I'll probably say this for many trips to come, but I have found it extremely difficult to find trails to run in Canada. I don't know if it's just that Canadians do a better job of keeping their trails "secret," or if there really isn't as much info to find online about them, but I'd love to do more trips into the land of our northern neighbors.
So it was with the Whipsaw Trail. One of the few trails that information exists for, the Whipsaw has a little bit of everything for everybody. There's mud if you want it, some rocks to climb if you feel so inclined, views to soak in, and great places to camp. Our three days on the trail were awesome, each of us getting to stretch the legs of our rigs.
The fourth day is where it all went bad - for me anyway. We'd finished the Whipsaw and were headed west for more exploration when I noticed a leaking rear axle seal. Not wanting to press my luck, I headed home, knowing that I had unfinished business in Canada.
Finally Four, We Venture North | Whipsaw Trail #1 - August 27, 2019. Most of the trips I do require a full day - or more - of freeway driving just to reach the trailhead, so you can imagine my delight when we decided to do a trip on the west coast. Sort-of. At least, our meeting location was only four hours away - in the tiny little community of Mazama, WA. From there, we'd head north - to British Columbia, Canada - where we planned to run The Whipsaw Trail and then make our way north and west to Molybdenite Peak - before turning south again for the United States.…
Some Winching Necessary | Whipsaw Trail #2 - August 28, 2019. The day had been hot, but it cooled right down overnight - much nicer for sleeping, we all agreed. And sleep we did - it was 8:30am before the last of us finally climbed down from our tents, having missed the sunrise entirely - a cloudless sky transitioning from deep blue to orange, then to pink and finally blue again. We all set about making our breakfast - coffee for Mike @Digiratus, cereal for me, an amazing looking breakfast burrito for Dan @drr, and - of course - Donettes for Monte @Blackdawg - as the sun beamed…
Four, Three Wheeling Tacomas | Whipsaw Trail #3 - It was 5:00am or so when I awoke after a shockingly chilly - yet pleasant - night’s sleep. I could see Monte @Blackdawg hanging out behind his truck, waiting for the sunrise from my tent door. Figuring I'd let him enjoy the peaceful solitude, I donned my clothes and made my way to a spot 50' or so away to capture the morning, the colors joyfully doubled by the surface of Wells Lake. I'd later hear from Monte that I'd been ninja-like in my approach. As he told the story to Dan @drr and Mike @Digiratus, he described completely silent…
My Trip-Ending Discovery | Whipsaw Trail #4 - August 30, 2019. As expected, there wasn't much sunrise to see and we all had a good sleep-in on the edge of Whitehead Reservoir. Turns out it wasn't just the fact that we had a hill to our east, but also the fact that it was reasonably overcast - a few minutes of light rain even falling on our tents about half an hour before 8:00am. Still, I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day. In no real rush, but also with no reason to hang around, we ate our breakfasts and packed up our stuff. Oh,…
Rig Review: Whipsaw & Colorado 2019 - What worked and what didn't? - September 30, 2019. It was another whirlwind of trips through August and September, with three more trips and 21 more nights now in the books: The Whipsaw Trail in BC, Canada, a trip with Pops to the California Sierra, and a nearly two-week adventure through Wyoming and Colorado. Of those, the two driving adventures both ended early due to mechanical failure of at least one vehicle on the trip, so without further ado, let's get into what's bound to be a stunning rig review! Seemingly solved from previous Rig Reviews Front ADS Reservoirs Too Close to Tires Unchanged / Still an…
Did you end up finding a good resource for trails in BC? I will be spending a week in Whistler this summer and would like to know if there is much around. Something around the difficulty of Gallagher Head Lake/Fortune Creek would be ideal.
Hi Patrick, the land to the north continues to be a tantalizing black box for the most part. I don't have any great resources, and the last couple years - with the border mostly closed - have meant that I haven't done a ton of research in that direction. Hopefully now, as things are opening up, I can head that way this summer. The trick - of course - will be to find some trails, good maps, and perhaps a guide or two.
It's not the difficulty of Fortune Creek, but several years ago we visited Banff and Jasper, travelling the Icefields Parkway between the two (Canada Adventure to Glacier, Yoho, Banff, and Jasper). I wholeheartedly recommend that experience - it's one of the most beautiful roads I've ever travelled, and the hikes around Banff and Jasper are great as well. If you can, finding trails along that route would make it totally awesome.