South Chilcotin Range
Last thursday after classes at 1700 hours, I left with my Outdoor Leadership Alpha skills group to the South Chilcotin Mountain Range north of Pemberton and Lilloette by an hour or so. We spent four days in the surrounding alpine focusing on three objectives: Backcountry Cooking, Alpine Navigation and Alpine Travel. Some highlights included calling a Great Horned Owl and having it call back to me for about five minutes or so. I also heard a Cougar for the first time in my life. He was screaming not more than a couple hundred meters from our camp like a woman being butchered. It was very haunting and not the most pleasant sound to fall asleep to. The same night there were also several wolves howling to eachother. The next day we saw wolf tracks in the snow that were about the size of my hand up to the big knuckle. There were mountain horse outfits in the area and the horses traveling the same mountaineering route as us (I have a whole knew appreciation for horses and their versatility... these horses' legs were like tree trunks) would not go anywhere near the Wolf tracks in the snow.
We also had the pleasure of camping in a pristine alpine meadow where I think you could count on one hand the number of groups that roll through there in a year. In this meadow there was a mouse who was completely unconcerned with our human activities. In fact he would nibble the seeds in the grass right next to your foot. He very much liked the shelter of our sleeping area though... Dave claims to have spooned with the mouse during the night :)
Traveling atop an 8000 ft ridge for eight kilometers with dark and threatening clouds pouring over the even higher ridge line right next to ours was a little bit nerve wracking. There were definitely concerns in the group about becoming a lightning rod...
My backcountry cuisine reached its peak with the fantastic apple pie which I baked for the group (thanks to mom for the recipe). Dave and I also cooked a broccoli beef stir-fry although it was at the trail head so we had the advantage of fresh veggies and meat.
Another highlight was the revisitation of the Non-Joke. Check it out with a google search and find some one to laugh your pants off with. It is best when you are tired and creative :)
All in all it was a fantastic trip where we were all left to wonder at the splendour and majesty of the character of our creator in the face of his creation. I've never seen such a panorama or mountain peaks in my life. But better will one day be in His house than a thousand elsewhere, even in the Chilcotin Range.
I love you all.
My dorm's phone number is 604-504-0051 ext 1. it isn't very reliable mainly because I am rarely there but email works :)
We also had the pleasure of camping in a pristine alpine meadow where I think you could count on one hand the number of groups that roll through there in a year. In this meadow there was a mouse who was completely unconcerned with our human activities. In fact he would nibble the seeds in the grass right next to your foot. He very much liked the shelter of our sleeping area though... Dave claims to have spooned with the mouse during the night :)
Traveling atop an 8000 ft ridge for eight kilometers with dark and threatening clouds pouring over the even higher ridge line right next to ours was a little bit nerve wracking. There were definitely concerns in the group about becoming a lightning rod...
My backcountry cuisine reached its peak with the fantastic apple pie which I baked for the group (thanks to mom for the recipe). Dave and I also cooked a broccoli beef stir-fry although it was at the trail head so we had the advantage of fresh veggies and meat.
Another highlight was the revisitation of the Non-Joke. Check it out with a google search and find some one to laugh your pants off with. It is best when you are tired and creative :)
All in all it was a fantastic trip where we were all left to wonder at the splendour and majesty of the character of our creator in the face of his creation. I've never seen such a panorama or mountain peaks in my life. But better will one day be in His house than a thousand elsewhere, even in the Chilcotin Range.
I love you all.
My dorm's phone number is 604-504-0051 ext 1. it isn't very reliable mainly because I am rarely there but email works :)
posted by Stewart at
9:44 AM
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