Big Silver Creek

I t had been a few weeks since our drive along the West Harrison so today we felt like heading up the east side to the Silver River area where Geoff did some buck hunting earlier this year and felt like scouting the area one last time this season. We planned to set off at a leisurely hour and enjoy the day up near the Silver Creek log sort yard.  Last night we watched the first snow fall for the season and we were a bit concerned as to what the roads would be like today. Well, it was no issue at all. The roads near home were all clear and dry and as we drove up the valley the snow completely disappeared and there was none along the forestry roads. Though the wind made driving a bit of a challenge.

As we made our way along the paved road just past Harrison Hot Springs we came by a wall of icicles formed from a small waterfall just off the road. It was an incredible sight with so many icicles of all sizes and shapes, it truly was something to marvel at. Many who were driving by thought so as well and they stopped to enjoy the view. I took a number of interesting shots of the ‘ice sculpture’. After I spent only a few minutes taking photos I was compelled to get back in the truck due to wind chill from the high wind coming off the lake at our backs. This is one of those spots that everyone can get to but almost no one does – such a shame.

We continued up the road and soon started up the actual forestry road. At the start we noticed some new signs warning members of the power project to be sure they had radios operational in their vehicles. That was interesting and we wondered what it all meant for our wanderings. Continuing up we soon caught up to a small blue truck that was heading in. It was going quite slowly up the road and showed no courtesy of letting us pass. I really don’t know why some of these guys are so miserable. Eventually Geoff found a spot he could pass them and quickly left them behind as we made for Silver Creek.

The road is in very good shape thanks to the power project and we made quick time to the log yard. There we continued a bit past and took the side road up the slope to the area where we found three bears on a prior trip. This was also the area that Geoff had gone camping while hunting earlier this year. We met one chap coming down in his truck, he was complaining about the rough roads in here. It really didn’t seem bad to us at all. We stopped at the end of a few spurs and got out to walk the area looking for anything of interest. I’m sure Geoff was looking for one thing only but I was enjoying the freshness and the scenery. After spending some time driving and wandering around the roads in this small section we drove back down to the log yard and returned to the mainline.

We started up the mainline but very quickly we took a short spur leading to the lake where we hoped to reach the beach and set up for lunch . The spur was in low ground near the river and so was covered in ponds covering the road way. They were iced over and we weren’t sure how deep they were. The first large pond seem to have a shallower side along the right side so we slowly made our way across, breaking up the ice as we moved. The next pond was even bigger and as we drove in the truck kept dropping lower in the water. We felt a bit uncomfortable so we backed out. We tried the far side but there we were stopped by a branch. So Geoff studied the water a bit and decided to try the first route again. He drove in and down but just passed the spot we had stopped at last time the ground leveled off and we were able to cross without sinking any further. There was one more water hazard to cross and then we were clear for the beach. Here we drove north a short ways and found a spot for lunch. While there another couple on two ATV’s came by. They also stopped for lunch as we cooked ours. This was another incredibly scenic spot and I gathered a number of photos before we retraced our path to the mainline.

All the while we were exploring this area we were hearing chatter on the road frequency coming from some activity 15km up the road. I guessed it was the run-of-the-river power project so we decided to head further up and find out. Indeed we did get to the old spot for a logging camp but today we found 15 meter high mounds of sand and gravel on the river side of the road and many mobile units of worker barracks on the other side. It was a busy operation with activity all around us. The heavy road work started just past the camp area and we were about to start up it but looked at the watch and with the sun below the western mountains we decided to leave it for today. So we started on our way back down the road.

The amount of work being done is really quite incredible and I am sure we will enjoy looking it over during some warmer weather next spring. As we had a radio we decided to continue calling out the road markers on our way out, we had only started just before the busy section but this time we kept it up until we were well past the area. It had one benefit as an excavator that was carrying a number of long planks had pulled over for us to pass and was out of our way by the time we had reached him. The radios really can be quite useful.

Closer to the log yard we decided to head up another side road that leads to a ridge line overlooking the confluence of the Big Silver River. But just in from the start there were logging crews active and they had some equipment across the road. As it was getting on we decided to not bother and just start the drive home. The local group did call us on the radio to ask if we needed to pass but we let them know it was OK and we continued back to the mainline.

As we drove out we found one more side road a bit south of the log yard that gained some elevation quickly and near its end we had some lovely views to enjoy. It was a nice little side journey on which to end our explorations for the day. The rest of the drive back to pavement went easily and we took a couple of stops along the way for a few photos.  As the sun was now down, the wind had picked up and the temperature was quickly dropping, so it was a good time to get on out. In fact we did get to pavement before it was too dark to see anything. So despite it being quite cold and windy, the sun made for a pleasant day. We tried a few new things and we confirmed that the power project was well under way. It will be a spot to look over next year.