Capturing the Art of Nature
East Harrison and Clear River FSR’s
A trip to see the hills and test out our new heavy tire chains
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2010
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On our previous trip we ripped apart the tire chains we were using as they were just too light for the type of driving we were doing. So I picked up two pairs of heavy chains before Christmas for our travels and today we planned to find some roads to test them on. When I woke up this morning it was snowing hard outside and the ground had a couple inches of snow! A bit of an ominous start to the day, but we continued to get ready and planned for a full day out. By the time we had driven a few miles east the snow was gone and we had clear driving to the logging road.
Geoff and I settled on the East Harrison area for our chain tests – it has been quite some time since Geoff was there and I knew we would have multiple side roads to pick between for our chain tests. The drive to the start of the East Harrison went quickly but the FSR itself was deep in a few inches of fresh snow. That certainly made for a pretty start to the drive. There were a few vehicles already in and their ruts made life a bit easier for us. As we made our way north, we stopped at a few early spots to capture the grandeur of the fresh snow on the trees. After 7km the road drops back to lake level and the snow cleared and we had bare road for the rest of the drive on the East Harrison.
We stopped at the viewpoint by the Bear Creek log sort area to gather some winter shots of the mountains. There we chatted with a guy who had spent the night. He suggested we try the Clear River road and try for the Hot Springs. I have wanted to return to the site for some time so the idea seemed good and we set off for it. The drive between Bear Creek and Silver River has always been very rough and we were expecting that, so it came as a welcome surprise to find the road much upgraded and the drive went quite quickly as a result. Soon we arrived at the entrance to the Clear Creek FSR and we started up.
Well we were soon compensating for the easy smooth drive to this point. The Clear Creek FSR was very rough and it slowed down our drive significantly. We stopped not far into the road for a look around and there we hear a radio call from Carolyn, so I updated her with our plans and then continued in. I was actually quite surprised to have contact way back here on that repeater as moving the truck a foot killed reception. It was quite a coincidence to have stopped in the one spot with reception when the open space was only a foot or so wide!
Soon we were gaining elevation at a rapid pace and saw the first snow on the road. Once it was a few inches deep we decided to put on the chains. The process went quite quickly and for our first time we did really well. They are quite heavy and solid but they fit well and go on with little trouble, though it was definitely helpful that we had practiced with a spare tire at home earlier. Shortly after putting on the chains the snow cleared and we were driving gravel for a few hundred meters! Go figure. But we continued to climb and the snow did get deeper. There was a rut we could follow but we were generally making our own path. The chains gave us great traction and they dug in very well when we spun for a few moments. We reached the hot Springs to find one other truck and an ATV parked just below the tubs.
I got out and walked over to the tubs to chat with the ATV driver who was enjoying a warm soak. His name was Kevin and he comes by there in the winter when there are no crowds there, summers are a real zoo. The tubs are fed via black PVC pipes and I decided to follow them to where the actual spring is. The spot was only 15 meters up slope from the top tub so I was able to get a bit of a look at it though not much could be seen. I returned to Geoff and the two guys from the truck who had gone for a soak earlier. They related how they had come out a few years back and rebuilt some of the walkways and structure around the tubs and later found some idiot burning a campfire on top of one of the wooden paths! It seems this spot attracts some pretty foolish individuals.
After chatting and taking some photos we started back up the road to the East Harrison. We followed the other truck – they had to take a second run at one hill to get over but we could get over it without even spinning the tires thanks to the chains. On our way out we were met by two trucks and an ATV heading in, now that we had cleared the way, driving was much easier for the less equipped.
When we arrived back at the spot Carolyn contacted me earlier I tried h
r and was able to get through though we had to relocate the truck by a foot as Geoff let the truck drift mid conversation. Propagation was that spotty back here. Once back on the East Harrison we followed the two chaps we met and they stopped a ways down and flagged us down. They pointed to a cave they had mentioned to Geoff earlier and so we all decided to get out and explore it a bit. It was an old mine shaft that went straight into the side of the mountain for around 150m with a small bend 2/3 of the way in. The ground was fairly flat but was covered with water from seepage. Through the water we noticed narrow gauge tracks along portions of the floor that were still in place. We didn’t have great light with us but we did make it to the end od the shaft and there we turned off all lights to experience the total blackness the cave environment affords. It really is an amazing darkness.
Once done with the mine, Geoff and I continued on to the Silver River sort area where we stopped to gather a few early sunset photos of the peaks across the lake. We then continued along to the Bear Creek area where I took a few more photos of the approaching sunset. I had hoped to talk to the guy we had met there earlier to let him know that we had made it to the Spring but the campsite was packed away and he was gone. The Forest Service had added a number of improvements to this stretch of road to accommodate the campers that flock to the beach in the summer. There were widened areas for parking all along the lake; I guess they were getting in the way of logging trucks!
We continued on out and made really great time thanks to the much improved road surface. We did chase a young Bobcat at one point as it tried to get off the road and into the bush. Later we waited for a doe to saunter across the road. So we saw some wildlife to top off an already interesting drive. Once off the FSR the drive home went quite quickly and without incident. In reflecting on the trip, we decided that the chains are easy to use and do provide much improved traction. They seem to dig in to the ice and ground when needed and are much stronger - not breaking any links on the trip. I’ll give them another try this Friday with Ethan driving and see how they hold up on that trip.