Advertisement
Published: August 19th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Well, over the Sea to Sky Highway at any rate: so named because it starts by the sea (Pacific Ocean) and goes up into the mountains (the Vancouver Coastal Mountain Range). Except that I did it from the mountains down to the sea, so I guess that really makes it over the Sky to Sea, but that doesn’t really have the same ring to it... (
Stop rambling, Greenfield, and get on with it would you?)
OK, when I last left you, I think I was in Castlegar. I left there and headed north again, up to the town of Nakusp, where I considered visiting my fourth set of hot springs. But the fact that it was 12km out of town, and up a dirt track, put me off that idea. So instead I had laze on the beach, until the rain forced me to give that up as a bad job.
Heading south again I caught another free ferry on a long old trek across the mountains to the town of Vernon. Another laze on the beach (Kalamalka Lake this time) before heading to the Kekuli Bay Provincial Park - for some great views across Kalamalka Lake, and some
very friendly marmots (oh, and warnings in the campground to watch out for Rattlesnakes! I didn’t see any.)
I drove south from Vernon to Kelowna, planning to stop at Bear Creek Provincial Park (on the west bank of Okanagan Lake, opposite the town), but even at 10:00 in the morning, the place was full. Possibly something to do with it being peak tourist season in one of the main holiday areas in Canada...) I tried (but failed) to do a walk along the (disused) Kettle Valley Railway - failed mainly because the road to get there might just about be passable by a mountain goat that’s had its three shredded wheat, but certainly not by a 24ft long motorhome. If only they put that kind of information in the guidebooks...
So I drove further south to Penticton, only to find that every campsite I tried to check into was either full, or charging almost twice what I have paid everywhere else in Canada. I eventually found a place to stay in Okanagan Falls (only about 60% more expensive than other places!) as night was beginning to fall. So I had a rethink of my plan to spend nearly
a week in the Okanagan Valley and decided to leave it for another time. Instead I headed west again, towards the E.C.Manning Provincial Park. Lovely place. Two nights in the campground there. On a dull and overcast Tuesday, I walked all the way round Lightening Lake, up to Flash Lake and back (
bit of a storm them going on with the lake names in these parts). And on a glorious sunny Wednesday I did the 16km trek up to Poland Lake and back. And on the way back to the campground I saw my first bear for about four weeks. In fact I saw not only a bear, but her two cubs too.
Saying goodbye to Manning Park (after doing a couple of quick nature walks and driving to the top of Cascade Lookout) I headed west to the charming little town of Hope. Coincidentally, the Kettle Valley Railway also came through Hope on its way from Kelowna to Vancouver, so I FINALLY got to walk along part of the trail - though the Othello Tunnels above the Coquihalla Canyon, which were dug in the 1800s.
Leaving Hope and heading north again, I stopped off at the very
quaint little town of Yale, but decided that I’m far too tight to pay $6 to walk around a tiny little church. I stopped instead at the Alexandra Bridge over the Fraser River (yes, that’s the one that flows from Mount Robson to Steveston in Vancouver, via Prince George), and then again at the Hells Gate Airtram (i.e. cable car). I carried on to the Skihist Provincial Park, just outside Lytton. The climate around Lytton is very arid, as it sits in the rain shadow of the Coastal Mountains. So I again made the most of it and had a lazy afternoon of sunbathing. And just as I was getting my chair out of the van, a big old black bear wandered past about 30 feet away. I think we both did our best to ignore each other.
Saturday, I pushed on further north to Cache Creek, and to the Mable Canyon Provincial Park, where I had planned to spend the night. When I got there, though, I realised that there was less to do there than I had anticipated. So I carried on west to Lillooet, where I spent another afternoon soaking up the sun. Sunday I headed
south west out of Lillooet, stopping briefly at Seton Lake (where I had stopped off with Mark & Isla in April on our roadtrip to the Rockies), and then again at Duffey Lake (where we had our picnic lunch in a snow-filled lay-by back in April). Carrying on to Joffre Lakes, I decided to do the 12km walk up to the Upper Lake and back. This is the third time that I have been to Joffre Lakes, and the first time that I have been when the path hasn’t been closed due to the snow. Now the guidebooks say that the walk to the Upper Lake is “
challenging”. What they don’t say is that it involves scrambling across a field of boulders (I say “field”, but it’s a 400-metre wide field with a 45 degree slope on it), and climbing up paths that wouldn’t look out of place in the mountains of Tibet. That said, the middle and upper lakes, really were amazing. And the view of the Matier Glacier, hanging above the upper lake was worth all the sweat-soaked effort (
too much detail?).
Returning to the van, I drove to the Nairn Falls Provincial Park to spend the
night, but decide to leave the walk to the falls until Monday morning. Getting up reasonably early, I walked the 4km to One Mile Lake and back first, followed by the 4km trail to the Nairn Falls. Driving south, I decided to give Whistler a miss this time, and stopped instead at Brandywine Falls for a quick trip to the canyon view point. Continuing south, I got to Alice Lake Provincial Park, and completed the gentle 6km “Four Lakes Trail” to see Stump, Fawn, Ethel & Alice Lakes - all very pleasant in their own way, but I think I’ve been somewhat spoiled by the Middle & Upper Joffre Lakes.
Tuesday morning, after a quick slog up DeBecks Hill for a great view across to the Earle Mountain Range, I drove south again from Alice Lake, and finally made it to the (Pacific) coast - well the Howe Sound to be precise. This is possibly my favourite part of the whole of British Columbia. A huge fjord surrounded by snowcapped mountains, and yet only 50km from Downtown Vancouver. I stopped at Porteau Cove Provincial Park for yet another laze on the beach, interspersed this time, with a couple of
quick swims in the Ocean. It’s not quite as cold as the Southern Ocean of the south coast of Australia, but it can’t be far off - but still quite refreshing on a hot day.
And then this morning, I hotfooted it down to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry across to Langdale. A slow wander around Gibsons Landing, and a strenuous hike up Soames Hill later, and I now find myself in the very pleasant little town of Sechelt. My current plan - depending on how busy the campgrounds are - is to spend the next 10 days here on the Sunshine Coast, before I have to head back to Vancouver to hand back the van.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.16s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 5; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0504s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
david kennedy
non-member comment
We have been following your journey with interest and wishing we were there We saw your mum and dad last thursday and all seemed well. We are going to the wedding next Friday and will be away till Sunday We know you are home about that time so if you wish to contact us it will have to be by mobile Hope you have a good journey home You will not see any bears here on the roads - only monsters!Looking forward to hearing from you Love Margaret and David