We left Whistler relatively early. Our first stop, only about 20 minutes away, was Nairn Falls Provincial Park. The falls are located about a half mile from the entrance to the park. The trail is not hard to walk, but it is right on the edge of a steep hillside. The snowfall was heavy this winter, and so the runoff with the summer melting is also quite intense. We kept the dogs on leash here, not just because it is the official park policy but because one slip into that river would have been the last time we ever saw them. The falls themselves are not that steep. They are the remains of an eroded volcano, and the river has to flow through a couple narrow channels as it falls.
Leaving Nairn Falls, the road seems to gain elevation quickly. I watched a couple of cyclists carrying camping gear working arduously to gain only a few yards. The scenery was spectacular with rocky cliff sides, thick pine forests, and glacier-laden peaks above the tree line. After about a half hour, we arrived at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. This park consists of three lakes, all fed by the summer melt from the glaciers above. The first of the three lakes is only a short walk from the park entrance.
Glacier melt is usually an opaque bluish green. The water is quite pretty, though it is so cold that there is generally little plant or fish life in it. But the marshes on the edge of the lake are admirably suited for mosquitoes, and we were attacked by dozens of the blood-sucking creatures as we stopped to take this picture. Fortunately, there was a Canadian family nearby who generously offered to spray us with Off. That helped a bit.
There’s a five kilometer trail which leads from the lower lake to the glacier. John surprised me by suggesting that we hike it or at least part of it. We did not have to get far away from the lake for the mosquitoes to dissipate. We were surprised as we walked down the trail to find Spanish Moss covering the branches of pine trees. I would have thought that it was too cold up here for this to flourish. I guess it is hardier than I supposed.
The path changed fairly quickly from dirt and tree roots to rocks. The rocks grew bigger and bigger the farther we walked. After a while, we were clambering over boulders. We let the dogs off leash here, and they did reasonably well for a while. But finally the rocks were just too big for Eli. His back legs are not that strong and there was only so much he could do with just his forelegs. We decided to turn back.
We found some springs on the way back where the dogs could get a cool drink of fresh water. They were quite happy to climb back into the car onto their pillows and fall asleep. They missed some astonishingly beautiful scenery, but I have noted before that dogs seem to have little appreciation for great landscapes. They probably do not understand how I can be so unappreciative of the beauty of the smell of a dead seal. John, who has a great eye for scenery, saw this spot on the edge of the road. He cleverly set the camera on the roof of the car, adjusted it for a timed shot, and snapped this little family portrait of the four of us.
Shortly after this, the beautiful Alpine landscape gave way to a much less verdant one. There were suddenly far fewer trees, and they were short, spindly pines. We were now on the leeward side of the mountains in the interior of the province. We tend to think of British Columbia as a great temperate rain forest, but most of the province receives less than 20 inches of rain a year, and some of it less than than 10 inches.
Our destination in this area was the historic city of Lillooet. The name of the municipality, a corruption of the native tribal name of L’ilwat, rhymes with “minuet”. During the 1860’s, the town was the center of activity during the Cariboo Gold Rush. Only San Francisco was a larger settlement in western North America. The main street of town was called the “Golden Mile” because careless miners supposedly dropped so much gold dust there. Like most mining boom towns, the moment that the mineral had been exhausted the town was abandoned. In the Second World War, Canada, like the United States, forcibly relocated all of its Japanese to internment camps away from the coast. Lillooet was chosen as a site for one of the largest of the Canadian prison camps. Dr. Masajiro Miyazaki was appointed as the physician for the residents of the camps. He chose to stay in Lillooet after internment ended in 1947 and this became his house. It is currently a museum, though it was closed when we came by.
Lillooet was frankly pretty disappointing. Other than the Miyazaki House and the large cairn making the beginning of the hundred miles of the Cariboo Road, there is little of left of any historical interest. It is largely a native – First Nation, as they say in Canada – community now, and most of it is pretty poor and run down. The picture below shows a not untypical example of modern Lillooet.
Lillooet is generally the hottest spot in British Columbia on any summer day with temperatures typically around 100 or more. It was only about 80 today, but that was plenty hot enough for the dogs. The young women at the information center had suggested to us that we could bring our dogs down to the bank of the Fraser River to get wet. They said that there were little pools on the edge of the river where we wouldn’t have to worry about the current. After taking a couple wrong turns, we finally found the spot and the dogs had a great time.
From Lillooet, with wet dogs in the back of the car, we headed towards our last destination of the day, the town of Clinton. There is not much historical or cultural significance to Clinton, but it was the closest spot with pet-friendly accommodation. We are staying in the Cariboo Lodge. It’s a pretty basic motel. There’s a somewhat fancier spot outside of town called the Echo Ranch. But the room charges there begin at about 750 dollars a night, and the Cariboo Lodge is less than one tenth of that. It is close to the city park.
There was nobody in this pretty little public space, so we ignored the leash law and let them wander. With some difficulty, John even got them to pose for a picture.
Edie’s usual sharp eyes spotted a cat a moment after that, and she gave a good-natured chase. Edie thought it was all fun. The Siamese was annoyed.
Tomorrow we leave for Kamloops, Kalowna, and the Okanagan Valley.
