Harrison > Seton > Boston Bar Dirt Trip

[icanpopawheeli]

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You can also stop in Lytton for gas. The reaction ferry is right beside the road and the gas station is only 1km away (where the Fraser and Thompson meet) on the other side. The ferry is fun, like going across on a raft. It won't be out of service during the trip because there is no big ice flows and snow melts up north on the Fraser.

 

[Farp]

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icanpopawheeli wrote:

You can also stop in Lytton for gas. The reaction ferry is right beside the road and the gas station is only 1km away (where the Fraser and Thompson meet) on the other side. The ferry is fun, like going across on a raft. It won't be out of service during the trip because there is no big ice flows and snow melts up north on the Fraser.

The reaction ferry at Lytton is something that I'd like to do just for the fun of it; getting gas in Lytton would be the rationalization. I didn't include it because of a bad experience I had with the reaction ferry at Big Bar. We had planned on crossing the river on the ferry but when we got there the ferry master was no where to be found and after a lot of wasted time trying to find him we had to give up and turn back. I'd hate to be relying on the ferry for gas and have the same thing happen again, although I think that the ferry crossing at Lytton would be a lot more reliable than the one at Big Bar. If you have experience that the Lytton crossing is dependable then that reduces our longest leg between gas stops to about 140km and makes things a lot easier for the riders with small gas tanks.

John

 

[Farp]

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I just did some surfing re the Lytton reaction ferry and found out it does not run during periods of high water. I'm not sure what the water level will be on June 9, but I'm pretty sure it won't be low so I think this crossing is very iffy. It's something we'll need to confirm before we depart but I think to be on the safe side you should plan on the ferry not being in operation and you should carry enough gas to take you 240km.

John

 

[icanpopawheeli]

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Yes, the ferry is very reliable as there are lots of people living on that side and go back and forth everyday for school/work. The high water thing is just a caution, it often doesn't happen. If it was out of service during the trip, then the other choice would be to ride/walk(?) across the railway bridge that goes into downtown Lytton. I remember meeting someone who had rode the bike across with no problem but its likely against the rules of BC rail. Edit: I'm talking about riding on the "walking" part of the railway bridge. Your actually allowed to walk it beside the tracks bc of all the times the ferry was out of service in the past.

 

[Farp]

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Thanks, popawheeli. As I understand it the railway bridge makes it a sure thing that we can get across the river at Lytton so that would decrease the maximum range required to about 160km (allowing an adequate safety margin) with a gas stop in Lytton.

John

 

[caribooster]

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Gentlemen

Jezz guys, I leave town for a few days and everything goes to hell and back . It sounds like I missed all of the excitement and we have a new route to follow :clap:. I am good with any of the routes and appreciate the work you have done to come up with alternate plans.

Earlier this year I stopped by the Lytton ferry terminaland talked to the operators about the operation and closures in the event that we may need to cross there. The ferry runs 7 days a week from 6:30 am - 10:15 pm on most days. High water is generally the only thing that stops them and it varies from year to year. The guy showed me a high water mark that they use as an indicator but it not something that you can tell unless you are there. I recorded some telephone numbers which he said I could use to check if the ferry is running which I have listed below. I have not tried them to see if they work however we could perform a trial run this week and get a ferry report :dr:. This way we would know what to expect before showing up with empty tanks and another 50 km to go to Lillooet.

• Information 1-250-315-0166
• Information 1-888315-0025
• Emergency 1-250-455-2230

I discussed our trip plans with them and they said that they have a lot of bikes come through and use the ferry. He did advise me of the Rail foot bridge (in the event that the river was high and the ferry was closed) which I went down and inspected. While you could ride a bike across you would be better off pushing it across in the event the RCMP were waiting for you on the other side:wi:. I am sure you could talk your way through it if you were not riding it across.

Brad.

 

[Farp]

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Thanks, Brad, very useful information.

A trial run through to Lytton and back via east Harrsion is not a bad idea but I think we need to wait until late May before we try it because I think snow would prevent us from getting over Kookipi before then. There are also reports of avalanches leaving rocks and debris on Kookipi and it's not usually cleared up until the end of May, or the 1st week in June. I'll try to find out what the conditions are like and we can make some plans once we know the score.

John

 

[Farp]

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Hi Brad, it's been pointed out to me that I misread your message re the "trial run this week" It seems obvious now that what you really meant was to test the phone numbers and not actually ride up to Lytton - I guess that's what happens when you post messages while dog tired from trail riding. Phoning is a really sensible thing to do. That way we'll know for sure if we can get across via the ferry. I'll check out the numbers and post the results.

On the other hand, if you, or anybody else, wants to make a street ride up to Lytton to check out the situation I'd be up for that. In fact I think I'll do it anyway - the Louheed to Hope is a good ride and the canyon to Lytton is no slouch either.

John

 

[KidCallahan]

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I've only had my bike for a month and am dying for a multi day trip. This sounds perfect. Put me down as possibly attending (that's a real strong "possible" though). I'll check with work in the next couple days and see if I can get the time off. I guess I'll do the camp thing since I'm late to the game.

 

[Farp]

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Hi Kid, your name is on the "Unconfirmed" list. One of the other riders (Rick -user name North) is camping too so you might want to get in touch with him for some company at the campground.

John

 

[Farp]

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I called the Lytton ferry numbers today. The 1-888 number puts you in touch with a clerk who doesn't know anything more than we already know and she suggested I call the 1-250 number for more information. The person who answered the 1-250 number said that the ferry is going to be out of service from May 26 til the end of June for re-fitting.

I asked her about pushing our bikes over the railway bridge and she said she doubted that would be allowed as it was a pedestrian only crossing; obviously riding them over is out of the question.

We could probably get away with pushing them over but the bridge is 250 meters long so that means pushing the bikes a round trip of about 500 meters. I think it would be a lot easier to carry an extra container of gas and forget about gassing up at Lytton on day one. Pushing them over and riding them back once we see the coast is clear is not somthing I'd want to be a part of because somebody would surely see us and it would not be good for our sport.

The mileage legs between gas stops are:

Day one
Harrison Hot Springs to Lillooet 210km

Day two
Lillooet to Lytton (short route) 105km
Lillooet to Lytton (long route) 135km
Lytton to Boston Bar 80km
Boston Bar to Harrison Hot Springs 125km

The longest leg is 210km on day one. To be on the safe side, allowing for map errors, backtracking and whatever else can go wrong you should carry enough gas to give yourself a range of 240km.

John

 

[caribooster]

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Good work John,

I also called the 1-888 number yesterday and received even less information. The only reply that I got was you have to try the www.drivebc.ca website for more information. When you go to the website you just get a list of numbers to call.

Brad.

 

[wjm]

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Can I get my name added to this ride.

Bill

 

[Farp]

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wjm said:

Can I get my name added to this ride. Bill

Consider it added, Bill. You are responsible for arranging your own lodgings in Lillooet. We are staying at the Reynolds Hotel and have booked our rooms. A couple of riders are camping. You can get all the up-to-date info on the ride from the first post in this thread.

We'll be leaving at 9:00AM on morning of June 9 from Harrison Hot Springs, the exact location has yet to be determined.

John

 

[caribooster]

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John,

A suggestion for a departure point in Harrison is the Log Cabin pub. I don't think that is the correct name but you can't miss it as you drive into town. It is right on the main road"Hot Springs Road" on the east side. I have been there a couple of times and they are MC friendly.

 

[fastcat1100xx]

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Old Settler Pub.

 

[Farp]

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I gonna see if I can ride up to HHS sometime in the next few days, and maybe carry on to Lytton to check out the bridge situation (any excuse for a ride eh). But regardless if I go or not the pubs probably as good a place as any to meet. I doubt they'll even be open by the time we leave so there shouldn't be any problem with us using their parking lot for a short while.

John

 

[WalterMitty]

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If there is still room on this ride for a KLR-riding, flower-sniffing, picture-taking camper I would sure like to join up! I'll ride in the second group. This should give me some practice a)keeping up and b)navigating BC backroads (I'm new to GPS). :clap:

Rode the Takla Lake area last year with some GS guys who liked to go really fast. Sorta kept up but the KLR's gas mileage really drops off once you get over 130KMH. Still had a great time.

 

[Farp]

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Hi Walter, counting you we've got 15 coming on the trip and quite likely there'll be one or two more at least so I'm thinking we'll need to break down into 3 or 4 groups, especially if it's dry and dusty, whatever, we'll work it out. Good to have you along.

John

 

[W RON]

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Just throwing it out there.but a good place to meet is at the horn of plenty.
Its on the corner of hwy7and9,Or lougheed hwy and Hot spring road.
There is food & gas. Just saying its a good meeting place..

Ron