First I thought about staying in Dawson City for some days and see how the weather will evolve and then decide how to go on. It happened that I met Marie and she was going back to Whitehorse and she would give me lift. The opportunity was to challenging for not to grab it and so I reached Whitehorse not after 7 days cycling but a 7 hours car ride.

There I was, in Whitehorse, not exactly knowing how to proceed. It was still cold and I just did not feel like going on with cycling and so I went to check the bus prices for a ride down to Vancouver. The normal fare was enormous – CAD 360.- plus 50.- to 70.- for the bicycle – I might as well cycle. The price would be about the half for 7 days advanced booking so I though about spending a week in Whitehorse to get a better price.

Walking around Whitehorse I went into a travel agency to ask about flight prices down to Vancouver and other destinations. Over the discussion of how to go down to Vancouver for a good price, the lady asked me whether I would be interested to drive a camper-van down to Vancouver. Totally surprised I told here that I sure would be interested in doing that. She checked with the agency and as I went back in the afternoon everything was perfect.

In the meantime I also got an e-mail from Laurence and Frederic. Maya and I meet them almost a year ago in Beijing and then in Cambodia again. They are partly “responsible” that I got the idea about cycling in the first place. I tried to them in Alaska but we missed each other always be some days. Now, however, there were just one day north of Whitehorse and I thought they might be also interested to escape to cold, northern temperatures and so I waited an other day. They had also encountered the onset of winter and liked to escape to the warmer south and so the three of us started to drive south – not on bicycles but in a camper-van.

For the next 6 days we drove towards Vancouver and enjoyed the comfort of the camper-van with heater, fridge and a roof to shelter us from the rain. For the first part we drove on the Alcan and toke then the more scenic Cassiar Highway. Along the road we meet Shahram, a cyclist on his way to South America. Unlike other cyclists and our self, he travels without tent or mattress to sleep on and has to build his camp every night anew in a sheltered place. His website is www.onuxconsol.com/shahram. We invited him for the night in the camper and he gladly accepted. The next day we said goodbye to him and continued to drive south – we in the van and he on the bicycle.

At the end of the Cassiar Highway we entered the Highway ??, connecting the coast town of Prince Rupert with interior town of Prince George. Before I went to Alaska I thought of this are as remote and wild. Now, coming down from the north, I had the feeling of entering a metropolitan area – we were back in the civilization.

From Price George we continued towards Vancouver and did so by taking the Highway 99 via Whistler. The weather was warm – even hot – and somehow it was hard to imagine that just about a week ago we were camping by tempters around -10 degrees Celsius. We passed along crystal clear lakes, surrounded by rocky mountains – the whole area reminded me a lot of Switzerland – and the road lead over steep roads and passes from one valley to an other. We reached Whistler and made a short stop in this famous ski resort (we leather found out that Vancouver-Whistler got the Olympic Winter-Games of 2008). As a Swiss I was eager to see Whistler and it looked nice though a bit artificial. The town – the whole area – was developed as a winter ski resort and summer outdoor center and you can see and feel that.

After your short stop in Whistler we drove the final part to Vancouver and reached it in mid afternoon. After dropping our stuff in the hostel we went to clean the camper-van and deliver it to the company – our camper-trip was over. We stayed for a few days in Vancouver and went then together to Vancouver Island. I was gone visit Tina and Chris in Victoria again – I stayed with them in the beginning of my cycling adventure as I had to get all the equipment – and Laurence and Frederic had to see a tire supplier and intended then to explore the Island for a few days.

After almost 4 months I was back at the place were I started my cycling trip but it was not meant to be the end of it.