Capturing the Art of Nature
Sowaqua
A surprising little Jewel, the area looks quite unassuming on the map but once you get past the narrow entrance the valley really impresses and just keeps giving
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2015
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Back in June 2011 we first attempted to explore this valley but we were quickly blocked by a rock slide, so we weren’t expecting much as we started up the road this time. Well we had clear driving past the slide area and on but this gets ahead of our story for today. Our plans for the day were to revisit the Ladner Creek Trestle Bridge from the south side. This route had some washouts and was no longer travelled. We thought we would take a couple of hours and look over the path and see if it was possible to reach the bridge. But when morning came the weather report showed it as unsettled and we didn’t want to be hiking through vegetation in the rain. So we decided to explore the early roads along the Coquihalla that we just drive past.
Our first stop was at Peers Creek Road. This road is very easy to access, on the west side of the Coquihalla it is an access road to the town of Hope, on the east side it continues up the Peers valley as a resource road. The road was in good shape and we drove in a couple of kilometers to a fork where we chose the left side and continued in. The road went only a short ways further before it ended in a parking area where there were some improved facilities for hikers and signs explaining the historical significance of an old trail route through here. The trail dates back to 1849 as the Hudson’s Bay trading route to the interior. I stopped to talk with a couple who were preparing to hike the first segment of the trail, they were visiting Canada and doing many different hikes.
We returned to the fork and took the right branch, it went in a bit further but we were faced with a large corrugated pipe laying across the road. We could have moved it but we wouldn’t have been able to replace it and we felt it was there to keep the more casual drivers (which the easy access of this road would have in large numbers) off the road and out of danger. So we decided to head back and try the Sowaqua before heading to the Carolin Mines area. We quickly zipped up the highway and turned off at Sowaqua, the early bit was littered with campers and RV’s scattered along the Coquihalla River. The area has several roads running along the river that provide easy access to RV’s and they take advantage of the location in large numbers.
We drove on past the congestion and started up the actual resource road, very soon we were passing the site of the slide and on into the valley. The road was in very good shape and soon we passed the first of some logging equipment which explained why the road was so good. A few kilometers in we came by the creek emptying Serpentine Lake where a couple of ATV’s were parked and their occupants exploring the waterfall just in from the road. For the day we came upon only a couple more ATV’s and a pair of motor bikes, so it was virtually empty even with the crowds camped at the entrance. That suited us just fine.
At around 15km we heard a terrible squealing sound coming from outside, after a bit of listening we determined it was coming from our left rear tire. Now we had just had our brakes (rotors, pads, calipers … everything) replaced on all four tires, so this was not an encouraging sign. Had the mechanic not tightened it quite right and the jarring had jammed it up? We thought the day was done. Rather than just give up we decided to jack up the truck and pull off the tire to see if we could spot anything. Well after banging the parts a bit and realizing there was little we could actually do, we decided to put it back together, but just as we did Geoff knocked a guard and a small stone flipped out onto the road! We reseated the tire and took a photo of the stone as now the grating sound was gone and we were back to full operation. Quite a relief as we had just started getting to some interesting sights.
Next we came by the continuation of the Hudson Bay trail. Here they had built a lovely campsite for the hikers and erected a nice set of signs explaining the history and one of the best built outhouses I have seen. All built with Federal money set aside to help kick-start the lagging economy! The trail is quite narrow and minor today but back then brigades with a hundred plus horses would cross it at a time!
We continued along the road noting several branches that would need driving as we made our way out later. As we continued in we were presented with amazing views of the Manson Ridge and the magnificent summits of Mt. Hatfield and Mt. Outram. The area is littered with alpine lakes all of which are likely worth a hike in to see. We managed to pick the main route quite well and soon found ourselves heading north-east along the creek as it made it way the final distance into a blind valley where the Sowaqua has its beginning. This final section was tucked in behind a shoulder of Mount Dewdney and it gave the valley a narrow isolated look. We managed to drive right to the end of it from where we could look back and down at the entrance. It was on this eastern slope that we stopped and ate lunch while we watched clouds move into the valley and drop rain on the slope below us. Just up slope from us a short way was the border of Manning Park and the Cascade Recreation area. It really was so close. One day I need to return and hike to the ridge line just to look down on the park.
We finished lunch and backtracked a ways, we had spotted a road high up the shoulder of Mt. Dewdney and we wanted to drive it as it looked like there would be some great views from up there. We did find it and the views were indeed there to be found. Driving the old road was an adventure as it was quite narrow and the slope very steep, looking out the passenger window gave me a bit of vertigo, I was happy that Geoff was driving. Eventually we got to a point where the road looked like it was getting too narrow and perhaps impassible so we parked and walked out a half kilometer. During the walk we determined that it was drivable and that the road widened out as it reached a broader plateau. We returned to the truck and continued along the narrow road. Here we found some nice views of the valley we had driven and even a few small waterfalls to enjoy. We continued up the road and eventually reached it terminus. On the way down we stopped at a few spots to enjoy the sights. At one small stream I watch a garter snake swim across the rapidly flowing water. I was surprised at its ability to fight the current and safely cross the stream.
Done with this spur we returned to the mainline and drove back along it to the next fork we has passed on the way in. This next one was a very long section that followed the eastern slope of the next valley. It continued along the wall gaining attitude as it looped across several ridges and more recently logged slopes. By the far end we had reached newly logged areas and ones likely to see renewed activity later this year. We finally reached the snow live at 1400m and were forced to stop while staring at the covered road ahead. As it was now starting to get on in time we decided to turn back and make our way out as we were close to 40km in at this point! We passed the forks that we didn’t have time to explore today and they were calling to us quite loudly, so we will need to return fairly soon. We encountered no one on the road as we left, a shame in a way as there are so many camping at the entrance, but then I really don’t want crowds back here.
So by the end of the day we never did get to the trestle bridge but we found an amazing valley with so many interesting sights and one that is fairly easy to get to. I want to return to see the other road sections but to also explore some of the lakes we see on the map. It seems that this area was popular in the mid 1800’s and now I am starting to understand why.