Capturing the Art of Nature
East Harrison, Shovel, Kookipi and Nahatlatch
I last did the loop from Harrison to the Nahatlatch many years ago and have tried a few times over the years since but I was always stopped by snow, so today we gave it another go.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
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It being early November, the season was rapidly closing for any trips into the higher elevations. So if I wanted to try the loop from the East Harrison to the Nahatlatch it would need to be today and even now it may once again be too late to cross the pass at 1170 meters. But we would try, the last time I attempted the road was back in late April but we were stopped early due to snow. The last time I actually crossed the pass was back in September 2000, so as you can see it is well past time to get through it.
Ethan and I left at the regular time for the hills and we were soon picking up lunch supplies in Agassiz then it was off to the start of the East Harrison FSR. The initial section of road is now very well maintained and we made good time up to Slollicum Creek (upper rainbow) Falls where I regularly take a series of photos. As time was a bit uncertain today, I kept it quick at the falls and we were soon passing Bear Creek. The road between Bear Creek and Silver River is quite a bit rougher than the first section but we still made good time and encounter only a couple of others along the way. The watchman at the Silver River log yard waved at us as we left the yard, he seemed much more concerned with the pack of ATV’s that had arrived just before us.
The road continues to degrade as you pass the air strip and soon we were driving our traditional rough road. When we finally arrived at the high bridge crossing the Silver River we stopped to gather some photos of the gorge, I really enjoy the beauty of this segment of the river and standing on the bridge gives one an amazing view. I just wish one could do better at capturing the grandeur on camera. Not far past the bridge is a small stream with a lovely waterfall which is easily seen from the road. We stopped so I could gather a number of slow shutter photos of the stream. Then we continued up to the fork where the Shovel leaves the Harrison. Back in April Geoff and I enjoyed lunch at the bridge just past the fork but today, I wanted to try for the end of the Harrison FSR before trying the pass, so we continued north along the Harrison and soon were past the spot that Geoff and I got to last time. We had some great views of the western peaks and soon we were driving a lovely moss covered road. Eventually we came to a major pair of cross-ditches that we took as the end of our driving. We likely could have continued but the road beyond looked poor and I was starting to get concerned about having time to try the pass, so we opted to turn back and leave the way ahead for an ATV trip.
Crossing over the Silver River again and starting up the Shovel Creek FSR, we soon encountered a chap on a motorbike coming down from the higher levels. We stopped to chat with him and he said that he turned back due to snow. Now this was not an encouraging report. He also told us that a conservation officer in a truck had driven some of the snow but had also turned back due to a rock slide further up. So now we were both really quite worried that we would once again be defeated by the road, but we thought we would push on as far as we could go. Sure enough we were soon driving through some shallow drifts of powder and staring at the tread paths of the two vehicles, those of the motorbike were soon missing and we continued up and into deeper snow with only the path of the conservation truck for company. As the depth approached 9 inches we arrived at a bridge over a stream where there was a rock slide. It was here that the truck stopped and gave up the onward drive. We took a few moments to consider the gap between the rocks and decided it was nothing difficult and so we squeezed between the rocks and soon popped out the other side of the slide. Ahead of us was virgin powder a foot deep it looked so great and the sun gave an amazing look to the area.
The road continued upwards towards the pass with the snow gradually deepening but as it was soft powder we had little traction issues. At the highest point the snow was still very drivable for us, though we did have our chains on for safety, we likely could have done it without. We stopped at a few spots to admire the view and the virgin snow around us. Over the pass we continued down with the snow rapidly diminishing on this side and before long we came to a turn-a-round point for an ATV. They had turned back not far from the highest point. We followed their trail down the road to the Nahatlatch feeling much better about our chances of completing the loop. Now we just had to hope there wasn’t a slide that only ATV’s could get over.
The rest of the road went quickly and soon we were crossing a bridge over the Nahatlatch River. As the first of the main lakes was only a short distance further up the road, we took a few moments to head to it so that I could gather a few photos. Done with the lake we started heading out to the Fraser Canyon. I did stop for a few photos of the river before we reached the main canyon which allowed me to capture the feel of the river. All too soon we were in Boston Bar and starting out on the highway. The drive had tired out Ethan so I was now driving the highway. Once we neared the Alexandra Bridge area I put out a call to Carolyn on our radio to let her know where we were. At the town of Hope we stopped for a coffee and a bit of food then Ethan drove the balance of the trip home having rested enough while I drove the canyon.
So we finally achieved a run through the pass between Harrison Lake and the Nahatlatch River, as the snows were coming I doubt we could have made the trip a week later, so our timing was perfect for this year. I wonder how long it will before our next trip around the loop. Hopefully sooner than another 11 years!