Pemberton to Harrison Hot Springs by 4x4

When you leave the Pemberton Lodge with it's magnificent pool and hottub, you take a right to Mount Currie. The comfortable pool side suite, order in Pizza that night, a late night movie, luxurious bathroom and comfortable queen bed prepare you for what might be the last trip. The new Honda CRF 250 motorcycle was on the back of my old Ford Ranger FX$ Level II. Part of the rational for the motorcycle was to reduce wear and tear on the truck as well as save on gas. The bike was just the thing for rough terrain. Maybe the truck was jealous. There were implausible explanations for everything.

"Can you get through to Harrison's Hot Springs this year," I asked him. There had been road closures in the past.

"In a truck you can, " he told me. A believable sort. Probably owned a monster truck.

Driving through Mount Currie and heading up the Duffy Lake Road where the sign for Lillooet Lake jogs left was just fine. Beautiful day. Sunshine. Blue sky. Amazing vistas. Late summer. None of the music that prepares you though for the horror film.

Easy logging road drive. . Around 45 km is where St. Agnes Hotsprings exists. St. Agnes Hotsprings is incredible. There's a $5 user charge. The change room is an outhouse but half the adults go naked. It's European that way. You can spot the Canadians dressed in blue long johns with trap doors , balaclava face masks and scarves. They think taking off their parkas in the hotsprings is a really liberal sexy living. Dragonflies abounded. I talked with a Polish guy about skin properties of algae and not too long after I was a boiled lobster and ready to hit the road again. My friend could have stayed the week. She's an exile from amniotic fluid.

The road got better and better. I figured they were opening this area for tourists as well as new logging going on. All was going well till we got to the head of Harrison Lake. Great view and then the sign said: "ROAD CLOSED. Impassable. For more information call ......" That couldn't be true. What do signs know? There were tracks on the road where another vehicle had gone. I didn't think their going in and none coming out could have several meanings. I'd already had the fatal 4x 4 thought, "I think I'll just go see."

"I think I'll just go see," I said. She'd not been 4x4 so didn't know the missing horror theme music was beginning to crescendo.

In the past that "just go see" thought has caused me no end of grief 4x4 ing. Turning back or backing out of the 'just go see' is where the excitement usually begins. There was the time when the high mountain road collapsed under my 4x4 leaving me dangling precariously on 2 wheels until I could winch myself back onto the remaining road. The returning around that part driving sideways on the wall and what was left of the road was nearly as exciting. Or the time being washed down the river in the new Ford Broncho II when the dog jumped ship and I was thankful to hook up on a fallen tree so I could winch myself out. I don't like to remember those times.

This road was difficult but not excessive for the first part. The next sign "DUE TO FIRE THE RIDGE IS UNSTABLE" could have given pause for thought. But then the hand written sign "USE EXTREME CAUTION, BEWARE OF FALLING BURNT DEBRIS" appeared.

That's when my friend bravely said, "well, there must be people driving on this road for people to be putting up caution signs, don't you think. " What good news.

That's when the road turned extreme. It was boulders and wash out going up a half mile stretch with huge pot holes and half a road missing going down. The Ranger was superb. This just kept on and on. I had to stop to tighten the tie downs on the motorcycle twice as the truck was lurching from side to side and bucking bronchoing up down the bare rock. Somehow thanks to the big tires and high suspension and nimble steering I didn't hit anything. It was such rough hard going I wasn't making any more than 5 kph , night was falling, and I was losing hope.

Just then I saw headlights and a couple of crazy First Nations guys pulled up in their 4x4 Jeep.

"Is the road open through to Harrisons? " I asked.

"Yes, A little rough in spots. We came to look at where the fire had been."All around us was a charred moon surface. I 'd been so intent on driving I'd hardly registered the bleak scarred hills.

My friend had told me that the Lillooet Fire had been in the news for weeks this summer and this was where it had broken through to Harrison Lake. The town of Lillooet had been evaculate for safety.

"It's a little rough between here and the top of Harrison's." I said. We waved each other on, smiling, friendly, the way folk are off the beaten track.

Their 'a little rough' was a 'little rougher' than my ' a little rough".

We came to a truck totalling corridor that I'll long remember in my already too memorbble 4x4 experience, that included rolling over among other things.

Hearing the road was passable though bolstered my dwindling faith.

That's when we hit death valley hill. On either side of this stretch there were the left over dead bodies of two trucks whose suspensions had been torn out by the road or truck eating monsters. It was so steep that I had to keep momentum wrangling boulders the size of basketballs and riding sideways between washed bare rocks. Thats when the road played its best trick which had definitely caught the dead truck lying on it's side. Breasting over top a man sized boulder had fallen into the road forcing me to twist and ride sideways around it with no room to spare and a gully to nose through beyond. A second truck which had it's vitals torn out by that same beast lay on the other side of the road dismembered. I got through it somehow. Maybe the motorcycle sitting high in the back was telling the truck about where to go but somehow we got through that worst spot.

What followed then wasn't nearly as extreme or exciting but still 'rough' as attested by a half dozen more vehicles abandoned torn to bits by what must have been a bunch of those bad road beasts. It was 4x4 dead alley. Later I came across a cross where a human had gone down with his truck.

A couple of hours later I caught the lights of Harrison's way off across the lake in the distance. We came out at the Hemlock Valley exit onto Highway 7 . I'd have preferred the trail ended in the centre of town with a brass band but the paved highway was just about as good. I resisted getting out and kissing the asphault. Civilization.

Late at night I was glad to be back enjoying the city of Vancouver. It's so hard to believe that such awesome outdoors is only an hour away.

The old truck and young motorcycle seemed to have bonded now. That truck sure showed that kid some mighty fine moves. I left them in the garage going over the best parts.

Carter Hondasport

I finally got my new CRF 230 L. I'd been stopping by at Carter Hondsport for almost 2 years looking at bikes and talking to Troy about what would suit my needs best. I've a big harley I enjoy for cruising. The trouble is that Harley doesn't make anything in the enduro class accept the overpowered Ullyses. You don't need 1200 cc on logging roads and truthfully the bigger the bike in this city the more trouble you're inviting. I've discussed every new Honda with Troy these last 2 years. I love the Harley Buell class for sporty but Honda's makes a lot of sporty bikes and they're far more economical. The trouble with Buell is nothing is off road. If there'd been a Buell Enduro maybe. But their smallest bike is the Blast at 600 cc. If you're going to have 2 bikes you want a 1200 plus like Harley or the Honda Goldwings. They're famous for all the accessories and their reverse. Honda Silver Wing is the standby 650 scooter for town and country. But neither is good for offroad. That's where Honda leads the pack. Everyone and every write up talks about the off road Honda. This summer I met guys expeditioning accross trails on old Honda's and Hondas still sell 20 years later so they're made to last despite getting their ass kicked. That's the durability and reliability of Honda. I looked at Yamaha and Suzuki and had to admit that they had their attractions. At the trade show I almost bought a Yamaha enduro and went by to two or three shops to look at the bikes. But that's where Honda sales and service comes in. Troy has been patient. Nobody gave me the time of day at Suzuki. Too busy for the old guy browsing. Yamaha asked if I planned to buy right away and lost interest when I said I wasn't sure. Further when I wanted to test drive one there wasn't alot of support. Ironically, my friend has a yamaha and there's a good chance I would have bought one if I'd have test driven one. But there were younger more attractive people there and I don't think the guy could tell I had the money in my pocket. I'd come back to look at just that Yamaha enduro three times too and that seemed to irritate him somewhat. Troy on the other hand always encouraged me to look. Andy the salesmanager was a lot of help too. I'd bought other scooters there and there was always a deal. My friends who bought Shadows said the same. It's the same customer service I get at Trev Deely. Friendly, helpful, appreciative of your business. I confess I'd have liked a Harley 250 enduro class but truthfully I'd never have paid the 2 to 3 x the name might cost me when I'd just as soon have a cruiser which is what Harley does so well. I'm one of those "loyal" shoppers. I like to return to a place where people remember me from the previous times. I like that I'm a "customer' at Honda. Harley capitalized on their "family" of customers, HOGS (Harley Owner's Group) members like me. But that's the same thing that Honda has going and I don't see anyone else having that concern. Besides I've really enjoyed all my Honda products, generators, outboards and the Corolla I had was a great car. Honda is a good name and makes good products. Reliable, reasonable priced, good warranties that people stand by. The warranty is a thing. Too often today it's this 'sales feature' but when you bring something back there's this major hassle almost as if there wasn't a 'warranty' in the first place. Yet at Honday warranty means warranty and they've stood by their products over the years and still do. I love the Honda service department as much as I love Harley's but confess I've never puked when I've got a Honda service. Harley mechanics are ex plumbers.

Now I've got this Honda CRF 230 and I love it. Any bigger would be unnecessary. It goes on all the city roads and the highway. It's got all the power I need for the city and hardly uses any gas. It's fuel efficient and stops on a dime. It's high maneuverable. And whereas drivers try to kill me when I drive a bigger motorcycle this enduro is rather liked by drivers who treat me as a kind of 'scooter' . I think the engine sounds which save our lives on the highways bring out the road rage in the city. This bike is quiet and that's what I like because I take it hunting on the logging roads and trails where it really performs. Also with a ramp I can load it on and off my truck myself. It's sits perfectly in the back of my Ford Ranger with the tail gate up. And I've had it there doing extreme 4x4 ing without it shifting at all. I feel safe with it there and any bigger bike I'd have to had the tail gate down. The weight is the lowest in this class so it's something I can pick up in the woods by myself. Offroad it just climbs and jumps and is so smooth. Downhill that first gear gives me control and the brakes make extreme off road safe.

Now I've discussed all this with Troy. And in the end I got this bike cheap and it's serving me perfectly. Just as the Harley served me. Now if only I didn't work I could live on my motorcycle. "Don't want a pickle, just want to ride on my motorcycle."

Dawn Hunt

5 am. That's the time the internal clock wakes me up when I have a crazy notion the night before to go hunting or fishing in the morning. It's an ugly rising. I recall my father carrying me over his shoulder to the truck the first duck hunts. The only one awake ever was the dog. But as the morning progressed we'd see nature come alive. I'm heading out now and going on faith. Even if I don't see any game I know I'll still be able to watch the sun come up over the mountains. That's something to wake up for. I believe.

Spud Valley Sporting Goods Ltd.

This is a great hunting, fishing, camping, outdoors store. It's right in down town Pemberton beside the gas station just after the turn to the Hotel on the hotel side of town. There's the main grocers with the best potatoes across the road. From the door you can see the Scotia bank too. Brad and Sheridan are the sons of the owners. They know everything about everything about Pemberton hunting and fishing. I'm surprised they spend any time in the store. They're only there because their friends work so they have no one to play with in the mountains until the friends are let out of work. In the meantime they mess with their favourite stuff. Great out door stuff. Fishing rods, fly rods, reels, rifles. The best in clothing, the good stuff.
They had a particularly nice Mossberg 30-30 lever action but some guy came in and told them that his dad used to have a lever action rifle. It's a cowboy rifle. Good to 100 yards, the kind of gun you carry on a horse or motorcycle. The guys don't have that Mossberg anymore but they have every other type of rifle you could want. Their scopes start at $100 and go to $1000. They're that kind of store, good stuff and the highest quality stuff.
They were headed out goose hunting tonight. That's why Brad claims to have his big beard, so the geese don't look down and see a white face. The guys were all practicing their goose calls in the store. You could just tell that when they were a whole lot younger they compared farts too. Next week they'll be hunting 4 point deer. All summer they've been fishing. Oh yea, they're sometime in the store. Talking about the best boots and best gear and best places to go. They love Spud Valley. They love the outdoors. Too bad their friends have to work and their friends wives want to see them sometimes.

Soldiers in the Mist

Written by Gary Douglas this is the third novel in the Fancy Jack Crossman series. Published in 1999 it is historical fiction along the Sharpe Series lines, with Fancy Jack a British Empire Sgte being sent behind Russian lines on 'foxhunts'. Set in the Crimean War it depicts the events surrounding the great battle for the Inkerman Heights.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Inkerman Nov. 5, 1854 with Lord Raglan the commander of the English and Canrobert, the commander of the French fighting Prince Menshikov, commander of the Russian troops. Nearly a thousand French and English were killed whereas 10,000 Russians were killed and wounded that day. As many wounded died in hospitals as in the field till Florence Nightingale arrived to bring cleanliness and order to the care of wounded. The book was a very good read with a lot of history surrounding this interesting character, a very different sort of prototypical war 007.

Mutant Chronicles

The set is incredible. But then I'll watch anything with John Malkovich in it. Sci fi, mutants, war to save mankind. 25000 AD. Great filmatography.

It's a mix of horror, war and sci fi. Guns, flamethrowers, bombs and sword.

State of Play

Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren make the incredibly intriguing movie 2009 State of Play a hit for characterization. The plot, a congressman investigating the privatization of American Foreign and Homeland security for profit and the death of his female aid as they play together in a story investigated by his journalist friend, is a superb film adaptation of the 6 part BBC series 'State of Play'. Directed by Kevin Macdonald, the screenplay was written by Mathew Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray. Paul Abbott wrote the television series. Given that the most believable reporting on 7-11 and the War of Iraq with it's Weapons of Mass Destruction was not the propagandistic CNN but BBC, it isn't surprising that State of Play's complex and personal story is wholly believable when it comes to talking about people and politics. Perhaps that's because the British had their empire a bit longer than the Americans have had theirs. A must see movie for anyone who loves investigative journalism and still believes that the news isn't wholly controlled by the american militaryindustrialcorporate complex sometimes known as the american mediamilitaryindustrialcorporate complex.(AMMICC for short).