We were stuck at home till mid-June, waiting for an inconvenient dentist appointment. The minute that was done, we headed west as soon as possible. A logging road just on the west side of Yoho National Park provided a primitive BC rec site for the first night.
When working, I used to patrol this area on occasion - but there are huge new clear cuts, and many new spur roads since I was last in the area.
It rained a bit overnight, and the next morning was a slow start as we continued west through Golden and Revelstoke on the Trans Canada Highway #1. After an overnight stop near Kamloops we kept on westbound to Cache Creek, then picked up the scenic, and often steep highway 99 towards Pemberton and Whistler.
Alongside Cayoosh Creek I parked at a spot I have stayed previously. However, a very polite but firm native fellow showed up to advise me that it was private land (despite no signs), and I could stay as long as I wanted, just not overnight!
A few km further up the road, another equally attractive spot lured us in with the sound of rushing water to send us off to sleep.
Whistler has become a zoo, with traffic, condos, and pay parking. Managed to stop briefly to have some food, but not pay for parking. There do not seem to be any paper permits to display on your windshield, so I assume enforcement is done by scanning licence plates. Pretty sure with no front plate (Alberta), and rear plate under tailgate, and a parking spot backed into trees, rocks, or benches, it would discourage all but the keenest parking lot enforcers. Not a problem though, as we were soon back on the road - down through Squamish. Mid-day, so I knew my friends in town would be hard at work, so we just kept going down the very scenic and winding Sea to Sky highway, and got ourselves in line for BC ferries.
We opted to go up the Sunshine Coast,just for a change, and it proved to have not changed very much! Still mostly narrow, tree-lined, busy road with only a few brief ocean views, unless you are going to a resort or park beach. Caught the next ferry at Earl's cove, which had us going through Powell River in early evening. A couple of possible camp spots did not work out, so we were stuck roadside with an ocean view on a dead-end road - where we have previously spent the night.
For some reason, I was not in the mood to explore much in the area, though there is plenty to explore. Tried to check the ferry schedule over to Comox on Vancouver Island without success, so decided to just go and get in line. I don't really mind waiting a bit, with a camper, food, entertainment, and a cat. Turns out we were 2nd in line - for those without a reservation. After a 3.5 hour wait, we were the very last vehicle to get on the boat. Felt kind of sorry for the people in the grey pickup patiently waiting behind us who were blocked by ferry staff. Check out the video below!
Our next destination was a fair bit further north and west of where we were; a place on the remote NW coast of the island, called Side Bay. Most people would consider Port Alice to be fairly remote, but this is another 80km on a maze of logging roads with few signs and possible washouts. This time, at least, Google did an awesome job of getting us there - with the reassurance of being online the whole time with Starlink. I think it was a weekend, so there was no logging truck action, but the road conditions varied a lot - from freshly built and graded road to overgrown grassy trails, while some places squeezing through the brush, and everything in between. Conditions weren't bad for a logging road, but you are driving blind in spots, going from intense sunlight on the windshield, and then entering a very dark shaded section where you can see nothing. It took us over 4 hours to make the 80km, without shaking the camper completely to bits!
But, we made it, and were rewarded by spectacular scenery, cloud banks, and quiet camp spots on the beach. Bailey got to meet some other camping cats, and enjoyed exploring the area.
Here's a new, radical improvement in off-grid communication. Rogers is my cell phone provider, and I don't know if this is somehow exclusive to their service? Last year, they announced that I could send txt messages direct to satellite. I think I had to somehow select that option, then stand outside, with a clear view of the sky, while holding the phone up and turning to align it to some satellite? If someone replied right away, and you were still standing there holding your phone, it might just get a reply. Despite the fact that I have Starlink, which works great, it is usually turned off to save power. So it was a bit of a surprise when my phone began receiving Facebook messenger messages, some with images, some e-mails, all while the phone is in my pocket and/or in the camper! It would send messages, some even with images! It would usually show a banner across the screen saying that there was now a satellite connection. Not quite a replacement for Starlink or cell service, but encouraging new development.
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