Date:         Wed, 31 Jul 1996 00:08:53 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         rickgo@halcyon.com (Rick Gordon)
Subject:      trip report: Seattle to Canadian Rockies

A somewhat longwinded account of the recent week-long I took the EV on.
Pictures will be posted to the Web page soon. VW content is sparse, but
present.

Technical Details:
Total miles: 1761
Total fuel: 87.6 gals (US)
Total fuel cost: US$143.76
Total breakdowns: 0
Oil consumed: 0
Miles per day: ranged from 95 to 230.
Average mpg: 21 (range was 16.5 to 25.3)
(Best mileage along Hwy 1 from Revelstoke to Golden - probably due to
nonstop freeway driving; worst was between Osoyoos and Nelson where there
was a lot of stop and go and big hills; in the Rockies themselves we did
about 19 mpg.)

The route: from Seattle we took SR2 over Steven's Pass, then north on SR97
to cross the border at Osooyoos, BC. From there, we took #3 to Castlegar,
then #22 to Nelson, then #6 to Kaslo. From there we turned west onto #31A
crossing the pass up near Sandon, then headed north again on #6 until
Nakusp. From there, northward on #23 until Galena Bay, where to took the
free ferry across to Shelter Bay and continued #23 north to Revelstoke.
=46rom there it was a straight shot out #1 to Lake Louise, where we took #93
(the Icefields Parkway) up to the Columbia Icefield. From there we turned
around and headed back south to Lake Louise, then south on #93/95 to
Cranbrook, then west on #3/95 to Yahk, then west on #3 to #6, where we
turned south and crossed the border back into Washington. From there, we
continued south on SR31 to SR20, then followed that all the way across the
state, taking the Keystone ferry to Port Townsend and heading home there
along 19, 3 and 305.

Where we camped:
Conconully Lake, Sugarloaf campground (WA) - mosquito ridden, have to
scrounge for wood, mainly a place for fishermen, free is main virtue.
Nancy Greene Provincial Park (BC) - by road, nice lake and trail though.
Convenient when everything else around Christina Lake was full. Lots of
squirrels.
Davis Creek Campground - north of Kaslo, nicest place we stayed, right on
lake. Hot in the daytime. Not much else there though.
Upper Arrow Lake area  - 23 km south of Revelstoke,mosquito ridden, not
much there.
Mosquito Creek Campground, Banff NP - not bad, nice creek
Wilcox Creek Campground, Jasper NP - nice, near trail and icefield.
McLeod Meadows Campground, Kootenay NP - hot, mosquito-ridden (worst yet),
nice creek, trail to Dog Lake which was too hot to go to.
Curlew Lake State Park (WA) - relatively crowded but enough space between
spots to make it reasonable. Lots of walkin sites too. Hot showers!

Some miscellaneous observations:
- Although I didn't see any oil consumption, I did see fluctuating coolant
levels, and I seem to have lost a slight amount. The level varied with
pressure (and I always checked it in the morning), but not in the way I
expected: it was lower at higher altitudes! It never got more than halfway
between max/min.
- I saw lots of Vanagons, quite a few EVs some of which were campers (even
a Rialta), and a few buses. I waved at everyone, but only 50-60% waved
back. Vanagon drivers were the worst. The bus drivers usually flashed me
the "peace sign". Most EV drivers waved heartily.
- Climbing those grades in the Rockies was a real test. Worst cases were on
th 8% grades where I would have to shift down the 3rd and plug along at
about 40 mph. That didn't last long though - I usually just popped it into
4th and pulled the hills at 50+. Considering the conditions, I think the
van did fine - I very rarely had anyone fuming behind me, and when I did it
was usually because *I* was behind someone that couldn't drive that fast.
- I don't think I saw a single policeman (or woman) the whole time I was in
Canada. I hadn't really noticed until I got back into the US and kept
seeing sheriff cars.
- I don't think Canadians have an accent, they just correctly pronounce the
"ou" sound in all the words that we either leave it silent in or take it
out entirely!
- In the inner Kootenay region, apart from Nelson, it was pretty much just
Canadians vacationing there. That whole area was pretty nice country,
relatively undeveloped, and relatively unpretentious in its pricing.
- Banff/Jasper National Parks are certainly beautiful places, but the
townsites are awfully crowded. Its kind of frenetic, and everything costs
extra $ of course.
- I collected lots of tourist info from the different areas, much of which
was pretty useless. A few good maps and campground listings though.
- Next time I'll bring an axe. The firewood provided in the Provincial
Parks is nice, but its unsplit cottonwood and needs to be split to get the
hotter fire it needs to really get going. My hatchet just wouldn't do it
sometimes.
- Also I'll bring an extra water can: the EV only holds 12 gals and some
campgrounds did not have potable water supplies. We never really ran out
but we had to hunt around a couple of times for someplace to refill.
- I saw lots of people with rental RVs up there. Don't know what they cost.
- Local (Okanagan) paper reporting on how local businesses are leaving an
Okanagan BC Internet service provider because he provides services for
white supremacy movements as well. (So I guess those people made it up into
BC as well.) (But see my comments on Twisp et al below: its not all bad out
here!)

And finally notes from the trip:
Crossed mtns via Highway 2, then north to Okanagan. EV made good time.
Upon leaving headed up through Oroville, take advantage of the cheap hot
showers at Osoyoos State Park just south of Canadian border. Noticed that
all the vehicles had BC plates.
At border crossing, the Sinead O'Conner lookalike customs agent decided she
wanted to search the van. This after a 20-minute wait. I think this was
because I said "I hope not" when she asked if I had any pets or animals
with me. (I was thinking about the mouse droppings we had found in the van
just before the previous trip.)
We tried to stay at Texas Creek but after this long meandering road we
found it to be quite full. (They could of posted a sign!)
Next stop was some dirt road just east of Paulson Pass. But then we saw
something that looked enough like it could have been bear scat that we
decided to push on, and ended up at Nancy Greene. In hindsight, we were
probably too paranoid.
Interesting thing - while we were checking out the woods, some Mercedes
camper van decided to camp just down the road.
On the 2-meter, via the Nelson repeater I spoke with the first of many
German tourists, this one some fellow named Wolfgang who flew into
Vancouver, rented a car there and was driving it to Calgary. Also spoke
with a local fellow (VE7HEG I think). I was pretty far away but at 4000 ft
elevation had a good line of sight to the repeater.

We met more German tourists camped at Davis Creek. (Is there anyone *left*
in Germany during the summer?) The spots right by the lake there were
rather contested. One couple from Seattle were hoping to latch onto one as
it was vacated but someone else pulled up behind them, then *ran* with some
of their stuff to stake the space out. We decided to push on and gave them
our spot.

We stopped and poked around Nelson a bit. Lunch, etc. Waiter tells us not
to bother feeding parking meter as they never ticket out-of-province
vehicles since no one ever pays.
Crossing the Galena Bay ferry was nice - it was kind of like the small
boats they take out in the San Juans. Once we got out onto the water there
was a nice breeze to help cool us off.

Going into Revelstoke and taking #1 to Lake Louise was uneventful.
Basically an "interstate" we just drove on through.
Once at Lake Louise we bought our "daily Park Pass" which is the new policy
this year apparently. CAN$5/day/adult. Must be purchased to stop in the
park or to even drive on the Icefields Parkway. But then no one ever really
checked for it.

Read about the Inuvik-bound folks in the Vancouver Sun. I saved the article.

We stayed at the first campground we came to on road north, since it was
getting late in the day. Although with the altitude (>6000 ft) and the fact
that we're near the edge of Mtn Time Zone it's light until at least 11 pm.
Wonderful views, and at the junction of two creeks which you could walk out =
to.
"Park Operator" tells us a bear wandered through in the middle of the
afternoon last week but didn't bother anyone.
Walked over to the Youth Hostel across the stream. Spoke with another
German tourist, this some kid who's been staying in Squamish with his
brother.

Along the road north, we were stopping every 10-15 minutes. The views were
just incredible. I mean, North Cascades Highway, then double the size of
the mountains and translate everything so that your "base" elevation is
6000 ft!
My wife wanted to collect photos of various geological features for use in
teaching, so I have lots of pictures of hanging valleys, alluvial fans,
braided streams, etc.

At Paseyo  Lake, I took some video footage for this purpose; it was
particularly interesting because of the babble of languages around me:
English, Japanese, French and German at least. May have been some Spanish
or Italian there too. The German tourists speaking English to the local
squirrels were pretty funny.

We stopped and reserved a space at Wilcox Creek campground on the way up; a
good thing as when we returned it had filled.
Trip to Columbia Icefield - well not really they only take you to a spot on
the lower glacier. Still it was kind of nice to get hauled all the way up
onto the ice. Later we tried walking up a little ways from the toe of the
glacier but it was very slippery. Plus being from the NW I know enough
about glaciers that I'm not inclined to walk far on one not roped up!
The Sno-Coaches were pretty cool - 6 foot wheels, carrying 56 passengers,
they were able to climb up and down a 37% gravel grade! Let's see those
Synchros top that!

Lake Louise itself was quite depressing - three levels of parking lots that
were all full, all so one could walk into town. We decided that after being
on the Icefield Parkway for a few days we had seen enough glacier-fed lakes
backed by snowy peaks.
Ran into the German from the youth hostel, this time with a French girl.
He's hitchhiking and hoping he can talk us into driving to Moraigne Lake.
Alas, not this time, we want to get rolling.
Coming down from Lake Louise wasn't a very long haul. We did get to cross
the Continental Divide, always a photo-op.
All in all, the eastern Kootenays are kind of a let down after being in the
Rockies for a few days. Then that campground had the worst mosquitos we'd
seen.
I did get a few good pictures along the stream nearby though.

The next morning we pushed on early, and it was so hot we just kept on going=
..
Why stop and sweat in a campground when you can drive along in the A/C van
listening to tunes? Thanks to that heat we got home 2 days early!

Got to listen to CBC Sunday Morning. I had almost forgotten about that. I
have to start listening on the SWL receiver again. Good interview with some
neurologist who claims that via the manipulation of magnetic fields focused
on the left temporal lobe, he can make people have "the God experience" -
i.e. hear the voice of God talking to them, experience religious ecstasy,
etc.

Border crossing was the easiest I've ever had: citizenship, any purchases
and waved on through. A real treat after the "walkthrough" we got coming
into Canada. Kind of out of the way though!
The way through is all forested, trees very close to highway. Looks much
different than Canada because of this.
Passing thru Colville it was 102=B0F today. This was a very long haul,
crossing time zone, ended up driving 9:30 AM MDT until 6:30 PM PDT - 10
hours all told. But it was *so* hot that being in an air-conditioned
vehicle driving along was just fine!
At a bathroom break in  Colville National Forest saw a golden eagle. Also a
deer tripped in front of me while trying to cross the road - fortunately he
recovered and my brakes worked well - ABS didn't even engage.

Too many Ellen Craswell signs out here. (You folks from Washington will
know what I mean).

Stopped in Twisp and hit my favorite bakery, Cinammon Twisp. There's not
much to do in this town, but the people I met there all seem to be pretty
interesting. For example, there was this fellow with an old BMW r60, beat
all to hell, with leather bags and a big cow skull mounted on the front. He
was in the bakery too, along with a couple of girls and a guy who had all
just cut all the hair off their heads to keep cool. It was like this last
year when I was out mtb'ing there - there's sort of a "slacker" culture
living out there.  The coop next door had lots of interesting literature
around, attacking the various mining and logging interests out there. I'll
try putting up some of the Buckhorn Mine stuff soon, they've been fighting
that one for awhile.
And when I was in Tonasket, I was talking to some woman who works in the
coop, who claimed that lots of interesting folks live outside of town.
So its not all miners and "freemen" out there.

Well, I told you it was long-winded. That's enough I guess.
I'll put this, along with some of the pictures I took, on my Web page shortl=
y.

-rick

Rick Gordon
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
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http://www.halcyon.com/rickgo/
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