The morning light on my way back up to Stupendous Viewpoint:
Back up at Stupendous Viewpoint, the peaks are ablaze:
The Valley is a pretty cool place:
Just west of the town of Bella Coola, the valley opens up:
My first "Official Stop" was the Clayton Falls Recreation Area - Waterfall only 130 yards from parking:
I had planned on doing some hiking out here. I like AllTrails (I'm a subscriber), and their website can show you multiple hikes in an area:
It looks like the one I want is "M Gurr Lake Loop":
On Google Maps, I was able to locate "M Gurr Trailhead":
UNFORTUNATELY, Google Maps could not do directions from Bella Coola to The Trailhead:
I was annoyed because on AllTrails I saw "a road". I figured I would just poke around. Lo and behold, there is a dirt road "Clayton Forest Service Road", with its own Information Kiosk:
My philosophy on dealing with roads like this is 1) PATIENCE and 2) NO PRIDE. "PATIENCE" means "Take this road nice and slow"; "NO PRIDE" means that if/when "things get bad" (the pothole is just TOO DEEP), turn around and go back down. The road starts off nice, and then deteriorates:
I went up and over the ridge line (2 hours 20 minutes to get up there), took a picture, then turned around and parked on the ridge line:
Up that trail, it was only 0.1 miles round-trip to the summit-on-the-south-side-of-the-road:
Back down to the car, then up on the "M Gurr Lake Loop" a nice trail up, and then you get your first view of "M Gurr Lake":
The view off to the west is spectacular:
I knew I was "going left around the lake", so I went down on the right-side to get close:
View from the highest elevation:
I got about 80% around the lake, and decided to take "another trail" down to the left - I knew I would "hit the road", and it was a very-well-maintained trail:
Going down alongside a beautiful brook, I soon hit the road and walked back up to my car (2.17 miles in 1 hour 15 minutes):
An hour-and-1/2 to drive back down:
This is THE DAY I am out here - it is 3:15 in the afternoon, so I might as well keep exploring. I went 17 miles east, to the beginning of the "Nusatsum River Road" (yes, another dirt road) which goes up alongside the "Nusatsum River:
Nice scenery. Up at "Odegaard Pass" after an hour:
10 minutes later I was at the viewpoint for "Purgatory Glacier":
On my way back down I got a good look at "Odegaard Falls", plus Crosstrek's favorite selfie:
After many hours on many miles of dusty roads, I retired to Hipcamp, camping more-on-the-property (just above the Bella Coola River). The horses (Fire, Oreo, and Nova) are Very Friendly - I had to put lawn-chairs around my tent to keep them from knocking it over (such is the price of fame). Thank you God for these Great "British Columbia" Adventures!
Music today:
various - Sacred Treasures, 1998 album, last heard 9/29/2013 - excellent choral music, and lovely in the early-morning:
Bill Morrissey - Inside, 1992 4th album, last heard 2/25/2015 - beautiful music & lyrics. Bill was a master of both, and his pacing is perfect. Tears everytime:
My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves, 2003 3rd album, last heard 2/25/2015 - very interesting: sounds like an undiscovered Neil Young album (which is funny because alphabetically on my iPod, "My Morning Jacket" appears right before "Neil Young"):
Q-Burns Abstract Message - Invisible Airline, 2001 album, last heard 2/25/2015 - house/trance music. I like them:
Bruce Springsteen - Magic, 2007 album, last heard 2/27/2015 - a good collection that starts off with the killer "Radio Nowhere" (PLAY IT LOUD):
Kenny Chesney - No Shoes No Shirt No Problems, 2002 6th album, last heard 2/28/2015. This might have been the first album I heard by Kenny Chesney - I thought "Hey, this is good; I wondering if he is playing anywhere locally?" I then found out that his concert at Gillette Stadium was already sold-out - talk about being "late to the party":
The BoDeans - The Best Of BoDeans: Slash And Burn, 2001 greatest hits album, last heard 3/03/2015:
Florida Georgia Line - Here's To The Good Times, 2012 debut album, last heard 3/08/2015 - fun stuff, best taken in small doses:
Ima Robot - Greenback Boogie - single, 2011 theme song, last heard 3/08/2015 - Wendy and I really enjoyed "Suits" (although the premise "guy gets hired under false pretense" does not wear well), but the Theme Song is Great:
various - Hard To Find 45s On CD [Volume 6], 2001 release of 1960's songs, last heard 3/09/2015:
Past entries of this blog are available on the website https://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/
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