Bike Packing Adventure - South Chilcotin Park  August 2019

 

 Kelowna Manual Therapy Centre physiotherapist Ross McKinnon and 3 friends spent 4 days bike-packing the rugged South Chilcotin Park this August.

 

The South Chilcotin park is a wilderness paradise and is located about 90 minutes from Lilooet.  It is on a fairly good gravel road, though the road has a lot of rock debris from all of the erosion.  It is about a 5 1/2 hour drive from Kelowna.

 

Day 1. To Spruce Lake 25km.  1042m Elevation. 3h30m riding.

 

We started our adventure at the gate access to the Gunn Creek trail.  The ride started out on a logging road but quickly switched to nice single track riding, interspersed with some steep uphill that required pushing the bikes.

 

 

After about 20km you get to the junction of the Gun Meadow trail, which is around 3 kilometres and opens up to a huge meadow.  Unfortunately we were too late to see the Balsam Root flowers which cover the slopes, but the meadows and views are still absolutely spectacular. 

Gunn Meadow trail leading to Spuce Lake  

 

We chose the most northern of the two lakeside campsites at Spruce Lake. There are also a few cabins and outfitter camps at this end of the lake.  Both campsites have bear caches and outhouses.  Individual campsites have picnic tables and a fire pit.

 

Day 2.  Deer Pass 42km.  1,7338m Elevation. 5h52m riding.

 

We got a fairly early start to do our big ride, up to and over Deer Pass.  This started on the 4.5km ‘WD trail’ which junctions with the Mid Tyaughton trail.  This involves the first creek crossing without a bridge.  The creek is fast moving, rocky, cold and about mid-calf depth.  We took the time to take off our shoes and socks for the first two creek crossings but gave up and started crossing with our shoes on.  This made for much better traction and saved a lot of time.  You end up with wet feet anyway due to the numerous smaller streams and puddles you cross.  In total there were about 5 creek crossings on this trail. 

    The first of many trail crossings 

 

The trail continues as single track riding through the woods ending in a huge meadow where the trail intersects with the Deer Pass trail. 

 

After crossing the Tyaughton Creek one more time you start the climb to Deer Pass.  There were some nice glacial fed streams near the top that we used to refill water.  At the summit, at 2300m, we stopped for a quick lunch and took the mandatory summit pictures.  We could see some nasty dark clouds in the distance so we didn’t linger long. 

One of many bike pushing sections.  Deer Pass is visible in the upper left of the picture.

 

View from the top of Deer Pass

The descent was pure magic.  It was a very fun, flowing single track leading down to the Mid Gun Creek trail which took us back to Spruce Lake.

Start of the Deer Pass descent.

 

Beautiful lake along the Mid Gunn trail heading back to camp

We got back to the camp, had a quick dip in the lake and got into dry clothes.  Within 10 minutes torrential rain and hail pounded down for a few hours while the temperature quickly dropped.  Eventually we were forced into the tents to stay dry and warm. 

 

Here is a 3D map of the trail route from day 1

https://www.relive.cc/view/vdvmBQyAKxO

 

 

 

Day 3. Windy Pass, Camel Pass, Windy Pass 30km.1620m Elevation. 4h8m riding.

 

Thankfully the rain stopped during the night and we headed out to complete a three pass day. 

The day started on the High trail, which climbed up to Windy Pass transitioning from thick forest to alpine.   We had a short descent down the Taylor Creek trail followed by a quick climb up to Camel Pass.  We didn’t linger going over this pass as there was a fair amount of lightning in the distance and the pass is quite exposed.  We then looped back up and around Windy Pass and back down to camp.   The ride down was amazing. We had expected slippery roots on the High trail but it ended up being very rideable.

Looking backwards climbing up to Windy Pass

 

Windy Pass times two

Thankfully we were able to start a fire this night and dry the wet gear out…

 

Day 4. Back to Truck 24km. 365m Elevation.  2h 18m riding.

We got an early start taking the same trail that we came in on.  The trail has more up than down so we were making great time until we came across a mother black bear guarding her cubs.  We made sure to make lots of noise, backed up and waited until she left the area with her cubs and continued on our way.

 

Hints:

This is true backcountry. It is remote, you are in the high mountains, the distances are big and the trails can be technical so you need to be prepared for any emergency or weather.  There is no cell service.  We did have access to an inReach in case of emergency.  Ride sensibly the downs are not over technical i.e. a blue rating but you need to take care of both bike and body!

 

There are base camps for the Tyax Lodge and Chilcotin Wilderness Adventures at Spruce Lake which have camp hosts.  The Tyax Lodge can arrange float plane lifts and ‘camp’ accommodations at a few of the lakes in the park.  These can be either guided or self guided.

 

Be prepared for a fair bit of hike-a-bike, especially when loaded down with camping gear.  These trails are steep in parts as they were originally horse trails (horses don’t need switchbacks).  Our group had a variety of bike-packing bags and backpacks.  It is best to carry as much gear as you can on the bike as riding with a back pack makes you quite top heavy and makes it hard to balance. As well, the backpack tends to ride up your back during descents.

 

Your feet and bike chain are going to get wet repeatedly.  Wear Merino wool socks and bring chain lube.

 

Water is plentiful from either the creeks or lakes.  We filtered the water from Spruce Lake using a MSR auto-flow filter (an amazing device) but felt safe drinking the water out of the faster moving creeks and glacier fed streams.

 

Pack light but be prepared for any weather…I had an extra pair of shorts, t-shirt, socks and pants. I am really glad I had the extras as it was very wet and cold on our second night.

 

Snacks and Meals:  Plan on burning a lot of calories and plan accordingly…

 

Check trail conditions.  Checking trail conditions on trailforks.com. is a great idea before heading out while you have cell service.  We used Trailforks offline (using the GPS dot) to help us find our way.  There is some signage at most trail junctions.

 

Make sure your bike is in good shape with new tires, new tire sealant and most importantly, new brake pads.

 

Tools:  You need to be self sufficient with a multi-tool, pump (both tire and shock), C02 inflator, tire levers, spare tubes, tire and tube patches, derailleur hanger, dental floss with needle, and as mentioned before, chain lube.  We raised our air pressure in both tires and both shocks to deal with the extra weight we carried.

 

Trip List:

Clothes: baggy riding shorts, 2 pairs chamois shorts, 2 t-shirts, arm warmers, knee warmers, 2 pairs of socks, 1 pair lightweight pants, insulated lightweight jacket, light toque, 1 pair riding gloves, 1 pair of light neoprene gloves, running shorts, lightweight flip flops.  There is a lot of iron in the dirt and my rain jacket, which is bright yellow, appears to be permanently stained slightly red.

 

Camping Gear:

Down sleeping bag (-5C), light inflatable sleeping pad, backpacking tent, fly, stove, fork, spoon, MSR auto-flow filter.

 

Miscellaneous: 

Chamois butter, bug spray, sunscreen, toiletries, light towel, headlamp, phone, bear spray, Garmin inReach.