Canada Bridge River Mototrek ADVenture: Saying Goodbye

Saying Goodbye
We awoke the next day to a beautiful sunny morning. I mentioned to Dr K that Clinton had a biker friendly restaurant that we could go back 11 miles and have some breakfast). It took little to no convincing of Dr K to agree.

So off we went. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed for business. Probably a victim of the pandemic. Darn. So we made our way to the Clinton Cariboo Hotel. A charming log lodge with a nice restaurant and reasonable prices.




There was a gaggle of BMW GS out in the parking lot. So I got a bit excited. This must be a good place to eat!



I had a modest breakfast as did Dr K. The group sitting next to us, looked to be the BMW moto culprits. Sure enough, I heard them conversing about the BC BMW moto club and a mention of their president, Wayne (@BCBackRoads). At which point I interjected and told them I know Wayne. It didn’t take long, when a couple of gents stated that they know me through my Youtube channel. Talk quickly turned to my travels in the Yukon and the Canol Road. An area I have traveled twice now on my northern solo moto adventures. Solo up there, probably, not the safest means for me to travel, but I do enjoy the solitude.



BC BMW Moto Thugs .. Great guys

After a delightful breakfast Dr K and I headed over to the Pavilion cutoff road beyond Kelly Lake. This road is a real treat. It begins with a steep climb up form Kelly Lake up to a plateau below the Marble Range at nearly 3000 feet of elevation. The area is a joy to ride and we could smell the wildflowers in full bloom along the way. Dr k was most impressed. Again, I took no photos here, only video. But rest assured it is a great ride.


We descended a steep winding (lots of switchbacks along steep drop-offs) road down to Pavilion (Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nations settlement).

We popped out into the Fraser River canyon near Fountain valley. I am personally amazed at the beauty and grandeur of this area. The coastal mountains wring all the on shore flow moisture out leaving very little for the valley below. Small cacti can be found here in this arid region. Fortunately, no poisonous snakes and bugs (Scorpions) live this far north. But that is not to say, there is no life out here. I have seen black bears and sheep in this arid valley. At one point in time, this place was covered by glaciers up to 2 miles in depth. A mile is 5280 feet. So add another 10,000 + feet of elevation above the canyon to get a true appreciation of the enormity of the glacial ice that once parked itself here. As the glaciers melted, they carved out the awesome Fraser canyons that are here today.






We passed by Fountain Valley and headed towards Lillooet, eagerly wanting to enter the Bridge River Complex. Along the way we came to Dickey Creek falls. A source of fresh water for Lillooet as well as a neat place to ice climb in the winter. It is a very scenic view and worthy of pulling out along the side of the road to appreciate the immensity of the area.



Once at Lillooet, Dr K and I connected with our home base. All was well on my ranch, however, Dr K’s wife was ill and diagnosed with covid. Being that he was exposed and even though had a negative covid test at the border. He took the prudent path and decided to head home, not wanting to be sick out here in the bush or expose me to covid. I was saddened to be alone, but I am used to it and as the day wore on, I even welcomed the solitude travel that I am so familiar with out here.

Stay tuned...

Canada Bridge River Mototrek ADVenture: Alternate Plans

Canada Bridge River Mototrek ADVenture:

Alternate Plans

So after all the fiasco of the road washout and a couple of more hours lost time, we regrouped and changed our plans again. Clearly, Blue Earth Provincial Park was out of the question. What do we do now?

Looking at the maps, we decided to head directly to Kelly Lake (Downing Provincial Park). This meant getting back out on Hwy 1 and heading towards Lytton, and passing through Spence’s Bridge up to Cache Creek and jumping on Hwy 97 to Clinton BC. It was a long haul, but we’d be on hwy and moving faster.

All is well. Hmm... Not quite. As we made our way back to Hwy 1 and began heading north, we encountered signage stating road repair ahead. A little farther on we see that there is a one lane road near Jackass Summit. It seems that the Nicomen River Creek bridge crossing was wiped out due to the extensive floods, snow and rain we had this year. Signage indicated up to a 2 hour wait with restrooms available on the side of the road for those in need. A pilot car was to guide us for several kilometers past Jackass Mountain. Sigh?!?  More delays. I figured we’d roll into camp at midnight at this point.

One Lane Bailey Bridge on Hwy 1. (not my photo ref: https://canada.constructconnect.com/?p=256502)

Fortunately, the wait through the re-construction zone wasn’t as bad as initially thought. After we got past Jackass summit, we made our way to Lytton and could see the smoke from the fires on the west side of the Fraser River by Lytton. Unknown to me, the entire area from Lytton though the Thompson River valley had burned last year. I was saddened to see all the devastation as I rode through this area. It is still a beautiful ride and very scenic, but the loss of the green trees was a bit much for me to digest.  As I was shooting video, I have no pics of this section of the ride.

We rode through Spences Bridge up to Cache Creek, making good time along the way as traffic was light and the sun was starting to set. I personally got into a grove, a “zen-like” state of mind as the sun was setting over the mountains and the shadows began to take hold in the valleys. We arrived at Clinton, fueled up and headed out to Downing Provincial Park (Kelly Lake). Upon our arrival, I was surprised to see this remote campsite full. We were able to secure the last camp slot. In my past travels, I have only seen a couple of others camped in here. So I was a bit surprised. My alternative plan was to ride up a bite beyond Kelly Lake and in the valley there is some dispersed camping by another lake. That would have been fine by me and maybe a better alternative. But we were here now and it was 8:00 and we were losing light fast. So up with the tents and we made dinner, tucked our bikes in for the night and went to bed.

Stay tuned...

Alternate Plans

So after all the fiasco of the road washout and a couple of more hours lost time, we regrouped and changed our plans again. Clearly, Blue Earth Provincial Park was out of the question. What do we do now?

Looking at the maps, we decided to head directly to Kelly Lake (Downing Provincial Park). This meant getting back out on Hwy 1 and heading towards Lytton, and passing through Spence’s Bridge up to Cache Creek and jumping on Hwy 97 to Clinton BC. It was a long haul, but we’d be on hwy and moving faster.



All is well. Hmm... Not quite. As we made our way back to Hwy 1 and began heading north, we encountered signage stating road repair ahead. A little farther on we see that there is a one lane road near Jackass Summit. It seems that the Nicomen River Creek bridge crossing was wiped out due to the extensive floods, snow and rain we had this year. Signage indicated up to a 2 hour wait with restrooms available on the side of the road for those in need. A pilot car was to guide us for several kilometers past Jackass Mountain. Sigh?!? More delays. I figured we’d roll into camp at midnight at this point.


One Lane Bailey Bridge on Hwy 1. (not my photo ref: https://canada.constructconnect.com/?p=256502)

Fortunately, the wait through the re-construction zone wasn’t as bad as initially thought. After we got past Jackass summit, we made our way to Lytton and could see the smoke from the fires on the west side of the Fraser River by Lytton. Unknown to me, the entire area from Lytton though the Thompson River valley had burned last year. I was saddened to see all the devastation as I rode through this area. It is still a beautiful ride and very scenic, but the loss of the green trees was a bit much for me to digest. As I was shooting video, I have no pics of this section of the ride.

We rode through Spence's Bridge up to Cache Creek, making good time along the way as traffic was light and the sun was starting to set. I personally got into a grove, a “zen-like” state of mind as the sun was setting over the mountains and the shadows began to take hold in the valleys. We arrived at Clinton, fueled up and headed out to Downing Provincial Park (Kelly Lake). Upon our arrival, I was surprised to see this remote campsite full. We were able to secure the last camp slot. In my past travels, I have only seen a couple of others camped in here. So I was a bit surprised. My alternative plan was to ride up a bit beyond Kelly Lake and in the valley there is some dispersed camping by another lake. That would have been fine by me and maybe a better alternative. But we were here now and it was 8:00 and we were losing light fast. So up with the tents and we made dinner, tucked our bikes in for the night and went to bed.





Stay tuned...

Canada Bridge River Mototrek ADVenture Part II: Biking off More than We Can Chew

Ok, picking up where I left off.

Crossing the border from the USA at Sumas, Wa into Abbottsford was NOT fun as we wasted valuable time.

Dispite the 2 hr delay for the COVID testing near the border, Dr K and I turned our attention to altering our route a bit. We wanted to ride up the Nicomen road just past Boston Bar and pop out on Canadian HWY 1 to Spence’s Bridge and go to Blue Earth Provincial Park and out to the Marble Canyon.

However, mother nature had other plans... She threw us a curve ball. And you know what? I should have seen it coming.




We rode through Mission Ridge out to Harrison Mills on Hwy 7. All was good. The heat was going to be an issue. We thought we’d duck into the Bridge River valley and it would be cooler. But first we had to get there.

We motored to Boston Bar and filled up our gas and water bottles. Then headed north looking for Ansile Creek Road just before Blue Lake Resort on Hwy 1.



We found Ansile Creek Rd with no problem. We rode it up to where the Nicomen road spilt. At this point we should have heeded the signage. There was a sign that stated the road was closed at Km 0. Hmm, we are at Km 0 and see no issue. So up we rode for 12 Km or so and saw no issues. We encountered a work crew putting in power poles (?). When we asked about the condition of the road ahead, they said to watch for logging trucks, but stated that they hadn’t been any further up. Just beyond the workers, ~3 Km or so, the road traverses a harrowing cliff. The mountain here is moving and we could see rocks rolling so casually from above on to the road. Dr K was ahead of me as I tried to negotiate the fist sized rocks and boulders in the road. I was going slow and that was my mistake. I took a tumble on the bike. An easy fall. But I had to dismount my luggage to lift it. Now worries. Afterwards, a couple of kilometers later, I caught up with Dr K and he stated that he had dropped his bike as well. Now, I didn’t feel bad. However, what laid before us kind of frightened me. The entire side of the mountain washed down here and left a narrow muddy ledge above the river. I was a bit nervous and normally would have turned around. Two factors had me thinking to push on. (1) Dr K had confidence that we could get across it and (2) For once, I wasn’t alone out here.



This was a mistake on my part and my initial gut feel was correct. We had a pretty sphincter tightening crossing of the cliffs area. Not that it was overly technical, but the drop off to the creek far below was of concern. TO make matters worse, at one of the narrowest points, someone, laid piece of plywood down and there was dirt over it. Would it hold my heavy, overladen GS and my big frame? I was soon to find out. If I dumped the bike here, it could mean a bit of a fall down and possibly having the bike follow me. Yikes!!




We both made it across with no issue. However, once we got across, I got to thinking about the road and where it went from here. In my past travels here, I recall crossing the river farther up. Would it be washed out? The late spring snows, combined with the heavy early summer snowfall and now the exorbitant heat was a recipe for slides and washouts.

Well, less than ½ mile up from the cliff crossing, I got my answer. The road was gone. Obliterated and non-existent.




Damn it! We had to go back across the cliffs. DAMN, DAMN, DAMN... why didn’t I think ahead. I guess I was so caught up in the moment in crossing the cliff area, I didn’t think much beyond it.





Now along with the 2hr border covid testing delay, we were going to be way later in our schedule than planned. Fuuuuuuuuuuuudge! Only I didn’t say fudge. Gotta keep it kid safe on these forums

Needless to say, we both re-crossed the cliffy area. The fact that I'm writing this now, means, I made it. Would I do it again. HELL NO!!

Stay tuned for more...

Canada Bridge River Mototrek ADVenture Part 1

Canada Bridge River Mototrek ADVenture

Dams, powerhouses and reservoirs and an ecological missteps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_River_Power_Project)

It has been 5 years since my last foray into Canada. One of my favorite areas is the Chilcotin pleateau and the Bridge River area. It seems that in that time, the world has become a different place. Pandemic, fires, floods, more fires, etc. have really put a damper on my hopes of going back to stir my soul and imagination that I so dearly need and desire.

I made plans to go back and reconnect with all that I love. I had big plans, but early summer brought rains in the PacNorthWet and in Canada as well. That combined with late spring snows put a damper on my early summer travels. I had a major surgery procedure at the end of June that would put me out of commission to late August.



This foray into the Bridge River area was just the start of a bigger trip I wanted to do. I will try and post more about that later. But first, let me start by telling you a bit about my plans and friends.

The initial plan was to ride up the East Harrison Lake Road out to Nahataltch park and then proceed to Lillooet via the “Texas Creek Road” on the West side of the Fraser.

Unfortunately, the road was washed out at Nahatlatch. So a re-route was in order. To make things worse, a fire broke out 3 days before we were to leave near Lytton BC, and the ferry was closed. SOO traveling the Texas Creek road was out of the question.




In any event.. my good friend, Bruce, aka “Dr K”, decided to travel along with me. He is an avid bike rider and stated he would join me on my trip riding his new Tenere 700. He stated that he wanted to see why I rambled on forever about moto travel in BC. I got the vibe from him, that he didn't believe that it was any better than here in the states. As he has never really done ADV type adventure travel, I told him he was in for a treat.

So things started out well. Until we got to the border. Dr K was randomly selected for a covid test. We had registered with ArriveCan and such, but that wasn’t good enough. He was told that he could do a test and use some Microsoft apps to communicate with the authorities after he tested or go to a drug store and have them witness the test. So we went to a couple of Shoppers Drug Marts only to be told that they didn’t do that. Only the ones near the border were setup to witness the covid test and send the appropriate responses to the authorities. Sigh? We spent nearly 2 hours touring Abbotsford and waiting in line to get this done. Soo much for getting up and getting an early start. The best laid plans.. sigh?!?



Stay tuned for "Biking off More than We Can Chew"

Hosting Ferry & Gulcin of One Road, One World (World Travelers)

 

One Road, One World

My wife and I recently had the pleasure of hosting 2 world travelers, Ferry & Gulcin, at our home.

They are a unique couple that have an interesting story on how they met and how they decided to travel the world by motorcycles. My wife is registered on Bunk-A-Biker (https://www.bunkabiker.org/). She got a message from them, as they were in Canada passing through Seattle on their way to the SouthWest and eventually to South America. So, she invited them to stay. I was so excited to arrive home from work that day to meet these world travelers.

Checking everything out and doing chain maintenance before leaving

My wife and I were most impressed with their stories and their means of travel. How they met is an interesting story that I would defer folks to read about on their website One Road, One World (http://oneroadoneworld.com/) and their Youtube channel which you can find on their website. At one point in our exchanges with them, Gulcin told the personal story of how she was diagnosed with breast cancer, whereby she got extremely emotional. It was clear that the trauma had an effect on her fortitude and help overcome it all. 

All-in-all a great visit. It was all too brief, but they are a incredible couple with incredible stories to tell.

Posing before Gearing Up

In short, my wife and I were both happy to host them and hear their stories. I even get invites to join them on some of their travels here in the states. I am certain that we will cross paths in the future as I am close to retiring now.

And they are off. Great people to meet

We have hosted several folks at our place. All of the folks we've met are interesting and have stories to tell. In every single case, it has very rewarding to share our place and hear of personal experiences from ADV travelers. We have not regretted opening our home to any one of them for one minute.

Sidecar Offroad Test with the Pup

After about a year of ownership, and some tinkering, I took the hack out for a real world test. Mostly I wanted to see if my newly designed and fabricated fender mount was as good as I thought it would be for the type of travel I plan. Also, wanted to test the dog on real off road conditions to see how she would react. She is also 1 year old and still very much in training as am I.

Although, the road turned out to be much rougher than anticipated, I am happy to report that everything worked out better than expected. I did discover another issue that I need to address (ground clearance). But I believe that is something I can tackle fairly easily.

I hope you enjoy this video. The Pacific Northwet is a beautiful place.... rain or shine.

Guilty Pleasures & Lost Dimensions - The Video Series

The coastal regions of Washington, Oregon and Northern California are some of the most scenic in the lower 48 states. Although I have traveled most of these roads several times over the years, every time I go, I am still amazed and still discovering new places to explore. In this case, I explore parts of the Lost Coast and turn inland a bit to tour the Salmon River and out to the chain of volcanoes in starting in California and heading north before inclement weather set in and forced me to change plans.

 

Enjoy Episode 1:

 

 

 

Enjoy Episode 2:

 

Enjoy Episode 3:

 

Enjoy Episode 4:

 

Enjoy Episode 5:

 

Enjoy Episode 6: