It seems that each and every season undertakes at least one new adventure. This year it was time to take a weekend off of the Silver Star bike park and head west to the Chilcotins in Western BC, just north of Whistler.
From the logistics side of things, it is a relatively simple trip to plan. Find four to five people, book a float plane drop and then a few weeks later, pack up your camping and bike gear and start driving. Sadly from the realistic side of things, it's slightly more difficult to find four or five people who are available on the same weekend and who are also up for getting off of the chairlift and pedaling their bikes for 80+km over the weekend. That is the start, then there is the food planning, stocking up on spare parts, tuning up your all-mountain bike that has not been used since the bike park opened, and then packing up all your other stuff. And then finally after the car is packed and fueled up, flooring it out of town always thinking you have forgot something...
View from the lookout on the 'warm up' downhill.Starting in the Okanagan and traveling through Lillooet and then off the beaten path towards Gold Bridge, you end up in the Chilcotins. For those on a budget, this area provides great camping. There are several recreation sites around that all have nice sites and several are free! Once settled in, we were brought to a freshly built, local shuttle trail in the Gun Lake area for a "warm up". This led to a challenging, old school downhill on silty lava ash and loose rock through steep, tight, technical switchbacks. It was a fun trial, but possibly a little much for a warm up after sitting in a car for 5 hours.
Our next shuttle would be via float plane and we were all looking forward to the adventure ahead.
Our plan for the following day was to fly into Warner Lake. The winds were high all morning and all weekend which meant we could only make it as far as Spruce Lake.
Key to keeping the plane on time. Remember the keys for the bike lock.
Next plane load, with spare axle to replace the one that went for a swim.
Some of the views that the Chilcotins are known for.
At the end of day one we were all tired, happy and had 50km under our tires.
The plan for day two was to pedal up Taylor Basin and then through three passes to finish with a nice finish down Lick Creek. The day began with rain, and the weather continued to threaten all day. It was a tough day to endure, but the group managed and was rewarded with a great time in the wilderness.
It is a well known fact, that hike-a-bikes are part of the story here.
Singletrack, wild flowers and a smiling rider, what more could you ask for in an adventure? Now get out there and create your own trip.
Until the next adventure...
Keep on turning!
Photographs and words by Jason Martin
