Cowboys and Ranchlands

We are now three days into our bikepacking trip around the Fraser River. Both of those previous days were spectacular for the views but not easy. Just yesterday we did a cumulative 1,800m vertical gain and now I am here, into my second hour of pushing the loaded bike uphill on a steep forest service road.

Me: “I don’t understand how this guy did this entire route as a day trip”.
Hubby: “Which guy?”
Me: “The guy from dirtbiking dot com who gave me the idea and the GPX track.”
A moment of stunned silence.
Hubby: “You know what a dirtbike is, right?”

The Highlights

  • Sculpted hoodoos and other geological formations carved out of the river banks
  • Working farms and ranchlands along the West Pavillion Road
  • Big Bar reaction ferry – an engineering curiosity
  • The ranching history and views along the High Bar Road
  • The Cougar Point viewpoint
  • The ranchlands plateau between Kelly Lake and the village of Pavillion
  • Old wooden bridge in Lillooet (pedestrian traffic only, bicycles OK)

Trip Stats

We have been planning for this trip for a long time. We knew it was not going to be an easy one – the route planning stats were indicating 210km in length and 5,400m elevation gain total. We needed to carry camping gear and food for three days. And we needed to work up some stamina for this physically demanding bike packing trip.

The route mostly leads through an open country with spectacular views up and across the Fraser. The roads, with their firm surface save for a few loose gravelly spots, are great for gravel bikes but the grades are relentless: typically 11-15%, with an occasional 20% incline. Prepare to push your bike on those.

The rewards were more than worth it. Despite the sweat and struggles on steep hills, we came
back with huge grins and elated from a trip through these spectacular landscapes.

Route Description

The route starts in Lillooet, where you can leave your car parked on the Main Street strip, and heads north on Moha Road. After about 6km out of town is crosses Bridge River which carves an interesting narrow canyon before emptying into the Fraser. Notice the salmon drying racks on the rocky outcropping near the confluence of Bridge and Fraser.

The road then turns onto gravelly surface of West Pavillion FSR and starts climbing stiffly. The West Pavillion FSR closely follows the mighty Fraser River on a broad high bench with views of working cattle ranches. About 100km N of Lilllooet the route drops down to the river at Big and uses the tiny Big Bar Ferry to cross to the other side. It then follows the High Bar FSR back south on another wide bench high above the river. The return to Lillooet is via Jesmond FSR and the Pavillion-Clinton paved road (Hwy 99).

Water Sources

Water can be scarce on the first 50km of this trip, especially later in the season. Some of the bigger creeks (from south to north: Blackhill, Slok, MaKay, Leon, Watson Bar, Ward and on the other side of the river from north to south: Big Bar, Indian, Kostering, Barney) will always run but do bring some dromedary bags so that you have water storage capacity and are not reliant on camping near the water sources.

Where to Camp

There are many places where you can camp, even if it is on a side of the road. West Pavillion FSR does not have too much traffic (we saw 4 cars in total on our 1st day). The traffic on the High Bar FSR (east side of the river) is non-existent. For the whole day we did not see any other person, motorized or not.

History

High Bar Road and the surrounding area on the river bench has a very interesting ranching history. Some of the very old log ranch buildings remain and the root cellars are still visible form the road. A great way to get to know the place you are about to visit is to read about its history beforehand. You can read some here: settler’s life on the ranchlands, the High Bar First Nation perspective, the Kostering Ranch history.

The rest of our trip is retold via captions in the photos below. Enjoy!

Typical landscapes visible along Big Bar and High Bar roads.
Working ranches along the Fraser River (at the Big Bar ferry).
the last 30km or so on the West Pavillion FSR and before dropping down to Big Bar ferry you are in a grizzly territory. Be bear-smart when camping here.
Interesting white rock formations along the Big Bar FSR.
Arriving at the Big Bar ferry and waiting for the ferry operator to start the vessel and come & pick us up.
Big Bar reaction ferry takes 2 cars and operates ‘on request’ daily between the hours of 7am and 6pm.
Fantastic views and interesting geological formations all along the the High Bar FSR. The wow-factor views never let up.
A piece of history – one of the old log ranch houses along the High Bar Road.
The climb on the High Bar FSR to Cougar Point is relentless. We had to push our bikes for most of it.
The High Bar FSR has one of the the steepest incline ratings I have seen.
View of the Fraser River canyon from the Cougar Point (the high point on the High Bar FSR).
Arriving at Kelly Lake – a lovely provincial campground and about 10 camping sites. Bring cash to pay ($15 per nigh per site).
A rolling plateau between Kelly Lake and Pavillion with active cattle ranching, pastoral views and great bird watching.
Active cattle ranching along the service road from Kelly Lake to Pavillion.
Old wooden road bridge in Lillooet, now pedestrians-only.

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