Backpack Wells Gray Provincial Park

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Backpack Wells Gray Provincial Park
Canada's Top 20 Adventures

Location: Wells Gray is located north of highway 5 between Jasper and Kamloops, near the town of Clearwater,5 hours from Vancouver

Backcountry hiking in Banff and Jasper National Parks might remind you of midtown Manhattan during the summer. But one mountain range west of the Rockies is little-trafficked Wells Gray Provincial Park. The mountains here share the same dramatic beauty of the Rockies, but chances are that on a long-distance backpacking trip, you'll meet only a handful of hikers from B.C.—not a guided League of Nations invasionary force.

Established in 1939, Wells Gray is British Columbia's second-largest park, encompassing more than 1.3 million acres of virgin wilderness. Hikers can explore lush alpine meadows, trek glaciered peaks, and enjoy excellent birding and wildlife viewing (including moose, caribou, grizzly and black bears, and timber wolves). Outfitters offer horseback riding, canoeing, river-rafting, and fishing. The history enthusiast can learn about the early homesteaders, trappers, and prospectors.

While most of Wells Gray Park's backcountry is remote wilderness that you can only view after a vigorous hike or canoe, in the southern quarter of the park, a scenic road—simply called the Corridor—runs from the park entrance to Clearwater Lake. Along the way, casual visitors can view Helmcken Falls, an awesome 450-foot-high cascade, as well as enjoy boating and fishing on the park's many lakes.

links:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/wells.html
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/wg_tradd.html
http://www.wellsgray.ca/

trails:
http://www.clubtread.com/parkdetail.asp?ID=4019

Wells Gray Country Maps*
http://www.wellsgraycountry.ca/maps/index.htm

Here's a link to the Provincial Park info:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/cape.html

The lowdown: take the ferry to Nanaimo, and drive, drive, drive as far north as the Island Highway will take you, to Port Hardy. Just before Port Hardy (which is the last chance to fill up with gas), signs will direct you to Cape Scott Provincial Park. From here it's about an hour of logging road (watch out for huge flying trucks). You'll pass the community of Holberg, where there is a pub and not much else. Allow yourself pretty much a full day of travel from Vancouver. We caught the 8:30 AM ferry and arrived in Holberg in time for dinner. There is a private campground close to the park entrance; we were charged $5 per person.

Make sure you bring some cash, as there is nowhere to get it in Holberg, and you will have to pay $5 per person per night to camp in the park. Small bills come in handy as you will have to deposit the money in a box; you can't pay by credit card.

It takes about 6 hours (17.4 km I think) to hike from the trailhead to Nels Bight. It's a flat, easy trail but I was tired enough. Another good camping beach is Nissen Bight, but if you are planning a day trip to the lighthouse, Nissen is a longer haul to there. Another option is to press on and camp in Guise Bay - beautiful, but we all agreed that we wouldn't have had it in us to get there. It's a few more km.

Camping is similar to WCT camping. There are toilets and metal bearproof food caches at each camping area. Clean, too, since the rangers clean them regularly. You don't even need to bring your own TP as it's provided. The water source at Nels Bight is at the far end of the beach. Somebody has rigged up a hose so you can fill up from the hose. The water is yellow. If that puts you off, bring drink mix crystals to disguise the colour/flavour. Bring a good sized collapsible water container to have around camp, as the beach is huge and you may find yourself a long walk away from the water. (If you camp right next to the water source, you'll find it crowded).

There is another campsite only a few km from the parking lot, at Eric Lake. Nice, but buggy. It's in the woods, and the lake is nice to swim in. It's a good way to get a head start on the trail if you arrive at the trailhead late in the day.

Wells Gray Provincial Park (Wells Gray Park)
Area: 5735 sq km

Location: This park is located in the southern Cariboo Mountains about 180 km north of Kamloops.

Terrain: Much of the park's topography is the result of glacial erosion and volcanic activity. Dense forest covers the lower elevations, with Douglas-fir, western red cedar and hemlock. A network of trails exist in the park. There are five major lakes, Murtle, Clearwater, Mahood, Azure, and Hobson, as well as two large river systems, numerous small lakes, streams, and rapids. A number of spectacular waterfalls also exist, including the famous Helmcken and Dawson Falls. Helmcken Falls, with a 142 m drop is Canada's fourth highest.

History: The Shuswap and Chilcotin natives were the first set foot in area, which they used for hunting and fishing. Thirty five archaeological exist in the park with evidence of these ancient native cultures. In the 1870s, surveyors from the Canadian Pacific Railway explored the area, trying to find a route through the Cariboo Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. They were unsuccessful in their attempt and the railroad was instead put through Kicking Horse Pass to the south. In the late 1800s, prospectors flocked to the area searching for gold. After the gold rush era ended, attempts were made to introduce logging and farming to the area. When Helmcken Falls was discovered in 1913, a movement begun to protect the area and in 1939 Well Gray Provincial Park was created, named after Arthur Wellesley Gray, British Columbia's minister of lands for from 1933 to 1941.

Park Information:

Headquarters: Clearwater, BC
Permits: No permits required.

Access:
1. From Clearwater : Roads from Clearwater lead into the southern portion of the park.
2. From the east: A paved road from the village of Blue River leads to Murtle Lake.
3. From the west: Logging roads from 100 Mile House give access to the southwestern corner of the park.