Alice Lake Loop: The Bear Spray Explosion

This was one of those trips where things did not go exactly as planned… It started with total sleep deprivation and being overly occupied mostly with work prior to the trip. So only a day after we left Vancouver and already on the drive to Port McNeill we realized that Kai’s bike seat was not with us in the car. It was a major problem, because Kai is not yet old enough or mature enough to sit on the cargo bike without one. So instead of carrying on with the drive to Port McNeill and starting our ride on the Alice Lake Loop, we found ourselves on a logging road maze by Campbell River looking for a suitable campsite for the night. We finally reached a lovely Rec Site by Campbell Lake. Exhausted and drained we set up camp and hoped for a better start the next day. 

The next day things picked up a little bit. We found a local bike store and as luck would have it, they had the exact same bike seat that fits my bike rack. Of course it’s the exact seat we have at home, but home was very far away at this point and the bike seat was right there. So now with a brand new bike seat we were ready to finally make our way to Port McNeill. Alas, on the way the weather became gray and chilly and it was getting late in the day and no one was keen to start biking that day. We decided to check out Nimpkish Lake, where friends recommended (another) nice Rec Site. Luckily we also brought our inflatable canoe so we went out for a quick paddle on the lake. 

The next day we finally made it to Port McNeill. It was four days after we left Vancouver and we were by now all ready to start biking. It was also a nice sunny day and it finally seemed like the stars were aligned in our favour. Port McNeill is quite small so we found the local school where the kids played while Gili got everything organized. Because of the bike seat fiasco I could only carry Kai and two of the mattresses, while Gili carried all of the other gear. We also realized that we forgot to bring Kai’s balance bike, but at this point we probably wouldn’t have taken it anyway on the tour. Luckily Neil was keen to challenge himself to ride the whole loop by himself. It was clear from the first hill that Neil was capable of that as he left Gili behind huffing and puffing in order to catch up. But Gili also sighed in relief since carrying Neil and his bike meant a lot of extra weight. 

The first day included a section on Highway 19 which was nice and had good shoulders. We had a quick swim and lunch at Beaver Lake just after the turnoff to Highway 30. At this point we lost the nice shoulders, but also there wasn’t much traffic. This road only leads to Port Alice, a tiny place with a big abandoned mill, which now seems mostly a hub for logging. We spent the night by Marble River at another nice Rec Site. 

The next section of Highway 30 was a lot hillier and we had an upsetting incident with a BC Hydro driver who did not like us cycling on the road. He started yelling and preaching to us on our parenting skills and how we should be protecting our kids. I guess like many others, he believes that protecting kids means putting them in cars and driving them around and not giving them the freedom of cycling and adventure. 

In Port Alice we found the cutest coffee shop and had a well appreciated coffee and toasted bagels for lunch. That was the last bit of civilization we’d see for the next few days, and also the last bit of pavement. From there we connected to a chain of dirt/logging roads and very picturesque lakes along the way.

After a long slog uphill on the first dirt road we hit we finally came to a nice flatter section which was also quite bumpy. Kai and I were luckily behind when the explosion happened, however when we reached Gili and Neil we still saw the signs of it. It turned out that the bear spray was lodged in between some other items in the front basket of Gili’s bike. When he hit a pothole the bear spray came out flying, was punctured by a rock and exploded. It got Neil a little bit in the eyes and he was scared more than anything. Unfortunately it sprayed Gili’s legs which made him very uncomfortable for the next few hours and all through the night. 

So now we found ourselves without bear spray and it made us wonder if it’s even worth it to bring such a weapon with us. True, that explosion happened just after we had noticed a series of bear poops on the road, but other than that we hadn’t seen much evidence of bears. At Link campground Gili took a dip in the river, but it didn’t seem to help. After a not so relaxing night we carried on. We made two “touristy stops” along the way. One was at the Eternal Fountain, which was this cool waterfall emerging from the ground. The other one was at the Devil’s Bath which turned out to be a cenote. We didn’t even know that there are cenotes in Canada, but there it was. 

The bear spray incident kept on chasing us. It turned out that Gili’s bike still had some pepper on it. We found out after Kai climbed the yellow bike, rubbed his eyes, and started screaming. He wasn’t a happy camper. Finally he calmed down back in the bike seat and fell asleep. We passed through a couple of Rec Sites but decided to keep on going as Kai was sleeping. That might have been a mistake because about half way between two Rec Sites Gili’s bike got a flat tire… That night we slept in the tiniest Rec Site, only two sites overlooking Maynard Lake, just off the road. That lake was also quite strange since it was flooded due to a dam. There were dead trees all throughout the lake and the scene was a bit surreal… Neil did not give up his attempts at fishing, although I doubt there were any fish in this mucky lake.  

Along the way we saw very few people, such as a couple on a bike packing trip that we kept on bumping into. We also kept on seeing another woman with an ATV and that’s about it… The running joke was on how “busy” it was there. We had been warned that the island was packed with people, even up north, but obviously it wasn’t the case where we were. The Rec Sites were mostly empty and finding a place to camp proved to be very easy and mostly free…  

The fourth day of the trip was meant to be our last one, but we were dreading going back to civilization. We also made such an effort to get there, that four days was just not enough. So when we stopped for a break along one of the last lakes on the route I noticed another campground on the other side of the lake. We knew that this Rec Site existed but didn’t give it much thought as it wasn’t on the way. So I suggested that we’d cycle there and spend the night there, instead of returning to the car and trying to find a camping spot on the Friday before the Labour Day long weekend.

The way there was a bit of a slog, but once there we didn’t regret our decision. The sites were big and we basically had our own private beach. The kids had a blast playing, swimming and of course fishing. That evening we walked around the campground and noticed that a few people were having campfires. We realized that probably due to the chilly and somewhat wet weather the fire ban must have been lifted. We found a site where someone did a poor job of putting out their fire but we took advantage of it and warmed up a little, and then put it out.

During that night it rained a lot and as we listened to the rain drops over our tent we wondered if we’d made the right decision staying out an extra night. Finally though, things did go in our favour – the minute we stepped out of the tent the rain stopped. After a yummy breakfast we had a pleasant and dry ride back to Port McNeill. 

Back at the school in Port McNeill we all had a victory hug and a big sigh of relief. This trip definitely had a few bumps but it wasn’t enough to put our spirits down. After another play in the playground and some quesadillas the kids got into the car happily. Kai slept the whole four hours till we made it back to our friends in Chemainus. Then we put the kids straight into the bath to wash away the dirt and last bits of bear spray from the past five days.