Capturing the Art of Nature
Upper Silver Skagit Road
Nine years ago was my last visit, and then only a quick drive through to Ross Lake. So today's adventure was all brand new exploration.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2010
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The Silver Skagit area has been calling out to me for years as I zipped past it on the way to Manning or adventures up the Fraser Canyon. It just never seemed to be the right time to explore the region. Perhaps it was the long drive to Ross lake that dissuaded me, or some forgotten memory from my first trip back near the start of my back country adventures. Whatever the reason, today we would make a break with the past and see what the area had to offer. Our goal would be to explore each side road as we came to it, hopefully they would lead to some exceptional scenes. So after our regular stop in Abbotsford and refueling in Hope we set out for the Silver Skagit Road.
Our initial exit from the highway took us into the small community of Silver Creek. After a short drive to the end of the main road while looking at the various home construction styles and avoiding some ill-behaved dogs, we realized we were on the wrong road and that the one we wanted was on the other side of Silverhope Creek. So it was back to the highway, across the bridge and now we were finally starting our adventure into the back country. The road is paved for a couple of kilometers but soon turns to gravel as it crosses Silverhope Creek. From the bridge I noticed a huge rock in the middle of the creek which caught my eye and it became my first subject for the day. Back on the road we soon came to a small water fall across the creek which intrigued me.
Soon after the waterfall the road split we chose the right branch which led to the west side of Silver Lake but it was gated off just past where the Sowerby FSR branched off. Being the only way to go, we set off up the Sowerby towards the flank of Isolillock Peak - such a fun name for a mountain. It was a lovely drive up the road, we had some great views of Wells Peak, Mount Stoneman and Mount Barr. There was one steep stretch where we had to take a second run to get up. The ice was quite slippery and we were sliding towards the sharp drop just past the edge of the road as we spun our tires on our first try. Once over, we had only a brief thought about how we would do coming back down this section. Unfortunately we didn't get much further before the snow got deep enough to stop us in our tracks. We were on a level area with wide shoulders so we opted to turn around - that took us quite some time as we kept getting stuck. While working our 180 and digging out some snow, I enjoyed a radio chat with Stuart who was calling from the White Rock area.
Once turned the ride back was quick and without challenges. We found another small side branch off the FSR that we tried out - there was an interesting ice covered puddle at the end point which caught my attention and I took a number of close-up photos of it. Ethan hiked past the road end to see if there was a view worth grabbing but it proved to be too obscured a view. So it was back to the main road and on to Silver Lake where we walked on out to a large rock that jutted out into the lake. We grabbed lunch on the rock while enjoying the sights and ambience. We watched a pair motoring along the lake fishing while I chatted through the truck's cross-band repeater to some of the club members back in White Rock. Once rested and done lunch we continued on down the Silver Skagit Road.
Passing a number of short spurs that led back to the river and to a small campsite at the head of Eaton Creek trail, we slowly made our south down the road. Though interesting, none of these spurs offered much of a view to enjoy. Eventually we arrived at the Cantelon Creek FSR. This side road looked more promising being the longest so far this side of the lake. Once past the bridge over the Cantelon Creek we chose the left branch and set off up the valley. The road looked down on the creek which was still covered in deep frost and looked so wintery compared to the bright sunshine and lush greenness all around. Unfortunately it wasn't long before we encountered a slide, picking our way carefully over the loose rocks we soon came to a second slide. This one was just too deep in loose rock for us to get over - a route available only to an ATV. So we returned to the fork just this side of the bridge and made our way up the slope overlooking the Silverhope creek. It was a lovely view of the valley and the various mountains on the east side. But at the 950 meter point the snow once again stopped us. - At least the view of the peaks was worth the trip on its own!
Back down and across the bridge over the creek. We came upon another side road which we decided to explore and soon we discovered that we were travelling along the Cantelon creek headed for Yola Creek. We were on the Yola creek FSR and traveling through that deep frost valley we viewed from above! it was an absolutely amazing scene here. The ice and frost seemed so strange when just a few feet up the slope it was sunny and green. We eventually came to a frost covered campsite where we got some amazing images of ice crystals on branches and rocks. The road continued on but the snow was getting deep and there was a water crossing ahead with some steep edges which we decided to not try due to the partial snow cover. So this road will definitely need a second visit come summer.
We returned to the main road and decided to head out, a bit disappointed that we didn't have a need for the winch - obviously we didn't push ourselves hard enough today. But not much before we reached Silver lake we spotted a problem. There on the side of the road was a pickup with the driver side wheels on the road and the passenger side down a steep drop on the shoulder. The road here had been graded and the road gravel ended abruptly at the shoulder two feet above the natural ground level. The truck was stuck- bottomed out - in the loose gravel on the side of the road. The guys in the truck were trying to get help but so far no one stopped to help them - it was our chance. Though we likely could have used a recovery strap to pull them out, using the winch seemed so much more fun. So we hooked them up and pulled them onto the road. They dropped off a 20 in thanks. So we did get to do some winching after all. We made our way out without further incident and felt that we had had a full and successful day, and already planning for a return trip to explore the next section of the valley.