Day 16 - July 14 -102 Miles by Brett

Sadly, left Summit Lake and headed along the lake until reaching the top of the Summit Lake pass. At the pass, there were two caribou in the gravel pit. Heading down the pass into the MacDonald River valley, we stopped for several Stone sheep, a bunch of ewes with some lambs and one nice ram. The ride down into the bottom of the valley was scenic, with rollercoaster type hills and descents along the MacDonald River. Crossed the Racing River, a swift, full river with milky colored water and continued up towards Toad River Lodge. Road is still narrow, with scarce traffic. One RV, with Alaska plates, passed us with horn blaring and then almost ran over Gage who was about 30 yards ahead of us…need to put that driver on a bike for 70 miles and let him ride in the gravel. Stopped at Toad River, about 31 miles into the ride and filled our water jug up. We’re going through about 3 gallons/day, even more when it is hotter. At Toad River, we finally saw our first moose in the backyard of someone’s trailer. Just 10 miles farther, Gage rubbed the tandem’s back wheel and went down hard. Thank God, no broken bones, just some scrapes, so we went another mile before changing drivers, putting Rita onto the Litespeed. Still steadily climbing, we stopped after 10 miles for lunch. The road continued upward for another 25 miles, with a stop at Muncho Lake for a quick juice break and to rest a hot left foot. Downhill after Muncho Lake with our final stop at Liard Hot Springs (lots of mosquitos). Taking a day off here to soak our weary legs and backs.