Rather than leave, we decided as we were basically down to the cove we took some time to walk the final distance and check out the lake from water level. It was quite a dull day and drizzly so we took a few photos and returned to the truck to drive out. But the truck didn’t want to drive out. The road was just too slick for us to get traction so we had to pull ourselves up with the winch. In the end we had to position the winch in 6 different spots to get us back to safe road! Quite a morning but we got out and still had most of the day to explore with. But Geoff looked down and there we saw the battery light lit – our alternator was off again! So we decided to head back to the mainline and start back home.

We hadn’t eaten lunch yet so we decided to pull off at the last major side road with a lake view and there we looked over the electrical system. Now last time the problem ended up being a number of blown fuses so we looked for some today and eventually found it. Once replaced all was in good order and we felt very relieved. So we decided to explore this side road which followed the transmission line south. We found a level spot next to a tower with a good view of the lake and there we ate our lunch. Once done eating, Geoff set up a target and he took his first shots with his new scoped rifle. He did quite well with it but he still needs to properly align the scope.

Done with target shooting, we continued south along the transmission line service road to the furthest point south and the last tower before the Harrison River. This spot has a steep cliff face where one can walk out to the top of to enjoy a great view of the river and Harrison Lake. It is one of my favorite sites and so I quite enjoyed our brief return to the spot. It was however the first time that Geoff was here. Done with the scenery we started back to the mainline stopping at a couple of places for a few more photos.

Though it was still a bit early we decided to head on out having had a full day of winching and thinking through a difficult extraction process. It felt great succeeding at getting out of our tight spot with virtually no false starts and a fairly straight forward plan. The winch was certainly essential today.

Just past the power project but before the bridge we came across another side road which we decided to follow. This one connected to the Ring Creek FSR which joins the Garibaldi road across the valley. As we reached the rise above the power station we learned that this was the chosen path for the power wires from the station and the road was muddy but clear and so we followed along the newly constructed power poles. After a few kilometers we reached the end of the road. The road was deliberately blocked and the next power pole was serviced from the far end! Most annoying. It was a nice outlook next to the last tower and Ethan thought it was a good spot to do some archery and so he set up his target while I relaxed and took a few photos.

Done shooting we back tracked to the first set of poles we had come by and which were looking down on the generating plant below. Here we had a great view of the Mamquam valley and so we decided to eat lunch here. Once done with eating, Ethan did bit more target practice before we started out. He had found a nice disk shape log piece that he shot into. Unfortunately for him his grouping was too good and the arrows caused the wood to squeeze tightly around the arrows making it very hard to extract them. He did manage to get them out, after that he shot at an old canvas bag which we found next to the tower.

A pair of motor bikes zipped past while we were eating and then as we started down the road to the bridge we met up with two cyclists coming up the road. We said hi and quickly made our way down and to the bridge. The bridge was unfortunately blocked by a truck picking up discarded bridge timber. They finished the piece they were lifting before moving their truck out of the way. We decided to head back to the Indian River side road to see how far we could get along there but snow blocked us at the 5km point and so I didn’t have a chance to see the river where they took out a bridge to restrict access, perhaps next time. It was still too early to head out so we drove back up the mainline to the next side road and started up this branch. We actually got to over 700m thanks’ to it south-western exposure before being stopped by snow. The road continued further up the flank of Mt. Mulligan and I think it may prove to be a decent hike come summer. Well it was starting to get a bit later in the afternoon so we decided to head back to the mainline and out to the highway. But I felt like coffee so we took a short detour to Squamish to pick up some caffeine before the long trek home.

We seemed to be between most of the traffic now and we had little dust bothering us as we made our way north. Soon we came by the Mystery Creek fork. The area just before the fork has recently been logged and the slope is now bare, this is so different from previous trips that it took a moment to get our bearings. We could see a 4x4 group done the slope deciding their route, fortunately they decided to head up Mystery Creek and so our way along the mainline continued free of traffic. We zipped past the fork and were soon driving past the road to the 20 mile camp site. It was lunch time and I had suggested heading in there but Geoff wanted to do some target practice and the camp site wouldn’t accommodate that. So we continued north to doctor’s point.

A short distance before the point we came by a road leading down to the lake that looked quite drivable and we drove down it hoping for an area to eat lunch and do some shooting but when we got to lake level we found several groups already camping out enjoying the location. So we decided to head back up and continue north past the point and to the campsite we stop at the mouth of Bremner Creek. The road had gotten very rough and pot-holed by this point and it made the drive very irritating but we continued down to the campsite and when we arrived the best spot was taken by another group camping out! So once again we couldn’t do any shooting while we cooked lunch. But by now we were quite hungry and so we stayed and ate lunch after I gathered a few more photos.

Done with eating we decided to head back to the over-look at Doctor’s point which we had found on a previous trip. The access is a bit overgrown but we had no trouble getting to the nice flat area with a great view of the northern end of Harrison Lake. Here I gathered a number of lake photos along with some close-up flower photos. Meanwhile Geoff setup his target and started to shoot his new scoped rifle. He was doing quite well at a hundred yards. Once he had sighted in his scope a bit Geoff did some shooting with his other rifles while I used my binoculars on the far side of the lake. I was trying to figure out where they were planning to connect power to a run-of--the-river power project on the far side of the mountain ridge across the lake from me.

Once we were done with the site and we started for home. The pot-holes were even more annoying on the return as we were much more tired now but we eventually got past them and made our way south at a good pace. It seems that the other drivers were all off the main line as we encountered only one other driver and who was kind enough to let us pass him. So our return drive was mostly free of dust.

It being past noon we decided to take time to eat and so we enjoyed some nice warm lunch before continuing on down. Geoff wanted a spot to shoot his new scoped rifle but he wanted to sight it in over a 200 yard distance. Our lunch spot didn’t have the length so after eating we drove back the way we came and eventually found a long enough stretch of road. We set up a target on an old rotten log and then drove the 200 yards to where Geoff set up to shoot. He missed the target and couldn’t even see marks on the road to the side so he ran up to look but found nothing. A bit discouraged he tried another couple of shots but all missed the target and we couldn’t find any marks on the road. When Geoff turned back from looking at the road past the target he noticed 3 exit holes in the log just below the target! Geoff had shot remarkably straight, it was just low which is easily corrected by adjusting the scope. Next time he will be bang on. Now he was feeling much better about the target practice, if only he had noticed the first hole when he checked after the first shot.

We continued down the road to the smaller washout. We got most of the way across but got hung-up and so out came the winch again and we were soon over the gap. Just as we were reeling in the cable the first of 3 4x4’s came up to us. They were a group out to celebrate a bachelor party and were hoping to do the loop. They had shorter vehicles but no winch so I wasn’t sure they should be attempting the crossings. We left them there looking over that washout, I wonder if they did go on or just decide to enjoy the spot and camp there.

Then it was onto the first and longest washout. It was much easier this time as Geoff piloted the truck across the gap and down the south side of the gap but with all the traffic the road had gotten soft and soon the back passenger tire was sliding into soft sand. Rather than spin we opted to just attach the winch and pull ourselves out. The winch made very quick work of the final couple of meters and now we were rapidly descending to the East Harrison FSR along the Big Silver River.

I had hoped to take a side branch to explore the northern reaches of Mt Breakenridge but Geoff had to get back earlier today so we kept on heading out past the fork. A couple of km’s further we spotted a chap running up the road, well out of breath and waving us down. He desperately wanted a lift back a few km’s to campsite where some friends had a truck, his had broken down 6 kilometers further down the road. We took him back and then continued south and out. It was a decent day, though we didn’t get far up the Shovel Creek FSR we did have some challenges crossing the two washouts and then again on the way out. Hopefully the road will one day be opened up again.

We started making some good elevation gain on the north side of the upper Mamquam. It being a south facing slope the snow was melted up to the 1130 meter point. But then we did get stopped by the snow and still short of the section I was hoping to see. I guess I will just need to come again quite soon. We backtracked down a few curves and started along another branch. This one maintained a rather level track up the valley. We soon came by a monument to a lost hiker who it would seem had been lost up here and his body never found. We drove a bit past the marker but soon came by snow and so we returned to the monument and there we ate some lunch.

Done with eating and enjoying the view of the valley, we back-tracked to the mainline and started on our way out. When we arrived at the camp spot, the atv’s and occupants were missing. They must have passed us while we were up the slope eating lunch. Further back to the start there was another fork which I hoped to explore as a possible alternate way out. So we continued on our way along the new road but soon we were driving through thick brush and I was not at all hopeful that this road would allow us to pass through. Sure enough it closed in some more and we eventually snapped off the whip on our commercial radio’s antenna! We stopped to fix that and once back to almost normal we decided to give up on this side road. It seems that we had finished viewing the accessible side roads and so we started on our way out. I wanted to check out the Stawamus/Indian valley to see if it was indeed blocked and so when we arrived at that fork we set off for the distance.

We made it within a kilometer of where there had been a strong fence stopping further access. That was annoying as we had got so close but neither of us felt like walking in and so we settled for a few photos of the tad-pole pond before we left for the highway. I guess I will just need to try it again mid-way through the summer.

Once we had our fill of the waterfall we returned to the car and drove into Pemberton for lunch. Here we found the local EV charging station where we plugged in for a few free kms of travel. We walked a couple blocks to a restaurant I had looked up earlier – The Wood Restaurant & Lounge – we both found the food to be quite good and worth coming back to when in the area. Done with lunch, we walked back to the car and saw that we had added a bit over 3KWhr charging or around 15kms. After topping up the gas tank with 20l we set off for Brandywine Falls. 

BrandyWine Falls is another park with good parking, facilities and an easy walk to a nice viewpoint of the waterfall. This waterfall is much higher than Nairn but one is further from the water and you don’t get a real sense of its power. Tthe view is still quite spectacular and we enjoyed gathering a few more photos. I did find the platform shake as people moved around on it so I had to take time waiting for moments when the other spectators were standing still. Done with that scene we continued on our way south and home. Of course as we entered Squamish we had the urge for another shot of caffeine and so we had a short side trip to pick up a cup of the hot stuff for the final leg of the drive. The whole drive went smoothly except for some slow traffic on the freeway from Willington to Brunette. The car used around 19 liters of gas for 400kms and the mountain mode gave lots of power for climbing the steep sections of the highway. All told the car performed very well and we couldn’t even tell when the gas engine would kick-in for a charge-up.