05/20/2008

When You’re Off The Map Words by Marc Arellano

You can find some of the best mountain biking in the world about 3 hours north of Whistler smack in the heart of the Coastal Range. The area is part of the southern Chilcotins and has been touted by Outside Magazine as one of the 'Top 10 Trips of a Lifetime'. The mountain range is criss-crossed by old mining paths and newer, multi-use trails that stretch hundreds of kilometers through 7000 foot mountain passes and pristine, glacial-fed lakes.

A couple of years ago, I had the great fortune of being introduced to the region by a group of co-workers from Norco Performance Bikes. I guess you could say I was at the right place at the right time and lucky enough to fulfill some of my greatest passions — mountain biking and adventure. The folks at Norco are always up to something, so there’s rarely a week that goes by when someone isn’t organizing some kind of riding adventure around BC. Ooops, I guess I’m supposed to say “gear-testing” in case one of my old bosses is actually reading this article.

The beautiful Coastal Range // photo by Marc Arellano

In 2002, 4 of us took a 30-minute floatplane trip from Tyaughton Lake to Warner Lake and then enjoyed an 8-hour ride up to Tyax lodge on Tyaughton. The floatplane ride alone is worth the effort of hauling your butt up to Tyax. It was incredible to experience emerald green lakes like Warner, Trigger, and Hummingbird and to see alpine meadows overgrown with indian paintbrush and endless varieties of other wildflowers. Did I mention the single track? The whole 40K-ride from Warner to the end of the trail (Gun Greek Rd) is paved with a ribbon of 18-inch wide dirt—single track Nirvana.

Now, 3 years later, I was super stoked to repeat the Warner Lake ride with two of my good buds — Tom MacDonald and Christian St-Pierre. Unfortunately, our planned 4th for the trip, Peter Stace-Smith, had work commitments he couldn’t shake. Anyway, I had Tom and Christian completely juiced for the ride because of the video I shot from my previous trip to Warner. Back on my first trip, this area belonged to the BC Forestry Service; today, it’s part of the newly formed South Chilcotin Mountain Park.

Trigger Lake // photo Christian St-Pierre

We started the morning with some good hearty oatmeal and coffee. Hot grub was a good choice because the wind was blowing from the north and the air had a slight chill to it. Wind from the north is pretty unusual for August, so we were a bit worried about being able to get into Warner. It’s an alpine lake at about 6000 feet surrounded by steep mountains, so wind from the wrong direction can scuttle the drop.

Self-portrait of a ham // photo by Tom Macdonald

Once we finished breakfast and packed up, we heard Dale, our pilot, down at the dock preparing the plane for our flight. So far so good. It was amazing to see the early morning sun shimmer off the bush plane’s spotless skin and feel the vibration of the engine through our 661s. Like my trip before, Dale had everything dialed and we loaded our gear into his mint 1964 Beaver in 5 minutes flat.

About 15 minutes into the flight, Dale let us know that the wind was still coming from the north and Warner would be touch and go. When we finally reached Warner, Dale scrubbed the drop because the wind hadn’t changed. Plan B was a drop at Spruce Lake. At this point, we all felt a bit bummed because our hearts were set on an epic ride through alpine meadows. The Spruce lake trail isn’t too bad, but it’s a popular ride because of its proximity to Tyax. Since the lake is only 3.5 hours from the lodge, this trail can be packed with a mix of hikers, llamas, and horseback riders.

When we landed at Spruce, we were met by 2 locals who just happened to be avid riders, and had the full beta on all the local trails. We pulled out our homemade map (nothing really exists for this area except for an old, incomplete Forestry Service-made map). One of the two locals pointed out a ride he called Windy Pass. He confessed it would call for some hike-a-bike sections, but that the 360-degree view from the 7000ft pass and 6 hours of sweet single track would be well worth it.

So now our choice was to follow a partially-mapped, backcountry trail we had never ridden before or join the unwashed masses on the Spruce Lake trail. The answer was easy for the 3 of us, especially Christian, who had already hopped on his Norco Fluid and was making a b-line for Windy Pass.

Tom at the top of windy Pass // photo by Christian St-Pierre

Well, the 2 locals weren’t kidding when they said there’d be some hike-a-bike sections. After about 45 minutes of riding, we hit a steep set of switchbacks that had us grunting and pushing for about a 1/2 hour through thick forest and the occasional, annoying swarm of blackflies. The effort was well worth it though because the forest opened up to a picturesque stretch of alpine framed by towering mountains and a bluebird sky. The vegetation quickly turned from towering firs to scrawny evergreens and stunted grasses.

It took us about an hour of riding and pushing to get up to the pass. The reward was a panoramic view of all the surrounding mountain ranges. The name Windy Pass is fitting as we felt exposed up in the brisk wind. We looked all around and noted that there were about a half dozen trails going off in all directions — none of which were indicated on our map — so we took an educated guess and rode up one that seemed to head back toward the Gun Creek area.

Once out of the wind, we stopped at the top of an alpine meadow and set up lunch. Tom busted out pannini bread and a homemade mix of salsa and avocado. We were all pretty famished so this spartan meal tasted like a culinary delight. I also took a few minutes to patch up a blister that had started to open up. It was just awesome enjoying the food and looking down a narrow strip of single-track that seemed to endlessly descend to the next valley. It looked like the best dessert you could ever have.

Christian out front again // photo by Marc Arellano

Once again, Christian was the first out front and led the way down the trail. It was fast and swoopy, and pushed our disk brakes and forearms to their limits. What a blast! After about 20 minutes, we finally hit the bottom of the meadow and stared out across a lush valley. From this point onward we were off the map. All we could tell was that we were somewhere between Eldorado Creek and an unmarked creek west of Pearson Creek.

Heading down from Windy Pass // photo by Marc Arellano

We put our heads down and cranked our way, albeit slowly, up to a set of backcountry cabins used by a local outfitter. By this point, I was pretty wiped and we’d been on the trail for about 5.5 hours. I thought I was going to lose it when Christian and Tom agreed that we’d have to climb up a second pass before we could start the last descent for home. I was pretty surprised that neither one slapped me to snap me out my funk. To complicate things, we faced another route-finding decision because there were a number of trails leading away from the cabins. We followed Christian’s instinct, and took the one that looked like it would lead up to a saddle we could see off in the distance.

Alpine Meadow after Windy Pass // photo by Christian St-Pierre

After another hour of uphill effort, we crested the top of the second pass. From here we could make out Carpenter Lake off in the distance and another smaller lake we knew was close to Gun Creek Rd. I breathed a sigh of relief because now I knew it would be all downhill. I wasn’t disappointed. We had an hour descent along tight technical single-track that weaved through alpine meadows and thick coastal forest. We had to stop a couple times for bear encounters and hand cramping. Sorry, but no photos of the bears; we were too busy holding our bikes in front of us and trying to look big.

Christian heading over the second pass // photo by Marc Arellano

The last section we rode was a pretty sketchy descent down a recently logged swath of forest. There was no real trail, just a lot of loose sand and derailleur busting branches. We finally hit a road and a house. I stopped and asked the owner where we were. He answered, “you’re about a kilometer from the end of Gun Creek Rd.” I thanked the man and rode back to tell Christian and Tom we were only a stones throw from where Dale had dropped our vehicle. We were all pretty amazed that after all the guesswork, we were only a kilometer off our end point after 8 hours of riding.

Did you see that bear? // photo by Christian St-Pierre

Once back at our campsite at the lodge, we cracked open a few cold ones, grabbed a shower, and chowed down at the dinner buffet up at the lodge. Between the main course and dessert, Christian and Tom started to plan our next backcountry trip. Now, I use the word “plan” loosely because we all realized how much better it could be when you’re off the map.

Cheers to a great ride // photo by Christian St-Pierre

- Marc Arellano

For more info check out: Tyax Mountain Lake Resort and Tyax Air.