Hi my name is Glenn Bridges and I am live in Kelowna. I thought I could provide some intel on your Mackenzie trip. I went through the Mackenzie in 2010 and 2013 in my BJ74, which is a well suited truck for this type of trip (good on fuel and narrow). The first trip was in 2010 from East to West starting at the Backroads Mapbook denoted trail head at the Fraser River through to Gatcho Lake, the westernmost limit of motorized travel. The second trip in 2013, was from West to East, starting at Gatcho Lake to the more common trail head at Titetown Lake off the Batnuni FSR. It should be noted that the portion of trail between Gatcho and Eliguk Lake is a walking trail only, so motorized traffic must use the Krestinuk's Wagon Road, which is an epic piece of the trail in my opinion.
Due to the difficulty of the western portion of the trail, the West to East route may provide a higher probability of completing the entire trail for several reasons. This route encounters the toughest parts of the trail first, when spirits, energy and fuel reserves are still high, as well as offering multiple emergency bailout points at Rainbow Lake (to Anahim Lake), Messue Crossing (north to Vanderhoof) and Kluskus Village via 4000 rd to Nasko (for fuel). One more point - there is really no single route over some segments of this trail and is actually an interwoven trail system as many bypasses have been cut to avoid 'burns' and other obstacles over the years.
Here are a few comments on preliminaries that some may find helpful in trip preparations.
Saws
High quality chainsaws in excellent condition are critical. Based on two trips - we found that Stihl and Husqavarna are the best and most reliability, while others (e.g. Poulin, Sears, etc.) suffered too much downtime. I recommend a bar no longer 14"- 16", because the trees are not large and wielding a long bar after many hours can be hazardous to the operator and others as it often gets caught in overhead snags and is more difficult to manipulate in awkward quarters. I would recommend bringing new saw files and new chains for all saws and a few plastic wedges. Make sure everyone knows how to sharpen their chains properly as there some skill involved in getting them sharp. Dull chains are very slow and inefficient. Machetes are not safe and require a lot of precious energy to cut branches as compared to tree pruners. I always carry a small Fiskar tree pruner (cuts up to 1.25" stuff), which is useful in getting your door open.
Fuel
As discussed the trail requires a lot fuel. Fuel use depends on how wet the trail and amount of windfall. The wetter the trail the more fuel required. It looks like the trail is wetter in recent years than on any of my previous trips. For both trips, I carried an extra 40 litres with a 130 litre total for a fuel efficient 13BT. The FJ Cruiser carried an extra 160 litres for a total 230 litres. Last available fuel (West to East) is Anahim Lake and (East to West) at Nazko (or Sylvia's). Call ahead in all cases.
Food
For the West to East route - buy all your food in Williams Lake, as there is no fresh food along Hwy 20. Some food is available in Anahim Lake, but selection is poor. From East to West - load up in Quesnel. One option I used in 2010, was to use the ARB fridge/freezer as a dedicated freezer and recycle ice to a large cooler, which I used as my 'fridge'. Recycle ice in the morning so the truck is running all day and put that night's dinner in the cooler. Thawing food helps in the cooler.
Water
The water in the Blackwater drainage has a very high organic content - hence the name Blackwater. I had a MSR water filter, but the water has such a high organic content it plugs the filters. To extend my good quality potable water supply, I carried a separate non-potable water container collected when the water looked clean along the way for washing and rinsing. The water in the community of Anahim Lake has a very high iron content and should be avoided.
Bugs
They are bad. I carried two Thermacells (lots of extra pads and fuel), traditional mosquito coils in the metal container, DEET spray in both truck doors and several fly squatters. My truck had mosquito netting on my two side windows. About 30 minutes before going to bed I lit a mosquito coil in my truck and slept with a fly squatter close at hand. In really bad situations I put on my baggy mosquito hoody to get some relief while trying to eat.
Trail Damage
The most common trail damage are sticks through sidewalls (we destroyed 4 tires in 2013), dents and door creases, mirrors ripped off, burnt out winch solenoids/motors, broken limb risers to name a few. In 2013 a stick went through a radiator of an HDJ81, which we pulled out an JB welded overnight.
I can post more trail specific info if you guys are interested.
) he retired and at the age of 48 married a 14 year old.)
