Bike Forums - 8.8.02 Swift River and Rancheria

Woke up to rain, of course. We decided not to cook and just had a snack for breakfast. I made two huge peanut butter, granola, and nutella sandwiches that I barely got down. After about 10 miles and a momentary pause in the rain, we rested and Thomas fired up the stove for a quick oatmeal snack. We took another break at a rest stop some miles later and saw some blue in the sky for the first time in days. As we were cruising along, I spotted an animal running to my right. It was a fox, dark brown, almost sooty black with a white tipped tail. It ran along side the road for about 100 meters and then it cut across the road in front of me and up a steep hill to my left. It stopped to check me out at the base of the forest. I stopped, hoping to get my camera out in time. The fox dashed into the woods. We pedaled to Swift River Lodge and back into Yukon, invigorated by the sunlight peeking through the clouds. Now we were able to appreciate the beauty around us. It was like the trees, mountains and lakes were jumping out at us now, but were there all along. We had burgers at Swift River and I got a calling card and touched base with dad. We headed out towards Rancheria, another small lodged named after the nearby river. We stopped at the Rancheria Falls Recreation Area and took a couple photos. It was smooth sailing, mostly downhill to the Rancheria Lodge. I inquired about a shower and the old lady that seemed to be in charge was pretty snappy but quickly accepted my 4 bucks for the shower. I laid out my tent to dry while I showered and got a nice surprise when I was directed to a motel room bathroom to use the facilities. I plugged up the tub and filled it up for a nice bath. I could have laid in there until the water got cold, but I knew Thomas was waiting for me in the cafe with the crabby old woman. I washed up and put away my tent and we headed out to complete our day. We called it a day around 7:30pm and set up camp by a nice clear water creek. Rain threatened us as we set up our tents in a hurry, but the clouds held up as we fired up our stoves for dinner. Tomorrow we make it to Watson Lake, hopefully under blue skies and sunshine. (77 miles)

Peace and thanks for reading

Dave