WHISTER/BLACKCOME TO WILLIAMS LAKE, BC
May 26, 2001, Saturday- Happy Birthday Mom. Another great year into the record books. Many more to come!
It's a good thing that we got a reasonable start this morning. Our total distance was only about 200 miles but it took forever. I-5 dropped us at the border, or should I say…near the border. Traffic was so backed up at the crossing that it took from 10 until noon to get through. Answering the Canadian custom questions, I thought that for sure we were going to get a full coach search. It sounded so reminiscent of a story that we heard where a coach was inspected from top to bottom, and when the search was finished and nothing found, the owner asked why he was selected. The reply was that he said that he didn't have any firearms and everyone from Texas (he had Texas plates), carries guns. Well, first the young woman asked us, did we have any firearms, (I guess rifles or long barreled stuff)? Reply naturally was no. She then asked if we had any handguns. Again a negative. She then asked if we were towing a car. Response…yes. Question…do you have any firearms or guns in the tow car? Again, no we don't. Question…how are you planning to defend yourself? Reply…I have my cell phone. This must have disarmed her because she cleared us through without any further questions on tobacco, booze or foods.
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Now we scoot across to the Trans Canada #1- the big one to take us west. As soon as we get on….grid lock. I know that there aren't any customs, but that line moved quicker. We crawled…and crawling is better then the progress that we actually made, past a construction area that had us down to one lane. A major bridge was being worked on this weekend, and the passage lane was so narrow that each truck, bus and RV had to slow to half a crawl to avoid the equipment and barriers. Fun.
We finally arrived at Whistler to a beautiful campground in a gorgeous area. Can't wait to explore over the next few days.
The road that we take from here to the north, route 99, to Cache Creek, is listed as a secondary highway. I chatted with one of the logging truck drivers who said that it starts up at a 17% grade and works it's way down to a 4% grade at the top. Don't forget about the 4 switchbacks. Oh yes, coming down the other side big rigs just put it in first gear and are limited to 10 km/h….6 mph. We will definitely be looking forward to that trip.
May 27, 2001, Sunday- cloudy day with a forecast of showers, so this morning we pumped up the bike tires (the last time we rode our bikes was in Florida). Everything is so convenient here. A few pedals and we're in one of the three village cores. Hit an ATM machine for some local currency. Then rode to Lost Lake which should be renamed Found Lake. Lots of people, trails and pets. They even had a special beach for the dogs. Wherever one looked there were biking/hiking trails. Take your pick, paved, gravel, dirt, flat, steep, single track…they have them all in abundance.
The base elevation is about 2200 feet. Vail is 8200. Top of the mountain is 7600 for a 5400-foot vertical. Vail tops off at 11200. However, everyone says that Vail's snow is so much better. It's very heavy here being only 80 miles from the coast. Also, with a 5000+ vertical the snow is bound to be good someplace, and awful in other places.
There are 20k of trails in Whistler/Blackcomb, linking all of the developments and core areas. Very nice indeed.
Currently there is skiing on the mountaintop until June 10. Starting on June 11 until mid August, skiing is on the glacier, with morning reserved for ski training and the afternoons open to the public.
After getting our tushs' sore, we did two hikes with Hobbes. One on part of Rainbow Trail (until we found out that dogs aren't permitted in this watershed), and one to the Nairn Falls. Big water coming though the rocks. Light rain held until the evening, good timing.
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Spoke to several people today and all said that if you take is slowly, it's no problem doing the northern route to Cache Creek. But, we purchased a BC map today and looking at the mileage distances from Whistler and from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, it showed 120 kilometers greater from Whistler. The only way that is possible is if they took you back to Vancouver and disregarded the northern loop. Big question…why? Maybe tomorrow we shall visit the RCMP and see what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have to say.
Dinner was at the Crab Shack. A special was the regularly priced $10 clams and mussels for only $5 tonight. That's about $3.50 US, so we each pigged out with a heaping bowl.
Only downside of our campsite is that we can't get the satellite dish. Well, imagine us just reading and listening to the CBC radio. Very civilized.
May 28, 2001, Monday- finally the weather caught up to us. Rainy most of the day with temps in the low 40's. I guess we are supposed to be getting conditioned for the sail boat, where Phil says every day is rainy and in the 40's.
Caught up on our reading today. I'm getting into Passage to Juneau, a story intertwined between the writer in his 35' sailboat going from Seattle to Juneau, and the British Captain Vancouver who charted the northwest. Interesting contrasts between navigating by feel, compass and sextant verses autopilot, GPS (Global Positioning System), paper charts and electronic depth finders.
While chatting with Debi on the phone I looked out of the coach window and what did I see…..just a black bear as cute as can be….about two coach lengths away, walking down the pavement. By the time I got the camera out the shot wasn't the best, but hey, with temps in the 40's, rain and a bear sighting, did we do all that Phil has done on the first 4 weeks of his sailing trip?
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With snow just 300' above the campground, I went over to the RCMP and enquired about the road north to Cache Creek. They said that if you're comfortable with narrow, windy, steep mountain roads, it shouldn't be a problem. The constable said that she takes her fifth wheel trailer over the pass all the time, but that her brother-in-law forgot to downshift and watch his speed, and almost couldn't stop his motor home on one of the truck runaway ramps. It's about 200 kilometers shorter going over the top, verses going back and around Vancouver. So, if the weather is clear and the roads dry, we shall head north. Otherwise, we shall head the long way around.
May 29, 2001, Tuesday- the decision was easy. With rain all night and showers predicted for today, and some passes closed by snow, and with the snow only 300 feet above our Whistler location, we went back to Vancouver. No sense climbing and descending 17% grades with wet or icy roads, wet brakes and limited visibility. No point on being stupid….
Our trip around totaled about 325 miles instead of 120, but what's the value of a piece of mind?
Pulled off the road one town further then planned. Our Cache Creek campground was history. Went another 20 miles to Clinton and the Gold Creek Campground. $10 US with full hookup.
In the open campground we were able to get the dish…and at 5 PM local time we tuned in the Avalanche/Devil hockey game. Bad game…2 to 1 the wrong way.
But today felt like the beginning of our adventure. Why? We are now on the Caribou Highway, Canada route 97. RV's outnumber other vehicles…at least Northbound. This little hamlet of Clinton has the first "sign post" farm where hundreds of folks hang a piece of wood with their hometown, mileage, and names for all to see. We walked through a pioneer cemetery where the earliest headstones are from 1861. Right next door a farmer had converted his horse pasture into a par three golf course…well, sort of. Horses still roam across the 9 holes, and I guess you must get a free drop if the ball drops into the droppings that abound. We can now follow our route in the "Milepost" - the bible of travel to the northland.
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May 30, 2001, Wednesday- easy start relaxing drive, only 120 miles to Williams Lake. Stopped at 100 Milepost Town to see the 39' pair of skis. This area is supposed to be the cross country ski capital of BC. Williams Lake, our first real town with 12,000 people, has of lots big box stores. As we continued our travels today we were reminded of the great traffic light system that BC uses. A flashing overhead sign is illuminated before the light starts to turn red. If you get under the flasher with it being off, you don't have to watch the light. If it goes off….all that is required is a safe stop. It eliminates the indecision that sometimes transpires at these times.
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I think that we are getting closer to the weather that Phil has been experiencing on the sailboat. Checking the next 10 days weather for Williams Lake and Prince George…it looks like showers every day. Hopefully these broad paintbrushes won't result in continuous rain, but maybe a shower a day. Hope springs eternal. Our journey also takes us towards the land of the midnight sun. At four this morning there was light in the sky, and at 10 at night, still enough to do things outside. We still have almost a month until the longest day, and another 600 miles north. Hope that the Wandering Eye has night shades in the salons.
Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban has been moved to the "completed" list. A book on many levels, but of particular significance were the trials and tribulations of his sailing a 35' sailboat from Seattle to Juneau and back. Sometimes it makes me wonder if we have the proper knowledge to safely handle the trip. Fortunately Phil will have had 5 weeks under his belt and be returning through familiar waters.
May 31, 2001, Thursday- after almost three months, we got to swing the golf sticks at Williams Lake Country Club. Although the course looked like the cow pastures could give it a run for the money, playing without another twosome, a great time was had by us. The weather held and was actually quite warm. Surrounding the lower end of the course was a log wall, or should we say a wall of logs….tall timbers in the horizont. Our curiosity was tweaked, so I stopped by the Lignum Sawmill to get some firsthand answers.
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The timber that we saw stacked in the yard totaled 65,000 cubic meters. It sure looked like a lot to us. But, at the end of March they had 240,000 cubic meters stacked. April and May are non-logging months. Between melting snow and muddy roads, their hauling stops. Otherwise they average 80 truckloads of logs a day. Wow! Each load is weighed and depending upon the type of logs, between 1 in 8 to 1 in 13 loads are sampled by the government.
Stump fees that the logging company pays the government for timber cut from federal lands, are based on the quality of the lumber, so each area of logging is graded in the government labs and fees assessed.
Two shifts employing 280 workers, working only 5 days a week, now cut more lumber, more efficiently, then when they ran 3 shifts. Each timber is computer analyzed to determine the most efficient size of wood that could be cut. Their best products are stress rated lumber. A giant stress machine verifies the strength of the lumber. Engineers love this.
Those products that need to be kiln dried go into the ovens for 20 to 40 hours, or enough time to get the moisture content down to 8% or less, at temperatures of 104 degrees Celsius.
This privately owned company harvests timber from three different forests that they manage. High visibility logging is done utilizing helicopters to minimize visual impact. Since this is more expensive then trucking, the stump fees paid the government are lower, helping to keep these operations cost efficient. Only beetle kill pines are clear-cut. Other forests, generally 80 to 120 years old, are selectively cut to a maximum of 40% clearing. 20 years later another 10% are cleared, etc.
It's another month being finished, and we are excited about the adventures that await us in the near future.
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