Capturing the Art of Nature
Return to Mamquam
After many years of exploring the back roads, the Mamquam is one I still have only seen a small portion of, so today we set out to see some more of it.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
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We arrived at the start of the FSR in good time having stopped once for some food supplies and the traditional coffee and then a top up of gas in Squamish. The weather was promising to be decent in the morning but less so as the day progressed, so we were hopeful that we would have decent lighting for photography. Our first thoughts were of the Indian River FSR and how we have wanted to get down it again; the road has been closed for years. So when we arrived at the fork we opted to try the road and see if the road was clear.
We made our way down the Stawamus-Indian FSR in good time. Soon we reached the place we got stopped in the snow at the last time we came this way. With no snow to think about we zipped past and soon had some nice views of Sky Pilot and Ledge Mountains. They were quite impressive looking with cloud rising up the far side and blowing through the gap between the two peaks. Every second had a different look to it as the cloud swirled around the group of peaks. After enjoying the view for a while a chap on a dirt bike came by. He stopped to see what we were looking at and then had a bit of problem restarting his bike. We continued on stopping for more photos of the group from a few angles. But then we saw ahead of us an SUV and the bike stopped on the road.
We pulled up to the two vehicles and got out to see what the issues were. The road ahead was open as a wall of cement blocks had been moved aside, but an ominous sign was posted just to the side warning that proceeding could subject one to fines! Well not being one to take back-country signs that seriously as most are left overs, we decided to continue on in. The chap and the bike came along as well. Soon he was well beyond us as we stopped every so often for photos. Soon we crossed over a bridge made of train cars and there we spotted a parked truck and excavator treads heading on down the road. We kept going thinking how nice all the recent road work was. Before much longer we came to the road crew and there we stopped to chat with them as they took a snack break. The senior of the two told us how they come by to repair the road every three years and that they would be done in two weeks. But then they told us the bad news – they would be closing it off again in a month! It seems that they only open it for a brief time every third year to service the power and gas lines. Such a shame as it is an amazingly scenic valley.
After our chat we started back and soon were greeted with a number of ATV’s & bikes exploring the newly opened road. We came back to a small pond and there we stopped to take some photos and discovered that it was full of tad poles. It seems to be very late for them and I hope they survive the winter. We tried a few short side roads, the last of which promised an alternate route back to the Mamquam. Alas after a steep descent, we reached the end of the drivable road, a narrow foot path continued down to a creek that had washed out the old bridge. Here Geoff, on his way back to the truck slipped on a rock as he jumped across the creek and ended up with a sore and wet ankle. As it was now time to find a spot to set up for our 2pm radio contact we started up the steep section of loose gravel. Unfortunately we couldn’t get traction and so we had to get out the winch and pull ourselves up. That took too long and we missed our HF radio window. Well there is always next week.
Once back on the Mamquam, we continued east and took the next major side road on Raffuse Creek. It was here that we found the back bone of a deer suspended on a tree. The bones were no longer there and the road was clear all the way to the upper section of Alpen Mountain. We stopped for lunch at a spot with a great view of the town of Squamish. The roads were in quite decent shape up here even though the cut trees were quite old looking, that seemed a bit odd but I guess the market dried up and the logs were left. There were a number of side roads that were too washed out for us to cross which would have taken us higher but they will need to wait for our ATV.
Once done with the Raffuse area we returned to the Mamquam and though it was 4pm , we opted to head in for one more branch of the Mamquam. I had planned to stay on the SW side of the river rather than cross over it as I have done in the past. This route hugs the river for a few kilometers before heading up-slope. As we made our way up we got better and better views of Mamquam Mountain and its ice field. The peaks that form the crest were quite spectacular and we had some great opportunities for photography. The wind had picked up and thickened the clouds which offered some interesting shapes for our mountain shots. Higher up we also had a great view of Mt Garibaldi, it is also a spectacular peak to see. As we reached the end of the first of two upper branches we traveled, we had an amazing view of Alpen Mountain just across a narrow valley. It has an interesting quad peak appearance which presents many angles for photography. At the end of the second branch we found some old trees that had developed some bizarre branches, they were quite unusual and well worth a few photos.
It being past 5 and the thick clouds were making the light quite dim; we started on our way out. Our tires were quite chewed up at the start of the trip and Geoff was sure we would blow at least one of them. Fortunately all were still holding air! When we got to the start of the FSR we pulled off into the Chief Rock Climbers parking area to pack up Geoff’s guns. There he heard the hiss of a tire, the rear driver side tire was leaking – not the one Geoff expected to go first. So we swapped it with the spare and soon were on our way home. The drive back went quite quickly as the traffic was still quite light. So now I get to purchase a new set of tires- it has been only 12 months! But we do push them hard.