Sunday, July 22 - Saturday, July 28, 2001

PROLOGUE

IMPORTANT NOTICE - PLEASE READ Warning! Some of the activities described in this trip report are extremely dangerous, and could result in severe injury or death. The author does not endorse, encourage, or otherwise recommend these types of activities. If you choose to engage in such activities as described herein, you do so entirely of your own volition and at your own risk, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the author, website host, and any other entity from any and all claims resulting from your actions. This is a legally-binding contract; reading this trip report indicates your acceptance of these terms.

I've always enjoyed watching the CHBC-TV series "Gold Trails and Ghost Towns", and one night they aired an episode about Phoenix (near Greenwood) and the Lost City of Paris, a ghost town from the gold-rush days that had disappeared into the brush. Totally fascinated, I watched and listened as the narrators talked about the old mines, the miners, and stories of the era. When the episode was over, I fired off an excited email to our mailing list; I wanted to go there to explore! We had already planned to check out historic Barkerville this summer, which I've always thought of as being a touristy-type place, so we changed our plans and decided instead to head to Greenwood in search of abandoned mines and ghost towns. Lorilei set up a trip itinerary, and planned a rough route that would hopefully enable us to find some mines. When Dave found out about the trip, he told us that he used to live in Rock Creek and had been exploring the area for years, but had never found the Lost City of Paris. Unfortunately, he was planning to be in Europe for a few months, so he couldn't join us. I counted the days with anticipation; I could hardly wait to hit the road.

DAY 1: SUNDAY
The long and winding road trip

Sunday morning arrived quickly. *yawn* 05:00h; why is it that I force myself to get up so early on a day off? Terry and I had spent all last night cooking and prepping most of a week's worth of food and packing our gear, and we didn't get to sleep until around 02:30h. I let Terry snooze for a bit while I took a shower, and he finally awoke at 05:45h. We loaded our food into the coolers, packed the truck, and hit the highway at 06:41h. This was the longest 'wheeling trip I had ever attempted, and it was also the most-anticipated trip of the year. Lorilei had posted this trip months ago, and we were looking forward to exploring a new area and checking out the abandoned mines and ghost towns she had written about.

The weather was perfect for a road trip; sunny and clear, but not too hot. John and Tim were waiting for us at the south end of the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge, and we convoyed out towards Chilliwack where we met up with with Brad, Lorilei, and Jud at the usual Petro-Can at 08:00h. We fueled our vehicles, had a quick drivers' meeting, and were on the way at 08:35h. We spotted numerous vintage cars on the road, enroute to the vintage car show at Minter Gardens. Terry and I would have liked to have visited the show, but of course we already had other plans!

We got delayed by a seal-coating operation along the Hope-Princeton Highway in Manning Park, at the 3800' elevation, and "patiently" waited in line to be escorted along the highway by the pilot car (10:00h). Once we were through, we pulled into the Copper Creek rec site at Placer Mtn FSR for a snack and a pit stop. Note to self: do NOT, repeat NOT, attempt to enter a campsite outhouse at the end of a weekend! What the hell did those people eat, anyways?? I lasted a whole two seconds in there, not even enough time to get the door closed, before I hurriedly exited and heaved into the bushes. We were back on the highway at 10:30h, with the fresh air blowing in through the open windows of the cab.

We encountered some light rain around Keremeos, but it dried up fairly quickly. We passed through Osoyoos, and stopped for lunch at a pull-out on Anarchist Mtn, just below the lookout point. Tourists, seeing our trucks parked there, kept pulling in thinking that this was the lookout. :) We rolled into Rock Creek at 14:00h, and refueled. We crossed over the Kettle River, got onto Kettle Valley Road South, then turned left and north onto Nicholson Creek FSR. Off the pavement at last!

We turned right onto the first deactivated road, a little two-track road through the forest. We encountered a bit of rain here; through the drizzle, we could see a small lake a couple hundred feet to the right. Hmm, what's that on the road? I came to a stop, and squinted through the wet windshield at the road surface ahead. It was glistening, moving and shiny; not from water, but from something else. Ants, perhaps? I drove slowly ahead, and looked out the side window onto the ground. The ground was moving, yet not moving. Quick, sudden, furtive movements, all around, but when I looked at it the movement stopped. Finally I saw what caused it; it was thousands of tiny tree frogs, literally covering the road, heading away from the lake en masse. They were well-camouflaged, making it difficult to spot them when they weren't actually moving. I wonder if Big-O makes FT tires for situations like this? :)

The rain quickly abated, and we were once again driving on dry, dusty roads. We found a newly-logged clearing on the side of a hill, where the loggers had logged all around an old wooden building and the remains of a Diamond T logging truck from the early 1940's. Painted on the door of the truck was "Molson Sawmills Limited, Phone 3R, Rock Creek, B.C.". It's really nice that the present-day loggers are leaving the historic structures and objects intact during their logging process. We startled a couple of deer who were nibbling on fresh shoots by a slash pile, and they bounded up the hillside, where they turned around to watch us from the safety of the ridge. On the other side of the road, across a grassy field, were two more buildings; this appeared to be an abandoned homestead, and looked like it would have been a pleasant place to live.

I spotted an 1940's Chevy(?) panel truck in the brush, and we continued on as the road wound around a couple ponds and passed through a large, abandoned compound. The road we were looking for was supposed to branch off to the left; there was a a road through the compound that looked like it might have been the one we wanted. We drove a bit further, and pulled over at a fork to consult our maps; there was an old cabin here whose roof had fallen in, with a For Sale sign nailed to it. Tim, wearing shorts, wandered around the perimeter of the cabin, and to his dismay quickly discovered that he had walked through stinging nettles. Lorilei, our trip first-aider (she's Fire Dept dispatcher, how handy is that!), hauled out her extensive first-aid kit and administered a salve to reduce his discomfort. We consulted our maps, decided that we were on the wrong road, and turned around. Jud thought that perhaps the road we were looking for was back at the compound.

We paused at the compound; and tried to figure out what it was. There were several buildings, some quite large, and there was enough rooms for it to have been a school or training facility of some sort. I drove around the back of it to see if the road we had seen here would take us in the right direction. The road narrowed, but continued on through the bush. I checked out the compound; the buildings appeared to be unfinished; the wood on the sides of the building was not painted or covered. A large metal-framed structure with no walls or roof was around back. An older cabin was located next to the largest building, and when I exited the truck to take a photograph of it, I heard an animal scuttling across the wood floor. While I was doing this, a local resident driving a white Toyota 4x4 informed the others that this compound was a former grow-op whose owner was currently in jail. Through one of the windows, I noticed that one of the rooms had exposed heat ducting that had sections painted in different colours. Very strange indeed! I was thinking that there were enough multi-storied, multi-roomed buildings here that the place would have made an excellent paintball course. Our curiosity finally got the better of us, and we decided to explore the compound.

We grabbed our VHF handhelds and flashlights, split up, and wandered around the grounds. As I walked along a boardwalk between the two larger buildings, I heard a rustling in the grass just below the boardwalk next to the largest building. I stopped, and glanced around. *HISSSSSS!* What the?? I froze, not quite sure what I'd heard, if it was the rattle of a snake, or something else. Oh, it was an unfriendly badger, glowering at me from his hole, teeth bared. I whipped out my camera, and snapped off a quick photo. The badger hissed at me again, then ducked back down the hole.

A check of the buildings told us that the compound had housed several things in its past life, including a Spanish school, a religious organization, and the "Forma International Circus School", although they may have all been related, concurrent entities. There were signs posted on the walls in Spanish, classrooms that still had the last lessons on the chalkboards, a couple of rooms containing elementary-school-type desks, a dance-class room with a hardwood floor and a large, mirrored wall, numerous childrens' rooms with multi-level bunk beds and piles of childrens' clothes, a room full of large-size animal cages, and a common area containing several large bean-bags big enough for several people to lay on. Many unfinished religious icons were in various stages of construction, and a few instruction booklets showing how to make them were lying on tables. Some children's workbooks had drawings dated 1988. A couple of large bags containing rectangular bricks of artificial soil were in the room with the animal cages, which could have been used for an indoor grow op; the bricks get pumped full of a nutrient-rich mixture via thin plastic hoses, and the plant roots grow through the brick material. When the plants get harvested, the roots remain inside the bricks and become part of the brick for the next generation of plants. Of course, they could have been growing tomatoes there. :)

Note: When I was showing the trip photos to Dave, he told me that one day Immigration went to the Spanish school with buses, loaded everyone up, and took them away.

We spent about an hour exploring the compound; it was now 17:45h. Our curiosity satiated, we took West Ingram Creek Road towards Matthew Lake, where we had planned to camp. We popped out onto a T-intersection, and took the right branch. The sign said we had emerged from Matthew Lake Road (marked Mathews Lake Rd in my map book). We decided were on the wrong road (again), and started looking for a field to set up camp in. We finally spotted an older logged field through the trees, and took the short access road in. Everyone set up camp, and at 19:00h Terry and I sat down for dinner: KFC. I cut some logs for the fire with my chainsaw; this was the first time I'd used it, and was also my first time using a chainsaw. It was a clear night; we spent a while watching numerous shooting stars with my binoculars, and retired around 23:30h.

DAY 2: MONDAY
What once was lost, was found

08:00h - Getting up to a nice, sunny day. It was already 25º inside Terry's tent. Terry noted that he didn't sleep too well, but that his tent was very cozy. Breakfast was an omlette with Black Forest ham, green onions, and cheddar cheese. We packed up our gear, and were on the road by 10:00h, in search of abandoned mines.

Snake Oil One of the newspapers in the cabin, dated May 1937, featured an advertisement for "Mercolized Wax", which the manufacturers claimed would make "all defects such as blackheads, tan, freckles, and large pores disappear. Skin is then beautifully clear, velvety and so soft - face looks years younger. Mercolized Wax brings out your hidden beauty." I've always been fascinated by the claims of these "wonder products"; we've all watched movie scenes where the gullible frontier townsfolk are listening to the spiel of a travelling snake-oil salesman pitching a miracle cure-all. I did some research, and according to the New Haven Dept of Health's October, 1916 monthly newsletter, Mercolized Wax was composed of zinc oxide (10%), ammoniated mercury (10%), and vaseline (80%). They noted that the mercury compound was a "dangerous poison". Apparently, women of that era used mercury-based cosmetics to lighten their skin. I'm sure you've heard of mercury poisoning! Ammoniated mercury is actually mercuric ammonium chloride (HgNH2Cl), a substance that is highly toxic even at much lower concentrations. It is easily absorbed through the skin, and victims display the following symptoms: The skin pigmentation becomes lighter, and the skin itself becomes thin and weak. Eventual kidney failure results in edema (swelling from fluid retention), susceptibility to infection, and urinary problems. Brain and nervous system damage, including personality changes, psychosis, and loss of motor skills. I wonder how many of our female pioneers fell victim to these so-called health remedies? Mercury-based cosmetics are now banned throughout North America, but can still be found on the black market and in other countries, where they continue to be marketed as skin lighteners. Their target market is women with dark skin, who are convinced that having lighter skin would improve their social standing. The day I wrote this, I was able to find a pharmacy in Australia that had Mercolized Wax listed for sale on the cosmetics page of its website. Read the MSDS sheet

We turned right onto Bubar Creek Rd (elevation 965m, according to the posted sign). When we arrived at an intersection of five roads, we decided we were heading in the wrong direction and turned around. At 10:20h we turned left onto Ingram Creek West FSR; oops, wrong again! The road system seemed to be a bit confusing for us tourists. We turned left at the "T" (Bubar Creek Rd again), which seemed to be the correct route. At 10:45h, we found an abandoned homestead down the hillside to our left. Terry and I walked down to check it out, while the others waited with the vehicles. The main building's living quarters had newspapers from 1937 glued to the wall for insulation, and the ceiling of the upper floor was constructed from crate wood from the 1930's. The wood on the stairs and the upper floor was in pretty rough shape and had rotted away in places, so we took care to step only where the joists were located. We found an old birdsnest on the upstairs floor, and a lot of mouse droppings. There was also the remains of a mattress and some miscellaneous household garbage. Outside, playful birds zoomed around, and landed on nearby bushes to watch us. While walking back up the hill, I saw a small cactus with pointy spikes longer than it's body was wide, growing in the dry soil by a rock.

We got onto Ingram Mtn Rd, where we saw deer and horses. I discovered that the frame of my eyeglasses was cracked around the middle of the bridge; hopefully it would hold for the trip as I didn't have a spare pair. We switchbacked down to Hwy 3, and turned left towards Midway. At 11:45h, we pulled into McMynns (est. 1912), and bought Mr. Freeze's to help combat the heat. Jud picked up meat, as he had left his in the freezer at home *doh!*. We went to the gas station next door to fuel up, where we also topped up our water. I took the opportunity to run cold water over my head; it's amazing how much heat comes up from the truck floor on a hot day.

Back on the road noon; we were now in search of Sappho Mine. We drove through Midway, turned right and passed over the bridge. We turned right through the green gate just after the bridge, through the barbed-wire gate and straight up the intersection. Road petered out. We backtracked, and turned left at the three-way intersection just before the barbed-wire gate. Road turns into a goat track. A Ford Explorer was parked on one of the side roads; perhaps it's owner knew where the mine was, or perhaps he was just looking around like us. While we were checking the map in one spot, Terry spotted a spotted frog in a pond, trying its best to look like the surrounding rocks. According to our GPS coordinates, we were in the immediate vicinity of the mine, but we just couldn't find it. We checked out a couple more side routes, and at 13:00h stopped for lunch (sandwiches). We noted that the area was rich in butterflies and cow pies.

We were done by 13:45h, and left the area in search of No. 7 Mine and the Lost City of Paris. We exited from Norwegian Creek Rd, and turned right at the T intersection onto Gidon Creek Rd, amidst fields of daisies. At the Y intersection we stayed left on the main road; according to Terry's notes, the road on the right was named Gidon - Mount McClaren, although the map book labels places in the area "McCarron" and "McCarren". Maybe he heard me incorrectly as I read it out, or maybe the map book is wrong; I'll have to check the next time I'm in the area. Many butterflies were fluttering by; it reminded me of one of those movie scenes where thousands of cgi butterflies are flying around. We found a cabin just before km 2 that those who were in a hurry missed as they drove right past; those who were observant saw it and took pictures.

We checked out a few side roads in this area; I don't remember exactly where they were, but they all either dead-ended or were overgrown and full of deadfall, and we weren't in a chain-sawing mood at the time. I had a bit of difficulty turning around in one location; I had one tire over a log and it kept channelling the truck into a tree when I was attempting to reverse. We stopped at an old cabin along the road in a newly-logged area; a large rat ran out the front door as we approached from the back (sounds like I'm narrating an episode of "COPS"!). The cabin was surrounded by daisies, as was an old Chevy pickup that we found rusting close by.

We turned left at a slash pile at the 4km point, and headed down a gentle grade. The road was relatively smooth here, and I noticed that my steering felt a bit weird. I got out to examine the front end, and discovered that I had bent the tie rod; the middle of the bend was about 4" from where it should have been, causing severe toe-in. I radioed the group ahead, and advised them that Jud and I would be repairing it while they continued to search for signs of Paris. We tried to bend the rod back with my pry bar and recovery chain, but it kept shifting (those who have tried this will know what I mean). I finally ended up pulling out my winch cable, then wrapped it around the front axle, and attached it to the tie rod via a clevis. While Jud used the pry bar to locate the tie rod, I winched the rod back into shape. Once we were mobile again, I noticed that the steering was better than it was before I bent the rod, who knew! Time for high-steer cross-over steering I guess.

It was now 15:30h; the rest of the group had found a mineshaft, and were checking it out. It was modern-looking, and consisted of a large, corrugated pipe set into the ground, with a section of steel ladder leading down into the darkness. A mesh fence was set up around the pipe, with a wide-open gate in the front and a wood-framed corrugated roof overhead. Closer inspection showed that the gate was actually off its hinges, and was still chained on the latch side. The pipe extended down through the dirt, and stopped when the ground turned to rock. The rock shaft continued down, and our flashlights weren't bright enough to see the bottom. I inspected the ladder; it was a narrow, red-primered steel ladder that was chained to the pipe at the top with two chains, and extended down about 12 feet. Another ladder was chained to the bottom of it, another was chained to that one, and so on. It looked like the entire ladder assembly was constructed in this fashion. I was able to shake the ladder at the top; the ripple effect of the 12-foot sections banging against the rocks echoed down the shaft. The ladders seemed strong enough, so I decided I'd climb down it to see what I could see. I grabbed my VHF hand-held, flashlight, and camera, and started climbing down the shaft, as the others took photos.

Grenoble Adit I believe that this first shaft we found is the Grenoble adit of the Lexington Mine. The BC Geological Survey describes it as being constructed in 1980 and located "midway between the City of Paris and Lexington adits". The shaft descends 1800 feet to the Main zone, where they extracted gold and copper ore.

I immediately noticed a temperature drop; the cold air of the shaft was so much nicer than the heat above! The ladder sections were not affixed to the shaft walls by anything solid, although every few sections had a pair of chains attached to the rock, and each section had six 6"-long stand-offs welded to the back to space the ladder out from the shaft wall to allow space for boots and hands. The shaft itself varied from 6 to 10 feet in diameter. As I climbed down, the ladders shifted slightly, and tiny pieces of rock broke loose and rattled down the shaft. The shaft quickly became wet, and I noticed rust on the ladders and chains. Water dripped from the brown rock walls of the shaft, and I slowed my descent to avoid slipping.

The shaft wasn't quite vertical, and there were a couple of curves that prevented me from seeing how far it actually descended. I disappeared from view from above, and kept climbing down. How far did it go? It was totally quiet down here, so I broke off a piece of rock from the wall, and dropped it down the shaft and started counting the seconds. It clattered off the wall at the curve below me, and I could hear the metallic clangs as it periodically struck the ladder on the way down. Bang. Clang. Bang. The sounds got quieter, but I could still faintly hear it hitting the ladder twenty seconds later. The sounds finally faded out, and I never did hear it hit the bottom. This shaft was deep! I didn't know how far down I was as it's pretty tough to tell; I think it might have been around 200 feet. I decided that I really didn't want to climb to the bottom, then have to climb all the way back up; I'd be quite tired, and the idea of exploring an old mine at the bottom of a super deep shaft by myself didn't strike me as being safe.

I radioed the group that I was heading back up the shaft, and soon arrived back at the surface in the hot sun. Nobody else was willing to climb down, and they tossed a few large rocks down the shaft and listened as they bounced off the ladder on the way down (thanks for waiting for me to come back up!). We put the gate back on its hinges so that no persons or animals could accidentally fall down the shaft in the dark, and started exploring the area on foot.

We walked down a slope to a plateau overlooking the valley; the plateau appeared to have been built up from rock removed from a mine. A log building full of loose core samples was standing here, and several wooden core-sample trays were lying on the ground nearby. Just past the building, we found a square adit set into the hill. When we got to within 20' of the entrance, we could feel the cold air being blown out at us. The first section was shored up with logs coated with green slime and moss. Once past the entranceway, the shorings changed to rotting wet logs covered with white mould. Once we were into the solid rock, the shorings were no longer required and it was just the rock walls of the mine. Parts of the floor were under water, and we followed a wooden rail track as it led us deep into the tunnel. The tunnel went straight for a long while, with a couple of side branches. The rail track eventually curved to the left; the tunnel ahead was full of rock and wood debris that had fallen down from an opening above, and I didn't proceed as it didn't look safe. I followed the track to the left, and it eventually ended at another debris pile with a wet wooden ladder heading up a vertical shaft. Rivulets of water were trickling down the wood and the rocks, so I didn't bother trying to climb the ladder as I knew it was rotten and I wasn't sure it would hold my weight (no weight jokes now!!). Most of the others also checked out the tunnels, and I think we spent a good hour inside. We spotted grafitti on the walls dated 1936 and 1940. Just an interesting note; the illumination from my ASP LED keychain light was sufficient to light up the tunnel, so I used that instead of my flashlight on the way out to conserve the flashlight battery. The ASP's have a lifetime replacement warranty which includes the battery.

City of Paris Mine The City of Paris Mine was discovered in 1895. It was mined between between 1900 and 1940, and produced silver, copper, gold, lead, and zinc.

While we were in the tunnel, Lorilei had spotted a log structure in the bushes. She identified it as being a church; it had a main room, a small rectory out back, and a bell tower on the roof. We saw remnants of old newspapers from Spokane, Washington, glued to the walls; we were unable to find a date but the ads and articles were similar to the 1930's newspapers we saw in the old homestead earlier. As we threaded our way through the brush, we found several more log structures in various stages of decay. Lorilei announced that we had found the Lost City of Paris! Wait 'til I tell Dave! :) We walked around for a while longer, but were unable to find any more intact buildings or mine shafts. I did detect the remains of cut, bleached logs lying on the ground in several places in the brush, indicating the presence of other buildings that had once stood there.

It was now 17:45h, and it was time to find a camp site. John and I were content to park on the plateau (since it was flat, and we were already here), but got out-voted. We exited onto Gibbs Creek Rd, which exited onto McCarron Creek Rd. We passed May Creek Rd (a sign here read "Century Gold Corp. Royal Attwood Project", with a West Vancouver phone number), and drove through some private land. Over the VHF, Jud warned us that a big bull had just pretended to charge his truck; Terry wanted to take a picture of it, but once I saw the size of his horns, I didn't want to stop (thin Toyota sheetmetal doors!). Sure enough, the bull stood his ground (right in the middle of the road), so we drove around him as Terry shot a video clip. We eventually popped out on Hartley-Phoenix Rd.

To watch the video clip, right-click on the image, choose "Save Link As..." and save it to your desktop. Double-click the desktop icon to view it (requires Windows Media Player).

After driving through the forest for a while, we found ourselves at a large open-pit mine. The access roads to the mine on this side had been deactivated to the point that they were impractical to attempt. We drove around for a while more, and eventually headed back to a field that I had spotted.

At 19:20h, we finally arrived at the field; Terry didn't want to camp there because the field was lumpy, which of course I wouldn't notice because I slept in the truck, but he was concerned about because he slept in a tent. While Jud was setting up his tarp, one of his bungee cords let go, and flung itself and a tent peg into parts unknown. Thirty minutes of searching the field by flashlight proved fruitless, and we decided to wait until morning to continue the search. Terry made a pasta casserole for dinner (consisting of rotini, tomato soup, chopped onions, chopped green and red peppers, black forest ham, chicken breast, cheese, and black pepper). It was very tasty. Nobody wanted to make a campfire tonight, so we didn't have one. Most people retired to bed around 22:30h, although Jud and I stayed up and talked for another couple of hours.

DAY 3: TUESDAY
Gravity sucks

Clearcut Rhodonite Mine The BCGS describes Clearcut Rhodonite as displaying "pink pyroxmanganite and rhodonite coated with black manganese oxide. This rock has a sugary texture and grades into quartz-rich rock containing spessartine garnet and light coloured mica." I was unable to find a time period for when the mine was active.

We awoke at 07:45h; breakfast was bagels with cream cheese. Another sunny day; Terry checked out a cool green grasshopper-like creature that was basking in the warmth of his tarp. Several of us searched for Jud's tent peg and bungee cord, to no avail. We planned the day's schedule, and by about 09:30h headed south-west out of the campsite. We turned left at the cross-roads heading southeast, and quickly found ourselves switchbacking up an extremely overgrown road, full of deadfall and saplings growing up through the middle of the road. We could barely see the road in front of us. There was so much deadfall that we had three chainsaws going at once along this section, and it took us about an hour to get through the 2km stretch of road. Obviously nobody else had been through here for a while. Lorilei said she thought we passed a bear cave to the right; Terry and I walked back down the hill to inspect it, and discovered it was a mine tunnel, judging by the rotting timbers inside the entrance. The dirt entranceway was only about 4-feet wide and 2-feet high, which would force us to crawl past the first section to gain entry. The passage appeared to open up a bit about 6 feet in, and peering into the gloom revealed a pile of debris on the floor about 15 feet in, which was about as much as we could see. However, this tunnel looked way to unstable to explore, so we decided to continue on rather than tempt fate. A later analysis of this area showed that we were on the road heading up to the microwave tower on Mt Roderick Dhu, which would mean the mine we found was most likely Clearcut Rhodonite. After reading the BC Geological Survey description of the mine (see sidebar), I actually wish that I'd taken a closer look at it.

Dave comments: "I would have gone in there!"

Phoenix Mine The first period of the Phoenix Mine operation was from 1900 to 1919, producing gold, silver, and copper ore, primarily from underground workings. It was mined intermittently from 1920 to 1946, and was reopened in 1959 when they commenced open-pit excavation of the old tunnels until it's close in 1976.

At 10:50h we encountered a large log in the middle of the road. I had enough clearance, so I just drove over it. Jud attempted to go around but the squeeze was too tight, so we wound up cutting the log with my chainsaw. We took a few splits in the road that did not appear on any of our maps; we weren't exactly sure where we were. We ended up turning around, going back to the last split, and at 12:15h found ourselves descending a road into Phoenix, a large open-pit mine that was discovered in 1891. This was the same open-pit mine we had encountered yesterday, but we were now entering it from the other side. We collected some coal and iron pyrite samples, and stopped for lunch at 13:15h; jumbo hotdogs for Terry and I. We wandered around the remains of the mine for a while; there was lots of buried machinery, so we had to pay attention to where we were walking (well, more than usual anyways!) in case a hole opened up. When we started to leave, Brad discovered that his battery was dead; Jud gave him a boost, and he was on his way.

I didn't know it at the time, but we were only 1 km west of the shafts and tunnels of Snowshoe Mine (discovered in 1891), and three other adjacent mines. I'll put them on the list for next time.

At 14:15h we checked out the Phoenix memorial at the corner of Marshall Lake Rd and Hartley-Phoenix Rd, erected to commemorate the Phoenix men who were killed in the First World War. We took Marshall Lake Rd, a mainline road that gradually descended through the hills. We passed the Phoenix Mountain ski hill access road, and turned right onto Snowshoe Road into the forest again. We took the left fork at the Y-intersection onto Lower Snowshoe Rd (which might have formerly been part of the KVR), where we met an oncoming Oldsmobile car. Terry and I were thinking that this must mean civilization was close by, and that establishments selling frozen treats would be available; happy day! Our mouths watered as we thought about more Mr. Freeze's.

At one point, I was travelling a bit too fast, and Terry almost lost a pawful of Crispy M&M's when we flew over a drainage ditch. Oops! According to Brad's high-tech mapping system, we appeared to be heading in the direction of the Winnipeg Mine, our next planned destination. We took Snowshoe 600, and shortly found the way impeded by several large boulders lying across the road, looking suspiciously like they were deliberately placed there. They were too big to be driven over by stock vehicles, and I didn't feel like winching them out of the way when a modified truck could probably get over them with little or no body damage. We attempted to find an alternate route through a logged section of forest, but were unsuccessful. At 15:15h we turned around, and got back onto Snowshoe. We realized that since the Oldsmobile had come from this direction, they were probably out exploring like ourselves, and there weren't going to be any stores selling Mr. Freeze's in the immediate vicinity. :(

Oro Denoro Mine The Oro Denoro Mine was in operation from 1903 to 1917, and produced gold, silver, and copper ore.

At 15:30h, we entered a road marked "Great Northern VV+E Railroad (0 km), and 15 minutes later we arrived at Oro Denoro Mine, consisting of two underground levels and several open pits. Some of the mine entrances were located above us, and we walked up the loose, rocky slope to check them out. These tunnels all proved to be blocked by either natural or deliberate fill, so we were only able to explore for a short time. In one tunnel, climbing over some collapsed wood shoring revealed a rusted ore cart. There are more access points located behind the area we were at; we didn't get a chance to check them out. I peered into the clear, green-blue water at the first open pit; I could see a wooden ladder lying at the bottom. Several tunnels appeared to head underground, and I decided to climb down to the pool to get a better angle into the tunnels. It looked the tunnel entrances were totally flooded, but I think that if we brought an inflatable raft and some rope next time, it could make for some interesting exploring.

Terry's Story Terry: (thinking) Hm... I wonder if I should go down there. Terry: Lorilei, do you think it's safe to go down there? Lorilei: No, I wouldn't. Terry: Oh. Too bad. (15 minutes later...) Greg: Hm... I think I'll go down there. Terry: Lorilei said it wasn't safe. Greg: Nah, it's perfectly safe. (starts climbing down...) (walking... starts sliding down on feet... bigger rocks get loose... trips, gets some fantastic air, yells "Whoo-hoo!" then bounces off his leg and does a great feet-over-head tumble onto his back.) Terry: (thinking) Rats, should have gotten that on video! (pause) Terry: (thinking) Oh, he's not moving, I hope he's okay! Greg: (flat on his back, calls out) I'm okay!!

I started climbing down; it was pretty steep, and I thought to myself, "I hope I don't slide." Then I started sliding on the loose rock and the dirt. As I picked up speed, I thought, "Crap! I hope I don't fall!". I tried running in an effort to maintain control, but there was no control to be had. I tripped over a rock, and launched myself into the air head-first, arms outstretched and feet travelling overhead. I remember yelling "Whoo-hoo!" as the ground rushed up at me, and thought "I hope I don't split my head open on one of these rocks!". *BAM* I hit the rocks with my back, as my legs came down over me, feet behind my head. I lay there stunned for a few seconds, then called out "I'm okay!" to reassure Terry and Jud, who had watched the entire event unfold. Nothing like doing a header to impress friends and family! I don't think it was more than a 15- or 20-foot fall, but it sure seemed like a long ways when it was happening.

I slowly and painfully made my way back up to the ground level; I noticed that I had severely scraped up my right leg, and it was bleeding from numerous abrasions, although none were deep. My palms and arms were also scraped up. *ow* Lorilei grabbed her first-aid kit and administered first aid, while Terry took pictures. Apparently, she already had her kit out because Brad had just performed a similar, equally-skillful stunt nearby. She cleaned the wounds with Mycitracin (a multi-antibiotic cream with freezing incorporated), then sprayed Solarcaine (designed for burns and abrasions, with numbing agents) on them to help keep the dirt out and the wounds clean.

At 16:30h we took the Phoenix North CPR Spur, and started looking for a campsite at 17:30h. We drove through a few overgrown roads, and at one point had to turn around because the road ahead was covered with several hundred feet of deadfall, all neatly cut down across the road. We finally found a campsite at 17:45h, but Terry was dismayed to discover that it was essentially a large anthill. Dinner was tacos, as we kept the ants, mosquitoes, and blackflies at bay. Everyone except me watched the DVD of "Fifth Element" on Brad's laptop; I retired early as I was a bit sore from the day's activities and really didn't feel like combatting the mosquitoes and blackflies, which seemed to like taking bites from my fresh wounds. The others went to bed at 22:45h.

DAY 4: WEDNESDAY
State of the union

We awoke at 07:45h. Sunny and warm! Breakfast was bagels and cream cheese. We left camp at 09:00h, and briefly stopped at the site of Eholt, a rail town located at the summit between Grand Forks and Greenwood. In 1900, Eholt was the CPR's ore-hauling headquarters, carrying copper and gold ore from Phoenix to nearby smelters. Twenty years later the mines closed, and Eholt was abandoned.

We took South Pass Creek Rd, and entered the Eholt Creek Community Water Reserve; no access. I found a section of KVR that was newly blocked to vehicular access, (no) thanks to the Trans Canada Trail. No matter where you look, the radical greens are conspiring to block our access to public property, with the cooperation of our government, funded by our tax dollars. We are but the sheep, and the sheep-herders are laughing at us as we pay them to slaughter our sport. We turned around to take Hwy 3 south into Grand Forks for fuel. Our caravan was puttering along at a leisurely 80 km/h, which was evidently too slow for one of the local senior citizens, who passed us at speed in his Cadillac Seville as soon as the divided line permitted. We passed a Doukabour settlement at 09:50h, which advertised camping facilities via a big banner on one of it's buildings (take Gibbs Creek Rd to get there). Terry took a picture of cool-looking pink grasshopper at the side of the road.

We arrived in Grand Forks at 10:05h, and fueled up at the Petro-Can and bought some Mr. Freeze's. Terry was watching Jud fill up his water container; Jud let go of his water container, and water continued to spray out at the next available target, which was Terry. Oh well, it was hot out anyways! :) Terry, Tim, and I took the opportunity to wash our dusty hair in the washroom. Ahh, so much better! We wandered over to the Overwaitea to replenish our food supply; people in the store were staring at my leg, the blood still bright red because the clear Solarcaine coating didn't allow air to contact the wounds. More Mr. Freeze's.

We headed east out of Grand Forks, and at 11:25h turned onto Sand Creek Rd, then Morrissey Point Rd. As we climbed into the hills above Grand Forks, the desert scrub gradually changed to white birch and bushes of red salmonberries and blue organberries.

We stopped for lunch at 11:50h (hot dogs); the blackflies were in abundance and I took refuge in the cab of my truck. We were on the road again by 12:30h; our target was Volcanic Creek. Somewhere along Sand Creek Rd, Brad, Lorilei, and Tim tried their hand at gold panning. I peered into the mottled light dancing through the trees at the creek; I could see a dense cloud of mosquitoes milling above the water, so I wisely stayed clear. The trio soon gave up, with no colour visible in their pans.

We exited Sand Creek FSR, and turned right onto Granby Rd just before km 7 (turning left would take us back to Grand Forks). We headed north, paralleling Granby River (as one might have guessed from the name of the road). We passed Volcanic Creek, where Granby Rd turned into North Forks Rd, and at 14:05h turned right onto Miller Creek FSR, where we stopped for a conference on where to go next. We decided on Rocky Candy Mine, which was somewhat close to where we were, and which my map book listed as being "abandoned". And with a name like Rock Candy, we couldn't resist wanting to check it out! The access road to Rock Candy Mine was only three km's from our present location, but it was on the other side of Granby River. We either had to travel up the valley to a bridge near Lynch Creek, or travel back down the valley to the bridge at Volcanic Creek. Rather than backtrack, we decided to head north. We went back out onto North Forks Rd, and turned right, continuing on.

We passed several old wooden structures on the way, and turned left onto Brown Creek Rd at 14:20h. We crossed over the Granby, passed Almond Creek FSR, and headed south. We turned right onto Pass Creek FSR, stayed right onto Rock Candy East FSR, and stayed right again at the fork to Rock Candy West FSR. After several km's of dusty road, we stayed right at another fork, and right about where we figured Rock Candy Mine should be, we found a sign stating "Road Closed. No vehicular access beyond this point."

Rock Candy Mine The Rock Candy Mine was discovered in 1916 by two prospectors who thought the green fluorite was copper. In operation from 1918 to 1942, it produced fluorite, silica, copper, and lead.

Dang! We were thinking that the mine must be just beyond the sign; according to the GPS we were right on top of it. I checked out my map book; it looked like the closed road led up to Flourine Lake, which might actually be spelled "Fluorine". The map also showed that the mine was to the south-east of this road, so I checked out a hole in the bush and found myself at a gate with a sign that read:

"ROCK CANDY MINE
YES you have found it!
NO we don't allow visitors!
Collecting tours are conducted each Saturday. Contact the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce, at 250-442-2833 to join a tour.
The property caretakers are busy with restoration projects.
Please do not waste their time! Drop-in visitors are escorted off the property."

Two other signs stated "Guard dog on duty" and "Trespassers will be prosecuted". I guess it wasn't abandoned any longer! While I was reading the signs, a friendy security guard and two dawgs wandered on up the trail from beyond the gate, and we had a brief chat. Apparently tourists can mine for crystals during the tours; next time we're up this way, maybe we'll plan to come here on a Saturday.

We drove back to North Forks Rd, and headed north in search of Union Mine. We passed Lynch Main, and at 15:50h took a photo of a large rock that was painted to look like a little house. Terry noted that everybody in this area seemed to drive either a red or white domestic pickup. We passed Bunchgrass-Wiseman FSR, and stayed left onto Granby River FSR. We turned right onto Burrell Creek FSR, heading north-northwest. At 7km, Burrell Creek FSR turns right and crosses Burrell Creek to parallel it on the east side. Union Mine Rd continues on up the west side of Burrell Creek, but the map showed a bridge out at Franklin Creek, just before the mine. We decided to take the mainline. At 16:30h, I accidentally drove into the ditch at the 21km mark, a rude awakening for Terry who was happily snoozing in the passenger seat. We passed Dinsmore Main, a new road not in my map book, and eventually turned left onto Gloucester Creek FSR, then left just past the bridge onto Gloucester-Union Mine FSR/Union Mine Rd.

Union Mine The Union Mine was discovered in 1906, and was mined until around 1937. It was later mined by various entities on and off between 1947 and 1989, generally with poor results. Ore production included silver, gold, zinc, lead, copper, platinum, and palladium.

We drove around for a bit, looking for the mine. We soon found some old mining equipment, and at 16:45h found the mine entrance. We exited our vehicles, strapped on our gear, and began exploring. Trays of core samples littered the area, and the remains of an old narrow-gauge track led from the mine entrance to a small cliff.

We wandered around inside the mine, checking out the various branches and rooms. There were stacks of core-sample trays in one room, and I noticed some green vegetation piled on top of one of them. Huh? How did that get here? It's obviously not growing, because there was no sunlight, and we're out in the middle of nowhere, so nobody would be dumping yard clippings. I know, all you country folk are thinking "Only a city boy could be that dumb!" As we explored further, I saw three more piles of greenery. Suddenly, I heard a rustling from beyond the stacks of trays. I played my flashlight over the debris in the direction of the sound. Oh, it was a furry grey raccoon, running across the trays. Oh wait, raccoons have bushy tails... OMG, it's a HUGE RAT!! LOL! I had no idea rats grew that big. Apparently, the piles of greenery were rat's nests. I decided to explore a different room.

Strung along the ceiling of the main tunnel were a couple of cast pipes and a loosely-hung blue tarp-like tube approximately 2' in diameter; one of the pipes was for compressed air (to power the drills), and I think the other was for water. The blue tube was for blowing fresh air into the tunnel for the miners to breathe. I spotted another rat, a mother with a row of about eight black-coloured babies hanging beneath her, as she abandoned her green nest and disappeared behind some debris. One more rat furtively rustled just out of our sight, and Terry fired off a quick photo into the gloom and actually got it. We spent just over an hour wandering around in the darkness, checking out rotting wood doors, storage rooms, shafts, and previous collapses. Throughout the mine, there was the constant sound of running and dripping water; sometimes it was just a few drops, and other times we saw a constant flow running down the slippery wood of a vertical shaft. There was so much water, I could have sworn it was pouring rain outside. We frequently encountered small pools of water on the ground, and balanced along the rail tracks to avoid getting our feet wet. At one particularly large pool, I thought to myself, "No miners allowed in the pool room!" Okay, not everyone will get that. Back outside the mine in the warm sunshine, the blackflies enjoyed tormenting me by gleefully removing chunks from my battered leg, which still had bright red blood showing. Hateful creatures, I wish they'd leave me alone.

We headed for camp at 18:00h; there was supposed to be a creek crossing somewhere in the forest, but after about 45 minutes of fruitless searching through overgrown paths which at one time may have been wide enough for a hiking trail, we admitted defeat. If the road we were looking for had existed here at one time, the ferns were totally obscuring it. Terry and I spotted an early '50's Buick(?) on it's roof just off one of the trails (maybe Sarah was driving it! Haha, okay, sorry Sarah). We also spotted an old GE fridge sitting under a tree; we looked around the area for a cabin but didn't find one, although there were boards and other debris which indicated that somebody had once lived close by.

We finally arrived at the washed-out bridge at Franklin Creek. It was too deep to ford, but we were able to take the mainline road around it. A trail led east from here, and it looked like the trail that my map book showed would take us close to the McKinley mine. Terry and I checked it out, but it ended about a kilometer from the washed-out bridge at an abandoned cabin, surrounded by garbage left by it's previous residents. We returned back to the washed-out bridge, where the others had begun setting up camp.

Terry's note: 19:00h: Found a campsite... the ground is very rocky (great for those who camp in trucks but for those who actually do real camping in tents, the rocks suck). -- Okay, it wasn't too bad... I found a place.

Dinner for Terry and I was a pasta casserole (tomato soup, smokies, onions, green and red peppers, and black pepper). Tim got the fire going, and John went for a dip in the creek. The night's entertainment was two episodes of "South Park". We heard lots of cows making lots of noise in the next field over, and we retired for bed around 22:30h.

DAY 5: THURSDAY
Where eagles fly

07:30h: The weather cooperated once again, and we awoke to warm sun with a few clouds. Bagels and cream cheese for breakfast again (gotta eat them up). I noticed that my tie rod was bent again, so once again I winched it straight. I did it a lot faster than last time; I was starting to become an expert at winching tie rods back into shape. Will somebody please donate a set of high-steer cross-over steering arms to me?? :)

We broke camp at 09:00h, and headed back down Burrell Creek FSR. We turned right onto Granby River FSR (elev. 710m according to the sign), and passed Burns Creek FSR and Gable Creek FSR (760m). At 09:55h, we stopped at the Eight Mile Flats Rec Site, a tidy campsite built by the children of John and Elena Loseth as a memorial to them. There were varnished benches, picnic tables, an outhouse, fire pit, stacked firewood, weinie roasters, and marshmallow toasters. It looked like the users of this site had taken special pains to leave the site clean, the way they found it. Very nice. Others had made rock stacks with the flat rocks down on the river bank; and we did the same. We signed the guestbook before we left, wishing that we had known about this site the night before. It was now 10:30h, and we headed off in search of the forestry lookout at the top of Bluejoint Mtn, at the north end of this trail system.

At 10:40h, we entered the Granby-Bluejoint Look-Out FSR (Bluejoint Main); 770m elev. according to the sign. We stayed right at the fork for Granby Trail, which would have led to a couple of rec sites and the hiking trail into Granby Provincial Park. We took the left fork at Howe Creek Main, went left at Bluejoint 300, and stayed right at a spur. We kept getting glimpses of the peak; we could see the forestry lookout building perched on the rocks at the top, well above the treeline. We were hoping there was a road leading up to the site, but it didn't look like it. We eventually found ourselves circling around below the peak, amidst slopes covered with high-alpine wildflowers. The whiskeyjacks were spiraling and diving, probably wondering what these interlopers and their metal climbing machines were doing invading their territory. We finally arrived at a small parking lot at 11:30h; the truck altimeter read 7100 feet. The view was fantastic! We were near the top of the highest peak in the area, and we could see for miles. The forestry lookout was visible several km's away, up a steep, rocky climb; hiking only, no vehicle access. I decided to go for a hike; nobody else was overly interested in joining me, so I set off by myself.

The trail was marked with orange triangles nailed to the trees. The trees were thinly-spaced and stunted, and the ground was mostly rock and no soil. I was doing fairly well; the thinner air was noticeable but wasn't too bad. I startled a grouse, which also startled me as it suddenly took flight a few feet away, its wings violently beating the air. I paused for some photos, and ventured out to the far edge of the rocks to see if I could see the trucks. I couldn't, but Tim was standing out at the edge of the parking lot, and was waving at me. At least I thought it was Tim; I couldn't really tell because of the distance, but his shirt was the right colour. In the photo, he's just a white speck against a sea of green. Even though we were a long distance away, we could still talk to each other. I was just starting to climb the steep section about half way to the top when it started to rain; it was only a light drizzle, but I was only clothed in shorts and a T-shirt, so with a bit of reluctance I turned around and headed back to the parking lot.

We slowly wound our way down the mountain, and headed into the valley. The rain had vanished now that we were off the mountain, and the sun was beating down on us once again. We turned right onto Boulder Creek FSR, where we had lunch at the bridge over the Granby. We could still see Bluejoint Mtn's imposing peak, standing tall in the distance as if it were the valley guardian. We turned left onto Gable 1200, and saw groundhogs bounding across the road. We passed Gable 600 on the left, passed Couger road on the left, and somewhere along a side road, we encountered a bridge out; I don't remember exactly where it was. At 15:35h we encountered a short section of road with a bridge out in the middle, with brand new signs at both ends stating that the road was closed. Unfortunately, the road system we wanted to be on was on the other side of the bridge. We took a close look at the area; it looked like the bridge had been professionally removed in an effort to stop through traffic. Maybe this was one of the sections that was deactivated for grizzly-bear habitat preservation?

At any rate, there were numerous spurs and old roads in the area, some quite overgrown but still a road, so we explored for a bit, and eventually made our way through the maze of old trails to the road system on the other side of the creek. John and Tim got a phone call saying they were needed at home, so they headed off on their own. We took Eight Mile FSR south, then turned right onto Gable Creek FSR. A sign stated that we were entering TFL 8, and had arrows pointing towards Grand Forks and Greenwood. Uno Creek Rd was to the left; we went right onto Boundary Creek FSR.

We passed the access road to Terrace Lake on the right, then passed Yorzlink Rd on the right, which my map book had incorrectly identified as York Link Rd. We passed James Rd on the left (elev. 1185m), a small spur that crossed Boundary Creek and wound up into points unknown. We passed West Boundary Creek FSR on the right, then Boundary Link Rd on the left, which joins Boundary Creek FSR to East Boundary Creek FSR. We passed Dry Creek Rd on the right (elev. 1005m), Spaghetti Hill Rd on the right, and Macaroni Flats Rd on the left. Maybe the logging camp cook named these roads? We passed Boundary 51 (deactivated) and Boundary 50 (deactivated). We took a photo of a small pioneer house just north of the 15k sign, and passed Henderson Creek Rd on the right (elev. 905m).

We passed by Old Camp Rd on the right, then Windfall Creek FSR on the right, crossed the bridge Boundary Creek, and turned right onto pavement as we left TFL 8. I spotted a large buck taking a dump in a farm field on our right; it was squatting on the other side of the fence, and it looked startled as we approached on the road. It quickly finished it's business, then started running away, staying parallel with the road and fence line as Terry desperately tried to get his camera ready. It gradually moved closer to the fence, then in a spectacular move, leaped over the fence, briefly touched down at the side of the road, then leaped clear over the road about 12 feet in front of the truck. Magnificent. Terry finally got his camera ready as the buck disappeared into the forest on the left side of the road. *doh* We passed the Greenwood Cemetary, and finally reached Hwy 3.

We turned right onto Hwy 3, and headed towards the historic town of Greenwood. We stopped just outside the town, and took some photos of the Greenwood Millenium Project, the flags of 210 countries painted on the side of the old highway tunnel. We arrived in town, and made a beeline for the gas station where we bought fuel and ice cream, and replenished our water. Greenwood is the smallest city in Canada, incorporated in 1897, and many of its buildings appear as they did in the early 1900's. Terry took a photo of the old white church (located on Church St, go figure); to get the shot he wanted, he had to stand with his back right against the wall of the building across the street. We drove back to Boundary Creek Rd, then turned right onto Jewel Lake Rd. We turned left onto Roderick Dhu Rd (incorrectly marked as Roderick Dhg in my map book), then left onto Clement Creek Rd, where we made camp in a nice field near the road intersection.

Dinner was tuna melts and carrot sticks with French Onion dip. A butterfly landed on Lorilei's hand, and Brad and Terry took so many photos of it, that I took a photo of them taking the photos, and Jud took a photo of me taking a photo of them taking the photos. :) We hung around the camp fire for a while, listening to the very funny Royal Canadian Air Farce on Jud's stereo. I was petting Saavik, and every time Lorilei would say "Ears!" her ears would perk up; it was quite comical.

DAY 6: FRIDAY
Blinded by the night

We awoke at 08:00h to another sunny day. Terry was a bit dismayed to find that our waffles had gone mouldy, but cheered up when he learned that we'd be having breakfast in Greenwood instead. We left camp at 09:00h, and while the others explored the town, we had a "trucker's breakfast" at a roadside restaurant: 3-egg omelette with green onions, bacon, mushrooms, and cheese, plus hash browns and two slices of toast. :) We met up with the others, did a quick shopping trip to buy smokies for dinner, and at 10:45h left Greenwood via Motherlode Rd. We turned right at the railroad-smelter road signs, and found ourselves on part of the Trans-Canada Trail. Dead end; we turned around at the Greenwood cable company satellite dishes, and went back to the corner of Railway and Louisa. We exited south along Railway, turned right off Motherlode Rd (elev. 850m), and entered 5L98 to the right.

We were travelling west-north-west along Deadwood Ridge; we came out of Wallace 523, then turned right at a T-intersection. At 11:50h, we encountered cows along a section of soft roadbed, and at 12:10h climbed a hill that was steep enough that we had water flowing out from the windshield washer nozzles on the hood. We popped out on South Wallace 110, and passed some trees marked with signs that stated "Do Not Disturb - Wildlife Tree - Saved for food, shelter, and nesting - Posted with permission on private lands". We saw several locations where there were a group of three trees displaying these signs, stripped of all branches. We exited on South Wallace 100, turned left onto South Wallace, and passed Spur 150. We passed West Ingram 6800 on the right, exited onto South Wallace 150, and