Rain and fog over the mountains

July 26^th, 2026

Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Woke at 8:00am and sat around a bit till the body woke up with the mind.

Showered and got geared up.

Went outside and it was very misty, bike cover had a good layer of water on it, so another day that it gets put away wet.

Once I had it put away, I started to load the bike.  And the rain started as well.

Had to wear the rain gear to keep myself at least somewhat dry.

Once I had most of the stuff on the bike, I decided I was going to eat a big breakfast at the restaurant as there were not any places to eat along today route that I was aware of.

I checked out of the room and carried the rest of the gear into the restaurant and took a table.

Ordered food and waited quite a while, but finally arrived and I enjoyed a good meal.

Once done and paid, I went outside where the rain had stopped, but it was still spitting a bit here and there.

Put the final pieces on the bike and zipped up all the jackets and got on the bike.

I rode it down to the access road and around the other hotel next door to the fuel stop that was in front of another hotel.

Filled up and then setup all the navigation and got on the road.  I decided with the rain, I would not put the 360 camera on the bike today.

It started to rain lightly as I was leaving town, and lasted about 30 minutes.  Then it went back to the random sprinkle every so often.  Temperatures were around 50 when I started, but slowly went up to the upper 50s for a while.

I had to run about 150km before I could stop for fuel as I needed to make sure the remaining distance would work on a single tank from that stop.

I stopped for a few restroom breaks and a few photos.

During this stretch I saw another bear grazing for something in the grass on a hill along the road, and shortly after came across about 2 dozen bison doing the same right along the road sides.  Now I wish I had put the camera on.

I stopped later to piss, and put the camera on then.

Shortly after we saw more bison, and another bear, though not sure I got camera on in time.

I reached my fuel up point and shortly after found a station.

Odd little place, in the middle of nowhere.

You are not supposed to pump your own fuel, they have someone come out and do it, though in my case, the guy handed me the hose as he did not want to risk spilling on my bike.

Once full, I went inside to pay, the guy just radios how much fuel to the cashier inside.

They had a café here, but was still too early to have another meal, so will just get back on the road.

Not long after this the temperatures started to drop and clouds moved back in.  Then it started to sprinkle non-stop before it turned into a light rain.

We saw more bison on the road side, and twice came upon a young moose standing on the side of the road, but both times my approach, even slowing down, spooked them into the trees, but should have gotten them on camera.

Around this time, we started gaining elevation as we moved into the mountains more and had several small passes to go over. (3000-4000 feet).

I pulled off for a few videos at one point to show the hazy skies.  I was not sure if it was just low clouds or smoke.  There was a fire burning somewhere in the region, and I could smell something in the air, but was still never sure.

Stopped at an overlook of Muncho Lake as stopped for a photo.  I then realized we were heading down the hill toward the lake, so would get closer.

We reached the shores of the lake and the road ran along beside it for quite some time, which was an amazing sight, but marred by the haze.  I decided not to stop for photos, and will just be happy with whatever I got with the 360 camera.

Shortly after the lake I passed two deer looking things on the road side, and they did not spook quite as badly.  I had thought they were moose till I got close, but not sure what they were.  Signs had warned of bighorn sheep, but these did not look like that.  Will have to review the video footage later and see what I can figure out.

We then started to go up to the highest point on this day’s ride and the clouds were so low we were now riding in them.  And they started to get a bit thick and reduce visibility some.

Came down and rain let up a bit, but still sprinkles now and then and occasional sections of mist or fog.

On the last big pass which also was close to 4000 feet, the fog became so thick you could barely see 15 feet in front of the bike.

I had to slow down quite a bit and the car that was behind me must have slowed more or pulled off as the headlights vanished.

Going up was freaky, but once we crested the pass and started down it was even more crazy and you could not really see what was around you, or where the road was going. 

Had to slow quite a bit and just ease it down, watching the painted lines on the side to know when the road was curving or not.

Finally came out of it enough to ride normally, but still had some fog sections.  This is also where lots of cars that were behind started zooming past me at way over the speed limit.

The last half hour into town was very miserable.  While the rain had stopped, I was still quite wet, and body was aching from the cold, though it was back in the mid-50s from the mid-40s I had seen a few hours earlier.

Finally reached Fort Nelson where I would stay tonight.

I had routed myself to a hotel at random as it had the name of the town in it. (I was using the Garmin today as the early rain had me keep phone away, and while I used it later, it somehow lost the routing, and then would not let me setup again as there was not internet, so guessing I moved outside the region of the offline maps.

I was not interested in this hotel when I arrived, but big wide street allowed me to get off the highway and check for other places.

Several spots farther down the road, most were chains, but for tonight I did not care.

I stopped at the local Motel 6 as I figured they would be cheaper than the other places.  Passed two nice looking hotels, 4 stories tall and huge, but probably more money, and were busy, so less chance of an open room.

Motel 6 was not too busy, though did see lots of motorcycles in the parking lot.

They did have a room, so checked in, moved the bike over and unloaded everything.

While I was unloading, I spoke with some people that were on their way up to ride the Dempster highway, so gave them a few thoughts and comments on it.  They were all running the same tires, so let them know my concerns I had on the gravel with them.

Once done unloading, I changed and then walked across the small side road to eat at Boston Pizza.  Was nice to have a good meal and lots of options, many places lately have had quite limited menus.

When I finished eating, I walked across the highway to the gas station convenience store to buy a few drinks for tonight, then back to the motel.

Now in the room for the night, going to work on the blog and maybe convert some video, but getting tired, so might try an early night to bed. 

Looks like morning might be dry, but rain likely later in the day.  So, another 5-6 hour ride in cold and wet.

Catch ya down the road.

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