Think of a multi-day backpacking trip through the high country of Wells Gray Provincial Park and the words "daunting," "harrowing" and "exhausting" usually come to mind. But throw in the terms "guided," "food provided" and "hut-to-hut," and the foreboding soon vanishes.
Nothing takes the stress away like knowing you can leave your sleeping bag and tent at home, not to mention the dehydrated dinners and energy bars. An ordeal suddenly becomes a vacation, and that's what I certainly had when I joined six other outdoor enthusiasts and two able and certified guides on a five-day hike through the park's south end earlier this month.
For this, we can thank Tay Briggs and Ian Eakins, the owners of Wells Gray Chalets and Wilderness Adventures Ltd. In 1987, B.C. Parks issued a call for bids to improve access to this seldom-visited area and the proposal from the couple to build two huts in what was then a recreation area just south of the park's border plus a third within the park's boundary was accepted.
Furthermore, the couple, who live in Clearwater, the small community to the south of the main entrance to Wells Gray, became involved in the process to increase the amount of protected area in B.C. to 12 per cent and, in 1995, the park's border was expanded to include that area so that it was no longer available for mining and other resource development.
Our first day consisted of a short but steep two-hour hike up to Trophy Mountain Chalet, climbing 523 metres (1,700 feet) over four kilometres to a red-roofed cabin capable of sleeping up to a dozen guests.
It was nestled in the green of an alpine meadow where a family of marmots could be seen scurrying from burrow to burrow. A small brook that acted as our water source was also nearby while we could look out from the cabin's main balcony onto the mountains to Clearwater's south.
Once we had settled in, we soon followed that up with another brief walk around the vicinity where we got a sense of the lakes, rocky outcroppings and flora and fauna to come.
The next day we set out for a longer hike through the surrounding mountains, bagging a couple peaks and gaining an appreciation for the wintertime skiing potential in the process. For my money, the view of Trophy Mountain and the valley of the hanging lakes was the biggest highlight among many. Our stops throughout the trip were made at what were conveniently known as "snack lake" and "lunch lake" and on this day we descended down to a highly-reflective "swim lake" where we took a nap after agreeing with our guide that with the high-country snow still melting, it was a little too cold to take a dip.
As with most multi-day hikes of this type, our trip took on a theme thanks largely to a botany enthusiast from New Zealand. Equipped with a field guide and a camera with a macro lens, Paul had no hesitation dropping onto a knee, if not all fours, to get a closer look at the flowers and plants. The rest of us soon found ourselves doing the same thing. His enthusiasm was contagious and helped deepen our appreciation of the many forms of life around us.
As for the animals, the sightings were a little sparse although we did see a large marmot watching us from a perch of granite and some type of predatory bird floating above at the aptly-named Eagle Pass as we made our way for 12 kilometres to Discovery Cabin on the third day. That said, the stunning scenery in general more than made up for the lack of wildlife.
In keeping with the theme of spending one day based at each hut, we devoted a day to hiking around Discovery Cabin, enjoying more alpine scenery, before descending the next day to the Phillip Lake area where another van had been left to drive us back to civilization, but not before a quick stop at the always impressive Helmcken Falls.
Evenings, of course, were occupied with eating and our guides, Christine and Evan, were fabulous cooks. The chicken breast in a mushroom and white wine sauce on the first night was restaurant quality, and both cabins were well stocked with enough red and white wine to give us a couple glasses each night. We each carried two to four pounds of fresh food, such as broccoli, cheese, carrots and apples, but our packs remained light, no more than 35 pounds for any of us.
Not that there weren't hardships. I did not hesitate in putting on the net hat to keep the mosquitoes away from my face and after a couple days of wearing shorts and short sleeves, I followed our guides' examples and wore long sleeves and pants while still spraying myself with plenty of bug repellant. And although the distances were fairly short, a flat surface was a rarity. If we weren't going up, we were walking down and that made the distances seem at least half as much again farther than they were on the map.
Finally, in the high country, the snow can fall at any time of year, including early July. On our final day, we woke up to a strong flurry that eventually moderated somewhat but continued for much of our walk back out to the road. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as bad weather, it's just a matter of dressing properly and we all made use of the rain gear and extra layers that were previously at the bottoms of our packs. Oddly, hiking through the wind and moderate cold was kind of refreshing once we were dressed for it.
All in all, you could think of it as a backcountry all-inclusive. Admittedly, there was no buffet, poolside recliners and drinks with little umbrellas, and our nighttime entertainment consisted of Scrabble and a variant of that game, but being able to venture into areas we did while enjoying such light packs, good food and great guiding were luxuries in themselves.
If you go:
- You don't need to be an athlete but you need to be in reasonable shape and some backpacking experience is helpful. Most clients are older - in the 40 to 75 year range - although there was a younger woman from Germany on our trip.
- Medium-weight full leather boots are recommended although I was fine in a pair of canvas high top hikers. I highly recommend bringing hiking poles, especially for the descents. I know they prevented plenty of wear and tear on my wonky knees. And a good pair of gaiters kept the snow out of my boots on the last day.
- Bring ear plugs. The sleeping quarters are communal and there is always one snorer in the bunch.
- All the cabins are equipped with a shower stall where you can use a flower-waterer to pour warm water on yourself. The system is surprisingly effective given how little water is used but bring a beach towel to dry off as well as a bathing suit for dips into the lakes.
- You'll need to arrive in Clearwater the night before the trip, which begins the next morning. But I was able to get back to Prince George by shortly before midnight on the same day our trip ended.
- Wells Gray Adventures also offers a seven-day version that goes as far as the company's third cabin near Battle Mountain, and a three-day trip that stops at Trophy Mountain. More information and trip prices can be found at www.skihike.com. Bring extra cash to tip the guides - they deserve it.
