Marathon to White River

We had coffee with Paul and Joe before leaving Marathon.  We had left Lois’ bike computer in our room in Rossport. Luckily, they had stayed at the same place and kindly brought it with them.

After a steep descent and climb at the beginning, followed by 10 kms of flat, the terrain was undulating for the rest of the day. It was good cycling,  but hot, reaching 35C on the Garmin. The blackflies are biting now!

We stopped for milkshakes at White Lake. A young woman told us that she had driven by us earlier when we were sitting on a rock having our lunch and she had seen a wolf very close to us on the highway. We missed it!

Paul had his first flat tire of the trip caused, again, by wire from truck tires.

The pulp mill in Marathon has been closed for four years. The other employer is Barrick Gold. We passed the mine. The company is Canadian and is the largest gold producer in the world. It has been widely criticized for its environmental practices and relations with indigenous peoples outside Canada.

White River is the birthplace of the story of Winnie the Pooh, which is celebrated in a small park.

The town’s lumber operations have been closed for a time but are now due to re-open as a result of an agreement with the Pic Mobert First Nation.

We are on the traditional territory of the Nokiiwin Tribal Council First Nations.