Canol Road Expedition

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I will be in the area June 23-27ish dates are a bit flexible but not a whole lot. Plans involve some friends and family coming out from the east. Won't be pushing any boundaries this go, its really just for a preliminary look around and to spend some time in the wilds while doing so. There will be at least two capable rigs as of now so a foray into the distance is possible. But, caution will be exercised. The north takes no prisoners at the best of times. Anybody with an interest in such things would be welcome.
 
After a quick look at a map...

Leave Red Deer, AB on the morning of the 19th of June, west into B.C, north on B.C 37, westish on Alaska highway towards Whitehorse, north on the southern Canol to Ross river 21st or 22nd. Possibly pushing back departure by a day depending on likelyhood of fuel and supply availability. Lay in a good stock, roll out of Ross River 22nd or 23rd and let the "real" adventure begin. Plenty of room for improvisation. And thats exactly what I plan to do.

Anyone whos been there done that? Would like to? Other input? Fire away.
 
With a trip of this magnitude it comes down to the commonality of the vehicles and people participating in the event. With no feed back on vehicles and participants its hard to set a solid plan. This is without a doubt a team event. Members need to be established, common parts, food and fuel must be spread throughout the group. This isn't a walk in the park that is signed up for a few weeks beforehand. There will be trial runs of both man and machine well before this event takes place. So for those interested in making this a reality speak up. This is no weekend frolic in the back country. This is a month long commitment to the people and machinery around you. So strap up, list your gear, list your ideas to improve the mobility of the group and begin preparation for the extreme.
 
I have wanted to do this drive for a decade. I have built my LX450 for a road like this. Time wise a month expedition is like a year for me at this point in my life (small business owner). But hey I am will to say I would do my best to make a trip like this happen.

The Machine - 1997 Lexus LX450

Armored, slides, bumpered w/ 10,000# amphibious winches both ends, roofrack, soon to be snorkeled, triple locked with ARB air lockers front and rear, on board air, dual battery's, regeared with 4.88, 315/75 R16 duratrac's on stock rims, full on 4" Slee lift with their new control arms, Slee baja shocks w/ reservoirs, Slee steering linkage. Basically all new underneath. It has 180,000 miles on it and virtually no rust. Runs strong and I'd be up for some testing anytime. So let me know when and where and lets see where the weak points of the truck are.

I also have a M101 trailer that is being built to the same standards as I have built my truck. It will run the same tires/rims as the truck so if all goes bad, will dump the trailer and steal the tires off it and keep going...

Would this be a strictly guys trip or family trip? From pictures and some reading it looks like there will be some hard parts but a lot of nice ones too. I have a wife & two kids 6 & 7. We go camping as much as we can and they would want to be involved in a trip like this. Is this possible and / or wise... Let me know?

Well that's me. Who's next...

Cary
 
Awesome Cary, I think most of the rigs on this adventure will be 80 series based. Some of the trucks may not be 80 series cruisers but they will have 80 series parts.

We are looking into doing a few hundred km trail in bc that has multiple exit points if trouble arises to test out our gear on the main event where an exit isn't so easy to come by. I've got my truck wheelable so there will be some local trips in the near future. Probably one close to New years in the Sundre area.
 
Cool, keep us all posted!
 
hiluxjeremy said:
Anyone whos been there done that?
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Yup...

canadian bum said:
With a trip of this magnitude it comes down to the commonality of the vehicles and people participating in the event
Click to expand...

Quoted for Truth.
The trail is not particularly challenging... the remoteness makes it almost impossible: many 15-25+ year old vehicles can't even make that road trip. Four 12 hour days of driving just to get to the trail head. The trail begins 100's of km past last cell coverage and a 1/2 tank of fuel past the last gas station. When we did the trip, like CanadianBum suggested, we had detailed planning on exactly who had what (Google Docs FTW). We had detailed inventory of spare parts, equipment, and supplies. The only failure that we knew could have stopped us was catastrophic engine or tranny failure (which sadly, LoewenBrau actually had, but fortunately it was still on the highway where a towtruck could retrieve him). We had a plan B: We had enough capacity to leave a vehicle behind and get everyone home and make a return trip the following summer to recover vehicles, if we didn't feel we could walk away from it for some reason. That's a reality you should contemplate...

We selected out participants carefully, but most importantly, our expectations for the trip were aligned, and we had no conflict when we had to make major group decisions. This trip will force you to turn around before you've met your goals... My suggestions is that everyone agrees ahead of time what the end of the line will be for your expedition. When is enough enough? Does everyone turn around together?... when do you leave someone behind?... etc.

I am excited for you all!
 
I too read the Canol Trail trip report in Overland Journal by the Rover guys and was blown away by the whole thing.

Ended up searching the word Canol and here I am.

Very much looking forward to seeing how this pans out. Would love it for you guys to make it just so I can live vicariously through you.

Subscribed.
 
Foras Vir said:
Did you go?
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No we haven't. I was at the Ross River Ferry a couple years back in April. The Ferry wasn't running. And I'm somewhat tempted to making a late winter attempt at the Trail if we were to make a go at it to eliminate the hurdles of the bogs and river crossings. More research and scout runs will be required though.
 
Pack carefully, the middle two pics are a couple miles past the trailhead. But the last pic is coming out across the border, cause this happens in the last week of Sept. I was last one out, even the guides had pulled out. The snow comes and goes.

P1000419.webp
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cruiseroutfit said:
Did any Cruiserheads ever make a run at this?
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Not yet, closest I've been is the Ferry at Ross River. I believe Jeremy went for a little ways down the trail. But we haven't actually made a viable go at it.
 
Hello,

I just joined this site specifically to converse with folks in this thread regarding the Canol. Judging by the latest post from 2019, nobody has actually run this trail in the intervening nine years. I and several friends in Oregon, Washington, and Alberta are planning on running this route in about five years. We would like to talk with those of you that had expressed interest.
 
Chesnimnus said:
Hello,

I just joined this site specifically to converse with folks in this thread regarding the Canol. Judging by the latest post from 2019, nobody has actually run this trail in the intervening nine years. I and several friends in Oregon, Washington, and Alberta are planning on running this route in about five years. We would like to talk with those of you that had expressed interest.
Click to expand...
I imagine it's pretty grown in by now. Even with the influx of people into the offroad lifestyle this trail is pretty wild. I think it would be a lot of pushing over trees now once you get far enough back in. I can do some digging though.
 
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