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In South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, there are new adventurers

Mountain bike riders discover the wonders of the park

Commitment. When planning an extended backcountry adventure, that word springs to mind. Once on the trail, the full challenge of a self-supported trek hits home. This is not the time for second thoughts. Even with the best communication tools, help is far off, so tread carefully.

Such is the nature of venturing off the beaten path, where the intangible rewards for being in the wilderness — serenity, scenery, companionship — are balanced by the mantra of self-reliance: be present in the moment.

An abundance of pristine parkland lies within a day's drive of Whistler. One such paradise is South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, about 150 kilometres north of town. The government designated the protected area in 2001 after a six-decades-long lobbying campaign by groups such as the Vancouver Natural History Society, but non-First Nations people first began backpacking in its pastel-hued ranges in the 1880s.

Evidence of historical use is displayed in trails rutted by generations of horses' hooves. Since Pique first reported on the area in the 1990s, a major shift in user groups has occurred. These days, such pathways are more likely to bear the imprints of mountain-bike tires than of boot prints. At the conclusion of an eight-day, 75-kilometre backpack trek undertaken by Pique last August, a tally of those encountered along the way revealed that 31 journeyed by mountain bike — 13 overnighters, principally from Squamish, and 18 day trippers — while 17 chose to hike, including two day-trippers. Despite daily signs of fresh horse droppings, only on the final leg did four riders appear. This profile represented an almost complete about-face since a tally carried out a decade ago by Pique. Off with the backpacks and on with the body armour.

What accounts for this transformation? For an assessment of the current hiking market, Pique spoke by phone with Doug Acorn, events coordinator at Mountain Equipment Co-op's Vancouver store. "The appeal of front-country exploration is the driving force among consumers these days," he reported. "It's my supposition the trend stems from the array of technological distractions now diverting attention from the wilderness. Judging from sales of our various packs, the core backcountry group isn't growing at the same rate as casual users who buy lighter packs for outings such as the Grouse Grind."

One person with a front-row seat for the recreational transformation in the South Chilcotin is mountain-bike guide Geoff Playfair. Based in Whistler, the towering 53-year-old spends his winters as a ski patroller at Whistler Blackcomb and works summers with Tyax Adventures.

When encountered at Tyax's rustic Bear Paw cabin — a chinked-log shelter built in the 1950s by a trio of Swedish workers employed at a mine in nearby Gold Bridge — Playfair sported a 25-kilogram pack of supplies he'd brought in by bike from the company basecamp on Gun Lake in advance of a group of cyclists who would overnight in freshly erected canvas platform tents.

"This is my eighth season," the former fireman said. "Most clients come from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, with a smattering from Eastern Canada, Europe, and the U.S. They are all in pretty good shape for these multiday, high-endurance outings."

How does he recommend preparing for such a challenge? "Exercise and more exercise while, over time, building bike-handling skills. It's like training for the Sun Run. Start in small pieces, then bring it all together."

In addition to guiding, Playfair performs volunteer trail maintenance as well as work assignments for B.C. Parks, such as the installation of a bear-proof food locker at South Chilcotin's Trigger Lake campsite. "It's incumbent on trail users to carry a little folding saw to clear brush and blowdowns. If we all do it, it's easily accomplished," he said, noting that his first job was keeping trails open in the 1970s at West Vancouver's Cypress Provincial Park.

"Historically, it was private owners and clubs who did maintenance. In the 1980s, B.C. Parks reeled in the volunteers and developed a culture that made clubs step back. It's time to reinvigorate the ethos of public involvement."

B.C. Parks is currently formulating a combined management plan for South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park and the adjacent Big Creek Provincial Park. When reached by phone at his Kamloops office, Peter Weilandt, regional planner for the Thompson-Cariboo region, said he hoped a draft would be ready soon.

"We're waiting to incorporate the results of a grizzly bear study, then we'll post the plan on our website," Weilandt said. "That's the key to getting direction on where we're going and setting priorities." He estimated the size of the grizzly population in the park at 150 and agreed that their presence was "the foundation of the wilderness."

Prime time to be in the South Chilcotin is midsummer. Warm days are fleeting; as such, the pulse of natural life is accelerated. Alpine flowers blossom and fade in a hurry. Animals gorge almost nonstop on an abundance of protein-rich, nutlike piñon seeds, found in the cones of whitebark pines, as well as clusters of juicy soopolallie – or soapberry - berries.

No matter the approach or the route, all who hear the hoot of a great horned owl, a hoary marmot's wolf whistle, or the high sound of wind and waves on a turquoise lake come away refreshed beyond all expectation.

All it takes is commitment. 

ACCESS: From Whistler, the quickest access to trailheads in South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park is via Pemberton and the rough Hurley-Bralorne Road to Gold Bridge, a distance of 110 kilometres; allow three hours. Less direct access with better road conditions is via Lillooet and Highway 40 to Gold Bridge, a distance of 245 kilometres. Detailed maps to consult include Southern Chilcotin Mountains Trail Map (second edition; www.trailventuresbc.com), as well as Natural Resources Canada's National Topographic System maps Noaxe Creek (92-0/2) and Warner Pass (92-0/3). Chilcotin Holidays provides 4X4 vehicular transport to remote park trailheads from its Gun Lake property; call 250-238-2274 or visit www.chilcotinholidays.com.

Pique contributor Jack Christie is the author of The Whistler Book. For more information, visit www.jackchristie.com.