A quick Easter 2019 trip report with pics and video.

[jordauto]

This is a quick trip report from my Easter 2019 adventures to the East Kootenays of BC. In total the trip was just over 1,000 Kms round trip, with about 150 Kms being on forest service roads of varying quality. On the way, heading East between Revelstoke BC and Golden BC it rained so hard that there were actually rivers with little gravel deltas on the highway. A small new looking sedan a few cars in front of us hydroplaned through the oncoming lane of traffic, flew right over a large and deep ditch coming to rest on the only snow pile in sight. Sitting atop the snow pile, undamaged, the occupants getting out to contemplate what to do next. Due to the standing water on the road it was a slow go through that section and the Westy hydroplaned more than once. I only saw one other Westy on the Trans Canada highway this trip. A tidy blue one with bikes on the back, from Alberta I think. As luck would have it we also saw the same one on the return trip, both sightings in almost the same spot with us both going the opposite direction. Once turning off at Golden BC and heading south on 93/95S the rains slowed and eventually stopped. The rest of the drive was pleasantly dry although windy. We arrived at our destination, Whiteswan lake in time for a bit of a sunset and a quiet dinner.

The next day the sun came out and it was amazingly warm considering the snow and ice all around us in the trees and on the lake. We drove back to Lussier river hot springs, an easy 15 Kms of well maintained forestry road. The hot springs were very busy with mostly Albertans out for the weekend. We decided they were just too busy for us and we didn't stay and soak very long. As we were heading up the trail to the parking lot I did a quick head count. 60-70 people soaking between the five or so pools. We gave up when small children started diving into the middle of the small soaking pool we were enjoying down by the river.
After a nice lunch by the lake we decided to go and check out some more of the area, deciding on Moscow forest service road and eventually a small trail heading up into area that had been logged many years ago with new trees filling in and greening up the hills nicely.

The whole area is just stunning, with all the snow capped mountains, small creeks and waterfalls, and colour of the lake. You can just look at that all day.

The drive home was uneventful except between the snow sheds near Revelstoke we were following a 1 ton service truck of a heavy duty mechanic. All of a sudden the truck was putting out so much smoke you couldn't see the road. I had the four way flashers on, and had to slow down to about 20 Kph to find the road. He made it about 1/2 a Km to a pull out with flames coming out of his truck. I pulled off the highway a safe distance away from him and grabbed my fire extinguisher. But the fire had put itself out as I got close to the truck. Chatted with the driver a bit and offered him a ride to the next town. Turns out his turbo seal had failed and he had a run away Diesel engine that he couldn't slow down or turn off. It had come apart as he pulled off pf the road and the oil had caught fire on the exhaust.

Im not much of a writer, so I'll put a link to the video I made of the weekend.
Link
[/youtube]

[MsTaboo]

Nice trip, thanks for the video. Yep, been a bit windy and rain/snow mix lately.
Welcome to the neighborhood!
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[VicVan]

Awesome ! I think I'll buy a roof rack for the sole purpose of carrying my canoe to this lake.

How did you feel about the road and the suspension? The suspension elements of the vanagon being slightly under-engineered, I'm always worried this kind of road will prematurely damage the components, bushings, etc.
Do you have any upgrades on your suspension ? How did it feel ?
(I have a stock 2wd)
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[jordauto]

You wouldn’t have any issues on the road as far as the lake with a stock van and stock suspension. It’s very well maintained. I do have modified front suspension and a small amount of lift overall. But it’s not needed for the main road. It’s a beautiful area, enjoy.

[joetiger]

Great report, thanks for sharing! Planning to be in that area in June.
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[dhaavers]

Beautiful! Thanks for the report.

Gotta get out there someday...SOON!

- Dave
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[thatbaldwinlife]

Awesome video! Makes me want to use our GoPro more on roadtrips!
That campsite you had off of that gravel road up top was remarkable. Nice work.

We are heading to Canada in July but probably won't be any further east than Revelstoke.

nate
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[jordauto]

Thanks. Definitely use your GoPro and drone if you have one. It’s great fun and this is only my second time doing any editing. I’m learning how to use a GoPro, drone, a gimbal, a MacBook Pro ( I’ve used PCs exclusively), and iMovie. The area around Revelstoke is pretty amazing as well. Lots of great mountain biking in the area. The ski hill has a pretty cool mountain coaster ride where you sit on a little seat with a brake and ride down a pipe. Fast! Enjoy your trip.

[jimf909]

Yay trip reports!!!
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[Alaskaberrys]

Great trip report, thanks for sharing it!

We're currently planning a trip north through Vancouver Island -> Bella Coola -> Cassiar -> Skagway to home trip this July and fun to get peeks of the area.

Beautiful country!

(...and hopefully not on fire in July)
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[thatbaldwinlife]