Ascending Trails, Rising Tensions : 4 km short of Grey Creek Pass

Even though today was Sunday, we heard the first work vehicles drive past around 6:00 am.  Soon after the spotlights from or neighbouring camper went on lighting up the valley once again.  The sun didn't rise for another half an hour, and when it did, we crawled out of the tent to find a cold, clear morning.  As we made breakfast, the sun came up and began to turn the peaks around us gold and red.  The scenery was stunning, sitting at the side of the fast-flowing, clear river.  

Initially we took our time enjoying the moment, however, when we saw our neighbours being to bring out skillets to cook their breakfast we hastily got going before any delicious smells of bacon, eggs, and/or pancakes could make us regret our simply fare of instant oatmeal and coffee.

Almost immediately after setting out back onto the Trans Canada Trail we began the first of several long, relatively steep climbs.  We had been hoping to reach the Oliver Lake campground tonight, which is just west of the 2080 m Gray Pass summit.  However, over the course of the day we made at least three larger ascents of 200 - 300 m, and numerous smaller ones, without actually making headway on the ascent to the pass.   It was tiring going, and ultimately we decided to stop about 4 km short, and 500 m below the summit.

As we made our first ascent the peaks were beginning to turn gold in front of us.  When we turned around and looked back, the forested valley behind us was filled with soft white bands of mist rising up from the river. Just then the sun peaked over the mountain, lighting up the road where we were standing. This is one of my favourite moments of any morning in the mountains.

As we climbed we found ourselves walking along the side of a long, forested valley.  The mountains disappeared into the hazy distance behind us, and the very steep, forested slopes of those ahead rose up on either side. 

At first glance, the Purcell Mountains seem less impressive than the Rockies.  Instead of bald, jagged peaks, they have a more rounded shape, and their craggy slopes are forested all the way to the top.  However, when you get up close to them, their scale and scope is truly impressive!  As we made our way along the base of Mount Bonner, we were amazed by the steepness of the slopes, and the many slides that trickled down their slopes.

The first bit of excitement came when we finally arrived at the bridge over Baribeau Creek, about 13 km from where we camped.  We knew from the signs that the road was closed due to the replacement of this bridge, but we had been hoping that we would be able to walk across the (freezing cold) creek, or better yet, that the work crew would let us cross the bridge.   A dump truck had been passing us all morning, going in with large loads of rocks for the bridge work, and coming back out empty.  The driver had stopped to chat with us, and hadn't told us to turn around, which we took to be a good sign. Sure enough, when we got to Baribeau Creek the construction crew was really nice, stopping to chat, giving us advice, and letting us walk across the old bridge.

Much relieved, we continued on, climbing up once again.  Not too long afterwards, a group of four ATVs passed us. At this point, the road was high up, and we were walking beside a large, steep drop.  The mountain sloped steeply down to the river far below us, and above us rose forested mountains.  It felt wild, remote, and far from civilization.

We took a break around km 56, sitting on a pull-out at the side of the road. Opposite our resting place was a clear-cut patch which had regenerated into a meadow.  Bright red, pink, and orange plants completely covered the slope, creating a riot of colour under a bright blue and completely cloudless sky. 

We were enjoying the colourful landscape when we noticed a small group of Yellow-rumped Warblers moving about in the tops of the conifers.  As we watched them we heard the rough calls of a Clark's Nutcracker, way up in the top of a tamarack.  When we looked up to investigate we spotted a pair of Red Crossbills.  So much bird activity!

On our next break, which we took a mere 5 km farther on, we were sitting beside Redding Creek when we noticed a huge group of mixed butterflies feeding on the gravel road in front of us.  They made such a colourful and interesting crowd!  They were clearly attracted to minerals or salts on the gravel road bed.

Other wildlife highlights for today included seeing our first Stellar's Jay of the hike.  We recognized its argumentative calls before we spotted a flash of brilliant blue as it took off out of the conifers below us.  We also spotted two garter snakes in the road today, which was a marked decrease from yesterday's count, even though it felt slightly warmer today.  Perhaps there are fewer due to the elevation?  Or perhaps we simply were not keen enough to spot our slithery friends today?

For most of the day we made our way down the quiet valley without hearing or seeing anyone else. Especially after the closed bridge, the road was very quiet, which we counted as a huge blessing.  We were passed by a couple trucks, and two sets of dirt bikes.  At one point we passed a pickup truck parked up on a side track, and then we heard someone 'yoohoo-ing' down at us from somewhere up the slope.  Otherwise it was quiet until near the end of the day, which we greatly enjoyed.

As we climbed up and then descended again, following the contours of the mountain bases, we noticed something new to us.  Some sections of the road were shaded by trees and other mountains, and even though the afternoon was hot, they were still soaking wet with dew.  We also walked through patches of patches cool, damp air, followed by pockets of dry, hot air.  At times the differences were a little disconcerting and very fascinating.

We came to our last guaranteed creek crossing before making the climb up to the summit just before 4 pm.  There was a man down by the creek, trying to repair his motorcycle tire, which had a bent rim.  He asked if we had a hammer, but sadly we had nothing that would be of any use to him.   It seemed to turn out okay, because he drove off a few minutes later. 

At this point we still had about 10 km to go to reach the summit, and nearly 11 km to reach the campsite, and only about 3 hours of daylight left.  On flat terrain making our goal wouldn't have been a problem.  However, if the Gaia app was correctly estimating our current elevation, we still had 900 m left to climb to reach the top of the pass.  We weren't too confident that we could make the summit before dark, and we weren't certain there would be access to water or a place to stop on the narrow, winding, road between our current position and the top.

Given the uncertainties, I decided we should stay and camp beside the creek we were beside, and tackle the summit tomorrow.  However, finding a secluded, flat place to camp proved to be a challenge that ultimately I wasn't up to.  After wasting 45 minutes looking for a spot to pitch the tent on the uneven terrain and finding nothing suitable, it seemed like the only option was to fill our extra bottles with water and continue onward and upwards.  The wasted time, extra weight, and need to push on met with great disapproval from Sean, and one of our rare disagreements followed.   As usual, these fights typically occur when we are both tired, warn down, and feel like we are out of options.

Ultimately, we climbed for another 3 km, gaining about 400 m in elevation on the steep road as we did so.  I would like to suggest that our final 30 minutes on the TCT for the day took place amid our usual gentile conversations but in fact the reality is that we screamed at one another, mouthed off to one another, critiquing each other’s decisions for the day, and hiked on in frustration keeping distance from each other.   Then when it seemed as though we had trekked far above the river way (and our only source of water for the night) and it appeared as though we would have to hike into the dark to find a place to camp the world provided.

At 5:30 pm we found a wide grassy pull-out right beside an unmarked stream, and gratefully began to pitch the tent.  With a solution for the night presented the tension between us cooled and we both silently seemed to agree to leave the situation in the past.

As we set up for the night, an antique pickup truck with a steering wheel on the right side, pulling a camper from the 1970's pulled up and stopped.  The two guys who emerged very closely resembled Bill and Katz from the movie 'A Walk in the Woods,' which is based on Bill Bryson's book about walking the Appalachian Trail with his college buddy Katz.  A cloud of pot smoke billowed out of the vehicle as 'Katz,' a large man with a long white beard dropped heavily out of the passenger side, swearing up a storm.  They had left Kimberley after breakfast, hoping to reach Creston by 3 pm using the mountain 'short-cut' without any idea of how arduous it would be.  We showed them our map, and assumed them they only had about 20 km left.  They thanked us and continued on, the one guy still vigorously complaining that he only had three days off a year and he was stuck driving the back roads.  Their friendly cacophony  accompanied by the periodic howling of their large dog could be heard as they slowly rolled down the roadway. 

As we fall asleep on the side of the mountain, a blanket of stars is shining brilliantly in a very dark sky above us.  The only sounds we can hear are the rush and roar of the river below us.  It is starting to feel very damp, but so far it isn't too cold.  We realize we have been blessed by perfect weather for this crossing, and we are truly grateful.  Under different conditions this crossing could be a pretty terrifying prospect.

See you on the trail!

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