THE GOLD RUSH & THE FRASER CANYON

15th and 16th July THE GOLD RUSH TRAIL & THE FRASER CANYON

Taking the advice that we received at the visitor centre in Kamloops, we decided not to take the double highway, the Yellowhead, known on this section as the Coquihalla highway, south to Hope, but instead travelled west on highway #1, about 80 km to the little town of Cache Creek.
The sun was scorching hot and dry as we drove and I covered myself in sun screen and even draped myself in the sheet when the sun screen didn’t seem adequate.
Cache Creek lies at the junction of 2 highways and got its name because of its historical role as a cache for fur traders on their way from Kamloops to the Fraser River to trade. Later, during the gold rush (1858-1865) and the construction of the Cariboo Road (known as The Gold Rush Trail) in 1863, it became an important transportation hub.
From here we went south following the Thompson River, and The Gold Rush Trail. The history all along this section is very tied to the river and the lure of gold. Today it’s known for its excellent fishing and the thrill of river rafting.
85 km from Cache Creek, Lytton is located where the “jade-coloured water of the swift Thompson merges with the silt laden Fraser River”. Simon Fraser was the first European to come upon the meeting of these 2 rivers in 1808 and later settlers were “drawn to the banks of the Fraser River by the prospect of gold”.
All the way from Cache Creek we had been travelling down hill along winding mountainous roads, marveling at the engineering of the railway line that wound its way through the valley, sometimes out of sight and then reappearing again, sometimes with an extraordinarily long freight train on it, chugging purposefully along. This train line accompanied us all the way down through the gorge, a remarkable feat, I’d say.
But from Lytton we descended very steeply into the Fraser Canyon. There was frequent evidence on both sides of the canyon of rock falls, and dire warnings too. Trees were scarce on the rocky cliffs and I did notice some that had been uprooted during a slide, in the wrong place at the wrong time On several occasions I noticed rock “roofs” over the railway line, sloping at the same angle as the rock above, which would serve to propel falling rock out and over the line into the canyon below. Periodically we caught glimpses of the Fraser River plunging along far down in the valley.
There seemed to me to be quite a number of not particularly slow trucks on the road, taking the opportunity to pass us when they could. I guess they’d done it before many times. It took Eric a lot of focus and concentration to manage the steep grade and tight curves with the trailer in tow, but with gentle and masterful handling, the van kept its cool and made its way down, down, down. The views were incredible and exciting. I was on the edge of my seat.
We went through 3 rock tunnels. The 1st one, called the China Bar Tunnel (I wonder why?) is almost 700m long, curves in an arc and “should be driven with caution” and with headlights on. It is one of the longest in North America. The other 2 were shorter and straight so we were able to see the “light at the end of ….”
Hell’s Gate is the narrowest point in the gorge and the Fraser River “rampages through at approximately 28 km an hour”. Some gold miners lost their lives trying to navigate their rafts through this tight spot, hence its name. There is now a foot bridge one can walk across this gap. There are also 2 aerial trams. Unfortunately it was after 5 when we got there and the tourist attraction was closed for the day. I would love to have had a really good view of the canyon and “terrifying waters below”.
Not much further along we crossed the Alexandra Bridge, built in 1962. It is 500m long and the 2nd largest fixed arch span in the world (where is the largest one I wonder?). It replaced the old bridge built in 1926, which replaced the original suspension bridge built in 1863.
As we got closer to the bottom and the landscape began to open out, I noticed that the hillsides became more stable and green with trees again. The late afternoon had arrived and it was cooler.
Our final destination for the day was Hope, which is on a huge bend in the Fraser River as it turns towards Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean.
It had been an absolutely spectacular drive, one of the highlights of the trip so far, that’s for sure.