Capturing the Art of Nature
Ruby Creek FSR
The hills east of Agassiz have been calling to me for some time. Though early in the season, I was hopeful we could see most of the area without being stopped by snow.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2009
Click on image to view gallery
I have driven through Agassiz many times on my way to Harrison and I have driven the south side of the Fraser to the town of Hope, but the north side of the river between the two towns was virtually unknown to me. So I thought Geoff and I could get out and explore that area, there are a number of roads leading off the highway and I was confident we could fill the day with as many as needed to fill a day exploring the region.
As we made our way east of Agassiz along the highway we drove onto an island - Seabird Island. Though an island by name the island is separated from the surrounding area by sloughs that were quite narrow and mostly dry at this time. I really don't think it still qualifies as an island any more. We took one detour to explore the eastern end of the island and captured a number of lovely shots of Mount Cheam and Lady peak.
We returned to the highway and continued east to the Ruby Creek FSR. We pulled in a few hundred feet and stopped to check our gear and the road radio frequency. While stopped a 4x4 came barreling up to us from the highway and stopped to check out our intentions. The guy lived in the property that borders the FSR and was constantly fighting people dumping garbage on his property and along the road. We had a pleasant chat and commiserated about how we couldn't believe how poorly some people treat the back country. After our chat and the gathering of a few tips for viewpoints we started up the road.
Our first stop was on a small knoll that was being used by a transmission line tower. It was a lovely overlook and gave us a bit of a view of Deer Lake which is a popular camping area in the Sasquatch park and is accessible from Harrison Lake road. As we wandered around the tower we commented on the lovely crackling sounds coming from the overhead power lines. It is really quite surprising at how loud they can be. The tower was one of the shortest I have seen, the wires seemed almost too low for safety but I'm sure they are still a fair way above ground.
After gathering some photos we drove along a few other short spurs to see if they offered any viewpoints. Then it was back to the main road and further in. We soon came to the branch the leads to Deer Lake but it was washed out a number of years ago and so the road didn't go far. Back on the main we started climbing and soon came by a small creek that crossed the road. Geoff got out and climbed along it for some distance to get some shots, I stayed on the road and concentrated on the tiny waterfall it created. Then it was back on the road and climbing. Unfortunately we were stopped by snow within another kilometer. So we retraced our path to the lowest point and took a side road through some marshy areas to a second set of transmission lines.
As we made our way along the side road, we were blocked by a senior and his wife collecting firewood. We chatted for a few minutes, they told us that they loved the bush and that he has been coming here for many years to collect wood and clear some of the deadfall. Once across the lowlands we traced the hydro service road up the slope to check out some viewpoints we could see further up the line. The road was very steep in one place and I wasn't sure we could traverse it, but Geoff felt quite confident and so up we went. I am glad we did because some of our best photos were taken just past that rise, next to a tower on an overlook. We stopped for some photos and then continued up the service road a ways until we reached another steep wet area that we thought would be best trying another day. So we retraced our path and then continued along the service road through more lowland and mud before the road connected back to the main FSR.
The sights we saw were quite good but we were only able to get in a few kilometers. The snow blocked us from the bulk of the road so we put a return trip on our calendar for next month. We got back to the highway and drove into Hope for a late lunch - we found the Blue Moose Coffee House. It was quite a chic little eatery, a bit of a surprise to me considering the smallness of the town. After lunch we returned to the highway and tried the next FSR - Garnet Creek. We didn't get far in before we were again stopped by snow. Then we had trouble with our transmission, it wouldn't to go into first. Geoff got under the truck and reseated a few of the wires connected to the transmission and we were soon back in good shape. A few more photos were gathered and then it was time to head back. Another road to explore later in the season.