MOUNT CHEAM TRIP – OCTOBER 2, 2005
Coastal Cruisers members attending: Gary Telford ’81 BJ60, Jeff Steiger 2004 Tacoma carrying an ATV, Bill Wilkinson ’88 BJ74.
Guests: Kirk & son in Jeep Cherokee, Jason and two sons in Jeep YJ, and Klaus Micheals with Bill.
We rendezvoused at the Vedder Road Husky station Sunday morning for the greasy spoon breakfast (not recommended) , ready for a great day of wheel’n. After a slow start we headed up through sunny Sardis to Vedder Crossing and up Chilliwack Lake Road past the hopeful early anglers flogging the streams. Then on past Slesse Park, and up the Chilliwack Bench FSR.
Ah, I love the smell of diesel early in the morning. We gained elevation on the Chipmunk Creek trail, and passed a few rough spots where one vehicle, no names mentioned, with bald tires and no locker, had to be pulled up. We reached Archibald Peak, elevation 1730 m., and had lunch looking south into the Cascades at Mt. McKGuire, Sleese Mountain, and Canadian Border Peak. There were lots of blueberries and bear droppings. Other wildlife noted included one hawk and two chipmunks. The air was fresh and chilly and a few snowflakes danced around our heads. The kids got pretty excited at the sight of snow. Jason fearlessly descended the daunting Widow Maker Hill and powered back up again, mud flying in all directions, much to the amazement of a group of trail bikers down below.
With rain starting to close in, we moved on and eventually smoked around to Cheam Peak at 2107 m. The views of Chilliwack, the Fraser River, and Harrison Lake were definitely worth the trip. We took a narrow overgrown trail down from the peak, where some kind souls had slashed the encroaching willow trees. At one point Jason got bogged into a stinky-muck mud ditch and bent his center tie rod and stretched one front shackle. We played on the gravel/sand hills a bit before heading home in heavy rain. Its getting dark early now and this probably was our last club run of the season. I’ll post some photos tomorrow on our site at
www.coastalcruisers.ca which will also include a couple of last years run up there too.
~Bill