I don’t believe this one was published, as I had no good photos to go with it, due to my nerves everything was blurry
“Know thy wheeling limits”, “Never Wheel Alone”… Mantras ingrained deep in the minds of all avid off-roaders. I tend to solo wheel and believe it’s good to push your boundaries, however, if it is beyond your limits then stay safe. After a full summer of solo wheeling, I finally learned my hard wheeling limit, luckily my friends had joined me on this adventure.
The trip idea was simple, a quick stop at Sloquettte on Friday night then hit up Molybdenite Peak and the lake on Saturday & Sunday. It was late September, we had run whipsaw a few weeks before and had expected no weather issues. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t quite agree.
Friday night we headed up West Harrison, the weather being extremely sloppy. When we got to Sloquettte, my friends opted to simply sleep in the front of their Jeep to save being drenched. For me that wasn’t a possibility, they quickly put up a tarp and threw my tent underneath it. The next morning we headed to Pemberton, then up over Duffy Lake Road into Lillooet to gas up.
We then headed down the West side of the Fraser Canyon, although the dirt road itself does not offer many challenges, it offers an amazing switch up to the paved road on the East side. It’s like driving amongst the poppy fields in Wizard of Oz, you are left wanting to just stop and soak in its beauty and welcoming warmth. Surrounding you with quaint buildings, where the whispers of the ghosts that survive to haunt you are scattered throughout the meadows.
Our goal was to head to the peak of Molybdenite Saturday, then on Sunday into Molybdenite Lake. As we made our way up the paved dirt road, I took notice of the beautiful valley we were in. A meandering stream to the left of us, surrounded by deciduous trees, reminded me of a scene straight out of the Walton’s.
We quickly found ourselves in the lower level Camping area, which in the past had been a variety of purposes from a base camp for miners and hunters. We stopped here, deciding if we were going to try for the peak. Noticing the snow we opted to just attempt the lake and reassess the situation after, calculating that the lake elevation would be safe.
In the words of many, due to the off-camber sections, narrow road, and sheer drop-offs, this trail is a challenge when it’s dry and clear. The journey into the lake would be my severest wheeling lesson to date; I was attempting it for the first time in the snow when I hadn’t fully mastered off-camber in dry weather yet.
We made our way over the first off-camber hump, as huge mesmerizing snowflakes fell, and had accumulated close to an inch. My nerves started becoming frazzled, and looking back I realized I should have aired down further, 20 PSI was too high. The extremely sharp drop-off to my left caught my eye, as I wondered just how far down it went, apparently a very long way.
White knuckled I descended slowly down into the small gully, my fingers gripping the steering wheel in sheer robot mode. My breathing was shallow, my heart racing as I inched along one foot at a time. All of a sudden my rear end started shifting in the greasy snow, slipping out from under me towards the sharp drop-off. I quickly came to a halt and told myself breath, deep breath in, deep breath out. I then made the biggest error I could have, I over-corrected in my fear of avoiding the edge; I started turning the wheels into the mountainside, which only added to my increasingly challenging situation.
A full-blown panicked moment ensued, as I came to terms that I was well over my limit. I then made the decision for the second time in my life to step out of the Jeep, asking them to take over. Gratefully he put his in park, taking mine to the top of the hill and turning it around. I then climbed in as his passenger, and he completed our drive into the lake.
As we neared the serene lake our eyes lit up in awe of Mother Nature’s creation, forever etching that moment in my mind and camera With the snow falling we knew our time to appreciate this moment was limited. I hopped out and rummaged through the bushes looking for the geocache, together we quickly found the sought-after Ammo Can.
The mesmerizing huge flakes of snow continued to quickly accumulate as we headed back towards safe harbour. Back at my jeep I cautiously followed the remainder of the way to the main road, crossing over the remaining off-camber humps. This time cautiously, but with more confidence and remembering my new rule of thumb, look out the driver’s window at where my tires are in relationship to the edge and prior tire tracks.
Back at basecamp, we opted to change plans and head down the Canyon to the Nahatlatch Fire Lookout for the evening. Passing by old churches, abandoned buildings, and farms as the late afternoon sun brought to life the true character that is etched in the walls that line the river. The canyon is unique in that you can drive down either side and have a totally different view and experience, even though you’re only a few hundred meters from the other side.
We continued on, the road slowly deteriorating, but still well-traveled; but no gates nor signs. As we came to within a few kilometers of the tower, my gas tank was nearing a ¼ tank, with a long road back to fuel. At that point, we ran into a sign that stated there was to be no unauthorized access due to the power plant that was being built, however, no gates existed. It was dark and rainy, and I had no desire or gas to turn back, so I took a look at the map book, and opted to take us through the area. Best case we could quickly access the connecting road, worst case we are forced to turn around.
To the left, we could see the power plant being constructed and understood that their main concern was to avoid trespassers either putting themselves at risk or vandalizing the area. As we approached the main clearing, we leaped across the open 100-meter section unnoticed and on familiar territory.
I love the switchbacks on the trail to the fire lookout, although nothing too technical, it is fun. One of the nice things about the road is that even a novice can navigate the transverse, but it’s difficult enough to access that it helps prevent easy access to those that may abuse it. We crested the hill, taking in the view of the Fire Lookout that we had helped build the prior year. Setting up camp inside, dinner was pulled together, and I arranged for a few cold beverages for us to cheers on an amazing trip and another location off my bucket list.
Trix's Trax 