Capturing the Art of Nature
Brohm Ridge and Lake
I had heard about the road to Brohm Ridge and it caught my attention a while back so today ethan and decided to explore the road and see what we could.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2012
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The weather was a bit questionable and I was concerned we may get caught by rain. Though we were mostly driving, rain would cut down on our viewing opportunities and as we were heading for a high elevation ridge I really wanted get some views. As we made our way north to Squamish the clouds kept their heaviness and I was not very hopeful. Once in Squamish we faced a second challenge, the local ham operators were active on the repeater helping with a bike race. This kept us off the air except for emergencies – at-least they provided some interesting background conversation.
We topped up the truck in Squamish and made for the start of the FSR. The initial road was quite nice as it was well used along the lower section as an access to Cat Lake, a popular destination. This did give us a new problem – there was a very slow moving truck in front of us. They seemed afraid of even the smallest holes. After a few minutes they finally pulled over to let us pass. We did and soon were out of sight. We reached a fork the main branch on the right stayed low but the left started up steeply and was in poorer condition. So up we went.
This road was rough but not overly so. We gained some elevation and came by a pull-out where we stopped to gather a few photos. Alas the clouds were still thick and I could see very little beyond our immediate location. At least the greens were vibrant. We continued up the road and soon reached a few more forks – taking the left each time we soon were crossing bridges and gaining elevation. This branch followed the Brohm River and offered some nice views down the valley to Squamish unfortunately the clouds were blocking the sights. We tried each short spur in turn as we drove along gathering photos of wet leaves and trees. At one point we were at the base of some serious rock cliffs which had a neat look to them. Taking photos proved hazardous as we couldn’t stay out of the car for long enough to enjoy the place thanks to the bugs which were biting voraciously and we had forgotten to pack bug spray. They really put a crimp on my photography.
While driving, we spotted some observation huts just off the main road, I hiked out to the first one we saw and climbed up into it. It did have a nice view of the valley and I spotted a second one further up. I wasn’t sure of their purpose but perhaps they had some nice views when the clouds were less. We back tracked along the road and took the next major fork which crossed over to the next creek valley and connected to another road which continued further up the ridge. This time we found the main road to the higher Brohm Ridge. This road seemed much rougher and the map showed it as a snowmobile route.
We continued up the road through a few switchbacks startling one very fat Grouse at one point. Soon however, we started to encounter snow. Shortly after we spotted a truck parked and looking further along the road we discovered a patch of snow on the road. We took a few minutes to gather some photos here as there was a bit of peak which offered some nice sights despite them being rather limited by the cloud cover. We decided we could get through the snow patch and so we continued over it at which point we came to a gate which was fortunately open. We rounded a bend and after only a few hundred meters came by serious snow cover and we realized that out forward journey was now at an end. Quite disappointed we turned around and crossed back over the snow patch, back around the bend with the grouse and then we pulled off at a wide spot to enjoy some lunch. Being out of the truck exposed us to the blood suckers but the wind had picked up a bit and we were in moving cloud so the moisture helped reduce the bug count. While eating a few others came by up the road on motor bikes and trucks, it seems to be a busy spot despite the rough road.
Done we lunch we started down the road, we chose to continue down the other branch so as as to see how this road played out. It dropped fairly quickly and looked like it had some decent viewpoints for another day. At one spot we came across a small ramp that had been built off the side of the road. It seemed to be a jump but I thought it was too high for bikes – the landing zone was over-grown so we never did determine what its purpose was. As we reached the bottom we came by an open area with roads crisscrossing – a popular bike area. Then we spotted a sign pointing out the way to Cat Lake, I thought of heading there but the parking area was full and so I opted out, driving past we were soon back at the start of the road.
It being early we decided to cross the highway and stop at Brohm Lake for a few quick photos around the rock cliffs just off the parking lot. The day had by now nicely brightened up and I had some nice contrasty and colourful views of the lake, there were even numerous people sunning themselves on the rocks. Ethan stayed in the truck reading while I spent a few minutes on the rocks and after I had my fill of photos, we started off for home. As we came by Porteau Cove I couldn’t resist pulling in there to gather some pictures of Howe Sound and the islands. It was a great view as usual. I stopped to talk with some scuba divers who told me there were a number of sunken wrecks placed around here for divers. Done with the spot we continued on home. Just passed the cove I noticed a very scenic spot below with easy road access – it is the actual Porteau Cove rather than just the ferry area. I will need to come back to this spot.
We stopped at the view point along the highway where I was able to gather a few more photos. As we drove through West Vancouver, I felt a bit nostalgic and we took a brief detour to view the old house I lived in up to age 7. It was well hidden in shrubbery and I didn’t really see the house. But I did get a few photos of the view from the road above the house. I will need to drop in on the place and introduce myself one day to the current owners. Perhaps they will let me take a photo from the deck. Well finally we had used up our day and we set off for home without any further stops. Though the ridge proved a bit of a let-down in the clouds we did get some great photos at the other spots as the day cleared and the sun came. But I need to get back there and try the ridge once more not only to take in the views but to also get on the actual ridge and see Mt Garibaldi from up close.