[VAL] Boondocking in Canada

["gary heebner" <nodoubtinmymind@xxxxxxx>]

Scott and other readers (I apologize for the length),

My second attempt to send this message off-list has failed, so here it is:

Glad to see you're finally doing the big trip to Alaska (I sent you some maps
awhile back).

To get to the start of the Cariboo Hwy (Hwy. 97 North) at Cache Creek, BC,
there are a couple of different routes (follow a map if you have one handy).

If your group is crossing into British Columbia from Washington at or near
Vancouver, forget boondocking around there.  It's as developed as Seattle.
There are numerous private campgrounds in the area and are listed on the net
(key words: campground, Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, Fraser Valley, Abottsford,
Chilliwack).  In the summer months, Fort Langley near Vancouver is worth a
stop as it is a park and historical settlement from the colonial/fur trading
days.  As you head up the Fraser Valley toward Hope, BC on the Transcanada Hwy
(Hwy.1), you can take one of two routes--the toll freeway called the
Coquihalla Hwy (Hwy.5 to Kamloops), or continue on the scenic Hwy. 1 (the
original highway route to the interior) which has spectacular views and
pullouts and is known as "the canyon".  I've towed my 31' through the canyon
and it was no sweat--great views of the Fraser River a thousand feet below!
Along the way, you go through the towns of Boston Bar and Spence's Bridge
(don't blink).  Cell coverage is spotty in there because of the mountains.
Services are limited in this area, but it is a very heavily travelled highway
so help would always be available (and lots of pullouts).  After Spence's
Bridge, there is a large rest stop along the highway (rest stops in BC don't
permit overnight camping).  Another half hour along the road is Cache Cr., and
the start of the Cariboo Hwy. Total travel time from Vancouver area to Cache
Cr. is about three to four hours with a trailer.

If you are coming into BC from the interior of Washington, you'll probably
already be on Hwy 97 through Omak and Oroville, and will enter at
Oliver/Osoyoos, BC.  There are plenty of campgrounds in that area, but would
be busy in summer months (Canada's hot spot in summer).  Full cellular
coverage in the Okanagan Valley. There are lots of places along the way where
you could pull over for the night.  Check out the mall lots, etc. I don't know
how sticky those towns are about camping on parking lots.  As you head
northbound, you get into Penticton, Summerland and Peachland (small towns)
which are along Okanagan Lake.  There is a provincial park on the lake along
this stretch of road, but it can be busy in summer (very touristy area).
Between Peachland and Westbank, you turn off Hwy. 97 and take Hwy. 5A (?),
which is the Okanagan Connector (high alpine freeway--70 miles long and no
services, spotty cell coverage) which joins up with Hwy 5 (Coquihalla freeway)
at the town of Merritt and heads into Kamloops.  At Kamloops, you then leave
the Coquihalla and move back onto Hwy 97 (which is also Hwy 1 along this
stretch) and go westbound from Kamloops to Cache Cr (an hour).  Total drive
time from the border to Cache Cr. this route is probably five/six hours (just
a guess).

Cache Cr. is very small--mostly gas stations as it is a highway "hub", and is
the start of the trip north.  If you stop overnight there, it would be easy to
pull into the back area of almost any of the gas stations or other businesses.
Lots of big rigs going through, so you would hear traffic noise at all hours.
The Cariboo Hwy is named after the Cariboo Trail, which was the inland route
taken by US prospectors in the 1860s to the Cariboo Gold Rush (I believe it
started up as the California Gold Rush ended and preceeded the Klondike Gold
Rush in the Yukon by forty years--but I digress!).  As you head north, the
tourist crowds are non-existent so it's much easier to find either boondocking
places or campgrounds.  There are a few provincial parks along the route as
well--they tend to be about $14.00 CDN per night with flush toilets, no
showers, and sani-stations.  Just a cautionary note--the Cariboo Hwy. is the
only direct route from Vancouver to Prince George and is thus very busy with
big rigs--full log trucks, low beds with mining equipment, etc., as well as
motorhomes, travel trailers, and very frustrated car drivers.  Although it's
not a mountain highway, it is curvy and there are not enough places to pass
(the province has committed to four-laning the entire route) and the cars take
real chances on passing, often with tragic results.  Just be "situationally
aware" so you can anticipate and react if someone does something stupid.

The next town is Clinton (an old supply town for the prospectors), about a
half hour north of Cache Cr., and it has a private campground along the
highway--looks decent and always seems to have vacancies.  I think Clinton has
one or two gas stations.  After that, you get into farming and logging
country--plenty of pullouts, side roads, etc.  Most locals are small-town
friendly.  Another half-hour along the road is 100 Mile House--it has Tim
Hortons for good coffee/donuts, and several fast food outlets as well as a
good sized supermarket/strip mall.  Then there are a few villages and you get
to Williams Lake.

Williams Lake is "big" (relative term) and has all the services you might
need.  There are RV dealerships, and all auto dealers with full service
facilities. It's a logging town, so it's got lots of industrial services
(spring/axle, brake, tire shops, etc.)  Another hour up the road is Quesnel
(the "s" is silent) and it's a mirror image of Williams Lake (also has
WalMart).  At Quesnel is the turn-off to do a side trip to Barkerville, the
Cariboo Gold Rush restored town--provincial campground there as well.

A half-hour north of Quesnel is a village called Hixon--as you round the bend
and enter the village, there is an old restaurant/pub building and a large
gravel lot for overnighting on the immediate right (I can't see anyone saying
you can't park there).  Just north of Hixon on the left side of the highway is
a rest stop (Woodpecker).  I know that people overnight camp there as I used
to check on them when I worked rural uniformed duty (I'm a Mountie).  I
certainly didn't tell them they couldn't, and I don't think any other officer
would worry about it either (we're usually too busy assisting PG city).  After
that is Prince George.  I could boondock one trailer in my driveway, but
that's all I could fit in.  PG is about 80,000 population and has all the
services, including Costco, WalMart, Home Depot, Real Cdn Superstore and
Canadian Tire (last two are big boxes as well).  Most of these box stores are
brand new and only a block from my house--too convenient!  It has lots of
repair facilities and is a very industrial town as well.  When I used to work
uniform, there were always plenty of RVs camped out in the parking lots and
although there is a city ordinance against it, we didn't enforce the bylaw.
I'm not sure if the city bylaw officers lurk about at night, but that would
entail paying them overtime, and I can't see it happening. If you see other
RVs in the lots, then go ahead and park!

Once you leave PG and head west on the Yellowhead (Hwy 16 West), you get to
Vanderhoof in an hour or so (like Quesnel), and from there, the towns just
keep getting smaller and farther apart. Cell coverage drops off and then
you're in real wilderness!  Another note of caution--in addition to stupid
drivers, watch out for deer from Cache Cr to Williams Lake.  And from Quesnel
to Alaska be vigilant for moose--they will kill you if you hit them!  The legs
are so long that the body rides up over the hood of the truck and comes
through the windshield--one thousand pounds at 60 mph....  One of our
dispatchers was driving into work recently from just outside city limits and
the moose trotted out of the ditch--wrote-off his brand-new Jetta.
Fortunately, he wasn't hurt.

There should be plenty of places to boondock along the route to Stewart/Hyder
and then to the Yukon.  I haven't travelled that route yet, but will
eventually with my new role as a regional detective.  I'm told that when
you're in Stewart, you have to go to Hyder, Alaska and get "Hyderized"--hmmm.
Apparently there is no law enforcement in Hyder, so the Mounties occasionally
do some international policing (I'm sure Ottawa and Washington aren't aware of
that!).  From Stewart to Whitehorse there are  only a few gas stations.  It's
a long road. I believe it's paved all the way now, but I can't say for sure.
I flew up to Whitehorse and Dawson City in 2002 on an investigation and really
enjoyed my 48 hours on the ground.  Dawson City was amazing--it's hard to
imagine this complete vintage town (like a movie set) literally at the end of
the earth!  And the environmental destruction from a hundred years of gold
mining is everywhere.  I'm not a tree-hugger, but it was striking.  I drove up
to some of the present placer mine sites in the mountains above the town, and
they use D8 Cats to strip the sides of the mountains and bring the gravel to
the sluice.  One operater told me that they were re-mining a claim that had
been mined-out sixty years ago and were getting 80 ounces of gold every
twenty-four hours!

As far as returning home, once you get to Dawson Creek at Mile 0, there is a
direct highway link to Edmonton via Grande Prairie, Alberta, and then you just
get on the Yellowhead Hwy (16) and follow it all the way to Winnipeg.  Or,
once you arrive at Saskatoon from Edmonton, you can veer south to Regina and
then take the Transcanada to Winnipeg (this way is almost all four lane, I
believe).

Pets should be no problem at the border--just make sure the shots are
up-to-date for parvovirus, etc.  Try the website for Canada Border Services
Agency to confirm
( http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/import/petse.shtml ).  I'm
not up on the latest legislation for firearms; it changes frequently.
Handguns are a no-no for the most part--very restricted in Canada, and long
arms must be declared.  There may be provisions for transporting between the
lower 48 and Alaska, but again, check the website for more info (
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4227/rc4227-e.html#P183_9804 ).  These
links are good, you just need to copy/paste them to the "address" line on the
browser rather than attempting a Google search.

Good luck with the trip, and email or call me if you have any questions that
you think I might be able to help with.

Email: nodoubtinmymind @ shaw.ca

Cheers,
Gary H.
4slice
'77 31'