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Weaver, Hale, and SunriseHarrison West areaApril 10/09 Written by Greg Photos by Skinner, Wanderer, and Cedtia On April 9, Dodgeboykim posted "Anyone got any rides planned for Sat the 10th? Chipmunk or even Harrison maybe." We decided on West Harrison, meeting at the new Grace Lake ATV Staging Area. We started off on the Weaver Loop, a great little beginner trail. We were the first ones through since the last blowdown and the chainsaws came out on short order. Good work by the chainsaw crew. 
We rode up to the Weaver Lookout, where WhiteRock was anxiously trying to get people to stop looking and get riding. 
Further up we encountered snow; after fighting it for a bit, Digbee asked if the trail went much higher before descending. I checked my GPS, and it showed that there was a turnoff about 500m ahead and that we'd start descending, winding up back at the main road. So he forged ahead and sure enough, we found the turnoff and started heading down. I spotted a snow-laden branch overhanging the trail, and gave it a tug as I went under it, to drop snow onto Asintado who was behind me. We paused for a bit on the way down, and noticed that the last couple of riders had not shown up after a few minutes. Asintado and I headed back up the trail to see if we could find them in case they had run into a problem. We eventually found them heading down; Dodgeboykim had gotten his Rhino high-centered and had discovered that his winch wasn't working. The next day, he posted that he'd discovered the source of the problem: the dealer-installed winch cables had fallen out of their crimped connectors. He installed them PROPERLY and his winch was working again. 
After removing more deadfall, and just before the end of the loop, we found a locked gate across the trail. Zounds! Digbee headed up a clear-cut access just before the gate to see if there was a way around it; otherwise we'd be going back. He didn't come back, so we started following, or at least trying to, as we couldn't see him. We had to look for signs of his tires on the ground. Since the area was clear-cut, we didn't feel guilty about working our way through the debris, and after a great effort which included Digbee doubling back to show us the route he took, we managed to find a path through it and arrived back at the road on the other side of the gate. It was hard work; I worked up a sweat and had to remove a couple of layers. While trying to find a way out before Digbee came back, I got high-centered on a large rock when I put a tire on it and it shifted; I had to hike out to the next nearest riders to enlist their help to push me off the rock. I think if we take a few more trips through the clear-cut it'll become an official trail through that section. We stopped for lunch here, a picturesque spot overlooking Harrison Lake with snow-covered mountains towering above. 
We then hit the FSR for a bit; it was dusty and I was glad I had brought my dust mask and goggles. We then did an exursion along a couple of powerline trails at speed. Nice to get off the FSR.  Up next was Hale Creek; some took the switchback route; I led others down the "tougher" route. I kinda zoomed down it. Cedtia got into a bit of a tippy situation in one spot; the rider behind her steadied her quad. We took a break on the beach. I tailed Digbee as he zipped up the "tougher" route; we were at the top of the Hale Creek access a good five minutes before everyone else. At this point, some had to leave due to prior committments. The rest of us headed up to Sunrise Lake. We encountered some members of the Four Wheel Drive Association of BC (4WDABC) who were on their monthly maintenance run. Everyone made it up the V-rock, although Asintado managed to flop his quad onto its right side at the top (without even breaking a mirror!). Some of us played on the rocks at Sunrise Lake for a bit. We then checked out a trail that looked like it might go around the lake or lead into a cut block, but it dead-ended.We hit the FSR again, and took a side trail which eventually led down a steeper section to a little ATV bridge and popped out over some logs onto a quiet beach. Everyone made it back up unscathed except for Dodgeboykim, who managed to damage his plastic bed sides and break his backup lights. I found that some trails which I did with my Toyota 4x4 about 10 years ago have been wiped out by slides (BIG unrepairable slides); too bad because they were decent back in the day. Great day, great company, and beautiful weather for this ride. |
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