Capturing the Art of Nature
Sumallo River
It is a quaint little get away location and one we last visited 4 years ago. So we felt it needed a return visit. Surprisingly, very little had changed.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2013
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Sunshine valley is a small collection of cabins and small vacation homes not far past the town of Hope and just before the start of Manning Park. I have driven past it many times on the way to the park or the Okanagan but only once – 4 years ago – did we take the time to explore the roads in behind the cabins. Last time here we had just purchased our new truck and it wasn’t fully equipped yet with a bush guard bumper and winch and we were rather lame in what we would do. Previously we were stopped by two water crossings across the Sumallo and so our explorations were limited to one side of the river. We were hoping to do better today.
Our drive out started fine but by the time we were on the freeway we noticed that the truck had a loss of power when accelerating particularly at slow speeds. It didn’t seem too severe so we decided to keep going. Before long we were descending the slope of the Hope Slide with the small collection of cabins in sight. The residential area was quite busy with people milling about and many atv’s meandering the roads and fields alike as they made their way somewhere. We did notice that some new recreational facilities had recently been built and there was now a store and many new spots for RV’s and even cabin rentals. The place is growing up and gaining people.
After a slow drive through the centre of the cabins we finally reached the end of pavement and our real adventure could begin. The road soon crosses over the Sumallo River and there we noticed that the flow was quite strong and lifted some spray into the air for a nice looking photo op. Further along we came to the fork where one side leads back across the Sumallo but where the bridge was long gone. Drivers had created a water crossing just below where the bridge had been but the river seemed to be flowing just too fast for us to want to try the crossing. Perhaps if we had done it before we would have tried but not as a first time attempt. So once again we were going to be stuck to the one side of the valley. Perhaps if we come back in September we will be able to get across it.
We then took the branch up to the ski-hill. Last time we got as far as a locked gate but today the gate was unlocked and so we were able to continue along the road to the end where there is an old lodge that was once part of a ski facility. It was somewhat in poor shape but still usable for shelter. I don’t think it would take much to revitalize it. There was a family with ATV’s driving around the level area including some very small machines with little kids on them. I gathered a few photos but nothing all the spectacular here. So we backtracked past the gate - enduring some odd looks from the residents of the local cabins - and took another side road which led up the slope. Here we really had a rough time with the truck it was having extreme difficulty making itself up out of cross-ditches on the slope. We got quite concerned that we may get stuck up here. We did reach the end of this spur and I enjoyed some of the views looking back down on the road we had just driven to the lodge
We then returned back to the main ski-hill road and made our way back and came by another short spur which we took. It was along this side branch that I gathered some nice photos 4 years ago. We drove to the end of the road where we had to pull a large rock off the roadway. We could go only a short distance more as the road was washed out just before a lovely stream where I gathered some slow shutter photos. Here we ate lunch and once done we returned to the mainline and continued in.
Soon we were at the second washed out bridge across the Sumallo and here also the river looked just a bit too deep for us to try the crossing. So we continued up the mainline to the end where it crosses a much smaller stream on a broad level gravel bar. We stopped for more photos. The valley up here is actually very pretty and I would like to explore it in more detail somehow.
On our return we drove a couple of side branches, one we did previously the other was new to us. The truck seed to improve for a while and then struggle with the slow speeds. So we decided to not push it any further as it now seemed to be getting worse. It was mid-afternoon and though heading out now would be a little early, it was better than being stuck with engine issues. So we opted to head home before our luck ran out. The drive back went without incident and we got home early. Now I need to get the beast in for repair before I need it again in two weeks.