Glaciers & Grasslands: a double Hub & Spoke Tour of BC’s Southwest Interior

Hub and Spoke
  • Leaders: George & Jeanetta Zorn, gjzorn@shaw.ca, 250- 832-9335.
  • Dates: Saturday, June 18 – Sunday, June 26, 2016.
  • Participant numbers:  minimum 8, maximum 16.
  • Registration will open: January 5, 2016 at 5:00 PM PT at http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g – $25.00 registration fee.
  • Registration will close: April 18, 2016 at 8:00 P.M. PT.
  • Registration fee of $25 includes: maps, local hosts honorariums, social hour snacks (drinks not provided). Any left-over money will be put toward a wind-up dinner in Merritt on Saturday, June 26. The fee does not include your meals, motel fees or any other personal costs accrued during the event.
  • Ride classifications: Intermediate to advanced.

Tour Description: The event will be based in two consecutive “hubs”; first in Lillooet (June 19th to 21st), and secondly, out of Merritt (June 23rd to 25th). June 22nd will be a “bicycle free day”, which will allow time to drive from Lillooet to Merritt (approx. 162K – 2.5 hours), go for a hike, white water raft the Thompson River north of Lytton and relax. See the list of suggested free day activities below. All routes are “out & back” on paved roads beginning at or near Lillooet and Merritt. Most routes will be on low-traffic rural roads. Most rides will be intermediate to advanced though the leader can give tips on shortening some rides for leisure cycling. The leader-led ride for each day will be announced at social hour the day before. Daily start times will be 9:00 AM outside the motel to either begin a ride or to carpool to the start of a ride. Cyclists are responsible for transporting themselves and their bikes to and from the rides, when necessary.

  1. Lillooet “Glaciers hub” description: Highway 99 winds through BC’s rugged, beautiful Coast Mountains along Cayoosh Creek between glacier-fed Duffey Lake and the arid bench land ranches along the Fraser River. North east of Lillooet, Highway 99 follows the mighty Fraser River climbing gradually to Pavilion. We’ll ride above the Fraser River through Marble Canyon along Pavilion Lake before entering the vast Interior Plateau near Hat Creek. Three days of cycling based out of “guaranteed rugged” Lillooet will provide an opportunity to experience this historic region of B.C. (Mile ‘0” on the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail, home of “Ma Murray’ and Dr. Miyazaki) and the diverse landscapes along Highway 99 and Highway 12. Local hosts will provide us with insights into the area’s human and natural history.
  2. Merritt “Grasslands hub” description: Lower Nicola, Quilchena, Douglas Lake, Nicola Valley, Spences Bridge, Aspen Grove, Princeton, Ashcroft – a land of lakes, grasslands, cattle ranches, dry forests and sage brush semi-desert. Three days of cycling based out of Merritt will provide an opportunity to “expand your horizons” along Highway 5A, 8 and 97C. Local hosts will provide us with insights into the area’s human and natural history.

Motel / Campground reservations: Rooms will be blockreserved to attain a favorable CCCTS rate. Reservations with the motels should be made shortly after your tour registration has been accepted to provide a better chance of attaining a room choice. Cyclists are responsible for making their own motel / campground reservations. The following are recommended:

  1. Lillooet – “Guaranteed Rugged”: http://www.hellobc.com/lillooet.aspx http://lillooetbc.ca/ (3 cycling days, 4 nights)
    • The Hotel De Oro will be the “Glaciers hub” for our cycle tour: $79 + tax – CCCTS grp. Rate. Conti. breakfast incl. 639 Main Street, Lillooet Phone: 250-256-2355.
    • Five campgrounds are located in the immediate area of. Four have showers. Seton Lake Hydro Campsite is free but no showers.
  2. Merritt – Nicola Valley – “Expand Your Horizons”: http://www.hellobc.com/merritt.aspx http://www.visitmerritt.ca/ (3 cycling days, 4 nights)
    • The Quality Inn will be the “Grasslands hub” for our cycle tour: $80 + tax – CCCTS group rate. Full breakfast incl. 4025 Walters St., Merritt. Phone: 250- 378-4253.
    • Moonshadows RV Park & Campground is located in Merritt on Neilson St. along the Coldwater River.  Phone: 250-315-2267.

Transportation: Cyclists will be responsible for their own transportation of bikes and personal gear between Lillooet and Merritt and for shuttling bikes to and from designated ride start-finish locations.

Bike Routes: All routes are “out & back” on paved roads beginning at or near Lillooet and Merritt. Most routes will be on low-traffic rural roads. Most rides will be intermediate/ advanced though the leader can give tips on shortening some rides for more leisure cycling. The leader-led ride for each day (9 a.m. start at motel) will be announced at social hour the day before.

Lillooet based Routes: (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday – June 19th , 20th & 21st)

  • Fraser River – Marble Canyon, north of Lillooet: 97K, 1479M elevation gain – Intermediate to Advanced: We’ll cycle Highway 99 above the spectacular canyons of the Fraser River, passing through dry bench land ranches with views of the Coast Range high above as we climb gradually to Pavilion. A lunch stop at Marble Canyon Provincial Park. Perhaps a swim in Pavilion Lake or Crown Lake if it’s a hot day before returning down to Lillooet.
  • Fraser River, south of Lillooet (to Lytton?): 80K – 120K, up to 2000M elevation gain if to Lytton & return – Intermediate to Advanced: Highway 12, south of Lillooet, offers beautiful views of the Coast Range’s mountain walls along the Fraser River, “hidden gem” ranches, Ponderosa pine forests and decades old wildfire scars that are gradually regenerating. Choose your distance. Lunch in Lytton? Consider car shuttling part way.
  • Cayoosh Creek – Duffey Lake – Coast Mtn Glaciers, west of Lillooet: 68K, 1061M elevation gain – Intermediate Highway 99 climbs aggressively (5.4K @ 8.5%) for 19K along Cayoosh Creek from Seton Lake. By driving to Cottonwood Rec. Site the climb to the west end of Duffey Lake is more gradual. Enjoy your lunch with views of glaciers near Duffey Lake then cycle downstream along Cayoosh Creek to the Rec. Site car park (or back to Lillooet if you wish).

Merritt based Routes: (Thursday, Friday and Saturday – June 23rd , 24th & 25th).

  • Douglas Lake grasslands, east of Merritt: 102K, 972M elevation gain – Intermediate Located 11K NE of Merritt on Highway 5A at the west end of Nicola Lake , Nicola Ranch features a number of renovated heritage buildings including the Murray Church built in 1876. We’ll continue 25K NE of Merritt along Nicola Lake to the mid-1880s Quilchena Ranch, originally built as a roadhouse to serve stagecoaches travelling between Kamloops and Merritt. We’ll ride west off Highway 5A on the Douglas Lake Road just north of Quilchena for 25K out to the Douglas Lake Ranch site on Douglas Lake. The ranch is one of Canada’s oldest.
  • Aspen Grove – Princeton, south of Merritt: 124K, 1095M elevation gain – Intermediate Plateau lakes, rolling hills, Trembling Aspen, Douglas- fir…, Route 5A descends gradually to the Similkameen Valley grasslands over the first 62K. Lunch stop in Princeton suggested.
  • Coldwater River, south of Merritt: 63K, 731M elevation gain – Intermediate This quiet road follows the Coldwater River past riverside farms and ranches. A shorter ride option.
  • Lower Nicola – Mamit Lake – Logan Lake, north of Merritt: 89K, 1085M elevation gain – Intermediate A road less travelled. Lunch stop in Logan Lake suggested.
  • Logan Lake – Ashcroft, northwest of Merritt: 58K or 69K from Mamit Lake, 530M elevation gain – Intermediate From Logan Lake or Mamit Lake (a 30 minute drive from Merritt) the route follows the Highland Valley open pit copper mine for 16K. A spectacular 18K descent offers views of the Thompson River Valley grasslands and sagebrush semidesert in the Ashcroft area. Lunch stop in Ashcroft? Recommend shared driving in groups for drive back to Merritt or drive back to Mamit Lake and cycle back to Merritt (adds 35K).
  • Lower Nicola – Spences Bridge, northwest of Merritt: 111K, 1203M elevation gain – Intermediate to Advanced Highway 8 follows the Nicola River for 55K from Lower Nicola to semi-arid Spences Bridge. B.C.’s historic ”Kettle Valley Railway” included a spur line stretching from Merritt to Spence’s Bridge. The rail bed is still intact along with the original bridges. Lunch stop in Spences Bridge? Recommend shared driving in groups for sag wagon support.

Some free day (Wed., June 22nd) recreation suggestions: (Please allow time to drive from Lillooet to Merritt [approx. 162K – 2.5 hours]).

  • Bridge River rapids walking tour – 10 minutes north of Lillooet; A First Nations traditional fishing area for many centuries;
  • Salus Creek kekuli village site walking tour – subject to access approval. North of Lillooet;
  • Lower Stein Valley hike – across the Fraser River from Lytton via river current drive Ferry;
  • Thompson River white water rafting (Lytton)
  • Texas Creek leisure bike ride – south of Lillooet on west side of Fraser River; and
  • Lillooet Naturalist Society

Registration/Participant Selection/First Group Meeting. A $25.00 registration fee is required at tour sign-up, which must be done online. Participants will be selected on the basis of the date and time of registration. The first group meeting will be Saturday, June 18 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. – second floor meeting room at Hotel De Oro, Lillooet. Here, introductions will be made, maps and instructions will be distributed, and a CCCTS waiver signed. We are looking forward to meeting you and leading you in this beautiful southwest interior B.C. region of glaciers and grasslands; an area we know well, having lived here for many years.

Participants: Jim Allan, Geoff Buck, Deborah Chamitoff, George Childs, Lynda Childs, Garry Clifton, Alex Laird, Max McClanahan, Diana McKerracher, Robert McKerracher, Annemieke Quinn, Beverly Wagner, Sharon Warren, Mike Young, Ronald Youngash, George Zorn, Jeanetta Zorn.

Waiting: none