2018 Alexander Mackenzie Trail, West to East

[tacomaj]

Right on, congrats  8)

[Rabbit91]

Glad to see you guys made it out safely! Sounds like quite the adventure and you made it easy for us headed there in a couple weeks. Looking forward to the trip report ! How were the bugs and water crossings?

[binch]

They bugs were there and as could be expected.   Take dope with you.    The region has had a very dry past few weeks and the water levels a were showing it.   Big water crossings in the Blackwater were very easy and straight forward.   Missing the first leg (Basalt lake to the end of the west end of the trail on Gatcho lake is closed off by locals so don't even try that leg.   But the trail was clear after we ran it and wide enough for any land rover.

I see that there are a LOT more fires popping up in the area around the trail so check those before you head out.  With the waters down the water supply was much harder on the filters.    The gravity fed filters we were using crapped out after their first use (about 20gal of river water).   I would suggested getting a pumpable ceramic filter instead.    If you are staying at Tsascha lake stay closers the shore with your vehicles as there is lots of nails, spikes, shards of steel from the brunt out cabins that were raised to the ground a couple years back.

There was a group of a 1/2 dozen quads going east to west to Eliguk lake fishing lodge (end of the trail now) and they will have a clear drive of it all now.   No reason you can't do the trail in 5 days right now.   But bring one set of cloths that can get really dirty, for working in the burnt areas....just in case.     AS the trail sits you should have a cake walk of a trip ;-)   

Hope you get one good frost ;-)

cheers ;)

[Red90]

How did you get directly into Eliguk Lake?  The roads seems to stop a few km short/

[Matt H]

Sounds like you you guys had a great time. Looking forward to the pictures.

[Trevor]

How did you get directly into Eliguk Lake?  The roads seems to stop a few km short/

The Rainbow Lake trail intersects with the AMT just east of Eliguk Lake. It's a 4-way intersection as you can continue north there and head out to Vanderhoof.

[binch]

How did you get directly into Eliguk Lake?  The roads seems to stop a few km short/

The Rainbow Lake trail intersects with the AMT just east of Eliguk Lake. It's a 4-way intersection as you can continue north there and head out to Vanderhoof.

And we have the gpx for reference  ;D

[binch]

Okay...the trip report begins with the preparation....(no pics now....we'll save them until Jeffrey returns) 8)

We got this...."What could go wrong????"   ::)

After a successful push through the bush in 2015 (organised by Emad) we decided to try again last year but that fell apart early in the season.   Not to give up I pressed for a trip in 2018 and had an overwhelming response from the club with some 15 plus vehicles signing up early.    But if history has taught us nothing else we could count on at least 50% attrition before the bookings needed to be made.    And that's exactly what happened.....  The number of committed vehicles dropped to 4 defenders and 8 participants by June, with three on the fence maybies.   We would be on the trail for 9 days with two extended camps at good fishing spots.   At least...that was the original plan hahahahhahahhah 

So we put together our meal plan based on the original 8 people and began our spares/camp equipment list based on those 4 defenders too.    We had another meeting in June to review the route and then another meeting to review the menu and the equipment list, and to discuss any items folks had questions about.    Jeffrey stepped up and took on the big job of collecting and organizing the food and supplies for the camp kitchen....becoming "The Quarter Master".   Trevor offered to organize the booking of accommodation for the two day trip out to Anahim Lake, BC.   He did a great job at that and in his efforts found out that the western section of the AMT between Gatcho Lake and Basalt Lake had been closed down by the local natives due to damage sustained during the 2016 trip through that area.   At the same time he was chatting with Erin and Jennifer of the Eliguk Lake Fishing lodge, who showed us an alternate way into the trail avoiding the closed leg.   In the end he had organized our Saturday evening camp just outside of Clearwater, BC.  where the only thing that could offset the noise from the trucks on Hwy 97 was my snoring!  Their Jake Brakes didn't stand a chance.... 8).   We still had a full days drive to get to Anahim, BC so he booked us in with the Elliot Bay Lodge on the northeast shore of Anahim Lake, with our hosts Bill and Darlene.    With our first night on the trail booked into Eliguk Lake fishing lodge this trip was going to be a good old fashioned Victorian Expedition!   ;)

As July approached Orville, Curtis and Nicole started hinting that they would also be joining us in their Disco 11's.    And in the background was David Buchanan with D90 200tdi that had failed it's out of province with a rotten frame.   He was quietly working his heart out trying to get a replacement frame sorted so his 90 could join the team.    I had Jeffrey hold off on the groceries and supplies until the middle of July before knowing for sure that the two disco 11's and Dave would be joining us......We were now up to 12 people on the trip.   Only question was, "would David be in his d90 or riding shotgun in Orville's Disco 11.   

By the end of the third week in July we had the menu sorted for 12 and Jeffrey was gathering supplies.   Trevor had our accommodations sorted out and the spares list had been completes with everyone being informed what they should be bringing.   This was to try and eliminate too much repetition and keep the weights down.   We have water filtration system sorted (that's another story all together), chainsaws sorted, fuel sorted and Emad's exhaust jack for emergencies.    We were pretty much set to go!!!!      But still no news from David on his D90, as he was keep that a well guarded secret :-X

The forth week in July was our last chance to get it all right.    I think we had all our ducks in a row (not to mention the arms to take those ducks out with).    Curtis and Nicole were all set and going to join us on the road at the first westbound rest stop past Edson, Orville had his spare overflow tank and we had decided to meet up for breakfast at the Smitty's on Stoney Plain Road and 182st for 7am....inviting any other ALRE to join us in the send off.    The BC fire reports indicated the rating was climbing to high but only two fires of concern in the area affecting the trail.    One ten hectare fire that was 10km north of the trail and moving northward, while another small one over toward the west end was a recent lightening strike but very small.   Come Thursday that the cat was out of the bag, with regards to David's 90.    He pushed as hard as he could but it was not ment to be.   He was SOOOOO close to having his truck's new chassis install and completed you could taste it.    A FANTASTIC effort the likes I've yet to see!!!!   But David elected to play it safe and finish the truck when he got back and finish it right......he would be travelling with Orville in the Disco 11.

If you are curious what our menu plan looked like here it is...in it's basic form (Breakfast, lunch and supper)


Day 1              Day 2                   Day 3                  Day 4                    Day 5                   Day 6                  Day 7                Day 8             Day 9
(monday)        (tue)                     (Wed)                  (thurs)                   (fri)                    (sat)                    (sun)                (mon)               (tue)
       
restaurant      Eat at Fishing         Blueberry            Oatmeal               French toast         Scrmbled eggs      Blueberry            Oatmeal    Grahm/sunflower
at Escott Bay  Camp at                pancakes             Raisins                 sausage               Toast                   pancakes             Raisins        Pancakes   
                     Egliuk Lake         (2 eggs - mark)      Fruit cocktail         Fruit cocktail        bacon         (2 eggs – mark)    Canned
                                                                                                                                                                                      peaches

Sandwich       Sandwich             Sandwich              Sandwich              Sandwich            Sandwich             Sandwich              Sandwich      Sandwich     
cookies          cookies                 cookies                cookies                 cookies                cookies                cookies               cookies              Cookies
Fruit              Fruit                     Fruit                    Fruit                     Fruit                    Fruit                    Fruit                    Fruit              Fruit

Eat at Fishing  Lamb Stew        Fish Chowder          BBQ steak           Chicken stew         Pulled Pork          Spagetti           Pesto Feticcini     Quesnell
Camp at         Sunday salad    carrot salad             veggie paks          Rice                     Bun                    meat sauce       3peper+shroom                 Egliuk Lake     Eton Mess         chocolate Pud          watermelon          coleslaw              Carrot salad         caesar salad      Tinned chicken
                                                                                                     fruit cocktail         Banana Loaf        chocolate Pud     Halva cakes

Come the morning of July 28th we were off!!!!  The adventure begins.......

(to be continued)

[binch]

After meeting up for breakfast at the Smitty's on Saturday July we divided up the camp supplies between us and bit our well wishers farewell, and set up west on Hwy 16 under clear skys and pleasant temperatures.    We picked up Nicole and Curtis at the Rest Stop west of Edson and continued on to Hwy 5 south and made our way down to Clearwater where we would camp for the night, between the highway and the North Thompson River.   We got in with plenty of time to spare so Mark found a great place to eat in Clearwater called the Hop N Hog Tap & Smoke house.   The food there was GREAT!!!!!   And if the food wasn't enough the owner has a Series 111 in the back, that he'd rebuilt from the frame up ;)

Sunday we got up early, filled our tanks and began the long climb up over the pass from Little Fort, across Hwy 24 too 100 mile house, taking advantage of the cool morning temps for our engines.    There we headed north again on Hwy 97 for Williams Lake, where we had a to stop at the local Canadian Tire for some last minute supplies and to snub up a wheel bearing.   While we were there we had a bite to eat at the BBQ trailer and saw a massive Mann Overland vehicle.   I think Jeffrey snapped a pic or two so he can post them later.   From Williams Lake we used Hwy 20 west to climb up the long hill that would take us up onto the Caribou/Chilcotin plateau that would be our play ground for the next week or so.

I'm not certain what time we got to Anahim Lake but it was about 4 or 5pm I think.   We had made good time and no issues so far, thought the V8's were getting a bit frustrated with the 200tdi's crawling up the hills  ;D       After topping up our tanks we headed off to the Escott Bay Resort on the northeast shore of Anahim Lake for dinner and a good nights sleep.   http://escottbay.com/     Our hosts (Darlene and Bill van Es) were wonderful, greeting us with BIG smiles and a grand meal at 7pm.   No one went to be hungry that night!    They have a group of family cabins on the edge of the lake and it's kept nice and tidy.

The next morning we were in for breakfast at 7am and biding farewell to Bill and Darlene, thanking them for their hospitality.   By 9:30 we where heading north of the haul roads looking for our first bit of trail that would bypass the "section from hell" that would be Basalt Lake to Gatcho Lake.     But we had a cunning plan!!!!             

To be continued..........

[pechanec]

Hey all, we're back from our "extended AMT" which saw us swap out our faulty battery in McBride (solving our starting issue- the replacement yellow top and isolator will be ordered shortly) we then separated from the remaining convoy. Explored a bit around the area and refuelled (again!) Then on to Jasper for lunch and Hinton to resupply(and refuel)and do some laundry! Then headed north and west on the emerson Creek road, camping at the confluence of emmerson Creek and the Athabasca river two nights. Then headed up emmerson Creek road to old Amoco road and eventually up hwy 947 to hwy 43. Stopped at casino at White Court for lunch and fuel(it's a V8!)continued up thru swan hills and fort Assiniboine, crossed Vega ferry and home!ahhhhh

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

[pechanec]

BTW Bill, keep the travellogue coming. I was there, and I'm still riveted *lol*

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

[binch]

If you remember I anything about the 2015 AMT trip the last two days were VERY long and VERY hard going.    We had mud to winch through, dead fall to clear and the infamous "Alder Grove" to concur.    Our last day (Basalt Rock Camp to Gatcho Lake) took us 17 hours of hard graft to make it through....but we made it and were proud of ourselves for getting the job done.  Having said that I was not looking forward to that section on this trip at all!   After Trevor contacted Erin and Jennifer at the Eliguk Lake Fish Camp they told us that that section of the trail we all "LOVED" so much (NOT!!!!!!!) was closed off by the local natives.   They also informed us that there was a route in from the south that would take us to the AMT trail just east of their camp on Eliguk Lake.   "...is it possible that Christmas has come early this year?!?" I though to myself.    But they gave us the directions and we were well on our way, driving up the Dean River Road head out off the NE corner of Anahim Lake.    This is good, high grade, haul road and we made good time with it.

We headed north on this haul road until we passed Tanswanket Creek and found the Rainbow Lake Trail, another logging haul road into the area.   It was much narrower then the Dean River Road but still good going.   We travelled this gravel road for about 5km or so and found the trail that would take us to Eliguk Lake.   Time to air down and get a group photo or twelve.   It was after this point much of our driving would be in low range.    This road wound back and forth, up and down, over lots of rocks and across the odd little creek.   The area was dry....VERY dry!   And we could see it in each creek crossing.   As we meandered through the woods we were starting to see signs of the local wild life with deer and moose tracks.    We even spotted a good size Grizzley track with it's bent over claw marks.    Craig announced this to the crowd and stopped for folks to have a look...and Trevor to load his bazooka!

The trail was in very good condition as Erin and Jennifer use it frequently to fetch supplies from Anahim Lake, so it didn't take us long to get to the lake.   Once we rounded the end of the lake we came to the meadow of an old abandoned homestead.   Across the meadow we saw a black dodge 4x4 with a crushed roof and canopy, attached to a large trailer with a 20' seacan on it.   We later learned that Erin had stopped to clear a tree off the trail and while he was doing that another tree fell on his truck.  It was an ambush!!!!    Erin was pulling in the seacan to use as part of a base for one of the cabins.   I can't recall if anything was in it.   We stopped for a bite to eat and then carried on along the AMT heading west.   I was taking my 110 over some rocks (very slowly) when my rear axle got hung up on it.    I couldn't pull my truck free under it's own steam as I couldn't get any grip!    Now thinking the work I thought maybe a spun a drive member or something so I pulled the caps off the hub to check as neither wheel was turning.   Then a voice came across the radio asking if I had locked my centre diff.....?     Well you can guess what happened there.......I locked the diff and the 110 easily freed itself.   The phrase "DUMB ASS!!!!" comes to mind here...   

Not too long after that we arrived at the Eliguk Lake Fish Camp and were greeted by our hosts and their 2.25 dogs.   Now I should mention here that the day before when I was about to cross a one lane bridge I met a couple of locals in Anahim Lake.  They stopped me to ask where we were going.....When I told them we were heading for the Eliguk Lake fish camp their faces lit up.   "Say hello to Erin and give Jennifer a BIG hug from Duke Stugartt!!" he told me.    Well now that I've met Jennifer I asked if she was on good terms with "Duke Stugartt", as I didn't want to get walloped here.    Turns out they were good friends...so I delivered the hug as requested.   The dogs were very friendly Australian sheep dogs so there was fuzz therapy for all.   And it didn't take long for the one dog to take a serious liking to Mark's leg.  It was love at first sight!    We sorted ourselves and our gear into the assigned cabins and it wasn't long before some of the gang had taken off in the camps fishing boats to try their hand at the Rainbow Trout here.    Since I had dragged the rear diff guard across a rock earlier I thought I'd check it out.   My "checking it out" end up with me breaking the cable that secures the front of the guard to the input of the diff housing.   With Erins and Curtis' help we replaced the cable with a 1/8" steel band going "Binford" on it...good and strong.   Jennifer told us not to eat anything as she was cooking up a storm for dinner.   About 5pm or so she suggested that maybe we take the barge (45' long x12' wide aluminium pontoon boat) out on the lake for dinner.    GREAT IDEA!   We helped load up the BBQ, coolers, etc onto the USS MINNOW and set off at 6pm for our 3 hour tour.    With Orvilled help dinner was cooked up and served on the barge, being pushed around the lake by a 15hp motor at nice lazy trolling speeds.   In fact I thing Curtis was being taunted by one trout out there attacking, but never taking his lure.    We had our deck chairs, food, beverages and deserts as we toured around the lake in a gentle breeze and no bugs.   Lots of banter and chatter going on....what a brilliant way to spend an evening!!!!!!    We got back about 9pm or so where some folks called it an evening, some went visiting and some fed the mosquitos around the fire.  I swear the mozzies are fire proof there!!!!

While visiting with Erin and Jennifer we learned that a couple of forest fires had popped up in the area, that could affect our route.   The route to the north of Lambert's homestead was closed due to a fire to north burning out of control.   Another fire was threatening the route we took in to Eliguk Lake and there was a fire burning across the trail between Lambert's and the Phillips lodge.    Having chatted with Walt lambert on the radio earlier they learned that he was able to drive through the burn area to visit with the Phillips the day before.    Since we had scheduled a two night stop on the Blackwater River where the Carnlick Creek enters it, to do a bit of fishing and relaxing.   But with the fire still burning between the Lambert's and the Phillip's properties we elected to push past both properties and get east of the fires causing all the grief.   The plan was set.. we would push on to Tsacha Lake and spend two nights there.

The route in from Anahim Lake and be seen on this pic:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/alre_club/43067476295/in/album-72157696878170222/

to be continued........

[binch]

Tuesday was going to be a lazy day since the original plan was only to go as far as the Lambert homestead.   But local fires made us reconsider the game plan a bit.   We woke up to a wonderful blueberry pancake breakfast on the dock and since we didn't need any of our camp gear our trucks were already loaded ready to go.   So we were off and heading east on the trail with the intent of making it past the fires to Tsacha Lake.   We left Erin and Jennifer getting ready to install a sprinkler system on the roofs of their cabins, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.   We're hoping they made out okay...

It didn't take long to back track our trail to the meadow on the NE corner of Eliguk Lake.    Craig and I lead the way in the 110 ExMOD, with Jeffrey and Cam in their 110 CSW, and Glen and Avrum in the 90 behind them.    Trevor's 110 Camel Trophy, Curtis and Orville's Disco 11 were a bit behind but they caught up quick enough.   Once we located the gate that would take us onto the east bound trail we were off like a hurdle of turtles!    The trail itself had been kept well cleared by Erin and Walt (nearest neighbors) so there wasn't much for trees to clear.    We made good time on that trail and I was sure I saw Erin's face at one of the stops along the way.....sounded like they were going to visit with Walt and decided to fallow us out.  But when we finally did reach Walt Lambert's homestead we didn't see them any longer.  Sure hope their jeep didn't leave them stranded on the trail ha ha ha.     We came on the shore of the Blackwater river and the water looked very low compared to previous trips through the area.     It the three years since we had been there the trail along the river had given way into the river in spots, so it was necessary to rearrange a few willow and alder shrubs.    The familiar abandoned trapper's cabin can into few and then the little bridge that let us cross the river and take the trail through the Lambert's property.   As we drove through we could see Nora Lambert out in the hay fields either mowing or bailing hey in the distance.   We stopped in the yard but instead of seeing Walt we were greeted by his dog...a little shy but friendly enough.    The guys looked around the yard at the collection of antique vehicles, admiring the old Dept of BC Indian Affairs Land Rover Series 1, in it's original paint.    Since we couldn't find Walt we left a note on the door letting him know we had popped in to say hello, and were continuing on our way through to the Phillip's outfitting lodge to the east (next neighbor down). 

The section of trail between the Lamberts and the Phillips was in the best shape of all the trail we would travel as it's very well maintained.   We made good time on that trail....at least until we ran into the western boundary of the fire.   I could see something was up when everything turned dull red!  The trees, the trail, the grass...all red.   The tell tale sign of fire retardant bombers...   All that smoke we had been tasting for the past morning masked any sign of this fire crossing our path.    As we came on the burn itself we could see green turn to black and ashes...mother nature at her worst!   And the fire fighters we met there were a bit taken aback by the appearance of 1/2 dozen land rover appearing on the boarder.   Craig got out first to go and explain what we were up to and get their approval to cross the fire.    As this fire was small (only 2 hectares) and presently under control the fire crews were mopping up hot spots.   After a few minutes on the radio to the "higher ups" we were given the go ahead to drive through.    Black and ash...with several hotspots under logs and roots,  15' burning stumps of trees and several logs laying on the ground still burning themselves out.    An to think.....in two years time you will see fireweed, paintbrush and lots of new pine seedlings popping up everywhere.   The cycle of life in a pine forest!   It didn't take us long to get through the fire and within an hour we were coming out on the runway that would lead us to Rob and Linda's "Pan Phillips Fishing Resort".   Pan Phillips (Rob's father) was the original cattle rancher in the area.   You can learn more about Pan with this NFB film:

   You can see Rob (aka 'Bobby') when he was about 14 at 17:14 on the video.

And if you're interested there was a Canadian TV series "loosely based" the Pan Phillips and his partner in the Chilcotin called "Nothing to good for a cowboy".....Ran for about 4 years and it was rather amusing :) 

We took a bit of a break there for some lunch an had a chat with Rob and Linda, passing on the regards of Duke Stugartt again.   For obvious reasons they were quite interested in the status of the fire between themselves and the Lamberts.   We passed on what info we could give them and continued on our way, following the trail north of Tsetzi and Blue Lakes.   Tsetzi Creek was much drier then our 2015 trip so we were able to pass the boggy area with ease this time around.  There was a little bit of wood to clear from the trail along this section but not bad at all so it was no surprise we made the push to Tsacha Lake airstrip and onto our camp on the south shore with lots of daylight to spare.    Everyone found a good spot to set their tents and the camp kitchen was set up too.   Since there are two outhouses there from a previous fish camp we were set up quite nicely.   I think Curtis and Nicole had the best tent location out on a point.   Good breeze, no bugs and far enough away from my snoring to offer a good nights sleep  ;D   

In our efforts to avoid the fires we had made some really good time and we were now a two days ahead of schedule.   So with the pressure off we stayed at this camp for two nights.

These two maps cover the section we travelled on Tuesday:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alre_club/30104294528/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alre_club/29034866287/in/photostream/


To be continued........

[pechanec]

Just a side note. Not sure if anyone has been following the situation with the Tolands, but for any that haven't: 4 fires started west of the lodge and have merged into one super fire. They have been on mandatory evacuation for several days now, but have chosen to stay and try to save the Lodge. If you wish to follow events, Jennifer is posting updates to her personal Facebook page- just friend request for access. Here's hoping their home is spared.

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

[DBrands]

Just a side note. Not sure if anyone has been following the situation with the Tolands, but for any that haven't: 4 fires started west of the lodge and have merged into one super fire. They have been on mandatory evacuation for several days now, but have chosen to stay and try to save the Lodge. If you wish to follow events, Jennifer is posting updates to her personal Facebook page- just friend request for access. Here's hoping their home is spared.

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

And a good bush fix by Aron on his problematic caliper too!