Capturing the Art of Nature
Furry and Britannia Creeks
I enjoy the Furry Creek area and felt it was time to see the furthest reaches of the roads in the area along with those in Britannia Creek.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
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We started our day with a quick drive to Horseshoe Bay but there we encountered a major delay. It seems that the Sea-to-Sky Highway was playing host to a major cycling event which went from Vancouver to Whistler! To accommodate the cyclists a lane of the highway was blocked off and cars were shifted over to make room. The numbers of cars made for many delays as they threaded their way along the normally free-flowing road. This was quite irritating as we never once saw a cyclist. They were all past where we were. When we finally got to the entrance of the Furry Creek FSR we found a police car blocking the way in. At first he was waving us on but after I got out and chatted with him about our intent and activities, he opened the barricade and let us onto the road. So finally, we got our start on the back-country portion of our day.
I have driven the early section of the road a number of times but I never got to the end due to snow blocking the way, so today our goal was to reach the end of the northern fork and see just how far it goes. Not far along the road we spotted a black bear strolling along but once he saw us he took off and soon ducked down and off the road towards the golf course. Not much beyond he departure point we had a great view of Howe Sound where I had to gather a few images. We continued on in along the road that Geoff and I got stuck on when we last drove it. On the map the road is shown to continue on to the Seymour Lake area, though I doubted we would be able to drive that far, I was hopeful that we would get close.
We tried a few side roads as we drove along and I was able to gather a number of interesting mountain shots and even some close-up work on some thistle seeds. It was a pleasant drive and soon we were past the place that trapped Geoff and I last trip. We made a few kilometers further before we were stopped by a river crossing that was a bit steep for the truck to try. The area around here was heavily inundated with trails for dirt bikes, including some makeshift bridges across the creek. Rather than push our luck with the crossing we opted to turn back and explore the side roads we passed on our way in.
We gathered a few more shots of the valley, creek and to the far west – Howe Sound – it is a pretty area and despite the thick dust clouds we kicked up as we drove, I enjoyed the simple scenery along the road. As we neared the start of the road we could either switch over to the south side of the creek and revisit that trail and perhaps even get a closer view of the heli-logging going on or follow an unexplored road heading north towards Britannia Beach. The latter choice was more appealing and soon we were on virgin road.
In short order we were in behind the old mining museum that has been a frequent site for movies, here we discovered an old abandoned mine shaft where we could walk around and stare down into a water filled pit – or all too easily slide into. Ethan tossed a rock into the pit but being water filled it gave us no indication of how deep it might be. It does seem a bit dangerous to leave it so accessible. Getting bored with the mine, we continued our drive east and soon were making our way up Mineral Peak to where a current open face operation was still active. We continued past the mining area and out along a narrow stretch of road that made its way up the cliff. It was not in the best shape and soon we were stopped by a washout. As it was well past noon we decided to stop for lunch and enjoy the view west from the side of the cliff face. While eating lunch we heard a strange sound coming from far below us. It was a rumbling sound and also very repetitive which gave a spooky feel to it. This was seriously interesting me and I got out my binoculars to try to find the source of the noise. Eventually I spotted a small waterfall that had a pulsating flow of water, it matched the sound I was hearing and so my search was over and the mystery solved.
After lunch we backed down the road and opted to forgo a side branch that would have taken us to the top of the ridge. It was just too narrow a turn for a long truck like ours. So we returned to the mining area where we turned around and started back down the road. When we got back to Britannia Creek, I got out to explore the rock formations that the creek was flowing across. It was quite interesting and I was able to gather a few water shots of the creek. A bit later, on another side road, we came to a dammed section of the creek where the water was now dropping over a 30+ foot cement wall. The dam wasn’t forming a lake as it had probably silted up over the years of neglect.
As we made our way out we found one more side branch that led up the northern side of the valley to a more recent logging area. Here we had some magnificent views of Howe Sound and the islands to the south of us. It would make an amazing winter sunset location. We drove a few of the branches in this area and I took time for a few short explorations on foot. But it was getting quite hot and I much preferred the coolness of the A/C in the truck. So we made our way back out and down an alternate route to the highway at Britannia Beach. Just at the end of the logging road where it changes to pavement we came across a closed gate – surely we weren’t going to be locked in! Fortunately it was closed but not locked. So we made our way past and down the road to the highway.
The balance of the day went smoothly as we drove the sea-to-sky with no more barricades. The highway was quite congested by the Cassiar tunnel as is often the case but once past that we made good time for home. It was a good day of driving and though our intent had been to also see the Mamquam area, we never made it that far, perhaps next week’s trip.