Back to the Hills

My last time into the backcountry was with my old F250 truck five years ago. The truck wore out with rust and was eventually left sitting ignored in my backyard. We looked for replacement parts but, in the end, there was no cost-effective way to fix the old gal. And so, she sat getting even rustier for two years. In the end I basically gave it away just to get the truck out of my yard. During that time my regular companion, my son Geoff, started going out with his boys not his old man and so I sat at home reflecting on all the good times we had exploring the hills. 

Well, my other son, Nick, was now doing much better health-wise and he felt like exploring the hills. That was all the excuse I needed and I soon had found a suitable used truck to purchase. I came across a 2018 eco-diesel with low mileage at a reasonable price. I soon had it sitting in my front yard waiting for its first adventure.  Well, that was not the bush but Home Depot, picking up some bark mulch for the yard! The next adventure was taking our dog Quigley to the vet. 

Finally, the week-end arrived and Nick and I set out for our inaugural trip to the hills. I selected a close-by location which would ensure Nick got back in time for his work shift. We set out for the Lost-Creek resource road which is located just north-east of the town of Mission. This area isn’t a huge one but it offers some nice views of Stave Lake and there is a lovely spot along the edge of a smaller lake – Salsbury Lake. We finally reached the start of the gravel and set the truck into 4by4 mode and started up the rocky slope. 

Our first stop was at Davis Lake Park. It is only a couple of kilometers up the road but one crosses over Murdo Creek which flows into the lake.  It has several small waterfalls that one can access quite easily. We didn’t wander down the trail far enough to see the main fall but we enjoyed a few rapids and just the pleasure of being out there. Nick had fun wandering across the rocks forming the creek bed. We returned to the truck and set out for Salsbury Lake.

The road was in good condition until the final fork up the old road on the west side of the lake. It was rough and pot-holed but not a difficult drive. At least until the final creek crossing. It was here that we were stopped. The bridge was gone and the ravine down to the small stream was quite steep. It may have been passable by a small ATV but not by us. Even in the old truck with a winch, it would not have been worth the try. Disappointed but not disheartened we took the alternate road and drove to an opening with some open views and there we stopped for lunch.

I tried calling Carolyn at home on my 2m radio. The signal was not strong enough for a conversation but Carolyn was able to recognize my voice. I will need to upgrade the amateur radio set up as an early upgrade to the truck. I have ordered a commercial radio to manage the resource road interaction but it hasn’t arrived yet. After lunch we started back down the route to the main fork. Nick wanted to go out the other leg and see if he can get to the lake from the east side. 

We made our way up the eastern side of Salsbury lake and at the closest point there were a couple vehicles parked next to a short spur down to the lake. We parked and made our way down. We met a couple who were enjoying a BBQ steak taco. The chap was a chef and his partner insisted I try a piece of the steak as she found the flavour amazing. I tried a piece and agreed it was nicely seasoned. We chatted for awhile while they finished preparing their lunch. We soon had to leave so as to ensure we got Nick home on time. The drive out went smoothly and we were all to quickly back to pavement. Though a short day and not overly difficult a terrain, it still felt amazingly good being back out there.

 My next tasks are to get the radios installed properly and to buy a winch for the truck and refresh my various safety equipment items. Time has made the mapping easier. My backcountry app running on my phone can feed the larger truck display and so the mapping issue is now quite easy compared to before when I had a large tablet and GPS unit. The winch will still need dollars and I likely will want to add some skid plates. But all in time, for now I can enjoy the simpler routes.