| Campground: | BIG Country Campground & RV Pk 4239 Cariboo Hwy, Lac la Hache, BC V0K 1T0 |
| Total Distance: | 1898 Miles. |
| Traveled today: | 277 Miles. |
| Key highlights: | Joffre Lakes trail (day pass reservation required in advance) *****, Duffey Lake*****, Fort Berens Estate Winery***** Marble Canyon Provincial Park, Pavilion** |
HWY 99 continued to impress and outperform any expectations. The 2nd part of the hallway was even better than the first.
We had a stormy and foggy start to the day (we were almost very depressed – as the low clouds blocked the view of a significant part of the ride. However, we had nothing to lose – so we stopped at the Pemberton Chamber of Commerce for advice on a good hike in the area. The young lady at the front was knowledgeable of the site – and shared that Joffre Lakes Provincial Park is absolutely the most popular hike on our way – but it requires a day pass reservations advanced – and we have little chance of getting one. Even if we did, the weather is lousy.
So… what did we do? we when to BC provincial park website and found out that reservation a day pass is both available
and free. We reserved day passes online (there is no cell reception near the park) – and decided we would make a call about what we do when we got there. As we approached the park, the rain turned into a drizzle, and we have made a great decision: let’s start. The trail covers three lakes and three different elevations
it is not an easy climb (420m / 1200 feet over ~4Km each way). The trail started with snow patches along the road in the forest. It continued via a beautiful 2nd lake, the rushing Holloway falls, and finished at the majestic glacier lake that Matier Galicer feeds
don’t miss it!
On the way north – we passed Duffey Lake – with incredible waterfalls from the snowcapped mountain to the lake. In one word: WOW
The descent to Lillooet is impressive with huge cliffs falling into the Seton Lake and its rushed water dam in Lillooet
at the junction of HWY12 (when HWY99 turns north) – we saw the modern construction of Fort Berens Estate Winery.
After the intensive hike – we were in the mood to taste some wine. The estate staff was great and agreed to let us sit
on the veranda – (as it was fully booked, yet they had time to let us in if we had no food). We sampled six different wines: the
white wine was very fine, we liked the red less – and we LOVED the location, service, and experience. Next time we will have food.
Continuing north, we stopped at the Marble Canyon Provincial park – one of the only places on earth to have
sweet water corals and is believed to represent the organism that started life on earth. Fascinating data point, but the place was not tempting enough for a stroll.
We reached BIG Country Campground late (after 0800pm)- which had us wake up the owner. Full hookups were good- but the campground was
too close to the main road (aka noisy).