I’m so glad I brought ear plugs. This campground is very close to a railroad track and trains run all through the night, each one accompanied by a loud whistle. Fortunately it has its charms as well. There are enough people here that bears tend to stay away, and bunnies make frequent appearances.
I leave on my own at 6:15 in an attempt to get some distance in before the heat gets bad.
Only 15 km from the start is a horrible hill, the toughest one of the day. It’s so steep that I have to stand for most of it. If I don’t, my front wheel will lift off the ground. It takes me about six minutes to reach the top. I have to lean way over the handlebars and by the end I’m wheezing from the effort on such a humid day. Fortunately the road flattens out as we approach Mission.
On the bridge to Mission, I hit a big pothole and my camera bounces out of my handlebar bag. I try to catch it but I’m not quick enough. It lands on the pavement with a crack and the battery falls out. I put it back in and remarkably it still works.
After 45 km I’m getting low on water so I make a quick stop at a Husky convenience store. Just 4 km later I spot a fruit stand and get a basket of berries and cherries. Rex, the owner’s dog, is hoping I’ll drop one.
The heat is getting noticeably worse at this point with a fairly strong headwind. It’s a tough slog, and then I run out of water with nowhere to fill up.
The road seems endless and on some stretches there’s no shade to be found. Finally at 85 km there’s an Esso. I buy an iced tea and more water which brings me back to life for a while.
After 107 km I’m running low on fuel. I need some quick sugar so I sit on the concrete guardrail and have a good amount of dried mango.
It helps for a bit, until I run out of water again at 115 km. A few kilometres later I get to Hope so the campground should be close.
It isn’t. I end up on an unpaved trail through the woods, wondering if I read the map wrong. It’s rocky and muddy in spots and looks like a terrible place to get stranded without water. I start to wonder if I’m going to make it. What if I pass out from dehydration, alone in the forest?
There are four tunnels on this trail and they’re too dark to bike through so I dismount and walk.
All I can think about is how thirsty I am. It dominates my every thought for quite some time. Toward the end of the trail there are two people sitting at a table handing out maps of some sort to people coming from the adjacent parking lot. Breathless and on the verge of tears I ask, “Please, do you have any water?” And they do! They happen to have one extra bottle. I can’t drink it fast enough. I finally reach the campground at 1:15.
It’s 38 degrees here, or 45C with the humidity. As I wait outside the main office for a chance to ask where our campsite is, a kind man approaches, and motioning to my bike he says, “it’s a hot day for that.” I explain that I’m part of a tour group and came here from Fort Langley because it was on the schedule. He then goes back to his truck and gets two bottles of ice cold water for me.
Matt is the only other rider there and the rest of the group trickles in over the next six hours. I’m on dinner duty tonight with shepherd’s pie on the menu.
Tomorrow we tackle Coquihalla Pass.
Lynn's Bike Ride 
On the edge of my seat on that ride. ….
Oh my word that hill sounds scary and brutal.
Your day sounds like it was a battle so glad you made it safe to camp.