July 2017. I had the first eleven days of the month off of work, and wanted to do some backpacking. I had a new home made tent, and a new home made down quilt and I wanted to try them out. I had a 3 week long backpacking trip planned, starting in eight weeks, and was keen to get working on trail-shape!
I planned two “solo” trips for my time off; the first one (this trip) included my dog, Chester, and the second was without him.
I had never heard of the Hudson Bay Brigade Trail before, but while looking online for nearby trail ideas, I began to learn about it. It seemed like a good option for a trail on which I could take Chester along.
We arrived at the trailhead on the morning of July 1st, and found one car parked there. While we unpacked the car (and took photos for Chester’s Instagram page) another car arrived, with three guys planning a very similar trip to mine. We discussed how we had no idea whether we would see zero cars at the trailhead, or twenty – the trail was that unfamiliar to all of us. We didn’t know it at the time, but we would end up sharing campsites for all three nights on the trail.
Turns out the trail is well marked, and in quite good shape, considering how relatively unknown it is. The designated campsites don’t have a whole lot of infrastructure (tent pads in particular) but there were some amenities available…
The first day, we ran into a few other parties who were also on the trail. Chester and I mostly hiked alone. The day comprised a total of about 12km of hiking, and an elevation gain of about 1200m, and loss of about 600m.
When we arrived at the first night’s camp, there was one couple there, already setting up. Another few parties trickled in as well, and a nice evening was spent at the picnic table and benches, visiting with the neighbours.
On day two, some of the folks from camp were heading west, while we continued east, aiming for Sowaqua Camp that night – a much less ambitious day than day one had been! This time we covered about 7.5km, gained 415m, and lost 595m, over a short trip of under four hours travelling.
On the morning of day three, I considered hiking up toward Deer Camp, which would take us up into alpine territory and what looked like a lovely area. We could leave most of our gear behind, hike up, then return and hike back to Colville Camp, where we had spend the first night.
However, that plan was not to be. While packing up the tent, we heard some noise from the logging road that passed close by camp. A guy had driven by on an ATV a while earlier, at great speed. When he returned the other way, one of the guys camping along the road’s edge flagged him down, and asked if could go more slowly when passing campers along the road. ATV-guy invited him to engage in a sex act with himself, and roared off. I know, shocking, right?
Well, young buck camper dude wasn’t about to take that lying down. He reached down to grab a rock, and hurl it at ATV-guy — and violently dislocated his shoulder doing so. The air became thick and blue with the sound of his own cursing…
So there we were, young dude and his significant other (and their dog), the three other guys I’d first met at the trailhead, and Chester and I. We helped get the victim comfortable, lying under the shade of a tarp (it was turning into a very hot day.)
We were many hours of hiking away from a road or a phone. There was no cell coverage whatsoever. But what did I have in my pack? An InReach satellite communication device. For the first time ever, I activated the SOS function.
Long story only very slightly shorter, a couple of ATVs with Hope SAR volunteers and a paramedic showed up a while later. They stabilized the afflicted dude, and prepared to transport him out.
Via my InReach, my wife let me know that the BC Ambulance people were going to send in a helicopter. ATV guys said it wasn’t necessary, and tried to call it off over the radio – but the message never got through. Just as dude was getting in the ATV, the helicopter arrived.
Good thing, too, because they couldn’t possibly have evacuated his girlfriend, the dog, and the TEN TONS of gear they had in their packs, via the ATVs. With young dude winging away in the chopper, the logistics worked out, and a few minutes later, all was quiet again in camp.
The party of four, and Chester and I finished packing up, and set off on the return journey toward the cars…
To be continued…
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