Capturing the Art of Nature
Sumallo River FSR
The little community of Sunshine Valley has caught my interest for many years as I zipped past on the Hope-Princeton Highway, today we stopped to see what it hid.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2009
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I have driven the Hope-Princeton highway past Sunshine Valley countless times over the years on my way to Manning Park or the Okanogan, so it was long past time to stop and see what the little community was all about. On the way we tried a few logging roads that started on the highway but none were passable for more than a short distance. So we rapidly worked our way up to the valley. We first tried the road across the highway from the main section but quickly discovered it was a 'private' residential area and people like us were not welcome. So we turned around and set off into the main area and quickly found our way heading out the FSR into the hills.
The road was well maintained and travelled and we made a number of crossings over the Sumallo River . The river itself was a reasonable size and near the start of the valley many homes were built right along the side of it to take maximum advantage of the pleasant sound of the flowing water. We noticed kids toys scattered along the bank waiting for their owners return as the day warmed up. As we travelled further into the hills we came across a washed out bridge with an inviting road beyond it. There was a clear path down to and across the river and it was very tempting to follow the path across but we didn't have a winch on the truck yet and so I was reluctant to try it. I do think it is mainly ATV's that make the journey here.
Heading further along we came to a major fork in the road with the one heading up the slope calling itself the route to a Winter Play land. Apparently there is a good ski mountain here that has a site that had been operated as a small ski area in prior years. It is currently closed as they were not able to secure better support to develop it. We did eventually drive our way up to a locked gate that blocked 4x4 access to the actual base of the ski area. I will need to come back with an ATV to explore it further. After checking out another short spur we stopped along the side of the road for lunch at a spot with a nice view to the south looking up the Sumallo river valley. A couple of other vehicles came by while we were eating but generally it was quite quiet, probably due to the questionable weather.
After lunch we started to work our way back to the main fork, we did come across one more spur that went some distance to the north which we were able to follow till blocked by a wash out. At the end of it we had some good views of the river valley and the mountains on the other side of the river. It was a pleasant spot but quite exposed to the weather. After returning to the fork we continued along the main FSR and tried a number of side branches some with nice views of the valley but nothing exceptional in this weather. There were a couple more roads we didn't have time to explore.
Eventually our road became quite over-grown and we weren't able to keep going. At the furthest point we had to back out a few hundred meters to get back to a wide stream bed where we could turn around. It was a quieter trip with not overly difficult road conditions to traverse. This was a good first serious workout for the new truck. It allowed us to test out some of its abilities in a less challenging area though I'm sure some would not consider the area easy. So it was a great test drive for us on the truck while we wait for the winch and steel bush guard to arrive. Once they are in place it should free us to try a few harder roads and not feel too vulnerable.
It being a dull overcast day, I felt we missed a number of potential images of the various peaks in the region which is unfortunate but it does leave us open to a return visit. I do feel we could explore a number of areas more thoroughly if we come back with an ATV. Our way back out went without incident and we were able to capture a few photos of the river. I would like to check out the closed ski area to see what paths may exist in that region. So a return trip with an ATV is definitely in order.