The Bushman Chronicles!

thinking of hard core hammering this 4 day 90+ km route in less than 3. Ultralight, webbing kit only. Freeze dried foods. Stripped down gear.

Peers Creek , Hope BC - over brutal trails to Princeton BC. 4 mountain ranges. full on REMOTE wilderness, grizzly black, brown bear and mountain lion ground zero.

snow is coming soon........seriously thinking about a full on fast hike

 

looks to be a nice hike,go for it.If you're off the air for a few days we understand fully

 

Looks like fun. Go for it.

 

now im really thinking about this hike.......

I had the idea of PRE-CACHING food (fresh, dried, etc) along the way.........do a series of hikes or mountain bike hikes over the next few months with cache food and somehow bury, hang, or otherwise store it in advance.

any ideas on food caching on the trail? most likely it would be BURIED, or HUNG in trees and camouflaged

area is BEAR (Grizz, brown, black, and the odd Kodiak) , cougar, mongoose, racoon, skunk........Central.....

 

I would opt to hang over bury, if you did bury I'd go as deep as possible and put it in a bear proof container. Either way I wouldn't rely to heavily on them being there when you get there

 

Yeah.....i know.......would just be a lighter load to carry if i could resupply every 20 klicks over the 4 days or so

If i did cache,it would be in hung HIGH in the trees, camouflaged buckets (multi earth tone paints, glued on moss and leaves etc) with the spin off lids. Freeze dried pouches , in ALOKSAKS

 

So, is there a shortcut you can use to get the food further in on the trail?

There would have to be, or else it wouldn’t be worth it.

 

Chopper?

this area covers 4 - 5 mountain ranges and is brutal terrain. Only access, other than a chopper , is to hike in.

its 57KM Trailhead to Trail EXIT point (AS THE CROW FLIES - .....actual distance is 100+KM's). There is some logging roads...but most are decommissioned, no longer marked on maps, or off limits. Wether they intersect the trail I do not know.

also while i can easily hike 25 KM on a relatily flat open trail, these trails are UP and DOWN and are narrow, brutal terrain........most trails here in BC are not easy walking. So while i might average 20 - 25 KM a day on a flat trail, I might only average 10 - 13 km a day at most on these trials. Elevations range from 900 feet at the trailhead to over 6000 feet on one of the peaks.





rough idea of terrain/elevation/valley to peak depths.....thats one mountain range only

 

Then I’m missing the point of pre-caching the food.

Seems like more work than just hiking the trail outright.

I mean, you can’t hike 50% of the way just to store some food then turn around and go back, you might as well just keep going.

 

Know anybody that could do a food drop into a clearing from a plane or helo?Like OKcherokee said,if you can't access from another way should just carry the food and hike it all.

 

the terrain is so brutal, that i want to hike it as light as possible (sub 18lb load out) , hence the food caches along the way. I eat about 3 - 10 lbs of food a day, depending on physical exertion......... 4 to 5 days hiking is like 50+ lbs of food to carry....

local Heli rates are $1000 - 7500+ an hour. The thought did cross my mind....but there is NO cell service there, so i would need a SAT PHONE ($1000 with air time)

the trail is HORSE friendly.....i did have the idea of renting a horse and saddlebags........but the wildlife would have a feast on a horse! ........and I'd be on the hook for a $10,000+ animal......

 

So, the question still remains, how are you going to get the food out there?

 

this the kind of terrain and altitude that the trail is on, passes thru and climbs over and drops down in...

 

Best way to travel!!! A good horse with a couple pack mules.

 

50+ pounds of dehydrated food?I could last a month on thatCmon Bushman you can do this!

 

Monday Sept 3rd 2018, sunny, warm, steady cool breeze, "The LungBuster, ThighBuster, Lets Climb A Double Black Diamond Ski Hill For Kicks & Giggles, Tour The Mountain Lakes, Descend The Mountain Via The Old Baden Powell Trail....And Run Into A 400+ LB Grizzly Tour"

Threw the L.R.R.P.R. webbing into the truck and headed up to Cypress Mountain today (also includes Cypress Provincial Park) . The goal was to hike the lakes loops and then hike up to Mt. Strachan, to view the Royal Canadian Navy T33 plane wreck and memorial plaque. (i actually went a different direction,but will visit the Memorial soon)

soundtrack (motivational music for the long steep march.....) for today is local Vancouver band Skinny Puppy, grew up with these lads, and Aetherian.

Skinny Puppy - Rodent (Ken "Hiwatt" Marshall Remix)

Skinny Puppy - Testure, 12" remix 1989

Aetherian - The Rain

Running Wild - Ballad Of William Kidd

weather system holding steady.........lots of clouds moving in, but holding. The access road 1000 meters up , leads to the Ski Lodge



Parked the rig, donned the L.R.R.P.R. webbing, got the usual stares, and headed out at a fast pace. Passing thru the end of the ski lot parking area.


looking back....before the brutal climb up a 65 deg slope.


looking up at over 1000 meters of elevation gain.....(top of mountain not visible here)


side view, for steep perspective......

only 200 feet up from the lot...everything starting to look like ants

the road across the valley..........the little black dots are people.


zoomed in ............

so many blueberries and huckleberries...this is why there is a MASSIVE grizzly, brown, black bear population up here.......massive food source.


the only undergrowth is berry bushes....thickets and thickets of them - those shown below are about 5' tall


fireweed


still climbing. I was averaging 50' at a time before pausing for a minute or two to let my lungs catch up........A couple came up behind, they were much younger and FIT, and they were gasping for breath........I was surprised.......at myself......



succulent starting to grow in the gravels



another 200 meters gained. Brilliant idea to climb a ski hill! LOL...

 

creeping moss tendrils


cut across and UP an de-commissioned ski hill. The ferns are taller than me.



only halfway up........the ski lift chairs sway gently in the breeze, alone, unused, the silence of an abandoned amusement park, broken only by the croaking of Raven.....



people ski down this........NUTS! i'm practically scrambling up it!


Ravens perch, and the occasional Stellars Jays (Sandwich THIEF BIRDS!)


Vancouver, West Side Vancouver, UBC, Richmond, Delta, Surrey and the Fraser Valley in the distance. A cancer on the landscape...........


the group behind me....their teen boy was kicking their arses, running up the hill, and doubling back down........I later shared my maps with the group, they were trying to get to a certain lake. This is the section of hill that levels out a bit.......


still climbing........not even at the trail system yet............still got to get to the top of the mountain........25lb webbing gear on, yet still making better time up the double black diamond 65-70 deg slope than the hikers with just water bottles and cell phones. Pushing myself hard. Part of it is the L.R.R.P.R. webbing is so comfortable to wear....zero movement, low center of gravity..........the more i wear it, even at 25 lbs, the more comfortable it becomes. I did not take it off once until I made my first tea brew up stop much later.

 

St John's Wort EVERYWHERE.......the flowers can be steeped as a tea or cold drink, to relieve anxiety or stress, its quite nice as well for getting one to sleep........


finally at the "top" of the mountain......start of the trails to all the little mountain lakes that cover the Cypress/HollyBurn mountain ranges. These trails are WELL traveled.....very popular hike on hot summer days......the lakes are cold and refreshing and the scenery is SPECTACULAR. Most people though take the short hike from the parking lot.....and do not climb the longer ski hills climbing route like a few of us did........

wild daisys


doggies favorite pace....WET MUD!
dense forest




first little pond, a favorite with the doggies

second pond


and the third, Cabin Lake....this is HUGELY popular for hikers.......and Doggo's! this Lab was having the time of his life!

fourth mountain puddle

fifth

and my favorite.......a not so hiked little lake. Wish it was stocked with fish though.....


emerging dragonfly........

 

New JayJayBreconUK butt roll pouch. Got my smock stuffed into there. Also relocated the Silky Saw to underneath the roll-pouch with a few shock cords.



Exotac TitanLight - use this all the time. It is a Zippo KILLER........zero leaked or evaporated fuel.


got a roll of highly reflective AND luminescent tape.


sat by the lake, a very cold breeze coming down the mountain, but the sun took a little chill off, as did a brew up of strong tea.


cant beat this.


while sitting there enjoying the silence, i noticed some fat lil rolly polly birds moving about by the lakes edge. Lil buggers were tennis ball sized they were so rotund. Probably eating tons of berries.

View attachment 32473

 

there was thousands of these little water beetles ripping around the lakes



ran into a couple who were totally lost. They actually thought they were on the east side of the valley. showed them where they were on my map, and red jiffy marked an egress route for them. At least they were in an area that was well traveled ,even late in the day.

I moved to the second last lake. As I left (i was walking silently) I rounded a blind corner and scared a lil old Japanese man by accident. I profusely apologized and then he started giggling.........."you a bear!, I sure you a bear! Im happy, very happy your not a bear". We both giggled and then went on our way. The dude looked he was going to fall over with the huge backpack he was wearing, but he had two hiking sticks to keep him upright.

the second last lake, stained dark with decaying plant matter


I went off trail and diverted down to the old , rarely traveled anymore Baden Powell Trail on this mountain range. It has not been used much in the last few years except by diehard hardcore hikers. Trees fallen over across the trail, markers fallen down or gone (winter snow damage). I walked for a bit, then as i crested a small rise i noticed a bear about 200 feet ahead of me, brown, with a LARGE hump on its shoulders. It disappeared into the berry thickets along the trail. A small grizz, only about 400 lbs.

I had a few options, retreat, or start making a racket and talking loudly to make the bear aware of me (it was already aware of me.........), fire off a bear banger (i did not want too, because i figured the old man i spooked 20 minutes earlier would get really scared and maybe rush down the trail out, and possibly trip and hurt himself........perhaps? )....and I really did not feel like retreating, this trail was an expressway egress route to one of the ski hills i came in on. Would save me three hours.

so I started talking loudly and making my way down the trail, HEY BEAR! HEY BEAR! I'M COMING THRU! and banging my staff on trees and snapping sticks and clapping my hands. Safety off on the magnum can of bear spray, and I threaded a bear banger round into the launcher just in case.

about another 400 feet down the trail, i found where he left the berry thickets and came back onto the trail. This was fresh, and you could feel the heat coming off it when I held my hand close to it. Smelled like blueberries. Literally. Its about 10" diameter by 6" tall


I continued to make a racket, and never saw the bruin again. Some fresh scuff marks indicated it had left the trail again about 100 yards past the scat sign and gone down into the forest.

that gets the ticker going! still nothing like when i was a kid and a big grizzly stuck its head into my bedroom window one autumn morning...........Dad awoke to my bellowing and chased the bear off with a big steel pot and a huge metal spoon. He was literally 4 feet from the bear when it stood up on its legs (Dad was 6'2, the bear was standing about 9') . Dad banged on the pan and waved his arms and finally the bear stood downand ambled off. Left a 4' wide hole in our rip rap (cedar mill off cuts) fence that went around the garden.


carried on, still making noise. found a massive old tree


ooooh huckleberries. I gorged on these along the trail, ever mindful of the bruin.....

crossed a small boulder field....and noticed a pair of Grouse. Damn Momma Grouse got a Kardashian booty!

Mrs Grouse

Mr Grouse

what a little rolly polly fatty! man....good eating.........but I left them alone.

Mr Grouse glaring at me over the rock, while Mrs Grouse just stood there.


carried on down the trail, exiting onto an old decommissioned ski run (had been tree planted) and crossed it, then made my way to one of the runs nearby and headed down. Still a few thousand feet to descend before the parking lot.

hell of a view though.


talked to a Employee of the Cypress Lodge, advising of the grizz and its location, marked it on a park map and she said she would let the Ranger know.

thats it. good times. Hell of a brutal climb today.........lungs beat.....