Harrison West FSR - Sep. 14, 2003

There was an article in the Province newspaper about the future of this route (also known as the "Sasquatch Highway") and how it might be developed as an alternative route to Whistler which might be needed for the 2010 Winter Olympics. On the map it looked like we might get some nice views of Harrison Lake and we weren't disappointed.

The weekend immediately after the backcountry travel ban was lifted, we drove up through Hemlock Valley to the start of the Harrison West Forest Service Road. The day started overcast but improved to partly sunny skies in the afternoon. The heavy rain didn't hit us until much later in the evening.

The route is quite pleasant and for the most part it was uneventful. There were a few rougher spots and steep sections but nothing too difficult. There were a lot of creeks and waterfalls and views of the lake so that was very nice. We also saw some wildlife like a bobcat and a bear (and a quail I was sure I was going to run over).

The beginning	Image027.jpg	Harrison Lake	Harrison Lake
Road to campground	Old Pier	Gathering rocks	Rock slide!
Watch out for the turn!	Abandoned Rollover	Image039.jpg	Image040a.jpg
Trio Creek	Trio Creek	Harrison Lake Shoreline	Bremner Creek
Bremner Creek	Bremner Creek	North Harrison Lake Those lines are power transmission lines.	? Creek
After we passed the log depot at the northern end of Harrison Lake, the road became much wider and smoother and we were able to make some good time. There were more signs of civilization since there were a few houses and communities along the way.
Timber!	Nice quiet road	Northern shore	Civilization!
Log depot	Image067.jpg	Vintage Equipment?	New and Old
At one stop we made for the call of nature, I noticed that one of the tires looked a little flat. I went into denial and convinced myself that it only looked that way because it was squished against a rock. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Shortly after we got back on the road, we were driving around a curve when I tried to move to the side to avoid an oncoming pickup truck and I realized that I had lost a lot of steering control. I quickly stopped and found the front left wheel completely flat.
Domestic Garbage	? Creek	Flat!	Image078.jpg
Although we had no cell phone service, there was the occasional vehicle who passed us and asked if we were OK so at least we didn't feel like we were in the middle of nowhere. I was able to swap the spare in and get back on the road in about 30 minutes which was good because when I started to get the tools out I could hear the distant rumble of thunder (which I also denied was a sign of impending poor weather).
Image079.jpg	Image080.jpg	Ready to go	Calling home from Pemberton
After we got back on the road and crossed the bridge to get to the east side of the Lillooet River, the rain started to come pouring down. We were in a bit of a hurry now because it was getting quite late and we had been expected home much earlier. We made the call home from the first pay phone we found in Pemberton and then took Hwy 99 through Whistler back home. And although our 3-4 hour trip turned out to be a 7-8 hour trip, we still had a lot of fun.