Capturing the Art of Nature
Squamish Valley – High Falls Creek
In late May we could only explore the lower sections of the roads, today the snow was gone and we could drive to the furthest points, but still we saw only a small portion of the area.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
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Three months ago we had tried to see the area but it was too early in the season for the snow to clear, so today we returned to see the rest of the first two side roads. Geoff was my companion for the day and he arrived just after 8am and we set off for a coffee in Cloverdale, lunch supplies in West Vancouver and fuel in Squamish. Eventually we actually reached the start of the Squamish Valley Mainline. En-route I contacted John a local Ham radio operator who lives a kilometer from the start of the Squamish Main Line. He would be keeping an ear out for us should we need help.
Our goals for the day were simple – finish the first two side roads along the Squamish Main Line and to do a bit of radio chatting from a high location. Once we arrived at the start of the logging roads, we tuned the radio for the road frequency and switched the truck to 4x4. Soon we heard a pair of log haulers coordinating their positions for passing and warning each other about nuisance recreational drivers, I regularly find their comments amusing. The distance to the first side road – B100 – is not long and we were soon heading up the slope. As I had done most of the side branches last time with Ethan, we kept to the major road until we passed the point that I was stopped at last time. We were able to reach the end of the road and also a few of the upper branches. There really wasn’t all that much beyond what we did before but it was nice having completed the area. I did find a few interesting scenes along the newer area.
Having completed the bulk of the B100 area we returned to the main line and made our way to B200. This section is much larger than the first and even though we spent most of our day here we explored less than half of it. Last trip, towards the end of our day we came upon a pair of hikers who were wandering along the back section of the road looking for the continuation of the trail they had hiked up. They never did find it, so it seemed a bit odd to find two more groups doing the same thing today. It seems that the trail leaves a bit to be clarified. Reviewing the hike in a book later I learned that the trail simply follows the road back down! Once we passed the hikers we chose the left branch which leads up to a sub peak of the region. It was a road we could have tried last trip but due to time constraints didn’t explore. The road wound its way up the ridge and soon came by a small pond where I found a few interesting angles of the reflected stumps in the water. We continued up and soon came to a section of road that was being encroached by alder along the sides. We pushed our way through and soon had clear road again.
We continued up the road but as it was approaching 2pm and my scheduled radio time we had to quickly find a spot to set up the antenna. Shortly we came to a fork with one branch stretching east-west and soon we had the gear in operation. I put out a call on the 40m band and John answered back. We had a brief chat and then I continued calling for club members, eventually a chap in Oregon responded followed by another in Idaho. It was fun talking with them; Ken from home was able to talk to the Idaho station who then relayed the info between us. So it would seem that the signals were skipping over White Rock this afternoon, but we were able to communicate with others a few hundred miles further away. Next I tried the 20 meter band and chatted with a station in Las Vegas. He reported a strong signal and after a short chat we parted and as it was approaching 3pm, I decided to close down and get back to exploring.
We continued up the branch the antenna was stretched out on where we found some nice views looking south into the Squamish Valley. Then we returned to the fork where we had lunch and the radio chat and set up the other. Some trees had draped across the path and before Geoff could react they managed to snap off the whip of the commercial radio antenna! That was not a pretty sight. We were able to remove the broken piece and insert the remaining length back into the coil. We lost less than an inch so I was hopeful it wouldn’t cause any issues. On replacing the antenna onto the bracket I first checked it against the other whip and discovered that the two had been placed backwards! So though the damaged whip was shorter than before, it was longer than the wrong one that had been in use! So once swapped, we were actually in better shape than before! I still want to test the thing but it does seem to work just fine.
We returned back down this side ridge road and continued up the main High Falls road to the place the snow blocked us last trip and then continued on in. Soon we had found the start of an ATV trail that John had mentioned to us. This narrow trail connects the Squamish roads to those on the far side of the ridge which is accessed from the Sea-to-Sky highway. We had hoped we would be able to drive the truck along it but it was far too narrow for us. So we would have to content ourselves with staying on the B200 side. We next explored an area of more recent logging where we found many interesting items. There was a small pond which had some interesting reflection images. Geoff decided to walk around the pond to get various angles of it, at one point he slipped on its steep upper slope and strained some leg muscles, fortunately it wasn’t too serious.
After the pond we continued up higher and soon found a high point where we had a nice view of Black Tusk to the east. That was a bit of a surprise to see but I checked it out on the map and it definitely fit what we we saw. It certainly is a dark rock! Perhaps one day I will hike it. As it was now getting quite late and we had a long drive home, we decided to forgo further exploration and head out. That was unfortunate as there was still much to see. I guess we will just need to come back one more time. Just before the end of the B200 road we noticed a short side spur with what looked like teddy bears stacked up at the far end. That was too much to ignore so we pulled into check it out. It was a target practice spot where stuffed bears were the targets. That was too much for Geoff to resist, so he set up a bear and took a series of shots at it. It seems that the pellets zip right through the bear pulling out bits of stuffing but leaving the hide intact! Once Geoff had finished shooting two bears we returned to the truck and continued on the way out.
When we came by John’s home just outside of the logging road, we decided to stop in and visit for a few minutes. It was a short but fun time talking about his antennas and the engine of my truck which was a newer model to John’s truck. Then it was off for home and a nice soak in the hot tub to relax after the bumpy roads.