John Harvey Photo

Cheakamus Canyon

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a walk by the railroad tracks.


Broken BridgeThe trail itself is wide, capable of (for the most part) supporting 4x4 vehicles.  My hiking book says this area was cut for the Pemberton Cattle Trail (survey first in 1873), an unsuccessful (too difficult) route for driving cattle from the interior (Lillooet) to Squamish for market.  Now the road access is used for access to Starvation lake (there were a few campers there when we arrived) and possibly for power line maintenance.

Starvation Lake

Track Tunnel with MountainsPast Starvation lake you get into the canyon views.  Looking south you can see the beautiful Tantalus Range - high, glacier covered peaks.  A break in the forest gives you the first clear views of the mountains the rail road - hugging the canyon walls.  The railway was built between 1912 and 1915, linking Sqamish with the interior.

Track Tunnel with Mountains

Tiger LilyI found a small patch of tiger lilies growing here.  I'm a sucker for flowers so we stopped and took some pictures.  From here the road becomes more tortured - it's blasted out of the rock walls.  You can see the mechanics of the road (retaining logs, blast sites) as you hike further into the canyon.

Blast Fracture

Bridge by Cheakamus CanyonCactus on MossAnd then you come tot he money shot - a large curving railway bridge overlooking a falls in the Cheakamus canyon.  We hiked up to the large rock bluff and had lunch overlooking the falls.  The plant life here is used to the dry sunny climate - it's different that what you see in the forest earlier.

Moss on Rocks

Overall, a very nice hike.  We walked back to car and enjoyed the sunny summer afternoon drive home.


 

Andrea and Forestor
I had a Forester for a test drive for the weekend and I thought a nice hike may be in  order.  We were looking for a pretty short hike - perhaps a few hours, and a drive that would let me test the car a little.  Cheakamus canyon off the 99, between Seymour and Whistler - beautiful country.  The ride up from Vancouver was spectacular - the Forester turns well, but is somewhat lacking in acceleration when the turbo isn't there to help.

We drove the last few km down a dirt road (cottage access) and parked next to the river. 

Rockfall under Power LineColumnar Basalt Trail

The first thing you notice is the rock.  The hike starts next to hills of broken rock - bubbly black rock with speckles of other colors.  This whole area was once the site of volcanic activity.  Hiking further, you come to a second of trail where you are walking on top of the hexagonal lava columns - lava solidified in place in a cinder cone.


Track Tunnel with Mountains
Tags: train, tunnel
Columnar Basalt Trail
Tags: rock, trail
Bridge by Cheakamus Canyon
Location: Go To...
Tags: bridge, canyon, rail, train
Tiger Lily
Species: Lilium columbianum (Columbian lily)
Tags: flower, shallow depth of field
Track Tunnel with Mountains
Tags: train, tunnel
Moss on Rocks
Species: Asplenium trichomanes-ramosum (green spleenwort)
Tags: fern, moss
Starvation Lake
Location: Go To...
Tags: lake
Cactus on Moss
Species: Micranthes ferruginea (russethair saxifrage)
Tags: plant
Rockfall under Power Line
Tags: rock, trail
Broken Bridge
Tags: trail
Andrea and Forestor
Blast Fracture
Tags: construction, road, rock
Tags: train(3), rock(3), trail(3), tunnel(2), lake(1), Do Not Tag(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > John Harvey Photo - Hiking > Cheakamus Canyon
From: John Harvey Photo > Cheakamus Canyon

I wonder what kind of cactus that is.
Kevin
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 17:01:08

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