Where ever I may roam

I managed to sleep in this morning, getting up at 8:30 am. It was an early night last night. There isn’t much to do once the sun goes down. By 9:30am I was heading out to Port Alberni, I had a few things to explore and I was thinking of heading out to Tofino. The road into Port Alberni was full of twists and provided some great views of the surrounding lakes, which made for a great ride.

McLean Steam Mill was definitely worth the trip out. The mill wasn’t operating today so I got to walk through all of it and get up close to the machinery. The fragrance of wood and oil hung in the air throughout the property, which had old cars, trucks and wood shacks scattered throughout it.

The boiler. All the equipment in this mill is steam powered

I took the short hike out to Stamp Falls and grabbed some photos.

Stamp Falls

Riding back from Port Alberni I finally saw another rider, on a KTM. When the sun’s shining everyone is out on their sports bikes and Harleys, but when it’s raining, only the dual sport riders are out. I found riding on the highway in the rain stressful enough, with trucks and SUVs right behind be. I don’t think I want to deal with that tomorrow on muddy, rocky, forestry roads with logging trucks. I think I’ll be taking the highway further south, probably the 9A.

On the way back to camp I stopped in at Cathedral Grove. There were less trees in some areas than expected, which was due to a strong wind-throw in 1997. I quite enjoyed walking around the grove. There were plenty of people visiting, even though it was raining. I spent some time hiding under a tree waiting for most of the rain to pass before continuing back to camp.

I had to ask around to find the trail head to the Hole in the Wall. It was right by a concrete railing on the side of the highway. I was tempted to take the bike out there as I’d heard it’s possible. While I saw signs of ATV tracks, I’m glad I didn’t ride out there as I probably would have been spending a cold, wet, night there. It was difficult enough to walk up some of the muddy slopes.

Hole in the Wall

Tomorrow’s plans are to head to Victoria and spend 2 nights there. I could do with a hot shower, I’ll probably be staying at a backpackers. I’ve left a lot of things undone on this part of the Island that I had planned to do. That just gives me an excuse to come back again. Next time I hope I’ll be better prepared and have the bike handling better. Regardless, the trip has been a lot of fun so far.

The odo now has 5301km on it.