Day 5: Summit Before Fourth Lake To Newcastle Island (34.9 Miles)

I woke up with the sun at 5 am after a glorious bear-free sleep and was happy to see my food pannier still in tact and hanging from its spot down the road.  After a huge breakfast, I attacked the rest of the summit while the air was still cool.  It's worth looking back every so often to see where you've come from, and in the morning light, I admired a waterfall I had missed in my misery the day before.  And then just a short hour later, I had made it to my last big summit!

Taking a break to admire the waterfall... photos never really do the experience justice.

Even enough energy for a crooked summit headstand!

The maps showed that eventually, the gravel was supposed to give way to a secondary paved road and then it would be sweet pavement all the way into Nanaimo.  It was mostly right.  The gravel gave way to a gravely sometimes paved road that looked like had seen better days.  Regardless, it was pretty smooth sailing.  My GPS tried to take me a funky way up and an exposed crumbly dirt road and after some investigation, there was a longer paved way that I decided to take and I was happier for that.  I passed by a  mountain bike trailhead where I saw locals heading out for a day ride and resisted the urge to drop my panniers and ride... I was exhausted and ready for some real food and maybe even a beer.

Yup, a Nanaimo coffeeshop sign nails it.

This cute place owned by an aging granola hippie was a lovely lunchtime stop.  It came complete with really a really nice gentleman who wanted to know all about my tour and gave me some tips on where to relax on Newcastle Island, my destination for the evening.

Craft beer and salmon tacos with a huge spinach salad?  Yup.  Thanks.

I didn't linger too long after lunch because I wanted to have some lazy time since the last few days were fairly hard.  I found my way to the passenger ferry for Newcastle Island and managed to roll right on board and be off right away.  The lovely thing about Newcastle Island is that it only has passenger ferries, which means it can only be explored by foot or bike.  It boasts a small campground, cycling trails, hiking trails, and lovely beaches.  It is just a hop and a skip away from Nanaimo, so many folks just head there for the day and then magically, the daytrippers disappear and it is pretty peaceful at night.

I'm on a little boat!

I finally got to admire one of the infamous totem poles of the area... I had been in such remote areas, I didn't see as many as I thought I would!

When we reach Newcastle Island, some law enforcement officers were escorting a drunk man off the island... in the polite way possible.  Turns out he had crashed a wedding ceremony and unfortunately for me, his wife and sons were occupying my campsite and looking a little bewildered and overwhelmed by all the gear they had to break down.  Even though it was well past the checkout time, I felt for her and so I told her to take her time and decided to explore the island for a few hours.

Beaches!

Boo, no bikes past this point so I parked and continued on foot.

Amusing myself.

I could see the big ferry that would take me to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver from Newcastle Island.

Enjoying a dip!

At long last, my site was vacated, I was able to settle in, read my book, write in my journal, and otherwise just relax in my hammock.  I splurged on a shower and called it night early!

Cozy amongst the trees.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• The campground on Newcastle Island sells out on the weekends, so book your reservations in advanced if you are arriving on a Friday or Saturday.  The quietest sites closest to the beach are 15, 16, 17, and 18.  The ferry runs about every 30 minutes, but just know they might get full for the first and last ferries each way.  It is a good idea to doublecheck the ferry schedule since it does change seasonally and it is important to note it does NOT embark out of the same dock as the ferry to Vancouver City.  Since bikes take up extra space, you might have to wait for the next boat.

• Bring your own food as I did not see any sort of restaurant or cafe (although I thought I had read there was one there seasonally...).  Make sure to use the food boxes at the campsite.  No, there aren't bears, but there are very determined and brave raccoons that will steal anything!