Trent Kuznik ,'99 Jeep TJ, 3" lift, 32"m/t, l/s Dave & Elisabeth Pocock, 4"lift, locked Cherokee   Landon Talbot & Co-Po Tom Ogle, 1977 Ramcharger Andrew, Roxene, 'D', Ryan and Casey Walters

Recounted from Landon's perspective as the others arrived earlier in the week.

I left Surrey at 8:00 in the morning after some late night packing and tweaking, picked up Tom and headed out. Because it had been a number of years since I have traveled the Hurley, I chose to take the longer route through the Fraser Canyon. Of course, the skies soon opened, all the way to Boston Bar. I think it stopped for the time we were in the grocery store in Hope, only to begin again when we came out again.

The trip through the canyon was uneventful, except for a missed turn in Lytton. A new bridge is being built for the route to Lillooet, but they forgot to change the signs in time to make the turn. I gassed up at Lillooet, and headed towards Tyaughton Lake, which was where I had agreed to meet the rest of the group. The road was in superb condition, so I made good time. Once I started along the north side of Carpenter Lake, I kept my eyes peeled for any evidence of the group. The turnoff to Tyaughton Lake is very well marked and as I started up the hill, I thought I noticed some kind of a sign on the side of the road. I backtracked to discover a page covered in smeared red marker ink that had a couple slightly recognizable markings. Perhaps the luckiest item that didn't get totally washed away was "Gwyneth". After a quick look at the map, we about faced and headed through Gold Bridge. The Hurley turnoff is well marked, so I started up the hill to the campsite.

Once we arrived, familiarities were exchanged, camp was set, and I joined Dave, in his truck, and the Walters for a little run to Green Mountain, which is directly across Gwyneth Lake from the campsite. The ranger had informed Andrew that the Rover Landers cleared the trail a couple of weeks ago. We headed up the Hurley for a short bit and found a trail that appeared to head towards the mountain. We started up and after many crossing ditches found where the trail was blocked, roughly half way around the base of the mountain. We wandered beyond the blockage along a hiking path and found the remainder of the trail a short distance away, but there was no way to get there.

Once back on the road, we continued west passing one other potential trail to the marked Green Mountain road. This is where the ranger had directed Andrew and Dave before. With Andrew in the lead, we headed in. Shortly into the trail, we noticed the massive amount of work the Rover Landers had done to open the road again. Abundant deadfall was carefully cut back to allow access to a great little run. We took some video of the two trucks over some obstacles as we wound our way up. The trees and bush started to thin out, and a couple very nice meadows opened up above and below us at times. Dave commented that it would be really cool to see a bear up there. The road soon came to a junction; one that seemed to skirt the peak and the other went up. Three switchbacks later, we found the end, a short distance from the top. Since we couldn't see Gwyneth Lake from where we were, Andrew, Dave and Chimo hiked a little to get a glimpse and some pictures. The view from the trucks was impressive as well, looking down on the Gun Lakes, the dam at Downton Lake, and the very end of Carpenter Lake. The surrounding peaks were very nice as well, although the brief sleet was enough to send us back to the warmer interior of the trucks.

Now we had the pleasure of heading down, and Dave mentioned that Andrew only had three brakes. Andrew told me later that he was a little nervous about it, and tried to line up on a tree through the switchbacks to stop the truck just in case. After a successful descent and some more video, we were back at camp, and ready for some food and relaxation. The weather held, although the wind never really let up, and a few drinks and fun was had around the fire, some at Dave's expense.

Sunday, September 2, 2001

It was decided that we would try for Poison Mountain via the Mud Lakes and Swartz Lake, one of Dave's personal favourites. We gassed up in Gold Bridge (at a real deal of 90.9 cents / liter!) and headed back to Tyaughton Lake. Thankfully, Dave knew the way, and quickly led us through the numerous logging roads and into the Mud Lakes region. From then on, we drove along a great two track that lead up some small climbs and descents, and through some sparse trees until arriving at Swartz Lake where we stopped for a stretch and a snack. Swartz Lake is a peaceful little lake at the end of a grassy meadow, and we soon realized why Dave liked it so much.

Feeling slightly pressed for time, since I had yet to see the objective, we headed up the road along the meadow and passed a series of beaver dams. The dams actually brought the level of the water above the road, and some had drained into the roadway. We figured that they would soon discover the leak and repair it. A little further along, we came to another Forestry Site at Churn Creek. This site was also very nice with the creek flowing just beside it and some thicker trees around. A few creek crossings later and we were climbing again and reached a higher clearing where we spied our target. As we were looking, we noticed something glinting off the barren upper slopes of the mountain, and determined that trucks were coming down. Now we really had a goal: to climb that road. Heading further, we came across a junction with the Yalakom and China Head Roads. Andrew pulled out the map and found a trail that seemed to head towards the peak, but it seemed to be on the opposite side from the trucks we saw. We decided to try for it, and shortly down the Yalakom branch encountered an inhabited cabin on the road. While Dave chatted with the residents, Andrew went on to try to find the road on the map. I decided to follow him while Dave visited. By the time I caught up to Andrew, he was hiking a quad trail to check if it was drivable. He came back and said it would have to be cleared, and Dave found out that the China Head road was the one we wanted, so we headed back up and took the northeast fork.

We soon discovered a side road that led to where we wanted and emerged at the bottom of a steep slope. Dave, still in the lead, started up and I followed. The road was difficult to follow and very loose rock. After a couple of motor bikes and quads descended past us, the hill steepened and I lost traction briefly (with open diffs, no surprise). Andrew didn't want to stop, so he went around to maintain his momentum, at which time I spotted Chimo running behind. Once I got going again, Chimo (who had been climbing since the bottom of the hill) was leading me, but obviously getting tired. A couple times, I almost had to back off to avoid him, but he kept just ahead the rest of the way. I parked near the apex, and joined the rest of them atop the highest (and windiest) peak in the area. We had a spectacular view of everything from logging road and cut blocks, to rivers and lakes. Dave said that the elevation was around 7,000 feet. It was totally awesome, the view was spectacular and if it was warmer, we could have stayed for longer.

After quite a few pics and some video, it was time to head back down. Feeling brave, I led the way with the truck in neutral and two feet on the brake pedal. Taking it very easy and slowly, I had no problems the whole way. I did glance in the rearview a couple times to see Andrew very close to Dave (in case his brakes let go). Andrew told me later that Dave stopped once and when he hit the brakes, they were fading, but held. Once we were all down, we headed back to the junction and subsequently Swartz Lake. Dave had planned on staying there for the night, so after some quick good-byes, we headed back down the same road as it was getting late and we wanted to get back to the campsite. I led the way back and quite enjoyed it, picking some different lines to get a feel for the handling. By now we had been on the road about 6 hours, and I was getting a little tired. We did make decent progress, and shortly before dark, arrived back at the campsite. A quick dinner, some fire and a drink, and several were ready for bed. Andrew and I stayed up for a quick sauna (which I enjoyed although it was pretty hot!) and relaxed a little longer by the fire before heading.

Monday, September 3, 2001

The next morning, we quickly broke camp, headed over the Hurley, and rejoined the Walters in Pemberton airing up. Traffic was bad but not as much as it could be. Squamish was extremely slow, and in attempting to make up for it, I narrowly avoided a speeding ticket coming into Furry Creek. Once in North Van, we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed home.

If was a great long weekend for myself, as this was the first time I had taken the truck on a day long trail ride. I was very pleased with its performance, and Andrew told me that as he was watching, it was dropping the tires nicely into the terrain variations. I learned a lot, saw some great scenery, and enjoyed all the company throughout the weekend. Thanks again to everyone who was there!

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