After a small bike trip into Vancouver we were ready for the main event. We decided to take a route through the Okanagan, going first east up the Fraser Valley to Hope and then along the Hope Princeton Highway and continuing to Osoyoos. Then up the Okanagan to Kamloops and then back down the Fraser Canyon in back through the Fraser Valley. We brought tents, sleeping bags and cooking gear so we would be able to camp along the way. Out intention wasn't to camp every day, but it gave us flexibility to stop when we liked.

If you like here is a MAP of the whole journey.

In the tables below you can click on the symbol to get a map showing the part done that day. All of the totals below are in meters or kilometers. My bike computer provided the elevation and elevation gain. They are not completely accurate (especially the absolute altitude of each place) but the relative amounts were fairly close. The Time is the amount of time that we were actually pedaling.


Day 1 Aug 17 - Maple Ridge to Hope
Dist:109.7 Time:5:48:10 Elev:95
Total:109.7 Avg:19.0 Gain:205
Took a bit to get everything packed up, so we didn't leave from my parent's until about 12:30pm. Took the Lougheed highway (#7) through Mission and to Agassiz. A few hills but nothing too much. We did notice a short downhill that was 11 percent grade! At Agassiz we decided to continue to Hope even though it was getting a bit late. Sign said 45km which was much more than it looked on the map. Turned out to be only 34km so we just made it before it got dark. (The sign was most likely for cars taking the #1 Freeway) Got a motel with a jacuzzi for our first night. Ate dinner at the Home Cooking restaurant which was pretty good.
The beginning


Road to Mission
Fraser Valley
A bit of luxury after the first day!


The Rain Cometh
Day 2 Aug 18 - Hope to Sunshine Valley
Dist:23.0 Time:2:19:59 Elev:692
Total:132.7 Avg:9.8 Gain:787
Woke up to a cloudy day. Got some stuff at the super market and headed out. After not too long it started pouring rain. We pulled off and waited under a tree to see if it would pass. After two hours of constant rain (during which it was completely dry under the tree - very good tree) we decided to batten down the hatches and bike anyways. Fortunately as soon as we got the rain gear on it stopped raining. It was a fairly steady 7% grade all the way up to the Hope Slide. It began to rain again really hard as we headed into the valley before the entrance to Manning park so we decided to stay at the Sunshine Valley Bed and Breakfast. There are no stores or restaurants there so the owners let us cook some food.


Hope Slide
Resting at the Hope Slide
Bed and Breakfast

Day 3 Aug 19 - Sunshine Valley to Princeton
Dist:115.3 Time:7:11:27 Elev:702
Total:248.0 Avg:15.9 Gain:1528
The day looked good during breakfast, but once we started biking it began to rain again. We stopped for a short while, but it showed now signs of letting up. Lots more hills but eventually we made it to Allisons Pass (1340m) and then coasted another 9km to the Manning Park Headquarters. At Manning we changed our clothes, dried off, and warmed up while we had a hot lunch. The weather cleared up and we set off for what we thought was a nice ride down to Princeton. Well no one told us there is a second summit (Sunday summit) so the large number of uphills were rather confusing and annoying. Worst was a one kilometer stretch at 9-10%. Eventually after going down to 950m we were back up to 1280m at Sunday Summit. Even then the road skirted across the mountains, dipping into valleys and back up the other side. The climbs were not too severe (100-150m vertically) but we began to wonder if we would make it to Princeton before dark. Fortunately the last part was mostly downhill, or flat. We arrived just before 9pm as it was getting dark. Stayed in a motel and partook in the (very hot) hottub before we got some dinner at Subway.
Entrance to Manning Park


We finally get up to Allisons Pass
Manning Park Headquarters
Manning Park


9% Uphill!
A second summit??
Heading towards Princeton


Leaving Princeton
Day 4 Aug 20 - Princeton to Stemwinder Creek
Dist:35.5 Time:1:39:50 Elev:652m
Total:283.5 Avg:21.5 Gain:69
Today was mostly a rest day. We had arranged to meet Chris and Kristann at Stemwinder campground which was only 35km from Princeton. I had to replace my brake pads after all the hills. Left in the afternoon and had a nice easy ride to the campground (road was build on an old railway line, so it had a nice gradual 1-2% downhill grade) Stopped at the Whistle Stop Cafe for a bit of a snack. The owner has a huge model train display (with something like 200 tunnels and tressels) which worth looking at. We arrived at the campsite which is along the river and quite nice. Set up the tent and Chris and Kristann arrived at about 7pm. We build a fire and cooked up some chili before calling it a night.


Stemwinder Creek
Nothin' but open road
Stemwinder Campground


At the creak
Deep in thought
Chris and Kristann join us!

Day 5 Aug 21 - Stemwinder Creek to Osoyoos
Dist:102.8 Time:5:50:02 Elev:472
Total:386.3 Avg:17.6 Gain:839
Got up had breakfast and broke camp. C & K drove the truck to Hedley and we followed on our bikes. At Hedley they joined us on bikes. Mostly rolling hills to Keremeos where we stopped for lunch in the park. After lunch we tried to pick up the old railway line, but it ended up running though private property so we stuck to the road. After we left the river we started up hills. The pass was supposed to be at 680m but we hit 820m (twice) before we finally got through to the other side. From there it was all downhill into Osoyoos. Hit a maximum of 61km/h on the way down. Quite touristy in Osoyoos and the campground were fairly full. We found a site and I went to the office to register. Since we were not related they wanted to charge us for two sites at $26 each. 52 dollars to pitch two tents! Kristann and I went down the road and found a different one with a nice corner site bordering on an orchard for $20 total. Took a quick dip in the lake and then biked into town for some food at a local pub (mmm yummy).
Say goodbye to the truck Chris


Chris forgets which way is up
Looking back down the hill
Fixing Flat Tire


The hike to Osoyoos
Just a few small hills!
Down into Osoyoos


Along the bike path to Okanagan Falls
Day 6 Aug 22 - Osoyoos to Penticton
Dist:84.1 Time:4:41:31 Elev:598
Total:470.4 Avg:18.0 Gain:339
After spending a bit of time getting to know Osoyoos' residential areas in a vain attempt to find the Kettle Valley Railway we eventually found it and also the International Biking a Hiking Society Trail (http://www.bikeways.com/maps2/Okanagan/Oliver/oliver.html) that runs quite a long ways along side the a small river. Part of it is even paved. We stopped along the way to take a dip in the river. Joined up with the highway for a while until Okanagan Falls. Stopped for a drink there and then found the Kettle Valley Railway and biked along the lake on that which was really nice. Got into Princeton and biked to the other side of town to the tourist info and found out the best camping was where we came in, so we biked back along the parkway and got a camping site. Had a medley of Cajun chicken, linguini, veggie stirfry, and tacos chips for dinner.


Dip in the creek
Along the Kettle Valley Railway
Skaha Lake


Camping in Penticton
Continued...