We slept fitfully, changing buses at Kelowna where we were able to finally sit together and rest against each other. As the first light of dawn came into the bus, we were heading down the long steep hill into Castlegar and to our car parked all alone in the parking lot opposite the depot. I drove back to Hope, with Mary keeping me alert with conversation passing through Osoyoos where we purchased a big bag of ripe cherries, and put aside a large batch as a gift for the gas station attendant who was so kind to store the bike for us.

At Hope, we picked up the bike and spent a bit of time walking back along the Kettle Valley Railway to see the famous Quintette Tunnels which we had missed the previous day. After walking along the side of the river, we passed through the first tunnel where we could see the next two tunnels easily. Once between the first and second tunnels, the massive wall of the second tunnel stretched over us. To our left, across the river stood the sheer cliff where Sylvester Stallone hung from in the filming of "Rambo - First Blood". Below, the river raced into a narrow channel, before turning, disappearing out of sight and reappearing on the other side of the track. As we walked along the track, we could always hear the roar of the river to our side, crashing its way through the large boulders. The third tunnel was unusual in that one side of the tunnel was so close to the cliff edge that it had an opening to the river below. There was a sign that explained how the five tunnels and bridges were built.

"Gazing up at the steep cliffs of the canyon, it is difficult to imagine how these tunnels were constructed. A route through this gorge had been deemed impossible by several engineers, but Andrew McCulloch, with years of experience on CPR construction and other lines, sensed a solution. Lowered from the clifftops above in a small woven basket, McCulloch and his helpers cut out footholds in the rock, set up survey instruments, and from this precarious position developed the amazing plan for a series of tunnels. With the tunnels in perfect alignment, and the two bridges between three of them, he had found a route over the forbidding chasm below. Instead of a single mile long tunnel, the track would thread its way through the entier canyon with only a third of a mile of trackage. The bridges were completed in July 1915, and the Coquihalla Canyon was conquered".

We walked across the second bridge and through the remaining two tunnels. It was a pity that we weren't able to come down the canyon by the track and I longed for the opportunity to explore the last piece between these tunnels and the spot where we had turned back the day before.

We reached the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen, very tired and used the two hour ferry journey to sleep in the car and once we reached Victoria, we unpacked and re-adjusted to our old familiar surroundings.

Later, I received an e-mail from a person who had cycled down from the top of the Coquihalla. He told me that the last washout he had crossed was the last on that section and the road was fine from there to Hope. What a pity we had not known that before the trip.