Autumn 2009

I spent a few weeks in September working with Jaimie packing gear around for Mountain Bikers throughout Spruce Lake Wilderness Area.  Once work finished for the season, Tracey and I were left to do what we wanted, so we did a trip to two hotsprings in the area: Meager Creek and Pebble Creek Hotsprings.  We took three days over the Thanksgiving weekend to drive the North Lillooet River Forestry Road.  There we walked into Meager Creek hotspring (7-9 km) as the road had been washed out by a massive mud slide.  This was nice as we were the only ones at the hotspring because walking seems to be SO DIFFICULT for the majority of people.  The next day we checked out Pebble Creek Hot Spring and continued our journey over the Hurley Forestry Service Road and stayed at Gweneth Lake.  Our last day involved a 3 hour drive through Bralorne and Gold Bridge back to Lillooet.  A great weekend with absolutely beautiful weather.

 Tracey and Yoho on the road to Meager.

 Yoho found a bone!

 Massive debris flow that knocked out the road and a bridge.

 Main pool at Meager Creek Hotspring

 The sign says it all

 Pebble Creek Hotspring: Notice the stone pools cemented into the walls of this steep canyon.

Gweneth Lake

Autumn 2009 Blowdown

I spent a few days in the Blowdown area over the summer and thought it would be nice to take Tracey there on a fine September day.  The colours were beautiful and the weather was a perfect temperature.  The hike to Gott Peak was very enjoyable and the fishing in the lake wasn't too bad either.

 Tracey looking through the smoke at surrounding peaks while climbing up Gott Peak.

Blowdown Lake from the pass.

August 2009 Weekend Exploration and Fire Evacuation

After return from the trip with Ron, Tracey, Yoho and I did a little exploring.  We visited two lakes: Nahatalach Lake and Blue Earth Lake.

 Blue Earth Lake - fed by unexplored under ground springs.

Nahatalach Lake

When we returned to Lillooet we found that the fire was raging.  We were evacuated that day... exactly one year from the date that we moved to Lillooet.

Not a single home was lost to the fire, but we were evacuated for an entire week.  If the fire were to have reached the town, our house would have been the first to go as we are located at the top of the town.  When we drove away during the evacuation, the temperature was 40'C and ashes were falling all over ouf property.

July 2009 Ron's 10 Day Epic Adventure

Normally I would not write very much about a client's guided adventure, but in this case the story needs to be told.  Ron Gass from Connecticut had been on a previous trip with me in 2006 while I was guiding in Jasper.  Ron wanted to spend 10 days in the mountains with me.  As a new person to this area I explained to Ron that this trip would be a bit of a reconnaissance for me while I guided.  We went to the following areas: Downton Valley, Blow Down Valley, Gott Creek, and Mission Ridge.  Everything went very smooth and Ron and I cemented a new friendship together as we travelled through this new terrain.   However, on the last day on Mission Ridge, unknown to us, the Mt McLean fire started due to a lightning strike.  Ron and I had a very ambitious day planned that involved nearly 15 km and an amazing 2000 meter elevation loss that would bring us right back into Lillooet.  The day turned out to be rather epic instead of merely ambitious.  We began hiking at 8 am and reached the alpine by 10 am.  As we travelled South East, we spotted several planes flying low over-head.  We were a little curious what was going on until we moved on tho the North shoulder of Mt McLean.  There directly ahead of us was a large plume of smoke, right in our direction of travel.  I was not able to get any information from BC Forestry about whether or not the fire was in our path (it was).  When we reached the East shoulder of Mt McLean was began to descend from our intended route to try to reach a clearing that looked like a fire road from Google Earth.  All we had to do was descend through a 1 km stretch of forest.  The forest was hideous!  A tangle of snarled downed trees that were at times five trees deep.  The forest floor was mossy and due to a light (and brief) rain shower became treacherous.  This 1 km stretch of forest cost us 4 hours!  Upon reaching the 'fire road' we realized that it was actually an old fire guard.  The forestry service lays trees perpendicular to the edges of the fire guards to stop people with ATV's driving through them.  This meant we had to climb over everyone of these trees while carrying our heavy packs.
By the time we reached the real fire road, Ron was pretty tired, but enthusiastic to be on a road.  It was now 8 pm and I was receiving calls from my friend Scott (who flies helicopters) on my radio inquiring where we were... we were supposed to be back in town 3 hours earlier.  When I finally got within the line of site of his hanger I was able to tell him we were OK.  He asked if we wanted a pick up and be brought back to the hanger.  After explaining to Ron that we were only 5 km from town, Ron stated that he wanted to finish this hike on his feet.  Unfortunately Ron was pretty tired and the last 5 km were pretty painful for him.  It was at 12:30 am that we finally rolled into town.  At that time Ron stated that he thought that this day was a little too much for him.  When we met the next day for lunch, Ron thought that the day before was truly an amazing experience and that he could not believe what he accomplished!  He did accomplish quite a lot - more than most would do in a big day. 

 Dalton's Pond

 Downton Valley

 Shepherds' Pie

 Ridge between Gott and Blowdown Valleys

 Keep records on the mountain summit

 Blowdown Lake

 Scott dropping us off at Moon Lake

 Moon Lake Rainbow Trout

Yes, I believe that is a fire in our path.

July 2009 Spruce Lake Wilderness Adventures

Below are photos from my first trip(s) with Spruce Lake Wilderness Adventures.  This turned out to be an amazing opportunity as I was able to work here for 2009 and 2010.  I was able to explore new terrain and met new people who have become close friends: Warren and Casie Menhinick (as well as Wyatt, Megan, Liam, Jake and Eligh), Jaime and Margaret.  I was fortunate to learn new skills and worked as a Camp Cook, Assistant Horse Wrangler and Hiking Guide.  I can't explain how beautiful the area that SLWA operates in, nor the quality of the service that SLWA delivers to it's fortunate clients; I'll let the photos talk.

 Eldorado Cabin

 Riders overlooking Spruce Lake

 Me in Deer Pass

 Riding Queen, the horse who taught me, through the school of hard knocks, how to ride a horse instead of merely sitting on one.

May and June 2009

Exploring Cayoosh Creek, near Enterprise Logging Road.

 

A hike to Burkholder Lake in the Yalakom Valley.  Seems we got there a few days after the ice had disappeared off the lake.  There were a few fishermen on the Lake.... wish I would have brought my fishing pole!

 

Peanut Lake off the Fountain Valley road.  I did bring my fishing rod (the second time) and tried my luck.  There were lots of Rainbows to catch but none of any decent size for eating.  This would be a great place to explore some rounded peaks found nearby.

 View from Seton Ridge trail.

 Ah there they are.... Calypso Bulbosa.  Notice they are quite different from those found in Jasper.  This was taken on the Seton Ridge Trail.  Yoho and I had a good time hiking up a fairly steep trail.... but it was a nice spot.  We never made it above treeline and topped out around 1830m.  It looks like one could follow this into the Alpine but overnight gear would be necessary.

Duffy Lake.  Tracey's Dad came for a visit over Fathers' Day.  We took him fishing as payment for getting us motivated to finish some small projects in the house, and he hung a very nice glass panel door too!

By the time June rolled around it had become very clear that Lillooet is not designed for hikers who like clear to follow, gentle trails.... this place is steep and rugged!  By the end of June we are starting to find new places and waiting for snow to disappear before discovering others.  We didn't ski at all over the winter due to various constraints so we were not able to explore as much as we were accustomed to.

Backcountry Chocolate Fondue

Backcountry Chocolate Fondue

You need:

400g                    Chocolate (dark or milk - your choice) in pieces.
2 oz                     Liqueur of choice (i.e. Grand Marnier)
2 cooking pots     Medium pot with 300 ml H2O, smaller pot nestled inside.
Sliced/Individual   Apples, Biscuits, Marshmallows or all.

Place the larger pot on the stove with water inside (ensure there is not too much water that it will boil up into the smaller pot).  Bring to a boil and place smaller pot inside the larger.  Add Chocolate pieces.  As it starts to melt, add the Grand Marnier and begin to stir until chocolate is fully melted - reduce heat to and have the water simmer.  The idea behind two pots is to create a 'double boiler' and to reduce the chances of scorching the chocolate (making for a horrible mess to clean later).

Gather your friends/family around and dip the apples (in slices), biscuits, or marshmallows into the chocolate.  Increase heat if chocolate is solidifying.  When all the apples/biscuits or such are gone, give the inner pot to either the hungriest or biggest chocolate lover in the group - they'll surely clean the pot to a spotless state.

March and April 2009

Old Gold Mine on the West Pavilion Road.

 View from Red Rock, a walking trail that over-looks Lillooet - but a 600 m elevation gain!

Visit from Dieter.  We hiked towards an old Fire Lookout.  This is a view of Fountain Ridge.

March and April saw the temporary pause in our work on our new home.  A combination of snow-free weather and some free time allowed for us to get out of the house (can you say Cabin Fever?) and explore our new backyard that is Lillooet and the Coast Mountains.  Red Rock trail is literally accessible from my front door, it doesn't take more than 5 mins to get Yoho ready, put on my boots and be on this relentlessly up hill trail.  I figure that if I hike this trail or even the first portion of it on a daily basis I should be pretty lean and mean... although maybe a trifle bored.

Into the Stein for theSpotted Owl

Took a trip today via Helicopter with my buddy Scott into the Stein Wilderness area.

Scott was comissioned to fly one researcher and a BC Park Ranger into the the area to locate the endangered Spotted Owl. There appear to be around 20 of them in the area, but their outlook is not good. We landed near a known nesting site to try to locate a nest right off the start. I was hoping to get a photo as it is very likely that I'll never see one again. We were not able to find any, they were somewhere else. The hope is that it is still on 'winter territory' schedule as there is a decent amount of snow where we were (compared to last year).

The Spotted Owl is the most endangered animal in all of Canada.

WhisperLite International Back-packing Stove

Rating 4.5/5
Review:
I have personally owned this model of stove for 12 years and have a lot of experience using it in a wide range of conditions.  First, let's look at the features:
Weight: apprx. 15 oz
Fuel Types: White Gas, Kerosene, Automobile Gas (unleaded of course)
Burn Times: White Gas110 minutes - Kerosene 160 minutes (with standard fuel bottle as seen)
Time to boil one L of H2O (at sea-level): White Gas 3.5 min - Kerosene 4.4 min.

Now that we've read the specs let's talk about performance.  This is a very dependable stove.  I still own my first model which I use on mountaineering trips, backpacking adventures and while guiding.  So far I have only had to replace one part, the Pump.  The plastic plunger broke after being stepped on.  This was a very easy part to find and only cost around $20.  I have also replaced the windshield and reflective base as my old ones were becoming a little too disgusting to use (aprox $15). 

How to use:  The stove bottle must be pressurized and the stove primed.  Do so by allowing a little liquid fuel to escape into the cup at the base of the stove.  At this time it is best to have the stove assembled and place on to the base heat shield on a fairly level spot.  Ignite the fuel (with the valve turned off) allow the flame to burn nearly out - you should notice the stove sputtering now.  Now turn on the stove to the level of your desire.  Be sure to use the windshield as it greatly reduces boil times.  When carrying the stove in your pack it is always a good idea to depressurize the stove.

Pros:  This stove uses three commonly found fuels as listed above.  I have used automobile gas for two months straight with no problems.
Fuel bottles are re-fillable reducing waste you need to carry (spent cannisters) and thus garbage.  This also allows you to switch between available fuels.
Very light and compact (fits into a 1.4 l. pot).
Larger fuel bottles are available.
A field repair kit is available for little cost and it adds little weight or volume to your pack.  This kit is able to repair nearly everything except total destruction (ie running it over with a vehicle).
Not prone to plugging up and easy to unplug 90% of the time while using the shaker jet option (when cool, just shake the stove - really)

Cons:  This stove can be unstable with larger cooking pots (but what is one to do?).
Cannot accept pressurized gas canisters (but I believe that is a plus).
Does not simmer well.  Let's say it simmers with the subtlety of a blowtorch.  (a way to alleviate this issue is to use a heat diffuser or to constantly lift the pot away from the flame when you are cooking something delicate).
I'm not a great fan of using kerosene because of how dirty it burns and leaves my pots black.  Kerosene needs a separate priming fuel.

Summary:
This is a great stove.    It is very dependable, which is extremely important on longer back-country trips.  I have carried this stove along side with a similar Coleman version.  Coleman broke, MSR has never yet let me down.  For well under $100.00, there are few stoves out there that are even worth considering.

Additional Notes:  The initial flare up due to priming can be a little large and unruly.  This has nothing to do with the actual design, but how much fuel you use.  Even though you should never use a stove in a tent, some weather conditions may force you to take a risk.  Minimize the danger!!!  Prime your stove outside the tent to avoid burning it down (our outside a low hanging tarp).  When the stove is on - then consider moving it into the vestibule with all tent vents wide open and hopefully some wind to push the exhaust outside... carbon monoxide poisoning is always a danger when cooking in a confined space.  This also holds true for a quincy or snow cave - I know of people who have died in snow caves due to using a stove inside without proper ventilation - be warned!