza place. I ordered my pizza and while I waited for it to cook, I went to buy some snacks and a drink. I got my pizza and headed towards the theater to eat it. When I got there, I found the theater was only open from Saturday to Monday. I found my way back to the pizza place and debated on calling the cab again. I didn’t want my pizza completely cold. I said screw it and walked back to the hotel.

I would have just sat an ate the pizza, but Chilliwack isn’t the nicest town or I was just on the wrong side of the tracks. Most stores had some sort of security standing outside. It was a pretty shady place. I felt better eating my dinner a little cold then to have some stranger coming up to me in the middle of the hood bugging me.

I got to my room and watched Seinfeld and other shows. I pretty much just vegged out in front of the TV until 11:30 and then finally went to bed.

———-

Scatman

Get out there!