Rest Day at Muncho Lake

OUR FIRST REST DAY

A couple of months ago we booked a room at the Northen Rockies Lodge for 2 nights because:

a) we knew we would have done a lot of kms by now (around 3300km) and would probably need a rest,

b) we knew it was high season and that accommodation in that area was already getting booked up including campsite space,

c) friends said it was an area they would have like to have spent another day at, and

d) we were not in the “save every penny mentality” at that point (boy how things have changed!!!)

The lodge was beautiful. Right on the edge of lake Muncho, an azure blue lake between two mountain ranges. We sat on the edge of the lake on our way down and had a quick lunch and then once checked into the lodge we took the 60km ride to Liard Hot Springs …just down the road in this country of vast spaces!

The Hot Springs are beautifully clear and don’t have the same sulphur odour as the Hot Springs in NZ. There weren’t many mosquitos at the pools but the Horse Flys were MASSIVE and very hungry, so you had to keep all but you head above the water …which meant finding a cooler spot in the pools or you basically boiled.

Another amusing (worrying??) fact was that there was a 750m walk to the hot pools from the campsite, and it was guarded by a high electric fence and gate with “Active Bear” signs and a warning from the rangers to take bear spray with us! But we survived, unmauled, and then that evening slept something crazy like 10 hours! It was a luxury not to have to pack up and move on for a day.

We met 4 mexican motorcyclists there who had been up to Prudoe Bay on GSA 1200s, they gave us some great advice, not only on the Dalton Highway in bad weather but also on where to go in Mexico. We ended up seeing them the next day too when they stopped for breakfast in Muncho and we exchanged contact details and the offer of help if we ever needed it in Mexico. The biking community is incredible!

The following day we hired a couple of canoes and had an amzaing 3 hours and 8kms exploring the shores of the lake. It was so quiet and serene and while we didn’t see any wildlife on the shores we did see a variety of birds fishing from ducks to Kingfishers diving into the water just in front of us.

The weather was due to change that afternoon with a chance of thunder storms so it was lovely to be able to watch the storms roll in as we just sat on the lake.

As we neared the shore a couple were taking out a Canadian style kayak with the single paddle in front of us and over turned just as they got into the water. Nick almost “bust a gut” trying not to laugh, especially when the guy tried to pull his wife out the water and ended up standing on her toes. Naughty Nick!

The afternoon was mundane chores, Nick tightened and oiled the chains on both bikes while Bec got to use a washing machine for the first time in 9 days and do some laundry as well as type up blog posts!

We then spent a couple of hours watching the thunder storm from our room and fell to sleep to the blissful sound on rain on a tin roof ...while secretly praying it has stopped by the morning.

Onto Whitehorse and 730+kms tomorrow for new knobbly tyres on both bikes.