Capturing the Art of Nature
Tulameen Valley
It is a vast area on the east side of the Coquihalla, north of Manning Park and with many side roads. We saw a very tiny part of it last year and we hoped to see much more this time.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2012
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The weather was not looking good all week as we monitored the changing forecast and by Saturday morning it was in heavy rain that we departed the house an hour earlier than normal for our drive to the start of the Tulameen FSR. Just a few blocks from home we ran in to an unexpected obstacle – a bike race had closed off the intersection of 24th & 184th. When this annoying event happened last year we were stopped for 15 minutes before being able to cross the road. I really think they need to allow cars through every few minutes and not make things so annoying. We turned around and drove north to #10 highway and then out for the east. We lost some time but were still ahead of our normal departure.
Rather than a quick coffee near home we stopped at the old spot in Abbotsford before continuing on to Hope and the Coquihalla. The rain had lessened as we made our way up the valley and by the time we left the highway it was only a mild drizzle. That we could live with but it also hid the peaks of the mountains from us so we did have fewer grand vista opportunities to photograph. But we were now here enjoying the backcountry with the irritation of the cyclists rapidly fading from memory! Not far along the road we startled a huge snow hare who then quickly hoped across the road in front of us. He was partway into changing colours from white to grey, his feet were still snow white.
We continued south along the Tulameen mainline as we hoped to make it past where we were stopped by snow last year. The drive went quite quickly as the road was in good shape and the dull rainy weather made it uninviting to get out and take photos, I did hope it would clear a bit as the day progressed. Soon we were all the way down to Sutter Creek and the Rec. site where we had some great views of the small gorge the creek flows through. I got a couple of photos today but the rain really cramped my style and we didn’t bother to climb down the slope to the water this time. After Geoff shot off a few rounds of his guns we continued south and soon passed the point we were stopped at last year. As we drove the new section we surprised a few deer and by the end of the day we had seen six deer and two bears. The second group of deer were running down the road away from us and soon switched into hoping mode, it is a funny sight to see but they do make good speed! Alas we were stopped by snow once again less than 6km past our previous point. I guess we will just have to try one more time.
We reluctantly turned back and started to explore the side roads as we came to them. The first led to a more recently logged area along Vuich Creek. We had to clear one tree that had fallen across the road and soon we came by a small bridge where two logs had been pulled across to block entry. Now we could have moved them but we decided to honour the desires of the loggers who placed them there as we had so much to see. Turning back to the mainline we stopped at Sutter Creek again and this explored the area across from the gorge where some side roads led to a few campsites. We drove a short distance along a grassy road and found a few interesting sights but then it was back to the mainline for the next side road.
We soon spotted an old road called the Railroad Creek FSR. It went directly west and followed along the creek eventually opening up into a wide alpine valley it was quite scenic with the low clouds and mists filling in the area. A second branch made it even further west but here we had to saw down a fallen tree which was blocking the road. Continuing along we got to the end where there was some deep snow blocking the final 100m of road. Well that was just too much for Geoff and with an exposed patch of road just 100 feet across the snow he decided to drive it. Well of course we got stuck 30 feet short of the end. I was not impressed and we spent the next 45 minutes winching ourselves across and then back again! It was a nice area and the small creek quite interesting but winching in a drizzle was less than ideal. Once we were clear of snow and moving again we decided to head for the campsite where we ate lunch last trip.
It is a nice campsite but being next to the road would be a bit dusty in the summer. Today we pulled in close to the threes and even though there was a fine drizzle falling we were generally dry when next to the skimpy pine trees. Geoff managed to start a small campfire while our burners heated lunch. As we finished lunch we heard a vehicle on the mainline calling out mileage markers as they came down towards us. This got Geoff interested in doing the same once we got moving. The next major side road was the Champion FSR which we decided to explore. This road initially parallels the Tulameen River but on the east side before curving around south as it follows Champion Creek far below in a narrow valley.
We travelled the main road ignoring a myriad of further side roads that all seemed to offer exciting views. There was one marked branch that indicated a connection to the next group of roads which had another exit point. We decided to stay on what we thought was the Champion mainline and worked our way north again around Olivine Mountain. Eventually we took a left branch that hugged the flank of Olivine passing up the one that followed down Olivine Creek. This one seemed to indicate it followed Hines Creek back down to the Tulameen River. Alas after clearing another tree, we dead-ended in a large turn around. We could see the faint remains of the old road that continued downslope but it was not passible. We also spooked a large bear as we entered the turn-around – boy can he move fast when running away!
As it was now getting late in the day and our fuel level was starting to drop more than I like we decided to just retrace our path and head home. Later I learned that the other branch leading down Olivine Creek continues along the Tulameen River and eventually exits the backcountry at Coalmont. It would have been shorter and offered new scenery but the return drive still offered so much to see. And so we made our way back along the Champion and stopped at the bridge over the Tulameen just at its start. Here I took some photos of the river rapids below while Geoff decided to shoot off rounds from all four of the rifles he had brought along, he couldn’t make up his mind which ones he wanted to bring this morning so he just took all four. Done with the photos and target practice we drove back along the Tulameen FSR and soon found ourselves back on the Coquihalla Highway. As we neared Hope the rain got really heavy and continued for most of the trip home. It seems that we actually had very little rain all day while the valley was in heavy down pour.
So there we are, another trip to this fascinating area. There are so many roads to explore. One really needs to camp out here and have a few tanks of gas to reload so one can concentrate on the vastness of the area.