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Post by islandboy on Oct 30, 2008 10:25:17 GMT -8
I figured it would be better to start a new topic instead of us hijacking the Princess Jacqueline thread to continue discussing the Bamfield Road, but also to broaden the theme as there are a number of communities and regions of BC that can only be accessed by land via forestry roads ("Resource Roads" as they are officially called in Bill 30).  So, to continue the conversation: Just a few weeks ago I went for a ride with a buddy who was going down to Bamfield to rescue a friend who got stuck out there with a flat tire. Lots of folks I've talked who have taken that road recently have warned me that to expect to lose at least a tire if I ever headed down that way. Good thing we heeded the warnings - we were only doing 50km/h or so but ended up with our own flat tire (but we were smart enough to have a few of those auto-inflate/patch cans in the truck)! I thought it was bad a few years ago but this time it was absolutely horrible in spots. Of course that was before Hayes went bye-bye, so I wonder how much worse it's going to get over the next few weeks  Sounds like your buddy needs to invest in a new set of tires and probably slow down. I used to wheel a lot and the only tires I have ever seen chewed up on forestry roads are tires that probably shouldn't have been on the pavement, let alone a back road driven at breakneck speed and road maintenance designed for joggers! [/off topic] Trust me, this time it was more the condition of the road then a speed issue. For most of the length of the road from China Creek Marina to Bamfield (except for a few spots) the speed limit is posted as 70km/h. Even though it was a dry and relatively fog-free day we stuck to 50km/h max and slowed down a lot to (attempt) to dodge the mass of potholes that were covering good lengths of the road, especially past the old MacBlo camp at Franklin River. Apparently even the school bus taking kids from the coast to/from school is going through a tire or two a month. Mind you, I've also heard that some really old Bamfield resident drives to Port once a week to pick up stuff in his old Cadillac going 10km/h or so and while it takes all day his car is supposed to be in decent shape The Bamfield Road has issues, but to me it's just another example of the overall problem with the condition of resource roads in BC. These roads aren't supposed to be pretty or smooth enough to skateboard on, but those routes that are the only way out of remote communities need to be kept at a much better standard than they have been. There have been a number of news articles and debates in the BC Legislature over the past few years pointing out problems with resource roads and the industrial users/maintainers of those roads, especially in Northern BC (numerous accidents in the Prince George area just a few years back). |
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 30, 2008 13:00:49 GMT -8
I think I posted this before somewhere in some thread. Our first trips to Long Beach when I was a kid, were over logging roads. We used to rent a cottage on the beach near where the parking lot where the surfers now park (Coombers?). It was a good hike to where the old Wickanninish Inn was and now the Wickanninish Interpretive Centre.
Basically from just past Sprout Lake where you begin the climb, up over the summit and past Kennedy River and Lake, was all logging Road. The road wasn't as bad as I remember the Bamfield Road as far as pot holes, but with many switch backs and steep grades. The roads were more dirt than gravel, and you hoped that they had laid a layer of oil down recently to kill the dust (imagine the environmental outcry if it was done now considering what we know about oil contamination of watersheds). However all I remember was clouds of dust in the hot August sun over barren clear cut mountains. Because of the road, we never took the "good" car that had air, we drove the "old" car that didn't. So to avoid a facefull of the dust you drove sweltering with the windows up. And we always saw cars that had boiled over and were always worried our would.
If you are younger and watched The 70's Show, the other family we went with had a Vista Cruiser ;D. I always hoped we would meet up with the other family before heading over the road and tried to angle a ride with them because they ran their air conditioning.
All of that has been replanted albeit by monoculture plantation trees. You can tell where that is by the signs that say "Planted in whatever year." We went every summer for 7 or 8 years until we moved east. We were busy exploring the eastern part of the continent every summer and never made it back for summer vacation. Eventually all the land was bought and turned into Pacific Rim National Park - Long Beach Unit. Must be the longest park name in Canada.
We saw bears all the time and there were often cougar warnings. Deer would mooch at the cottage kitchen window and we kept a supply of saltines on hand just for the purpose. Spiders were big enough to carry you away when you slept if you weren't careful. We ate seafood that was bought right from the boats when they docked and we bbq'ed everything. On the beach itself if us kids nagged enough. Nightly bonfires using driftwood with roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. We ate on the deck of the cottage every evening and watched the Gray Whales just beyond the surf line.
Some years there easily was 50 or more feet of driftwood amassed between the cottages and the beach. The cottage owners every spring had to chain saw a path to the beach after the winter storms. It made for amazing forts. Towards the campground to the North and where it still is today, there were hippy dens made in the voids in the driftwood and we always crept that way to check them out, until our parents found out and told us it wasn't "safe" and we got banned.
As much as I still love it over there, I am glad they preserved the beach now as a park, As much as part of me wishes I could still rent a cabin at the Beachcombers Resort. As much as I love staying at the new Wick, I wonder what memories kids now build about the area. I was very lucky to build those memories. I don't have kids but the comments I hear about parents building memories as far as I am concerned is bang on.
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Post by Canucks on Oct 30, 2008 17:12:17 GMT -8
I have never been on the long beach road when it was gravel but I found it a little nauseating with pavement! One of the most interesting roads I have seen was at a waterfall near Field. It wasn't really a resource road but it was a one lane gravel road that had about three or four switchbacks and some tight turns. The kicker is that there were tour buses on it...going both ways! I was pretty sure they were going to tip but somehow managed to make it down.
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 30, 2008 17:24:48 GMT -8
I have never been on the long beach road when it was gravel but I found it a little nauseating with pavement! One of the most interesting roads I have seen was at a waterfall near Field. It wasn't really a resource road but it was a one lane gravel road that had about three or four switchbacks and some tight turns. The kicker is that there were tour buses on it...going both ways! I was pretty sure they were going to tip but somehow managed to make it down. You were on the Yoho Valley Road in Yoho National Park BC, which is paved over its entire length. It has several very sharp switchbacks on it and ends at the Takakkaw Falls parking lot. Takakkaw Falls, BTW, is one of Canada's highest water falls. This is not a resource road. I have driven it many times, and skied its length in winter. The descent of the switch backs is a little crazy! |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 30, 2008 17:28:57 GMT -8
I think I posted this before somewhere in some thread. Our first trips to Long Beach when I was a kid, were over logging roads. Did you do any trips shortly after the Taylor River forest fire? I think this would have been the mid 1970's. On my first trip to Long Beach, in 1977, I remember the blackened portion of the route, just west of Sutton Pass, re the recent forest fire. |
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Post by Canucks on Oct 30, 2008 17:31:56 GMT -8
I have never been on the long beach road when it was gravel but I found it a little nauseating with pavement! One of the most interesting roads I have seen was at a waterfall near Field. It wasn't really a resource road but it was a one lane gravel road that had about three or four switchbacks and some tight turns. The kicker is that there were tour buses on it...going both ways! I was pretty sure they were going to tip but somehow managed to make it down. You were on the Yoho Valley Road in Yoho National Park BC, which is paved over its entire length. It has several very sharp switchbacks on it and ends at the Takakkaw Falls parking lot. Takakkaw Falls, BTW, is one of Canada's highest water falls. This is not a resource road. I have driven it many times, and skied its length in winter. The descent of the switch backs is a little crazy! I must be thinking of another road that was gravel, it was a few years since I have been there and I was more concerned with the trains at Field.  |
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 30, 2008 17:38:37 GMT -8
Yes, Field is a great place for train watching, especially at & around the Spiral Tunnels.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 30, 2008 18:39:04 GMT -8
I checked with my Dad who remembers dates for everything without checking. We will be at dinner and say remember that time that blah blah blah, he will pipe up and say yes that was June 1984. We shake our heads and go check and 99% of the time he will be right - so we never check anymore. So I stand corrected. We went to Long Beach six times and the last before we moved was in '72 in a big blue '69 Chrysler. It was slightly less than week and we didn't stay in the Cottages. There is dispute whether the cottages were already gone then or whether they were booked (Dad and Mom disagree  ). We usually booked in a full year in advance and since we were moving in August our usual time wasn't in play. It was another ten years before I got to Long Beach again and the changes were now very profound now that the National Park was fully in effect. I vaguely remember burnt areas but can't tell you exactly where it was or how significant they were. Then another 5 years before I was back again, driving a rented big Lincoln Town car - yikes. 1998 is the first time I stayed at the new Wick Inn and I made at least one trip a year until my last visit in 2005. |
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Post by islandboy on Nov 4, 2008 10:25:10 GMT -8
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). We usually booked in a full year in advance and since we were moving in August our usual time wasn't in play.