Big Creek Provincial Park, British Columbia

except for some out of sight cliffbars, this is all the food that is left.

The trail over Relay Creek was good with the occasional deadfall and frequent water logged sections

I had big hopes for the Graveyard Cabin but it was not in a condition for an overnight stay and I’ve made way too good time over the pass to be stopping so early. It was a good break with the mountains poping out in the distance

mid-day ventures into the alpine are not always best with the afternoon thunderstorms of summer

I have a full track of the trail the right but the one to the left takes a different valley and is much shorter. Since all that I have seen so far was in fairly good condition I decided to take the left turn directly to Elbow Pass

The trail was superb and climbed nicely to the alpine, lots of riding not so much video or photos of Elbow Pass

The ride down the Tyaughton Creek was great with very few muddy interruptions and few creek crossings. It was a 35km day, which isn’t much but it felt like a lot on such trails.

There is a saying that the breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Oatmeal and a berry tea with mosquito infusion have been the staple breakfast of bikepacking in Canada.

had I known how dry the trail would be ahead I would have taken the log but I decided not to test my morning balance skills and go for a refreshing coffee-substitute crossing of the creek

There was smooth trail and even boardwalks. I finally rejoined with The Coast Mountain Route which will take up the Gun Creek toward Warner lake and beyond.

At first I thought I was in trouble but I had some rubber plugs which seemed to fit just right

Couple of days ago when I was going up the Shulaps I managed to hurt my back which made pushing a little more difficult and I ended up riding a little more than I had expected but with frequent breaks to take the weight of my shoulders. It didn’t feel like something was wrong but just very sore. I got to stop for many “photo” breaks.

Warner Lake

The trail to the pass was good and a little bit steep/rocky in some sections, definitely felt nicer to be walking up than riding down on this side of the 2391m pass which marks the boundary of the Provincial Park.

Looking back to Warner Pass (i am just below that snow field

The trail grade going down was a lot more friendly than the other side and the trail was 99% rideable!

I set up around 2100m in hopes of escaping the mosquitoes but they seem to be everywhere. The plan was to record a gear review video but I felt like I haven’t put this gear through enough to be giving out my opinion. I’m not a backyard reviewer but there is a plan for temporary review at the end of the summer season.

Then a guy rolled up with his dog, named Chilko! like that lake I would love to paddle. When I mentioned that, there was a short pause and he said that it’s a big lake and could be very windy. He said two friends were waiting for him further down but there weren’t any tracks in the snow at Warner pass before me. It’s likely they have taken another pass or gotten dropped off by a floatplane at one of the lakes, as remote as these places are there is strong tradition and availability of backcountry outfitters and pilots for any type of adventure.

Aside from rare water features and occasional deadfall the trail was in good condition but beginning to fade in some parts.

Beece Creek Road on the other side… was a bit of a challenge, quickly becoming harder than the trail with constant upper body workouts

but I was quickly learning that in Canada there are a lot of trees and a view is never guaranteed. You can spend the whole day looking at trees but that also makes the moments when you see the mountains more special and in a way, it makes you want to climb them and get away from all the mosquitoes

There was a neat cabin at lower Taseko Lake and I was able to borrow a chair to watch one of those colorful canadian sunsets that seem to drag on forever.

close to midnight some moose went flopping around the lake, I worriedly went out of my tent and was happy to find out they were not bears

I’ve been in touch with Darren regularly since I left Lillooet and we are meeting later today at Davidson’s Bridge (that is on the main access road for Nemiah Valley). Slowly over the last 15 days I added more and more food items on the list as I was quickly realizing that the Knorr Sidekicks was absolutely not suitable by itself as the main evening meal.

After breakfast all i had left were two packs of instant oatmeal and a little bit of cuscus.

I started the day with the idea to record every deadfall on the way for some sort of a compilation but I gave up after about 20, this could be an entire spin-off series on its own.

The surface was great (I ride a fatbike!) and there was a varying level of vegetation on some of the more sun-exposed sections. Looking at the map, there seemed to be access to the upper taseko lake and I decided to give it a try with hopes that the roaring stream would be easier to cross at the lake mouth.

I was able to get on the bridge and ride to the creek. It was close to waist deep but very manageable flow just as it entered the lake.

it was about 800m from the beach to the expected trail location in a straight line on my map. But these were the hardest 800m of the summer so far, gym people have leg days. I have arm days. It’s good to make sure that you have a more complete workout from time to time.

at the end of the trail was The Taseko Lake Lodge and I was happy to see a working vehicle and a very friendly blue heeler!

Darren’s wife was keeping an eye on the inReach tracking and updating him via Satellite phone. The plan is to do a bit of riding, hiking and canoeing if the weather allows. Darren was bringing a full re-supply on top of the ~10days of food for when we travel together. He has small circle of family and friends in Prince George and I’ve been pretty much “self quarantined” since my last grocery and post office visit. We figured that we won’t be able to social distance all the time. Darren said the covid situation was getting worse in BC and USA but I kind left it at that and did not inquire further.

Darren is part of the team that is working on clearing and maintaining the Alexander Mackenzie Trail and knows the area very well. Sadly many of my inquiries about roads and trails I wanted to take ended up with “I was there 10-15years ago and was only able to go half way up”. But I won’t have to worry about that for a while.

we rode the 30km back to his truck and bikes were loaded up and ready to go. But to where?