Sunday ; Kamloops to B.C. Forest Service Recreation Site at Goose Lake
Sunny and warm, a really lovely day. A couple of minutes of rain in the afternoon as we were driving.
This morning I went into the Kamloops Visitor Information Centre and used their free Wi-Fi to retrieve and send e-mail, and post my weekly journal update to my blog. Joanne took Bo to romp in the Visitor Centre's fenced dog park. Before leaving the Visitor Centre we dumped our grey waste tank and refilled our freshwater holding tank. Thank you, Kamloops.
We headed north on Hwy. 5 to Little Fort, then turned west on Hwy. 24. Over a stretch of about 30 km. / 20 miles of Hwy. 24 we went to explore five different remote wilderness, small, unserviced campgrounds called B.C. Forest Service Recreation Sites. We had a late lunch at the first one, then after viewing the fifth and last one we backtracked to the second one, the one we liked the most, at Goose Lake.
We had the small campground and lake all to ourselves. I fished unsuccessfully for an hour. We wandered around, hiking and exploring. I started a campfire. Joanne wrapped two Rainbow Trout in foil with potatoes, onions, and carrots. I cooked them on the campfire. MMMMM ... EXCELLENT ! ! !
At dusk the small lake came alive. Countless trout jumping out of the water as they darted up to feed on whatever was hatching on the surface of the lake at dusk. It was fascinating and amusing to watch.
Monday ; Goose Lake Rec. Site to Williams Lake
We left Goose Lake this morning and continued west on Hwy. 24. We turned onto Watch Lake / Green Lake Road to go explore the three campgrounds in Green Lake Provincial Park. Then we took back roads until reaching Hwy. 97 at 83 Mile House. We headed north on Hwy. 97 until reaching 100 Mile House where we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the municipal Sani-Dump station. We continued north on Hwy. 97 until 108 Mile Ranch where we stopped to have a very late lunch in the parking lot of a heritage museum.
We continued north on Hwy. 97 until turning onto Chimney Lake Forest Service Road. Over a distance of about 30 km. / 20 miles or so we explored another five remote wilderness, small, unserviced campgrounds. None of them inspired us enough to stop for the night. We continued on back roads until reaching Williams Lake.
First stop was the magnificent log structure of Williams Lake Visitor Information Centre. Inside I used free Wi-Fi ( and an electrical outlet ) to retrieve and send e-mail ( and recharge my laptop's battery ). Next stop was Surplus Herby's ( love that place ! ) to buy a new axe. Sorry, Dad, that old axe you handed down to me about forty years ago is now in a dumpster behind Williams Lake Dollarama. We went to find a local Native restaurant that Joanne is interested in. It was closing, but we'll return there tomorrow for lunch. We refilled with diesel at Real Canadian Warehouse Fuel Bar on our way to find the Wal-Mart mall. We did some shopping at Wal-Mart and also at Dollarama. By then it was 8:30 PM, almost dark, and time for a very late supper.
OH ... our wildlife spottings so far ; an otter last night fishing in Goose Lake, two deer and a bear cub today. Just about hit the damn bear cub when it decided to run across the road in front of us ! Last night at Goose Lake we watched the otter swim around slowly then disappear briefly under the surface of the lake. A few seconds later its head would poke out above the surface and it would be munching on a fish.
Tuesday ; Williams Lake to Bull Canyon Provincial Park
Sunny and hot, temperature way up high in the 80's F / about 30ยบ
C, somewhat unusual for this late in the summer this far north. What a beautiful day !
And ... so ... leaving Williams Lake, the real adventure begins ! And day 1 of the
Hwy. 20 / Williams Lake to Bella Coola adventure was outstanding ! And I didn't know when the day started that one of my bucket list items would be crossed off ! ! !
HINT ; at 8 PM we were eating barbecued Sockeye Salmon that had been swimming in the Chilcotin River at 3 PM.
This morning we left the Williams Lake Wal-Mart and drove to Canadian Tire where
I bought a couple of maintenance items. We drove to the municipal Sani-Dump and took care of dumping and refilling. Next stop was Surplus Herby's for about an hour of browsing and impulse shopping. When I was there yesterday to buy an axe, it was just a minute or two before closing time, so Joanne suggested a return trip today. Great idea ... thank you, my dear. I have a lot to thank her for today. All of this trip's planning was done by her. After Surplus Herby's we went to Hearth Restaurant for lunch, a Native restaurant operated by the Cariboo Friendship Society. Their buffet lunch was reasonably priced, but a bit of a disappointment. Mediocre food, nothing much "Native" about it. Very nice Native art on the walls, though.
After lunch we departed Williams Lake, heading west on Hwy. 20. WOO-HOO ... big adventure begins ! The highway rose quickly and soon we were crossing the mighty Fraser River. Joanne thought there was a possibility we might see Natives dip netting for Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River, but ... no ! The highway finally levelled out and we were driving across the Chilcotin Plateau, high elevation rolling grasslands, good for ranching.
At Junction Sheep Range Provincial Park we took a diversion off Hwy. 20. The wilderness park area name comes from the Bighorn Sheep living here near the junction / confluence of the Fraser and Chilcotin Rivers. We drove about 30 km. /
20 miles of gravel logging road with steep, tight switchback turns to reach the Farwell Canyon bridge over the Chilcotin River.
OMIGAWD ... Chilcotin Indians dip netting for Sockeye Salmon ! ! !
We parked and walked over the bridge. Far below there were Natives with very long handled dip nets catching eight to ten pound Sockeye Salmon as they struggled upstream through the rapids of the very fast flowing Chilcotin River as it rushed through Farwell Canyon. We spoke with Simon, one of the men on the bridge. Some of the fishermen had partners up on the bridge who were helping out by using ropes to haul sacks of fish up to the bridge. He explained the fishing process to us and invited me to hike down to watch the fishing from up close. I did ! Joanne stayed on the bridge with Bo. Tough hike down, tough hike up, but worth every step. Even tougher for the Native fishermen who get their catch up to the bridge by hiking back up the steep canyon with large buckets filled with more than fifty pounds of fish strapped onto their backs like a backpack.
Thank you, my dear, for planning this trip to fulfill my desire to see salmon being caught by dip netting this way.
The Sockeye Salmon are migrating upstream about 250 km. from here to spawn in Chilko Lake, having come all the way from the Pacific Ocean ( near Vancouver ) up the Fraser River and now the Chilcotin River. The spawning migration here has been going on for about a week, and will last about three more weeks. The mature salmon being caught today were all in the eight to ten pound range.
We witnessed something very interesting about the Native culture. The fishermen are catching a LOT of salmon, not only to provide for their families, but to be sold commercially ... a way to earn a living. However, whenever an "elder" of the tribe shows up on the bridge, and requests fish ... anywhere from five to twenty ... the fishermen gladly and generously give them sacks of fish. Despite the fact that I am a white man "outsider", perhaps in consideration of my "elder" status, my request to ( illegally ) purchase a fish was honoured. WOW ... NICE FISH ! THANK YOU !
When I was down on the cliffs underneath the bridge watching the fishermen up close, Joanne and Bo watched from the bridge above. When she stood at one spot and peered over the edge of the bridge to see me, Bo would eagerly stick his head through the bridge railings to look at me far below. BUT ... when she walked along the bridge, he was afraid of falling off, and would only walk with his body pasted up against the concrete barriers separating the walkway from the roadway, to keep as far away from the edge of the bridge as he could. Funny little dog !
We drove back to Hwy. 20 and continued west through a number of small villages until reaching Bull Canyon Provincial Park just a few miles past the tiny village of Alexis Creek. We chose a campsite and I got busy filleting my fish. WOW ... NICE FISH !
And it tasted even better than it looked !
Late at night Joanne invited me outdoors to do some star gazing. In our much younger days, romantic star gazing sessions in the wilderness would have likely led to ... you know ! Tonight it led to ... a glass of milk and a bowl of Cheezies. HA HA HA !
Wednesday ; Bull Canyon Provincial Park & Village of Alexis Creek
Today was cool and cloudy with intermittent light rain, occasional heavy rain, but only briefly.
I decided last night that I would like a day off from driving, and would like to stay another day at Bull Canyon Provincial Park. We slept late. I did two minor repairs on the camper. After lunch we drove about 8 km. / 5 miles east on Hwy. 20 back to the tiny village of Alexis Creek. Their little Visitor Centre ... cleanest washrooms in the Cariboo / Chilcotin region ... I promised them I would write that ... has Wi-Fi and a Sani-Dump. I plugged in my laptop to recharge the battery and we visited with the volunteer staff while it rained. When the rain ended we dumped our grey tank and refilled our freshwater tank, I checked e-mail, and we visited some more. The Visitor Centre was staffed by a local volunteer and a young woman from Germany who was briefly visiting / living / and working with the local woman, sort of a foreign exchange WorkCamper.
We returned to Bull Canyon Provincial Park and selected a different campsite from the one we occupied last night. Tonight we selected a site right on the bank of the Chilcotin River. Lovely view from our campsite, although it was a bit cooler right beside the river. We read for awhile, waiting for the light rain to end. Impatiently, I persuaded Joanne to join me in hiking along the campground's 2 km. hiking trail along the river. I assured her that the rain was over. Of course, I was wrong !
The trail led along the river all the way to where the Alexis Creek wildfire of about four years ago had been halted close to the campground. As we were hiking ( in the rain ! ) Joanne spotted a black bear coming out of the forest on the opposite side of the river. After yesterday's astounding experience of viewing dip netting of salmon, I was hopeful that today the next item on my bucket list would get crossed off ; witness a bear fishing for salmon. The bear walked to the water's edge, then walked out over the water on a fallen tree. It stared into the water for a few moments, then walked back to shore and along the shoreline for a few hundred feet before ambling back into the forest. It seems as if the migrating salmon have not reached this far upstream on the Chilcotin River yet. Although ... it seems as if the local bears are anticipating the salmon's arrival any time now.
Thursday ; Bull Canyon Provincial Park / Alexis Creek to B.C. Forest Service Recreation Site at Dean River ( near the village of Nimpo Lake )
Today was sunny and warm. This morning we departed the campground at Bull Canyon Provincial Park and backtracked east again to Alexis Lake. Once again we used the Sani-Dump at the Visitor Centre. Joanne walked across the street to the town's general store to buy bread, but they had none. We continued heading west on Hwy. 20 towards Bella Coola.
At Redstone we stopped to refill with diesel. The price was not as bad as I had expected. Shortly after Redstone we diverted off the highway about 5 km. / 3 miles to a B.C. Forest Service Recreation Site at Puntzi Lake to have lunch. After lunch we drove a bit further to see the Puntzi Lake Tanker Base, a wildfire fighting base camp and training centre at Puntzi Lake "Airport", which was originally a military air base built by the Americans during the Korean War over sixty years ago. Why did we allow the Americans to build military air bases in our country ? ! ?
Near Tatla Lake we left the highway once again to find another BCFS Rec. Site that Joanne had selected as our overnight stop. However, once we found it, it did not appeal to us enough to inspire us to stay, so we returned to Hwy. 20 and continued west. We reached the village of Nimpo Lake, billed as the "float plane capital of BC", and drove about 5 km. / 3 miles beyond to a BCFS Rec. Site on the Dean River. HMPH ... should be called Dean Swamp.
It was a nice little campsite in the forest, a few hundred yards off the highway. Quiet, secluded, with a picnic table, we had it all to ourselves. Had a nice supper with an artichoke as an appetizer followed by barbecued steak and baked potatoes.
Friday ; Nimpo Lake to McCall Flats BCFS Rec. Site
This morning we backtracked a few miles to the village of Nimpo Lake to buy bread at the only bakery between Williams Lake and Bella Coola. The lady who owns and operates the bakery kindly allowed us to top up our freshwater tank at her back yard garden hose. Thank you. And ... you make good bread ! While still in Nimpo Lake
I decided to refill with diesel, as we had been advised that it's cheaper in Nimpo Lake than in Bella Coola.
We continued west on Hwy. 20. We took a lengthy and convoluted side trip to view Hotnarko Falls, about 30 km. / 20 miles or so off the highway down a succession of remote back roads. We had difficulty finding it and had to ask directions twice. We would have asked for directions more than twice, but we were so far off the beaten path that we only saw other people twice. And ... HA HA HA ... it was the same person both times. We finally found Hotnarko Falls. HA HA HA ... they were dry ! ! ! Guess they only flow in the spring. Most of the lakes we have seen on this trip have had very low water levels and many of the small rivers and streams are dry or close to it. Must be a drought in this area this year.
We returned to Hwy. 20 and stopped on the side of the road for a late lunch before tackling "The Big Hill" into Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, a 60 km. / 40 mile stretch of gravel road which descends from an elevation of 5000 feet and has very tight switchbacks and steep descents of up to 18 % grade ! Once we were at the bottom of The Big Hill and in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park we stopped to look at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station. DARN ! It's only open in the month of September. We'll have to come back to it in a few days. A few miles later we stopped to check out Fisheries Pool Campground on the Atnarko River. We took a look at the campground then parked in the day use area to view the river. Joanne returned to the truck while I made a stop at the outhouse, and as I returned to the truck ... OMIGAWD ... THERE WAS A GRIZZLY BEAR WALKING ACROSS THE RIVER ! ! ! Halfway across the narrow river it shook itself like a wet dog. WOW ! I returned to the truck to tell Joanne to come down to the river, but by the time we walked back to the river's edge the Grizzly was gone.
Before deciding whether or not to stay at the Fisheries Pool Campground Joanne wanted to see another BCFS Recreation Site remote campground called McCall Flats on the Bella Coola River, just a few more miles down the highway, so ... off we went. Getting to the tiny, remote wilderness campground ( down a dirt trail for about 3 km. /
2 miles from the highway ) was difficult, but once there we decided to spend the night. We had the place all to ourselves again. We wandered around for awhile, admiring the tree stump chairs that we surmised were made by bored lumberjacks many, many decades ago. We were not able to walk right to the edge of the Bella Coola River due to soft mud along its banks. I lit a campfire and cooked foil packets of chicken, potatoes, carrots and garlic scapes for supper. Used my Surplus Herby's new axe for the first time. GEEEZZZ ... should have thrown away my father's old axe ten years ago !
In addition to me seeing a Grizzly, today we saw Ptarmigans. Five times ! And ... not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, those Ptarmigans.
Saturday ; McCall Flats BCFS Rec. Site to Hagensborg / Bella Coola
This morning we "backtracked" on Hwy. 20 east to Fisheries Pool Campground. We were hoping Joanne would get to see a Grizzly ( as I did yesterday ). When we parked at the day use area and walked down to the edge of the Atnarko River, there were no Grizzlies, but ... the river was filled with salmon ! WOO-HOO ... fly fishing for salmon !
I actually have a few flies that are specifically for fishing for salmon. I was able to cast my flies right over top of where the salmon were congregating in a deep pool ( Fisheries Pool, I suppose ) at the base of a set of rapids. Fly after fly after fly after fly ... ! None of what I was offering was of interest to them. About every five minutes or so I would change to a different fly. And cast it right over top of them. Nothing ! And they were feeding. Every few moments a large salmon would leap out of the water as it charged at the surface to devour whatever was hatching on the surface. Dragonfly nymphs, I think.
< sigh > I finally gave up on flies and switched to my traditional / spinning rod and reel, casting lures beyond the salmon and retrieving the lures directly through the salmon. They would actually move slightly out of the way to allow my lures to pass through them. "Go ahead, swim on through, whatever you are". SHEESH ! So ... no salmon caught. No bears viewed. Oh, well ... it was a pleasant weather day and it was very interesting to watch the salmon congregate in the deep, placid pool, and see them leap out of the water as they fed.
From Fisheries Pool Campground we backtracked a bit more to Belarko Bear Viewing Station and adjacent public boat launch. The viewing station is closed for a few more days but we parked and had lunch by the boat launch. After lunch we spent some time at the river's edge, again hoping to see a Grizzly, but ... none.
We headed west on Hwy. 20, arriving in Hagensborg ( about ten miles before Bella Coola ) in mid-afternoon. On impulse we turned off the highway and followed signage for a few miles to Bella Coola Valley Seafoods. Their offerings were disappointing, but ... on the way back to the highway we stopped as we crossed the bridge over the Saloompt River to see if there were any salmon visible in the river. And there were !
We spent quite awhile standing on the bridge looking down just a few feet, watching the Pink Salmon spawning. Quite amazing to watch !
As we continued towards Bella Coola we stopped again at another bridge, this one over Thorsen Creek ( really a river ) and again watched salmon spawning. This time it was Coho Salmon. And watching up to six males lined up behind each female, waiting for her to finish depositing her roe in the gravel, was like watching some kind of TV soap opera. The males posture, and squabble, and act horny and impatient. HA HA HA !
And the females look tired and haggard. It's been a tough journey to get back home,
I guess. Lay your eggs and die, sweetheart !
After spending too much time watching salmon spawning drama we arrived at Bella Coola late in the afternoon. I was disappointed in Bella Coola. It was not really what
I expected. And ... we made the mistake of failing to recognize when we were doing our trip planning that this is a long weekend. As we were arriving in Bella Coola, everything was closing ... until Tuesday. Including the travel agency that operates as the B.C. Ferries ticket office. We drove through town and out to the ferry dock. No information ... or much of anything else out there.
We returned to ( the smaller than we had expected ) town of Bella Coola and drove around, seeking information on the availability and sale of ferry tickets, and not finding any. We drove back to the town of Hagensborg and found that their grocery store was still open. We refilled our water jug and bought some groceries, then checked into Gnome's Home RV Park.
Saw a couple more of those less than brilliant Ptarmigan today.
DSK
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