Date:         Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:30:48 -0700
Reply-To:     Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Subject:      weekend trip in syncro
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My son and I threw a bunch of stuff in the syncro Saturday and headed
off to find the last of the snow here on southern vancouver island.
Initially planed on finding a logging spur from the road from
Shawnigan Lake to Port Renfrew, but I had somehow forgot the old
spectacular bridge on that route had burned, and the road was  gated
about 8 km west of Shawnigan lk.

I hate the relatively recent practice of gating logging roads,
trenching unused spurs and taking out unused bridges. There was I
time where you could drive to the most spectacular areas on the
island. Now its only trail bike and ATVs (mullets still popular in
those crowds) that can get past the barriers.

Anyhow, we ended up going up to Cowichan and driving south west on
the "new" Cayacuse-Port Renfrew road. I say new because its now
paved! About half way, we found an ungated logging spur road, so we
had a look. Road went through active logging site (second growth cut,
trees about 2ft diameter and under). It was the usual logging road,
sharp crushed rock, plenty of big puddles, fairly steep in places.
The road had some drainage trenches on the steep sections. These
trenches cut across the road, and where about 3 ft wide and up to
about 1 ft deep. I had to slow down and go into g-gear, ease in and
out. Funny thing was, pulling out of those ditches the front wheels
felt like they were getting power. I swear I could feel the wheels
spin and grab. This was exciting as my VC is no longer working!

The road continued on past the active site and into uncut forest and
then into snow and up, at least 20 degrees. In some parts melt water
had cut through the snow exposing the road bed (like a stream
bottom), so I could pull the diff lock switch, get wheel on one side
on the exposed rock, and make up it up the hill (during this it
seemed front wheels were not doing much, ah well, back to normal!) to
an exposed level spot where we camped. Was about 1.5 ft of snow,
couple of inches of new stuff on a very crusty layer, and below that
granular stuff.

Next day we continued on to Port Renfrew, stopping here and there to
look at the various creeks/rivers. Just before Port Renfrew, we
stopped at the famous "Harris Creek Spruce".  Its a giant Sitka
Spruce that has become (rightfully) a "thing to see". The base of the
tree looks to be wider than the van is long.

Then Port Renfrew, the Pacific Ocean and blue sky, back around the
southern tip of the island and home.

Van had no mechanical issues, ran fine. We were bumping it hard on
the logging roads. I was excited for a while thinking the VC had
decided to work again (don't laugh, I have heard of that happening
from a reliable source). I swear the front wheels were grabbing when
we were climbing out of the ditches, but then later on, with rear
wheels spinning in snow, fronts were doing nothing...


alistair
'86 syncro 7  passenger
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94
http://www.members.shaw.ca/albell/
http://shufti.wordpress.com