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Low Water at Herrling IslandHope areaDecember 26/03 Written by Greg On our way back from our Kamloops trip last weekend, Dave noticed that the water level of the Fraser River was extremely low, and that it might be a good time to check out Herrling Island, located between Chilliwack and Hope, in the middle of the Fraser. We decided that instead of fighting the insane crowds of slow-moving bargain-seekers at the shopping malls, Boxing Day would be better spent riding our quads. Yeah, it was a tough decision. :) Rick had posted that he and his friends might be joining us a bit later, and that this would be his very first quad ride.    Dave and I arrived to find the water at the lowest level we'd ever seen it. There was actually solid land from the parking area to the island proper, instead of being a deep water crossing. No other vehicles were in sight; we had the island to ourselves. We started off exploring one of the beach areas, and got stopped by several trees that had fallen down when the bank above the beach caved in. We backtracked to an access that led to a shelf trail along the bank above the beach; the trail got pretty narrow, and in some spots the trail was actually undermined (the trail surface extended past the support material). Two quads came up behind us; they carried four riders who were out exploring Herrling for the first time. We were taking some photos, so they continued on past us. We caught up to them a short while later, while they were three-wheeling through a badly-rutted section of trail.   We decided to see how far south we could get while the water was so low; we were amazed that we got to within shouting distance to the Agassiz-Rosedale bridge. We saw salmon skeletons on the sand bars and in the shallow water, and noticed hundreds of bald eagles perched up in the trees. The sand was quite water-logged, and our quads slowly sank as the sand settled beneath their weight. Dave stepped off his quad to take some photos, and nearly had his boots sucked off.  We explored the trails some more, and played around on the sand. We ran into four other quads; they turned out to be Rick and his friends Gary, Paul, and Glenn. We stopped to chat for a bit, while Glenn amused himself by riding his Grizz up a piece of angled driftwood. While we were stopped, a couple on two green Polaris quads complete with dogs stopped to chat. We ran a few trails with Rick and his friends for a bit, then headed back to our trucks for lunch, while the others headed off in search of mud.       After lunch, we headed back south to finish off exploring that part of the island. We were amazed at how far we could get, as this whole area was usally inaccessible. Just past a large puddle we found Rick, Gary, and Paul; Glenn had to take off. After a bit of daring each other, some watersports ensued; most took the wide line in an effort to minimize water depth, but Dave had to be different and tried to ride down the middle of the puddle. When his exhaust entered the water and started blowing bubbles, we thought he was toast, but he stopped and reversed out. I didn't think Paul's 2wd would make it, but he proved me wrong.          Dave and I followed the others to another trail; I was last and I managed to slip off high ground into a really deep rut, burying my right side in mud. I tried to free myself, but could only move back and forth a few inches as my tires spun on the slick ground. After a few minutes, Dave realized that I was no longer following him, and came back to check on me. A quick tug with his tow rope freed me, and we were off once again.  We headed to the north side of the island for some more exploration; it was nice not having to worry about the numerous water crossings that we would usually have to ford. To illustrate the water level difference, Dave rode through a sandy depression with about a foot of water in it, that once hydro-locked our friend Grumpy's lifted Jeep CJ when it was a 5-foot deep water hole disguised as a 2-foot deep water hole. :) Towards the end of the day, Dave's broken wrist was getting a bit sore from all the pounding of the river rocks, so we packed it in just as darkness fell.Another great day on the trail. I was glad that we'd decided to ride Herrling when we did; we don't get many opportunities to explore so much of the river bed as its usually under several feet of water.   The end of a perfect day |
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