South Chilcotin Mountains, British Columbia 

 

Description: The word of the South Chilcotins has slowly been spreading south to Seattle.  Once I got wind and saw some videos, I knew I had to check this place out - wild and amazing scenery, true backcountry travel, and fun flowy trails, what else can you ask for?  

 

So the plan was hatched for teams Petlen and Scarcy to join up for this adventure in August 2016.  Even with all the hype, the trip wildly exceeded expectations.  Flying in to Lorna Lake is an experience in itself, you get to scope terrain that will be your playground for the next several days. We chose to stay at Bear Paw two nights and then Spruce the third night. I think this worked out great since Bear Paw is the most remote camp with plenty of options to explore and Spruce is by an alpine lake with some fishing, boating and swimming options.  In general the climbing and cross country provided many difficulties with stream crossings and technical XC so we had extended hike-a-bike climbs and many on and off stretches. The meadows by Lorna lake are quite boggy and expect to get your feet wet with the many creek crossings.  We had no run-ins with the Grizz, but that might be because of our off-tune singing that no living creature would ever subject themselves too. We did carry bear spray, but I doubt I could effectively use it in time.  Although general travel was slow, the descents were all excellent - lots of fun flowy alpine riding  mixed in with some steeper and looser trails to keep it fresh.  In the alpine the trails were often not visible so lots of free-range cross country is important, but do avoid leaving a trace. 

 

Each of the passes had amazing descents - Deer Pass, Elbow Pass, Lorna Pass, and Windy pass, with the Paradise Creek environs being more of a free-range choose your own adventure as the trails fade away.