Day 2: I thought this was a motorcycle adventure?

The sun rises over Inland Passage islands on my ferry trip from from Nanaimo, British Columbia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia
The sun rises over Inland Passage islands on my ferry trip from from Nanaimo, British Columbia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Port Hardy, BC >> Prince Rupert, BC (via ferry)
25 miles ridden/45 minutes (+17-hour ferry ride)

Getting up at 4.30am seemed a bit excessive for catching a 7.30am ferry just a few klicks (kilometers) down the road, but there’s no rest for the wicked, so it stands to reason that I must be the devil incarnate…

Following a whopping three hours of sleep, the day began with a beautiful sunrise which I watched from the ferry queue. There, I met two KTM riders who were headed to the Arctic Circle via the rugged, less traveled Dempster Highway in the remote Northwest Territories; I’d be taking the more popular Dalton Highway north of Fairbanks to reach the same imaginary line around the globe. It’s worth noting these guys had neon pink and green mohawks affixed to their helmets; subtlety was not their forte.

Once onboard, the dynamic duo departed to their cabins while I grabbed a semi-reclining chair in the public lounge and watched the landscape slip past my perch, which was almost as comfortable as an airline seat. The weather was nice and cool, the sun eventually burned off some clouds, and a pod of whales popped up for a breath of fresh air.

The 17-hour ferry ride from Nanaimo, British Columbia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia meant the motorcycling part of this adventure was temporarily on hold, but the views were worth it!
The 17-hour ferry ride from Nanaimo, British Columbia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia meant the motorcycling part of this adventure was temporarily on hold, but the views were worth it!

The cruise through the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert was scheduled to take about 15 hours; for the first dozen or so, you’re transfixed by the beauty of the landscape rolling by the window. At about the 13th hour, however, you start going stir crazy and just want to get the hell off the boat.

In between scenery gazing, I consulted my map of the Prince Rupert area and decided to camp at either the nearby Diana Lake Provincial Park or Prudhomme Lake Provincial Park about 16 miles outside of town. In a pinch, I could charge it to Exchamsiks River Provincial Park, but that looked to be pretty far away (~60 miles). And considering we’d reach port around 11:30p, convenience was key.

The day’s pleasant weather eventually turned sour, and by the time I disembarked, it was raining. Despite being one of the first off the boat, the dozen or so campsites at Diana Lake Provincial Park were already taken by the time I rolled through.

Knowing I was too tired to make it to the next campground after a seemingly endless ferry ride, I scanned the side of the road for any break in the guardrail and pulled over as soon as I could – into what appeared to be a boat launch area – and set up camp in the rain. Now’s probably as good a time as ever to mention I’ve never camped before. Tonight I’d discover that the headlamp is perhaps the best invention ever.