Chilcotins - Spruce Lake

Just read this on http://www.southchilcotin.ca Facebook page

RAIN!! Lots of it all night long! Road 40 to Lillooet is closed indefinitely. www.DriveBC.ca is not reporting the road closure but I just called Lillooet Interior Roads office and they confirmed it is closed. Crews are assessing the situation. They are dealing with debris flow issues in various locations and will update as more information comes in.
Drivebc.ca have posted the closure now: Debris on Highway 40 Both directions - Closed in both directions from Gold Bridge to Junction with Highway 99, due to multiple mudslides. Estimated time of opening currently not available. No detour available. Next update 10:00 am. Updated on Thu Jul 24 at 8:38 am PDT. (ID# 171264)

One of the highway Twitter accounts posted that that the Hurley is still open.

BC Transportation @TranBC · 2h

RT @SLRD_Emergency: Overnight mudslides have closed Road 40 b/w Lillooet and Goldbridge. Follow @DriveBC for more info. Hurley remains open.

I've started a ride report that's about 50% done here: http://forums.mtbr.com/bikepacking-bike-expedition/chilcotin-mountains-bike-tour-923010.html

Great trip report, looking forward to reading the last day.

That is weird that you couldn't find the trail up Elbow Pass. I was at the back of the group that day as I had a slightly twisted ankle, but don't recall it being difficult to see. That said it was 6 years ago, maybe the amount of traffic and erosion had obscured the trail?

http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/day-3-graveyard-elbow-lorna-tyax-deer-pass-spruce-lake/

I think I'm the rider/dot in the distance.

We've just started doing the self supported Chilcotin rides this year, but we have experience doing offroad self supported touring.
Our previous trips up there were using horses from Spruce Lake Wilderness Adventures [HTML_REMOVED] day trips either using Tyax's float plane or riding in from one of the park boundary trail heads.

Great trip and photos! Makes me more stoked for my next couple of trips up there.

That's an interesting bag that sits along the top tube (pic #8434). What do you keep in there and where did you get that?

Sorry not my bike. That is an extedned TT bag Bruce got made. Provides some extra carrying capacity, but looked pretty floppy. Not sure I'd want to deal with that.

You might be able to reinforce it with a plastic stiffener to help it hold its shape.

Great trip report, looking forward to reading the last day.

That is weird that you couldn't find the trail up Elbow Pass. I was at the back of the group that day as I had a slightly twisted ankle, but don't recall it being difficult to see. That said it was 6 years ago, maybe the amount of traffic and erosion had obscured the trail?

Apparently it's not too hard to find going east to west, but we were going the other way and the trail ends at a river crossing with a big swampy meadow on the far side.

As it turns out the ride down the east side of Lorna Pass was so good we would have been sad to miss it so things worked out great. :clap:

leaving tonight for 4 days up there, stoke levels increasing by the second and focus on work has left the building!

Have a great trip. :) I'm really stoked to go back in a couple weeks with an unloaded FS bike. :clap:

Apparently it's not too hard to find going east to west, but we were going the other way and the trail ends at a river crossing with a big swampy meadow on the far side.

As it turns out the ride down the east side of Lorna Pass was so good we would have been sad to miss it so things worked out great. :clap:

I'll have to look at the map when I get home. I can't think of where you were.

Apparently it's not too hard to find going east to west, but we were going the other way and the trail ends at a river crossing with a big swampy meadow on the far side.

As it turns out the ride down the east side of Lorna Pass was so good we would have been sad to miss it so things worked out great. :clap:

Right I remember that creek crossing. We did find the trail however. After that the bugs were super bad on the climb up. The descent from Elbow is super fun too! Coming from the Graveyard area is a much nicer way to do Elbow.

I'll have to look at the map when I get home. I can't think of where you were.

We were at tip of key heading east.

Spoke to hiker that had come the other way and he had no issues going east to west, but even having done that he couldn't find the trail going west to east.

Just read this on http://www.southchilcotin.ca Facebook page

RAIN!! Lots of it all night long! Road 40 to Lillooet is closed indefinitely. www.DriveBC.ca is not reporting the road closure but I just called Lillooet Interior Roads office and they confirmed it is closed. Crews are assessing the situation. They are dealing with debris flow issues in various locations and will update as more information comes in.
Drivebc.ca have posted the closure now: Debris on Highway 40 Both directions - Closed in both directions from Gold Bridge to Junction with Highway 99, due to multiple mudslides. Estimated time of opening currently not available. No detour available. Next update 10:00 am. Updated on Thu Jul 24 at 8:38 am PDT. (ID# 171264)

we came from della thursday evening, we made it through, but the slides were extensive, definitely 4x only around a couple of them….I didn't get any pictures myself, but they were very impressive. We had more than a few fresh debris flows to get through on our Castle Pass epic Friday too, lots of muddy feet!

Castle Pass adventure, lots of route finding along the way, that and some beta from friends who rode it a couple weeks ago was essential. Views and area are spectacular, the previous days rain unleashed a whole lot of debris flows, and we had to crosses several still wet and muddy deposits of material, the creeks were all running high as well.

Approaching Castle Pass

Todd Hellinga-0381 by T.odd View, on Flickr

Hike a bike

Todd Hellinga-0397 by T.odd View, on Flickr
view northish from the pass

Todd Hellinga-0425 by T.odd View, on Flickr

Todd Hellinga-0429 by T.odd View, on Flickr

Looking over Spruce Lake and beyond

Todd Hellinga-0442 by T.odd View, on Flickr

Saw this fuzzy creature too by Mowson Pond on the way home last evening

Todd Hellinga-0457 by T.odd View, on Flickr

Route 40 between the Dam and Goldbridge on Thursday evening….sorry for the one big pic, I ganked it off a friends FB feed…

Thanks for all the Chilcotins photos. :clap:

They are keeping me going at work until I head back there in couple weeks. :heart:

Castle Pass adventure

I think that is the best way to describe this route.

We did a two day version of this loop on Saturday/Sunday. Slow going with the extra weight of overnight gear. Especially with the softness of the deactivated road and trails on the first day after the torrential rain last week.

Did you spray paint some rocks in orange at the river by the debris flow after the log crossing? Was trying to figure out of the debris flow was new or just got rain soaked. CraigH was it there last time you came through?

Pics and TR to come

Did you spray paint some rocks in orange at the river by the debris flow after the log crossing? Was trying to figure out of the debris flow was new or just got rain soaked. CraigH was it there last time you came through?

That debris flow at the 3rd creek crossing was pre-2008 (first time I was up that valley) but more might have come down since. (There is a report somewhere online about that debris flow, but I can't remember where.)

Edit: Pre-2006, a trip report on ClubTread http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17939

The spray paint is new and not mine, it has appeared since my last trip up there last summer. I'd never use paint as a trail marker.