I rode the Morning Mountain area again and managed to pedal the entire climbing route up Bottoms Up and Upper Bottom to the Giveout Creek FSR. I came down via the top part of Placenta Descenta then switched over to Turnstiles because it was so much fun to ride down it last time. Apparently there was a Stage race the day before and the ever-so-polite Canadians had posted this sign:

If you want to be Canadian you must say please, thanks, and sorry.

One of the features I like about Turnstiles is the high-bank turns. I don’t ride them, but they are fun to see –

That’s not a fence, it’s a wooden burm and it just ends there on the right. After that riders just fly it out and enter the next drop.

Next day I went for a hike up to Pulpit Rock then on to the Flagpole. I figured I’d get an early start and beat the heat and the crowds. Since it was a Monday I thought I’d have the place to myself but apparently not. Pulpit Rock is a popular climb with the Get-In-A-Hike-Before-Work-Crowd and the main lot was full when I arrived. I parked in the overflow lot and began the 40-minute climb up what is essentially a staircase that ascends through a dense forest. The view from Pulpit Rock is worth the climb. Hikers are rewarded with an Above-The-Airplanes perspective of Nelson. Really, we watched planes fly past and they were lower than us.

At Pulpit Rock I met up with a fellow-camper Charlie and his dog Ziggy from the campground we’re staying in and we opted for the climb to Flagpole Lookout. It took us another 40 minutes to climb that section. The view from even higher is even better. The trip down is when I wished I had hiking poles. The steep descent was a challenge to my calves. On the way down we met the late crew coming up the trail with their kids in tow.

Day after that was a bike day and a get some work done on the truck day. I dropped truck 2.0 at the shop near the Kootenay River and hopped on the bike for a climb through town. As I mentioned before Nelson is steep. Like Moab the traction is great (Nelson has paved streets) and like Moab, Nelson has a lot of steep climbs. Cedar Street is pitched up at 13* and I was down in granny-gear spinning away to climb it. In the end I climbed 206 meters in 1.65 Km (675 feet in a mile). A twenty-something passed me near the top on her road bike and a local guy powered by on a downhill bike just as I reached the summit. It helps to be a mountain goat if you live in Nelson.

Easy-hike day
After a serious hike the other day and a hill-climb yesterday I thought an easy hike was in order so I strolled around Cottonwood Lake and Cottonwood Falls. The lake and the falls are about 8 km apart and both are worth a look-see. The lake is south of Nelson on hwy 6 and is a watery oasis in the trees. There is a fishing dock and a few picnic tables around the edge of the lake. The railroad turned foot path runs down beside the lake and extends from Nelson to about Spokane, WA (if you are dedicated and stead-fast).

The falls are in Nelson not far from the visitor center (about a block from the weekend farmers market). The falls were inviting with their cool water-spritzed air on a day that reached into the high 80’s F. Cottonwood Falls Park is a flowery sister-park to another park in Japan and gifts from the oriental park adorn the Nelson one.

 

Riding Rossland (pronounced Roslyn if you are Canadian or British)
Took a scenic drive over to Rossland, BC and parked at the Centennial Trail paring lot on top of the town. From the easy Centennial Trail I turned off on Moe’s and began the climb to the top of Red Mountain via Larry’s, Miner’s, and Redtop (upper). After a scenic bonanza at the summit I made the second-best choice of descending via Dreadhead. Dreadhead is an old downhill course and has many vertical drops, rocks, and roots without any ride-a-rounds. A much better route would have been to go back the way I’d climbed or perhaps to descend via Redhead. At any rate it made for a grand day out and I got in my 1.5 hour climb for the day.

Repairs and Mods:

If you are following the saga of the EGT probe you may recall that I procured all the parts I needed yet was unable to remove one of the nuts from the turbo. I found a shop, Hywood Equipment Repair, in Nelson willing to take on the 1/2 hour task. They expertly removed the recalcitrant nut/stud and had the truck back to me before the manifold was cold. It took me about 3 hours to remove the turbo, drill the manifold, and put it all back together again. About $150 in parts, $65 cdn to remove the stubborn nut, and 3.5 hours of my time to complete the install. I wish the shop that replaced the turbo had told me I needed this before it was too late for them to do the work, but now it’s done and I can see if I’m cooking the engine. Hope NOT!!

 

Tech report: There was WiFi at the campground which was a little slow but worked for most things. The cell service switched from Verizon to Rogers and Rogers’ data service is too slow to be of any use as a hot spot. It works for calls, texts, and getting maps, but if you want to update your blog – forget it!