Denny Across Canada: Life along the Skeena

May 13th
Left Terrace around 2:30 ish, after a quick run to Dairy Queen and a water bottle fill at a gas station outside town.
Started grinding up the endless 15 km of hills outside town around 3:00, and rolled down the last one around 3:45, so not a bad pace at all, especially considering the +25 heat.
Even down by the Skeena it was hot this afternoon, and I found I was losing a lot of strength and cramping up more because of it.
Luckily, I was only going about 60 km down the road to the Exchamsiks River Park. When I rolled in around 5:30 PM, the place was deserted, but a number of guests swung by during the evening.
The first guest was Steve from Terrace and his family. After a few minutes of chatting, Steve asked "Hey, do you want a crab?". Yes, he wasn't joking. He went back to his boat trailer and pulled out a little crab, still alive and fresh from the ocean. He expertly murdered and split it using his bare hands and a nearby rock before hopping back in his truck and taking off. Shoutouts to Steve.
Next guest was a guy whose name I did not get but will call the firewood maniac. As I was eating some crab and veggie soup, he showed up. Shorty after he noticed my small campfire and offered me some firewood. When I finally accepted, he proceesed to pull two 7 ft logs from his truck and buck them up right there with a chainsaw. So now I have enough firewood to run my woodstove back home for two days straight. Shoutout to the unnamed firewood maniac.

May 14
Woke up to clear, sunny skies and expected another hot, muggy day.
As the day evolved though, the wind picked up off the ocean and it was actually quite cool the whole day.
With the wind blowing non-stop, I didn't make the best time back down the Skeena, but I was still withon striking distance of Prince Rupert by about 4 PM.
After taking a quick break to assess my camping options, I pulled into the campground at Port Edward. But, just as I was setting up my tent, I got an emaila notification on my phone.
A host on a bike touring hospitality app (Warmshowers) had offered me a place to stay for the night.
I wasn't too keen on cycling another 13 km so late in the day but the prospect of saving 25$ and meeting some new people was enough to convince me.

Hopping on the ferry Tuesday at 8 PM to Vancouver Island and that will be the end of schedules and plans!