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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/16/2002 : 2:50 PM
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Pics are up: http://groups.msn.com/spidergirlbc/downtoncreek.msnw
AWESOME trip... spectacular scenery... great group of people. Perfect ending to a phenominal summer.
There are notes and descriptions along with the pics so I won't go on about it too much. There was no trail or anything. We just kinda winged it.
It has been suggested that i mention that this is NOT a trip for anyone who isn't well, nuts I guess *L*. As I said, there is no trail and the vast majority of the route we took was very steep both up and down and either on big loose boulders, loose sharp rock, sand, scree, you get the general idea. The ridges & peaks are not for the inexperienced or nervous. I would hate to hear that someone got hurt up there because they followed my directions. There are plenty of safer alternatives in this range. Marriot Basin & the Haylmore/Melvin Divide are both in the same area and offer spectacular hiking & views without the risk of death. Check my web site for more info: http://groups.msn.com/spidergirlbc
Edited by - spidergirl on 10/01/2002 09:19:03 AM |
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Langley, BC
Canada
1078 Posts |
Posted - 09/16/2002 : 3:26 PM
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Looks like a nice trip.
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Grouse Grinding, GPS carrying, lawn chair packing, bike riding North Shore tech addict who stares at Crown Mountain from his office window all day
North Vancouver
Canada
1907 Posts |
Posted - 09/16/2002 : 3:41 PM
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Those are some great pics! Thanks for posting them!
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
955 Posts |
Posted - 09/16/2002 : 10:00 PM
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Hey, thanks for sharing the pics Spidergirl! But how do you get to the Downton Creek FSR?
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2002 : 2:35 PM
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Its just off the Duffy Lake Road immediately after the Cottonwood creek FS camp site. It's well signed. You can't really miss it. We took "Branch 2" to the right and took that almost to the end and hiked/bushwhacked/scrambled from there.
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Lake Stevens, WA
USA
145 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2002 : 4:17 PM
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Nice photos Spidergirl.
Nice scenery also.
Not being familiar with much of BC may I ask how far of a hike it was?
You hit the ice/snow at all?
UB
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
955 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2002 : 9:25 PM
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Thanks Spidergirl! I found it on the map. For some reason, I was looking around Downton Lake (near Bralorne and Gold Bridge) yesterday to find the road. It's not too far past Cayoosh Pass, coming on Highway 99 of course. I'm guessing it took about 3 hours to get to the end of the logging road from Vancouver?
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2002 : 9:39 PM
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3 hours to Pemberton then another 70km or so from there to the logging road.
Hard to say how far a hike it was since we didn't really have a specific destination and there was no trail. We messed around on peaks and ridges before deciding where to camp. I wasn't really paying attention but I guess we started out around 11:00 and camped around 7:00? We broke up into about 3 groups and I'm not sure where everyone went. The next day we set off for the day without the packs and again broke into a few groups. My group went the farthest but we all set out around 8:00 and got back to camp around 3:00. I have no idea how far we hiked. Its hard to tell when you're constantly going up and down ridges & peaks. Basically, there are many places to camp along the way so you could hike anywhere from 2 hours on depending on what you wanted to do.
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
955 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2002 : 10:56 PM
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Yeah, took 3 hours to Joffre Lakes Parking lot, so I guess maybe 4 hours to the end of the logging road. How is the logging road by the way?
But this definitely sounds like something fun to do, and off-trail hiking is great because you can explore the area. From what I saw in the pics, it looks like a pretty open place where it would be easy and obvious to explore surrounding peaks and ridges. Did you use a topo map?
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2002 : 08:22 AM
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Not too long on the logging road. Maybe 15 minutes?
I didn't use a topo map since there were plenty of other people taking care of that. I just took the weekend off mentally and let someone else take care of where the heck we were. That being said, I do have the map gridpoints of the various lakes, peaks, and where we camped if anyone is interested.
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Castlegar, B.C.
Canada
1249 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2002 : 08:45 AM
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Great picks Spidy !
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
183 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2002 : 6:17 PM
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Spidergirl, this weekend I think we will once again follow in your footsteps and go to the Downton Creek area. Your pictures convinced us. We went on the Barkley Valley trail last weekend and it was truly one of the most beautiful places I've been to. The flowers were mostly gone but the hills were awash with oranges and reds, fall colors. We camped up at the lower Twin Lake and the next morning I explored the area around the upper Twin Lake. Unfortunately I did not see your email in time as to where to explore so I tried climbing the north mountain but about half way up I realized the rocks were too loose and it was too steep. I probably could have climbed it and been ok but I was by myself so down I came and went to the edge of the Melvin Creek Valley. Wow! That lake to the right, I believe, is Melvin Lake. That was one of the prettiest valleys I've ever seen. At the ATV cabin on the way back I saw your entry. Maybe one day our paths will cross. I'd love some more info on where exactly you explored and camped in the Downton Creek area. Map grid point areas and such.
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2002 : 8:53 PM
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If you have the SHALALTH Lillooet Land District 1:50,000 map, these gridpoints will work:
We left our cars just before the big ditch filled with rocks (you'll know what I mean when you get there) and hiked the rest of the road. The first lake nearest the cars is 516023. The lake below where we had lunch is 506018. We hiked up to the col at 495021 and then to the peak at 493024. Came down the back of that peak and down to where we camped at lake 490043. Next day we headed out to the col at 494045 then back to peak 490043. Then we went down into the basin via the scree slope at 491025 and past lake 490043. If you go there, you'll see a knoll out past the lake with huge grey spires to the left. The view is incredible from here. To get back to camp we hiked accross the basin to the col at 502047 and then down and back. We took a different route out because no one wanted to deal with the steep boulders as going up was bad enough and down would have been even worse. So we pretty much headed straight down through the underbrush from camp and managed to find a trail which we followed to lakek 508029. Our group lost the trail at this point and just bushwhacked down to the clearcut above the cars. Another group knew where the trail was and followed that back.
Have a great time! The wind is BRUTAL up there on the peaks and ridges so take some warm clothes. The scree is also incredibly sharp so make sure your boots are up for it. I would reccommend wearing gaiters (I didn't) because you'll save yourself a lot of scratches and rocks in the boots. I didn't bother taking my filter or drops or anything. Just drank out of the streams. I'm still alive a week later so I guess its safe :)
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
183 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2002 : 4:26 PM
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Thanks so much for the grid points. My only problem is that I can't figure out where you guys camped?! You mentioned 490043 but there is no lake in that area. You also mentioned you climbed to peak 490043 which makes more sense than a lake being there. I guess the area is easy enough to explore as there's probably lots of places to check out.
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2002 : 5:23 PM
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Sorry! We camped at the lake at 501025.
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
183 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2002 : 6:12 PM
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One more thing. You mentioned going to a lake after coming down the scree slope but the lake doesn't exist at 490043. This is the same grid reference you mentioned for the camp. Can you also tell me if this is correct coming down off peak 490043?:
"Then we went down into the basin via the scree slope at 491025 and past lake 490043. If you go there, you'll see a knoll out past the lake with huge grey spires to the left. The view is incredible from here. To get back to camp we hiked accross the basin to the col at 502047 and then down and back."
thanks so much
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2002 : 6:49 PM
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I'm not even blonde.... the lake on the way to the knoll is 506018. This is why I don't navigate *L*
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 Big pack hiker who sleeps with bears in tent and falls on slippery logs
Langley, BC
Canada
7677 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2002 : 8:26 PM
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You threw a disclaimer out from the start that you took that weekend off mentally... 
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Montreal, Quebec
Canada
328 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2002 : 10:58 PM
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Awsome pics there Spidergirl, Thanks. I was up in the Rhor area not too long ago. Nice country up there.
What type of camera are you using?
Foxtrots
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Rmd, BC
Canada
1360 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2002 : 6:16 PM
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I did Rohr in August but it was pretty socked in that day unfortunately. I'm totally in love with the Cayoosh range. I use a Digital Pentax Optio 220 3.34 magapixel. Has a zoom lens on it and is super light. With my 128mg memory card I can take well over 100 pictures a trip... more if I take another memory card. I've found that the print outt quality is as good and often better than the pics from our 35mm and APS cameras. We actually got rid of the APS because now we have no reason to use it. We use the digital for everything. Its great to be able to only print out the good pics and there are a lot more good pics when you can use Photoshop to edit out red eye, sharpen, brighten, darken, whatever.
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Montreal, Quebec
Canada
328 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2002 : 8:58 PM
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Thanks Spidergirl, a digi cam has been on my list for some time now. Mind if I ask what they're worth?
Foxtrots
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Downton Creek Trip
