Friday the 13th, A Ferry and Fish; just a whale of a good time.

Day 7, Friday the 13th.

A 7am wakeup feels hard to do when going to bed late and the body is tired, but wake up I did. I'd like to blame the pizza for my lack of sleep, but it wasn't... It was just me going to bed late.


I got dressed and did what anyone who ate a massive pizza the night before would do.  I went for breakfast.
I was buffet breakfast too but I only took one plate of food, not because it wasn't good but because i wasn't really that hungry.  I decided to eat now instead of when I would be hungry because as chance would have it, I would get hungry on the ferry. Ferry food is usually more expensive.


After breakfast I went down towards the beach. I thought about riding right down onto the beach and then thought that with my luck, I would get stuck in the sand as it was quite wet after a night of rain.  Normally I would take that risk but when you have a ferry to catch, these are the delays you want to avoid.

Gratuitous bike shots 

The wind on the road to Blanc Sablon was horrendous.  Had this been a gravel road I'm certain I would have crashed.

Paid for the ferry and the clerk told me she wasn't certain I would be able to make it as it was an extremely busy day.  That it was.  The tourbuses I was following were there, as well as many other vehicles.  I was there at least 45 minutes before departure.

I sat and took in the sights. It's a boat.  In a bay.

The boat

The bay

One guy working there asked what number I was (I was number 12) and I asked if there would be space for the bike.  He said he wasn't sure but probably not.  Crap.  Next ferry was at 3pm.  Well, we'll see and if I don't get on this one, at least I can go have a nap somewhere or eat in the kitchen they have in the ticket counter area.

Boarding begins and then there were 4 vehicles in my line that had not moved and a few others in a few other lanes.
The truck beside me asked the guy if he was getting on this one.  His number was 14 and the worker said "not a chance".  This does not bode well.

the two trucks in front were getting on and i was left behind with a rental car (#13) behind me.  I had chatted with #13 minutes before and had agreed that the Big Land and the Yukon were very similar.  Barren vast lands, although peaceful.  More RV's in the Yukon though.

Then I overhear the worker on his two way "ya, he's on a bike".  I didn't hear the other side of the conversation but he waved me through!  Success! I was the last vehicle on the boat.

I was starting to die of heat because I had put in both my top and bottom liners in thinking it would rain.  I dumped off my stuff (tank bag, helmet and jacket) on a seat and took off the pant liners.  relief was gained.

once smoking was allowed midship (wherever that is) i would out to the deck and had a smoke.  I bumped into the older gentleman I had talked to before and started talked some more.

The older chap I chatted with is in the blue coat

He loves cruises and has been to many places around the world.  The cruise that started it all was an Alaskan cruise. We chatted for a bit and suddenly, THAR SHE BLOWS!

A whale blew and saw it's tail flip up.  A smaller whale but a whale nonetheless.  Score!
This was my attempt at taking a picture.  We saw it surface a few more times.  neato.

other random from the boat pics

I went back inside for a Coffee (was getting hungry already?) and sat down to write a bit.

after about 10 minutes all i kept hearing was a stupid old school Nokia txt ringtone. Why do people still have those old flip phones... Waitaminute!  Cellphones work on the ferry?

I took my phone out and sure enough I could again surf the internet.  After wasting some time like that it was time to disembark the boat.

I rode north towards the destination I had loosely planned of the Pistolet Provincial Park.  I stopped for gas in Flower Cove at about 1pm.  I saw a little restaurant nearby with a lot of vehicles out front.
I went in and decided to do something different for me but more akin to the east coast.
I ordered the Fisherman's platter.  The platter has cod, cod tongues, scallops, cod fish cakes and salmon.  For someone who doesn't eat fish I was either going to be pleasantly surprised or absolutely disgusted.

The mug says "it's a great place to eat".  We shall see Mug... we shall see.

Like many places in Labrador and Newfoundland the restaurant has a slush puppie machine.  You can't find one to save your life in Ottawa but here they are everywhere.

ENHANCE!

ENHANCE FURTHER!

Lunch arrived.

Here's the plate after I was done eating.
The fish was tender, moist and yet dry.  Not slimy like i've had before. Everything was delicious!

You win this time Mug, you win this time...

On the ride to Pistolet Prov. Park I saw a sign for Tim Hortons. Woot.  I'll go dump my stuff off and set up and come back into town for supplies.

I got a spot for $20 and $5 for a bundle of wood.  I was lucky as there were many spots to choose from and that they just lifted the fireban the day before! Score!

Went into St Anthony for a coffee and supplies.  I figured I'd cook over an open flame today, so I walked into the Buck or Two to see if there would be anything to help me along like plates, cooking supplies, etc.

I have been looking for a cooking rack everywhere i go and could never find one.  I scored a rack and some tongs for $1.50 each. Major score.

I then bought some food at the grocery store.  I figured a nice steak, potato and corn would do the trick.  I got some cheap paper towel because it packs away well enough and was cheap.
total cost of supplies, $17.

I started the fire easily enough because of Survivorman.  Thanks Les for showing that the moss found on trees burns very well.

I'd like to also thank the scouts for showing me how to build a fire with one match.  I used a lighter but building a square wood base works like a charm.

I didn't have a plate or anything and wanted to eat in class and style, so I made some out of foil.  reminder to all, always bring foil.

WARNING, FOOD PORN.

The Steak seasoned with Mrs Dash garlic spice.

The potato, with a little hot sauce

The corn. plain.

After dinner I rinsed out the can to heat up some water for a nice hot chocolate.  I know i should wait because it's only about 6pm.  If you plan on using a Hobo cup, make sure to put foil over top so that you don't get ashes in your water.

The steak was cooked properly, It was Medium yet was tender as could be. corn was fine, but the potato... something was wrong there.  It was dry and parts still raw.  I should have gone with my instincts and just bought a single potato and wrapped it myself.

I didn't think the plate would hold up to a few cuts of my sharp XPG commando knife.
Held up it did.

This dinner brought to you by Mrs. Dash, MacGuyver, The Boy Scouts of Canada, Survivorman and The word Hobo.

I went looking for little sticks to burn due to pyromania and came across deer poop not 5 steps away from my site. No pic this time, but same size, shape and quantity as the pile i found in Muskrat Falls.

I went down by the lake to check things out.  Nice little lake for swimming.  I highly recommend this spot for campers (tenting). It's a bit tight for RVs... and RV's can go in some parking lot for all I care.  It's not nature if you have a microwave oven, a TV and flushing toilets in your vehicle.

Anyhow, the lake.

That wasn't a lake, but the gravel road going back to the ranger station, where the lake is.

I made myself a hobo coffee and looked at the maps of places of interest for a little while at the same time sitting by the fire staring into the flames for a few hours to satiate my inner pyromaniac.

Today was a good day.

The Rain Bringer and an end to gravel

Day 6, July 12th.

I think I finally fell asleep at 2:30am.  Maybe it was 3.  I never know what time it is due to the NFLD timezone.  Parts of Labrador are in the NFLD timezone, others aren't.  It's actually hard to figure out what day of the week it is without looking at my phone or my laptop. When the road looks all the same, the days meld together.

Woke up at 8:30 and looked at the weather network.  Sunny and 15 it says.  Went outside to look at how the day would unfold.
Rain. again.  Thank you Weather Network.

oh well, the boots weren't fully dry anyhow so a bit more rain won't hurt.

Supper was good, but I was hungry again.
Breakfast served.

The kiwi was a nice touch... A little surprising though.  Speaking to a hotel staff they say they haven't had much rain this year at all and need more rain.  Funny how the rain follows me all the time like PigPen's dust cloud follows him.

I asked how the road was ahead and everyone says it's in good shape and better than the road to Happy Valley.
I took down the ferry times for Blanc Sablon.  10:30 and 3:30.  Then i looked again to check and i had made a mistake as the times were 8am, 1pm and 6pm.  I don't want to rush and crash on the gravel road, so right now my options are 6pm tonight or stay over and camp for the night. The maps i have say there's tent camping in L'Anse-aux-Clair (which the various info people have told me too).

My hands are a little stiff today, but it's regular hard riding stiffness.  Not the hives I had not long ago.  At least that's a positive.  The Negative is that my shoulders and upper back are killing me due to the road being intense and sleeping in tents.

Due to rain, no pictures this morning.  I got the go pro going, but unsure of the results as the window was fogging up (again, due to rain).

The ride was slow going due to light showers, but mostly due to the horrible road conditions.  Hotel staff are liars!
I suspect that most people just don't understand what a rider calls a good or bad road.  On a KLR, washboard, potholes and big rocks aren't a problem.  Those little obstacles are easy to get over but deep gravel... deep gravel is my enemy.  What complicated things on this particular stretch was the wind.

only 150kms between Port Hope Simpson and Red Bay where the pavement begins.  They tell me that the pavement there is horrible and not very good.  I'm pretty sure bad pavement is better than gravel any day...

Between Lodge Bay and Red bay, the winds kept pushing me into the deep gravel and i nearly lost control many times.  As the bike rides like an overweight pregnant sow wearing teflon boots on ice,  it just wasn't fun. I slowed down for the most part (40-50km/hr) instead of the posted 70km/hr.

Saw two riders (both on KLRs) coming from the Red Bay direction, starting out on the trans lab counter clockwise... good luck gents, big air high fives.

The closer I got to Red Bay, the worst the crosswinds were and the deeper the gravel got.  I swear the trans lab wants to kill me.

I was ecstatic once I hit red bay.  NO MORE GRAVEL ROADS.   I lived with no damage to me or mine and survived the Trans Lab.

I went to the Whaler's restaurant in Red Bay and go some real East coast, whaling type of food.

view from the table

Looks empty, but one tour group just left

Club sandwich and fries.  Was good.  If you screw up a club and fries, you shouldn't be in business.  it's a main staple of road food.

guess that's not going anywhere for a while

The one problem with no more dirt/gravel road is accessibility.  That means every 'tourist' now get in their cars, tour vans or tour buses and flood the towns.  The raw beauty of Labrador is now gone.  Here come the tourists and the associated dangers that come with that (bad drivers)

I perused the gift shop and spotted a "I survived the Trans Labrador Highway".  SCORE!

I kept making my way down the coast towards L'Anse-aux-Clair to see about camping for the night or taking the ferry.

As per the info person in L'Anse-aux-Clair, I had already missed the last ferry as it  was at 3pm, not 6.  My days are all screwed up.

Oh well, camp it is.  Info says no camping in town for tents.  dammit.  Guess that leaves ninja camping (either on the beach or back 30km at a lighthouse) or hotel for the night.  walked out of the info hut to rain.  Well that choice was easy to make.
Bonus as they have a washer and dryer so i can do laundry.

Northern Lights Inn

I went to the corner store, alas no single packs of laundry detergent.  Must remember to bring some next trip.
The hotel is situated on a hill with a nice view of the beach while the ocean surf crashes.

Unfortunately, the view from my room is somewhat different.

yip.

I had no soap and hoped the hot water would clean the clothing well enough alone.  In the 'laundry room' there was an empty bottle of detergent.  After rinsing the bottle out a few times I had enough residual soap to make some bubbles.  success.

once laundry was done I went to the hotel restaurant. I wanted to keep with the east coast Labrador flavor of things so i ordered this:

The 12" Superworks Pizza

Thin Crust, loaded with pepperoni, bacon, ground beef, donair meat green pepper and onion.  delicious.  loved it.  Ate all  but one piece.  i'm such a pig.

I guess I could have ordered a Jiggers stew at some point in labrador... It's salt beef, boiled, then drained, then cooked again with potatoes, carrots, etc...  traditional food they say.

The restaurant was packed when I got there and had about 50-60 people in about that age range too.  Tour buses.  tourists... bah.  At least I was the youngest in the restaurant. 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: or How I learned to stop worrying and love the road

Day 5 July 11.
The skies cleared the night before and sunny days were upon us.  finally.  I woke up warm to the point of almost uncomfortable.  up i went at 7 o something in the morning.  Not sure what time as my phone died.

I'm a bonehead and didn't take pictures the night before.

Here's looking outside my tent. awesome.

Where i set up

see how close i am to the edge of the cliff?

Tony and Todd's camp. Notice some random work truck showing up. Actually a relative of Tony I believe. They had a SPOT locator as well, so relatives checked in.

I went for a short walk, looking for wood and to see what's around.  I found something interesting.

more views from the campsite. the pics don't do it justice.

camp from a different vantage point

This truly was a great spot to camp.  These are the best types of places to go.

The good.  Camping at Muskrat Falls.

I was pretty hungry as the last thing I ate was a sweet and salty nut bar before bed.  before that, nothing since 2pm.

My kitchen

Todd's kitchen (t-bone steaks and pasta cooked over the fire. admittedly, their meal looked better

Today's 10 minute meal will be Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Stew and coffee.

First up, Beef Stroganoff

This was actually pretty good for a freeze dried meal.  Would eat again and was quite filling.  Mountain house makes some pretty good (although expensive) meals.

second up, the Chicken Stew.

I would not feed this to an enemy.  I'd think it would be a horror if a random dog ate it.  This is garbage.  Fake yellow chicken stock, all salt and the taste was just horrid.  I took two bites and through the whole thing in the fire.  Burn in hell Chicken Stew made by Bauly, burn in hell.

I packed up everything as did Todd and Tony and while they were bringing their kayaks down to the water, i went for a walk to go look for the falls. 

Sadly, i would not wish them farewell.  May the wind be at your backs.

Also, seems i can't take a picture without my monkey fingers getting in the way.

There were some tourists in the area also looking for them.  After a brief hike down some trails that looked like this (and worse)

I gave up.  I did catch a slight glimpse of it though

meh.  My legs were already hurting and my back sore, so i turned around.  I was already pooped!

exhaling while making motorboat sounds makes for an interesting picture.

I got on the bike and headed into Happy Valley and my first stop was the info booth.  I wanted to know about gas locations, camping locations, etc.  I spoke to the girl there for a long time, swapping stories and told her i camped out at Muskrat Falls and how I found out about it through the Ontario guy(from north bay) and daughter with the blown tire.  They had just come in a few hours earlier and seems they camped out at muskrat falls after all!  guess they didn't get the good spot.  A shame as it would have been interesting chatting with him.  I'm sure i'll meet up with him later as we're all going the same way. For all i know he's right around the corner.

I asked her for Labrador stickers, and there was a shop right next door.  Score 3 for the panniers!

she also mentioned that a biker came from the direction of Port Hope Simpson and was in a crash.  He had gone to the hospital, but he was ok.   Reminder.  If i crash, i'm pretty well boned.

Off I went in search of the elusive coffee, for i will need it in the coming hours.  Seems there is NO gas stop between Happy Valley Goose Bay and Port Hope Simpson.  That's 410kms.  Will the KLR do 410km on a tank of gas? we shall see.

Having a coffee at Tim's, a gentleman approached me (and his son was taking pics of the zombie sticker, lol) and we chatted.  

seems that's what i do best, isn't it?  yes, i know i talk too much.  i also write too much. meh.

Anyhow, everyone is telling me the road from HVGB and Port Hope Simpson is great, not to worry... except him.  He says it's crappy with the deep gravel in spots and all the speeding. ah.  finally a word of truth.

I fueled up and checked with the gas station where the next fuel stop would be.  confirmed 410 km. ouch.  I was thinking about buying a jerry-can and strapping it on but decided to risk it and maybe i'll have to wait on the side of the road to buy some gas off a stranger.

The bad.  This road is hell.  As it is new it hasn't had the time to be really packed in, so there's a lot of loose gravel.  There were some delicate words said along this road.  The only thing that kept me from crapping my pants is having my sphincer shut tightly by fear. 

Going that way

Came from this way (hard to tell which is which, i know)

the gravel up close

obligatory bike pic

me thinking "fuck it, what's the worst thing that can happen"

at one point a caravan of 3 RV's pulled near at one of the only places you can get off the road.  We chatted a little bit and they offered to give me gas, but i declined.  They suggested i go ahead of them in case i run out. 3 couples (2 RV's and a fifth wheel) taking the same tour i'm on.  I'm sure to see them again as well.

I left before them, but i let them pass as i couldn't get my speed past 60 kph.  I just couldn't get into a groove.

random road shots.

It's hard to tell which way i'm coming or going on this road.  it's a road. with trees.  with no pullouts. with no services and few travellers.

what it does have is dust.  lots of dust.

At 330km, my GPS kept telling me that i'm out of gas, yet I hadn't hit the reserve yet nor gone to the 1litre of fuel I stored.  At about 360kms, I ran into the caravan in front of me again, and there was dust.  So much dust that at times i would close my eyes for a second and hope for the best and essentially ride the bike by  feel.  zero visibility.

at 410km, I got to the gas station/hunting/powersports/hardware store without even putting my tank in reserve.  not bad.  I wonder how far i could really go on a tank.  I best not push it.

The Ugly.

Port Hope Simpson

I actually had to dust myself off like they do in movies before going into the store.  It was bad and i needed a shower as well.

I noticed that at some point that I lost a bolt for the side panel (plastic piece) and needed it replaced.  found a bolt that would fit and bought that and a washer for 17 cents. one less worry.  Now the big worry is the top case brackets seem to be destroying themselves. I may have to go and figure something out at the hardware store tomorrow.

I went to the only Hotel in town (there's also a B&B) and looked for a room.  There's a room but it came with a price.  $90 for a single bed, small room.  No cell in town, but luckily there's wifi in the hotel! woot.

Since I only got into town after 8pm, My choices were limited.  Eat a nut bar again, or nothing.  Luckily, the hotel restaurant was still open.  Since it's one person running the show (cook, waitress, front desk) she kept it open for a while longer.

Hunger set upon me and I ordered a Soup of the day and a Rib Steak.

I know... i know... Never order a steak from a place like this.  I could hear the mircowave beeping.  I'm sure it's or me as i'm the only person in the restaurant.  Must be the steak defrosting? (makes sense as a small community doesn't get much traffic, and hench it would be frozen)

my dining room

My View

The soup, a hearty beef vegetable.  Was one of the best soups i've had in a recent memory.  

Maybe she was nuking the soup?  perhaps...

And the main course.

Homemade cut fries, coleslaw and a nice medium rare steak.  Cooked properly and was very good.  Better than i had hoped.

Went out and took a few more pictures, but getting too dark.

It's been a long day indeed.

On the plus side, there's less than 150km of dirt road until the old paved section which will take me to the ferry. Wonder what tomorrow brings.