Komoot made me do this, Day 6: Lillooet → Vancouver

I was pleased to find that my legs were working properly again this morning.

Lillooet to Pemberton is a more intense version of Marble Canyon, both in sights and difficulty. In these early spring conditions, it was even more challenging and beautiful than normal. Not only do you get to see the usual roadside rockslides, today there were snow-capped mountains surrounding you, more meltwater waterfalls, and a frozen Duffey Lake. Temperature control was harder too! I saw readings ranging between 2 ℃ and 16 ℃, depending on elevation and shade, but those readings don't take into account whether you have been climbing 15% grades or descending such grades while sweaty.

The first foreboding hint that the rest of the day would be tough came as I approached the Joffre Lakes summit and was greeted by a cool headwind breeze each time I crossed a ridge. Flashback to the last time (komoot.com/tour/2483173210) where that also happened, and I had to deal with a headwind from Whistler all the way home.

I was blasted by a tree-swaying headwind at the crest of each ridge as I climbed up from Pemberton to Whistler. I had reached Joffre Lakes around noon, but did not expect that it would take me until 17:30 to reach Whistler.

Clearly, this slip in my schedule required a break to restrategize. I got a coffee and sandwich at the Whistler marketplace, then took a nap on a bench in the sheltered arcade. (I'm learning from my past mistakes! There is no place to shelter between Whistler and Squamish. I had been up since 05:00, and if I wanted to make it past midnight, I would surely need to take a nap, and it's better do do it preemptively in civilization while it's still warm than when you've already hit your sleep wall and you're in the middle of nowhere and there isn't even a place to sit and it's cold and cars are whizzing by you on the highway.)

Just as I started walking off after my nap, a woman asked me my opinion of my Tailfin top tube bag. (It's excellent!) I bemoaned having to continue into a headwind, and she suggested taking the Sea to Sky Trail. Taking the S2S Trail had crossed my mind, but I had assumed that it would be a crazy idea since it would likely be impassable in these early season conditions. She assured me that the trail was rideable until Brandywine Falls; all the hike-a-bike stuff was between Brandywine and Squamish. A massive thanks for that information and advice, kind stranger! What luck that I had had that conversation, too!

I don't normally seek out gravel, but today I had nothing to lose by trying!

- I had gravel tires mounted.
- I had dynamo lights and a helmet light.
- I had a GPS to tell me where to go and where I had been, so I wouldn't get lost, as well as a satellite tracker in case of emergency.
- It was warm enough on the coast, and I had plenty of warm clothes and a bivy bag, so I could hunker down in the worst case.

So, despite my fears, I tackled the S2S Trail, for the first time, in the dark, carrying a full load of winter bikepacking kit. I even took the time to visit the Train Wreck site (whistler.com/blog/post/whistler-train-wreck-hike/), one of my "someday" to-do list items, just before sunset! I was far better prepared than the poor hiker who flagged me down to ask for the quickest exit to the highway, since it was turning dark and he was going by nothing but Google Maps and his phone's flashlight.

My headwind crisis turned out to be the push that gave me a big opportunity for growth. The coffee, nap, and thrilling technical gravel riding turned out to be surprisingly reinvigorating after hours of mind-numbing grinding on the highway.

As I resumed the highway past Brandywine, at that lower elevation, most of the road was sheltered from the wind.

At 23:30, I made a junk food stop at 7-Eleven in Squamish and continued on, confident that the worst was already behind me. (The highway cutting through the mountains creates a wind tunnel effect.)

Riding through the familiar environs of West Vancouver, I realized that these winds were not just a Sea to Sky Highway phenomenon — I had actually been riding through a full-blown windstorm! My final challenge was to cross the Lions Gate Bridge, leaning hard into the crosswind.

I got home at 04:30, raided the fridge, took a shower, and went straight to bed. What a finale to this 6-day adventure!

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This activity is part of a collection: https://komoot.com/collection/4230306