Sights on the East Harrison

My last trip to the hills was back on Boxing Day last year. So I was getting quite anxious to get back out there. This long week-end offered us the opportunity to get the regular jobs done on the Saturday and then go have fun on the Monday! So that we did. The weather proved to be very cooperative and though it was cool, the warm sunshine made for a very pleasant time while we were climbing over rocks and things in the hills.

On this trip Geoff brought his son Liam along again and we decided to explore the east Harrison again even though that was where we went last time Liam was with us. The area is big enough that everything was quite a new adventure for him. The drive to the start of the forestry road was uneventful and we made good time until highway nine where a short bridge was undergoing construction and the road was down to alternating use of a single lane. A slight annoyance but once past we soon found ourselves on gravel.

Not much beyond the start we stopped to explore a depression to the side of the road, there Geoff noticed some new target practice sites. It hasn’t taken the shooters long to relocate to this area having been banned from all the regions to the west. I guess we will be seeing a lot more of these pretend hunters out here.   Once back in the truck we continued until we reached the bridge over Slollicum Creek. The view of the waterfall was quite spectacular with the ice on the side of the water. It was a beautiful sight and Liam was quite interested in it. Just before it, water seeping through the rock face along the road formed a sheet of icicles which were very pretty in their own right. Liam and I gathered a few photos and then we moved on.

As we approached the Cascade Peninsula turn-off I thought it might be nice to visit the area and possibly walk down to Cook’s Cove or drive to the end of the road to where there are some lovely rock formations one can climb. So down we drove and when we arrived at the entrance to the Cook’s Cove rec site we met another vehicle unloading, that ended our current interest and we continued on. We passed the locked gate that leads down the peninsula and to the cabins – not unexpected but annoying. So we continued along the road, it having narrowed considerably only to be stopped by a row of rocks. They weren’t overly large so we hauled them aside so we could continue along the road to the end.

We parked at the end of the road and got organized to head into the bush to reach the rock face just in behind the trees that surround the road. Soon Liam was standing next to the rock face and we encouraged him by saying we would be climbing that ‘mountain’. We continued along the face until we reached the spot where one can easily walk to the top. It was a lovely spot, covered in deep moss and soft ferns that were already quite dry. Settling down on them allowed us to rest and look across at Harrison Lake and just reflect on the relaxing spot. After a time we dropped down and climbed a couple more of the rocks next to the first one. We debated walking down to the lake but decided the walk back up was less inviting so once we had our fill of the scene we returned to the truck and set off. The vehicle by Cook’s Cove was gone but we skipped past it anyways. Another fork brought us to a washout that was recently opened up for smaller vehicles. This road continued past the creek and looked like it might lead down to the lake. It was tempting but not really possible in our truck. We did explore a noisy waterfall just upstream from where we were stopped at the creek.