Summer Rockies — Fostering Adventure

Rocky Mountains In The Summertime

A Week Away From The South coast

July 22-30, 2022

Generally speaking, we don’t usually travel much in the peak tourism months of the year. The throngs of visitors to our province in summer make the popular areas congested and problematic. That’s why most of our projects for home or truck happen at that time. But every once and a while it’s nice to get away for a change of scenery. This trip was just such a time.

We headed up country via Whistler and Pemberton, and up over the mountain to Lillooet. It’s the fastest way out of the B.C. lower mainland, especially for us living on the Vancouver North Shore, and is the most direct route into the heart of the interior. The only downside to this route is that in winter it can be impassible because of the snow accumulation and the very steep, switchbacked climb from the Pemberton valley up to the top of the plateau.

Hat Creek Ranch

The first town encountered after coming over the mountain is Lillooet, which sits on the west bank of the Fraser River. After crossing the bridge over the river, the road leads on northeasterly to the town of Cache Creek. A small junction town where Highway 99 intersects Highway 97 and connects to Highway 1, the well known Trans-Canada Highway.

At the point where Hwy 99 meets Hwy 97 there is a historical landmark known as Hat Creek Ranch. This would be our stop for the night. Since we didn’t need any services, they let us stay in the campground area for free. We said we were happy to just park in the parking lot, but they insisted we use the campground.

Hwy. 99 joins Hwy. 97 at the Hat Creek Ranch.

The Hat Creek Ranch facility, like most ranches, is small compared to the land area held.

The tourist facilities at Hat Creek Ranch include a gift shop, restaurant and small RV park and campground.

Billboards provide a history of the ranch and the people involved in its creation.

The ranch is now overseen by the B.C. Heritage Society.

This is the first time we've been able to see our new area lighting in action.

The rear lights cover the entire area behind the truck and even wraps around the side somewhat.

The beam from the rear lights connect with that from the front lights that shine down the side of the vehicle.

The campground has a small fireside gathering area beside where we parked.

Each campsite has a picnic table and fire grill.

After a comfortable night at Hat Creek Ranch we continued east on Hwy 1, through Kamloops, and then the Shuswap area, to Revelstoke where we would stay for a few nights while visiting a friend.

Revelstoke, Mountain & Town

The town of Revelstoke is also the centre for two national parks.

Our first night was spent at the Revelstoke Mountain Resort where we camped for the night in the parking area. It was a quiet night, but no so much in the morning. The hotel was host to a large group of Harley riders, and they all left as a group in the morning with their stupid loud hogs. Absolutely no consideration for those around them.

Since we arrived on the mountain earlier in the day, we took the opportunity to use the gondola access the top of the mountain to see how it stacked up against other ski hills we’re familiar with. The mountain operator has a summer ride available for those who are so inclined. It’s a coaster ride where you sit on a sled that tracks down the hillside on a rail. We considered going on the ride, but the price they were asking for it was, in our opinion, ridiculous. Besides, there were too many issues that could affect the “thrill” of the ride.

At this time of year there are few people parking in the lots.

We needed a few blocks under the wheels to level the truck.

The main activity on the mountain is biking on the trails. They use the gondola for mountain access.

There's a rudimentary tourist facility on the mountain top that provides a fantastic view of the valley.

There's a detailed map of the resort, but unless you are a strong hiker, most is beyond access.

There's a great billboard identifying all the mountain peaks.

This is the lineup for the "Coaster" ride down the mountain.

The sleds are brought back up the mountain in racks on the gondola.

Yeehaw! Well, it's not exactly an amusement park roller coaster. But it's nice in the sun anyway.

A view of the resort parking lot where our truck is parked.

It just can’t get more convenient than this... an empty lot next to our friends house.

Our route from Revelstoke to Canmore and then Jasper.

After a few days visiting our friend, we carried on with our drive to the Rockies. We did our usual and filled up the truck’s fuel tank in Canmore, and then returned to the road heading north to Jasper.

We’ve made this trip in summer, and winter, so a lot of it we passed on this time because of the high volume summer crowds. We prefer locations that are more secluded, rather than ones in the grip of summer tourism.

We did take a minute after climbing up the large hill and onto the Athabasca plateau. There’s a lookout there with a terrific view of the valley and mountain faces. A small waterfall cascaded down one of the forest covered slopes.

Traveling east of Golden takes one into the new road construction that was started to reduce the fatalities experienced on this dangerous section of road.

Many stretches of the new road are cantilevered out from the mountainside to create the lane width.

This work is a combination of steel posts, beams and concrete decks.

There are numerous smaller glaciers located all along the Icefields Parkway.

The road up onto the plateau is steep and winding. But there's a nice pull out at the top with a view of the entire valley.

There are numerous trails that lead away from the parking area.

The rock face of the mountain across the gorge is impressive indeed.

One of numerous waterfalls that cascade down the mountainside.

The size of the falls is hard to determine from such a long ways away.

Best guess based on the surrounding trees is that the falls is over 100 feet tall.

Athabasca Falls

Once we reached the plateau we drove on past the Athabasca glacier, and all its tourists, and continued to the falls. We wanted to see Athabasca Falls in full flow with all the waters of the summer melt. Fortunately for us, it didn’t disappoint.

Long after the summer melt is finished, Oct. 2021.

Now, at the height of the summer melt, July 2022.

The flow of the river is at its maximum at this time of year. The river is totally full.

The Athabasca Falls has several chutes that all provide a dramatic view.

The view of the falls can be seen from a number of vantage points provided by the Park Service.

There's no kayakers going over this white water rapids. They could go over, but they'd not do another.

The river has eroded deep crevices into the stone that travel for over a hundred metres.

Our route from Jasper, to Mt. Robson and then to our Inks Lake campsite.

Heading West From Jasper

After clearing the Rocky Mountain range and heading west from Jasper, we eventually made our way to Mt. Robson Provincial Park. Mt. Robson is equal to any of the Rocky Mountain peaks in its majesty and grandeur. So it’s worth every minute spent admiring it, no matter the season.

Something that was unique to this time at Mt. Robson was that we actually crossed over the highway to investigate the provincial campground opposite the Mt. Robson visitor centre. It was getting time to look for an overnight camp, so instead of searching for a free spot, we just chose one of the level spots in this large campground and called it a day.

A park service vehicle with all the equipment needed, except someone to use it.

There's a large green field between the visitor parking area and the forest under the mountain. Its purpose is a mystery.

Each campsite is large with a good distance between each of them.

Even our large truck had no problems getting into the campsite.

The sites are all equipped with a large picnic table and fire grate.

The Quick Drive To The South of Kamloops

Traveling southwest from Mt. Robson on Hwy 5, it didn’t take long to get to our next camp spot south of Kamloops on a secondary road. Inks Lake is a small lake with wild campsites alongside the lake. We found a spot that was apart from the few other campers, some who looked like they had set up permanent housekeeping.

We didn’t spend much time outside while here. It wasn’t the bugs or other pests that kept us inside, but rather the excessive heat. The interior was experiencing another heat way and the 44ºC temperature was a bit much to live with outside. Fortunately we had air-conditioning, and this kept it more livable inside the rig.

Our camp for the last night, south of Kamloops, was right on the edge of forested area and desert terrain.

It took a bit to find a level spot to park, but we found one next to an existing fire circle. Too hot for a fire though.

The area was covered with this beautiful wild rye-grass.

The truck sat on a mattress of grass, and yes, we did check to make sure none of the hot exhaust system was near dry grass.

Ink Lake is a very pretty lake. Small, but very picturesque.

Heading Home

From Inks Lake we just pointed the truck’s nose toward home and let it run the distance. From this location it took about 5 hours to get home, which is slightly longer than what a car could do. But that’s nothing new for us. We’re used to having cars fly by us at breakneck speed.