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Today started off pleasant enough – overcast and chilly. As I took my time breaking camp, it started to sprinkle. I started packing at triple speed, threw on the rain jacket, and rode off. The sprinkle soon became a steady, hard, and cold rain. With temps in the low 40s, it wasn’t too long before I felt a little chilly. I had about one day’s worth of food left and spent the first several miles contemplating whether to stop in Elkford (about 13 miles from camp) or push on to Sparwood, a bit over 40 miles. I was leaning toward Sparwood, but I was gradually getting colder. Then came the flooding. Suddenly, there was a fairly raging ‘stream’ alongside the road. It eventually overtook the road, and I had no choice but to trudge through water up to my knees. You can see the video here.

The moving water quickly sapped my body heat, so when I came across the second, bigger flood, the decision to stop in Elkford was sealed. As I walked into the motel, two other divide riders, the first I’d met, were on their way out. They had spent the last two nights here and were heading out to brave the rain and book it to another room in Sparwood.

I’m glad I decided to stay here and feel lucky that this town was en route and close to where I was. Had it not been here, or had I tried to push on to Sparwood, I think I would have gotten in maybe another hour of riding before I’d have had to set up ‘emergency camp’ and climbed in my sleeping bag for the rest of the day. To the girl with cold feet whom I met on the first day, I shared your pain this morning.

The motel room here is nice, and the building also houses a restaurant, a liquor store, and a pub. I think I’ve eaten too much at the restaurant to make use of the remaining amenities. There is another divide rider here, but I’ve not yet been able to locate him. All the talk here and on the news seems to be about the rain, so I don’t feel too wimpy about hiding out here. It’s supposed to taper off in the morning, so I’ll try to head off to Sparwood to resupply for the next stretch, which will bring me into the US. Unfortunately, I probably can’t make it into Sparwood with enough time to get to the grocery store and out of town to camp. I may just happen to find myself at a bed and breakfast there. Just my luck, eh?!