Capturing the Art of Nature
The Garnet American Loop
The two roads form a loop and offer one some nice lakes and views in which to spend a warm afternoon
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2018
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My truck now has canopy to replace the old worn out tonneau cover. Today would be its first in the hills so we needed to load it up with our equipment for the first time. This took 45 minutes extra before we could leave as we moved items around making more space in the cab. It needs more arranging but we made good progress and the two boys fit nicely in the back seat leaving the centre console free for normal use. We set out for coffee and fuel and then beef but the beef was out so we grumbled along without it.
As we passed Agassiz we started looking for the forest fire that closed the road earlier this summer. We eventually found a blackened slope on our left. It was a very steep area and the trees were brown but not black so it was a bit hard to spot the actual burned area as we drove past. We passed Ruby Creek and then turned off on to the Garnet Creek FSR. It looked to be in good shape so we were encouraged that we would be able to make a day of the area. We quickly pulled over and switched the truck to 4x4 mode and then started up the road. The old viewpoints were overgrown with alder but the road itself was in good shape.
When we came by the steepest section that in winter offers an ice covered wall to enjoy, we saw that some major road work had been completed shoring up the downslope side of the road with railings and support structures. This road was going to stay open! We soon came by a cleared section where recent logging had been completed. The cut slash did provide us with some nice wood for the campfire Geoff wanted to have during lunch. Driving on we passed the fork to the American, we continued along the Garnet to where we had previously found a lovely road-end with a great spot to park, camp and enjoy the creek.
We drove in further and soon encountered a more recent clearing and in fact the nice secluded camp spot was now wide open in a clearing! There was still a treed area along the creek but the camp site was now wide open. It took away the picturesque aspect of the area but it still was a decent camp spot and the trail to the creek provided access to some lovely scenes of the creek. We wandered along the creek a bit to gather some photos while the boys climbed rocks and ran around looking at various items of interest to boys of 8 and 6. With the buffer zone of trees the scenes along the creek weren’t too impacted by the new clearing just a few meters further away. It is still a lovely spot to sit and soak in the feel of the creek.
Well, we soon got the expected cry from the wild of “I’m hungry”, so we packed the boys back into the truck and backtracked to the fork with the American Creek FSR. Turning up that road we gained some elevation as we followed along the power lines and soon we were switch-backing up a well-travelled road looking for the small lake near the summit of the pass. Soon we came by the lake and continued on as the road wasn’t much further. Geoff drove past it but I spotted what looked like an over-grown road as we drove the mainline. He continued on a bit and came by another side road that could be it. We stopped to review it but it was not a road. We then decided to review the road I spotted.
When we arrived at the location the side road was well hidden in over-growth and Geoff wasn’t certain about it. But we decided to drive in and see, after a short decent we rounded a curve and the road finally opened up and we could actually see a road. The next obstacle was a swamp area, the road bed looked quite soft and hopefully was not deep. We had crossed it before but it was drier on that trip. Well, we gave it a bit of speed and slurped our way across the mud sending tons of it flying in all directions including on the new canopy, it no longer looked out of place. The swamp crossing proved not too difficult though I wouldn’t want to stop there. Next the road mounted some huge rocks and we were driving across the side and top of large bare granite. This was fun as there really wasn’t a discernable road here. We continued up two sets of rock faces to settle next to a transmission tower where we had a lovely view of the lake below us. We had arrived. Geoff set about chopping the wood we picked up earlier and then lighting the fire, I got supplies organized for lunch, the boys meanwhile ran about exploring the rock and wild black huckleberries that surrounded us.
Soon the fire was hot enough for the boys to cook a wiener, I cut some long sticks from the huckleberries and the cooking was on. Liam cooked his nice and slow, Ben charred his wiener in short order! But they both had fun and soon the main meal was heating and ready to eat. Done with lunch Geoff set up some target practice with the 22. After a bit of shooting Liam wanted to wander down to the lake, so I took the plates to wash and we started across the berries. They proved much harder to cross than expected and Liam had a tough time getting through them. We did finally reach the water and I cleaned the pots a bit. By now Ben and Geoff stared down the slope to join us, Ben had even more difficulty as the plants were as tall as he was!
Once Geoff reached me near the lake, Liam wanted to explore another part of it, I needed to get the pots back to the truck and clean my hands as they were now quite covered in grease. Geoff continued on with the two boys but Ben had fought the plants quite enough and so the three of them turned back before much distance was gained, now they just had to climb the 100m back up the slope to the truck. It proved a hard slog as now they were moving against the lay of the plants! Eventually they arrived at the truck having had their fill of the plants.
We packed things up and started back off the rocks, the swamp wasn’t too difficult to re-cross and soon we were on the mainline. We decided to continue along the loop, I had heard that there was a washout on it but we decided to take a chance and see. The road was showing signs of greater use as we drove so we thought it would be fine. Sure enough we soon came by two trucks where guys were collecting firewood. We took a side road shortly after, this one climbed the slope of Dog Mountain and I wanted to see how high up we could get. We only got a short distance before it was blocked by a washout. There had been recent logging in this the area and the roads were good as far as that went but beyond it they were ATV width only.
Done with the side road, we returned to the mainline and continued out to the Fraser Canyon. We reached it without any washouts blocking our way and now we were on the highway heading for the Blue Moose in Hope. Stopping at the café we ordered some hot drinks and washed up. Then it was back on the road for home. The return went without incident and we got home before dark. A nice short trip to enjoy some back-country and prove out the new canopy. It worked well though we noticed that when the truck is stopped on uneven ground the back door catch is a bit sort to secure the widow, so we will need to lengthen it a bit.