Capturing the Art of Nature
Anderson River Valley
We have explored this region 3 times previously and still we are travelling all new areas with amazing views and things to see. Several more areas remain to see.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
Click on image to view gallery
Earlier this year I had tried the roads along the first range running parallel to the Fraser Canyon but the snow was still too deep to let us in. So here we are a couple months later hoping it would be passible. Fortunately it was. Now it was getting too hot and filled with flies! One really gets tired of providing hard grown nourishment for blood suckers and flesh nippers that fly away without a word of thanks.
Our day started when Geoff arrived at 8:30, we had a bit longer of a sendoff as the truck had been unloaded for the radio event last week so we first had to reload all our back-country gear and then Geoff’s equipment. Once on the way we quickly drove to Abbotsford for the traditional caffeine adjustment and then we were on the way to Hope. As we approached the place the news had reported a major mud slide which had closed the highway earlier in the week, we were hopeful of seeing something amazing. Alas the slide area was so small that it really disappointed us. It was just another case of the media sensationalizing something. Yes the road was closed but it was nowhere near the magnitude one was led to believe.
In Hope we picked up lunch supplies and quickly continued our way up the canyon to Spuzzum and the start of the logging road. It was really nice to finally get on the FSR and start jarring the body into various contortions due to the roughness of the road. We enjoyed a lovely view of the swollen Fraser River as it was squeezed through the narrow gorge below the Alexandra Bridge. Having been down at the foot of the bridge at low flow, the rise in level with the associated volume of water is really quite unfathomable. We took the second side road off the main line and were soon driving past the spot the snow stopped us earlier this year. The road looks so different with the vegetation covering the trees!
Once we attained the ridge we encountered a fork, as the southern section was shorter on the map we elected to attack it first. There is a small pond along this route which I wanted to photograph so off we went. We soon came upon another fork where we took the less travelled. This fork soon bent north and got more overgrown, fortunately it soon connected back to the mainline and we were able to continue the loop back up to the first fork we encountered. So back down the southern branch and this time we took the right-hand branch and continued along the line of transmission towers.
The road made its way over some rugged terrain and soon we were enjoying some lovely eastern views of the mountains leading up the Anderson River. Then we finally had a view of the small pond and made our way down to it. The road split once more and we followed the right-hand path as it made its way around the pond and up the far western side. The road continued along the power lines and soon came to a phenomenal viewpoint looking south. We could see the Cheam Range in the far distance which was quite a surprise.
After enjoying the view and exploring the details with our binoculars we opted to return to the pond for a closer look and then back to the first fork to head north rather than continue down the slope. We had a radio contact planned for 2pm and I wanted to be as far north as possible so back we went stopping at the pond for some close-up shots including a few at water level. The northern branch of the trip seemed to be in better shape than the southern so we made some good time covering the distance – we took one short spur that crossed some muddy sections that presented a small challenge on our way back. Fortunately we didn’t lose much time in it. The road continued down to the Anderson River where we encountered a bridge across the water which looked to be recently upgraded, that seemed a bit odd considering the state of the road.
As time was approaching the point we had to set up the radio, we started looking for a nice spot to deploy the equipment. I wanted a level area with a view of the river below. After another 10 minutes of driving we finally found an ideal location and we put up the equipment. It took us around 20 minutes to be on the air. My first calls went unanswered but soon I discovered that I had not connected the final coax connector to the radio! Once that radio was actually attached to the antenna we heard the guys from the club back at home! While I enjoyed a chat with the gang, Geoff hiked further along the road looking for things of interest. When I was finally done with the guys I switch to the 20m band and heard a chap calling from Poland who I then contacted!
Now that I had finished, I called Geoff on our hand-held to get him to return. He was far out and down the slope. He said he could see me in the distance but even with the binoculars it took me some time to spot him. Things like this make the size of the backcountry and the smallness of a person really obvious. While he walked back I packed up the radio gear and soon we were on our way. This section of road had some badly angled cross-ditches and with the shadows falling across the road they were very hard to spot, so on several occasions Geoff hit the ditch a bit too fast and we were bounced all over the interior of the truck. The last bounce really strained my neck and I hope the pain won’t last long. We explored a few more side roads but as time was running on we elected to skip a few, on later review I determined that two of the skipped roads opened up larger areas which may mean we need to return!
We had a great time up here having had several trips cancelled due to rain or other events so it was with a bit of sadness that we finally returned to pavement for the drive home. I really would like to get an ATV and motor home so we could spend a full day driving the roads. As we approached the town of Yale I decided it would be a good day to explore a short road that goes between the highway and the Fraser River. I have wanted to check it out for some time and as the river was in its exciting phase, today would be a great opportunity to see the river close-up. We made our way along the road and soon came by a small crowd of people standing around chatting. We parked and I got out to photograph the river and then noticed the item of interest to the crowd – the hill above us was on fire and a helicopter was dropping water on it! We stopped to watch the progress of the fire fight and I gathered a few photos of the process – a very interesting end to a day’s adventure.