Near the Source

September 3, 2010 Part 2

Canal Flats, B.C.

Today we drove about 200 miles from Revelstoke to Canal Flats. At Revelstoke the Columbia River meets the Illecillewaet River. The water was 300 feet wide, clear blue/green with visibility to 20 feet and calm and lake like because it is controlled by the Mica dam above. The depth fluctuates with seasonal needs and local folks fish for dolly vardans. It is a source of hydro electric power for the area.

We continued on the Trans Canada Highway 1 in what Dale describes as competitive driving mode. It’s a busy, fast moving artery with semi trucks, cars, motorcycles, and tour buses moving in and out of passing lanes. We crossed Rogers Pass at 4300 feet with glacial mountains and immense green and granite all around us. The avalanche chutes can be several miles long, and wide enough that I felt they might qualify as a small city. There are 18 places along this highway that are used to position the howitzers that blast the snow in the winter to control these avalanches.

This is the largest, most expansive mountain panorama I’ve ever seen. I cannot even begin to understand the massive geological episodes that created this and the surrounding mountain terrain. This is the birthplace of 20th century mountaineering, and I can see why. In the 1920’s Swiss mountaineers were hired to teach the Canadians and Americans how to climb this complex, challenging mountains.

At Golden we had the road to ourselves. Also at Golden we saw the confluence of the Kicking Horse River and the Columbia. The river is milky, glacial, blue green, almost celadon and moving freely and swiftly. The Columbia Wetlands begin a bit north of here and extend about 80 miles south to Columbia Lake where the river begins

This 80 mile stretch of river and wetlands parallels Canada Highway 95 from Golden to Canal Flats. For most of it the river is a mile or so in the distance and inaccessible. The highway is above the river, and I didn’t understand the immensity of the wetlands until we found a view point just outside Radium Hot Springs, and I hiked the trail to the overlooks for panoramic views and photo ops. I was filled with the beauty of the slow, lazy, river carving its body around the land and the sensual concave/convex union they found together. The wind blew, and there was no one else there but me. I was in love.

Today’s Route: Trans Canada Hwy 1 from Revelstoke to Golden B.C. and Canada Hwy 95 to Canal Flats B.C.