Hiking Mt. Cheam, Chilliwack, BC

Mt. Cheam summit

I sat on the patio of my in-law's house in Agassiz, BC on a late August afternoon drinking a beer.

"You see that mountain there?" my father-in-law said. He pointed to a great grey hulk of rock that jutted up into the sky, dominating the view from the deck. "That's Mt. Cheam and we are going to climb it tomorrow!"

The view from the patio

"Great!" I replied. This announcement came at the end of about two weeks of hiking and camping we had done through Jasper, Wells Gray and the Fraser Canyon. Still a little sore from the Tikwalus Hike we had done only a few days before, I was not sure if I was up to another relentless uphill slog. He was pretty keen on the idea though so I could not refuse.

The following day we hit the road for the trail head. We took my Jeep Grande Cherokee as he had learned that to get to the trail head, you must first negotiate about 20 kilometres of forestry roads, of which the last 10 kilometres was pitted with something called "water bars". I had never heard of them before but he informed us that apparently when the forestry roads are abandoned, they go along with a backhoe and carve out these depressions to allow the water to flow across the road without washing the road out all together. Some were apparently deep enough to "turn a Volkswagen on its roof and drive over". Needless to say he had decided we would not be taking his Ford Explorer, but rather my Jeep. He would "never take his Ford down a road like that!" I agreed but in the back of my mind realized that I still needed to use that Jeep to drive the 1200km back home after this vacation all the while pulling a trailer. But, that's what Jeeps are made for right?

The trail head with Lady Peak in the background

So off we went bright and early the next morning. We got to the much anticipated forestry road and came across our first water bar almost right away. I stopped and got out to take a look. Not too bad if I took it slow, and so we made our first crossing. After our initial success my nervousness eased and we carried on. They were all pretty much the same, some a little worse than others but taking it slowly we only bottomed out once.

"How many of these water bars are there?" I asked after the first kilometre.

"Oh, my friend says about 25 or so," he replied. Turns out there actually around 111 according to my wife and son who were counting as we plugged along.

Monkman Pass Memorial Trail

Suspension bridge at KM7 over the Murray River

At times hiking along the Monkman Trail you can see where the "highway" pushed its way through the bush over 80 years ago. The walking trail is a narrow strip flanked on each side by smaller trees and undergrowth. If you imagine hard enough you can picture an old Model T truck being pushed, pulled and dragged along this route in an effort to prove a highway to the BC interior could be built from the Peace Country.

We had cached our backpacks in the bush near the junction of the trail that lead down to the camp site at Devil's Creek and decided before we started heading back to the trailhead to take a walk up to Monkman Lake. We hoped for some clear skies as the last couple of days had been pretty cloudy and rain fell periodically, not enough to drench us, but it was enough to keep a general dampness about. The mountains around us were enveloped in a layer of mist most of the week and had made us hesitant about a planned day hike up to the Monkman Tarns. Instead we had chosen to spend a day exploring the waterfalls in the area, as this was the main attraction that had brought us out here.

View to the south from the limestone ridge around KM10

One of the markers along the trail

At Monkman Lake

Tikwalus Heritage Trail, Fraser Canyon, BC

At the Tikwalus Trail Head

Around us the cedars towered so high their tops were lost in the canopy that blocked the midday sun. We sat in the coolness on a bench constructed from logs. In front of us an information sign had been posted detailing the history of this portion of the trail. The "Lake House" it read, once the site of a cabin that had been used as a resting stop for gold miners trekking through the Fraser Canyon in search of their fortunes. Up on the rise across the little stream was a level spot with a pile of stones at one end. This was the place where the cabin had stood and the stones were remnants of a fireplace. Who would think to put a cabin here in such a remote a spot? In those days I suppose all these places were remote, This one maybe not so much, situated on what was a major route in 1858 and a good source of water about a 100m away in a small lake, hence the name. The story also told of a native girl who had seen her spirit bear around here. A white bear that emerged from the forest and vanished. She tried to follow it but did not see it again. This place is eerie, steeped in history, a sacred place to natives but ancient even before they discovered it.

The Chief Pahallak Viewpoint

Behind us the trail stretched back about 4km to the Trans Canada Highway, not far from the old Alexandra Lodge. The trail goes up a few stairs and then crosses a nice footbridge that had been built by the Hope Mountain Centre volunteers. From there it rises steeply into the forest. Information signs along the way offer a reason to stop periodically and get your breath back.

Ace Doubles F-145

Serial Number: F-145

Published: 1962, Ace Books.

List Price: 40 cents

Condition: Very good. Very good cover condition. Pages are tight to spine. No creasing on spine. Handwriting on first page and water stain on top corner.







The Seed of Earth - Robert Silverberg

Cover Art: Ed Valigursky

Next Stop The Stars - Robert Silverberg

Cover Art: Ed Valigursky













Next Stop the Stars contains the following short stories by the same author:

1. Slaves of the Star Giants - Copyright 1956 by Royal Publications Inc.
2. The Songs of Summer - Copyright 1956 by Columbia Publications Inc.
3. Hopper - Copyright 1956 by Royal Publications Inc.
4. Blaze of Glory - Copyright 1957 by Galaxy Publishing Corp.
5. Warm Man - Copyright 1957 by Fantasy House Inc.

The Seed of Earth is dedicated to Robert Bloch

NOTE:  The spine is a pink and blue color as opposed to the normal white and blue for this series.

Ace Doubles D-421

Serial Number: D-421

Published: 1960, Ace Books. Paperback Original

List Price: 35 cents

Condition: Very good. Very good cover condition. Pages are tight to spine but do not want to bend them back fully. Very little creasing on the spine.

Dr. Futurity - Philip K. Dick

Cover Art: Ed Valigursky

Slavers of Space - John Brunner

Cover Art: Emsh (Ed Emshwiller)

Hiking Plans for 2015

Overlooking Yale, BC en route to the Spirit Caves

The plan for this year is to get in several hikes in various locations. Due to my operation last year I was unable to do any hiking until a hike down to Eaton Falls near Grande Cache toward the end of the summer. Considering a year ago today I went under the knife for my surgery for a perforated bowel, I am thankful that I am at the point I can consider doing some serious hiking this year!
I am in the process of building a group of people that would be interested in doing some of this hiking as I believe there is of course safety in numbers and since our encounter with the grizzly bear a couple of years ago I am reluctant to hike alone or even as a family. This may seem a little absurd to some but it is still the state of mind we are in.

So planning for 2015 I have the following routes in mind:

• Eaton Falls in Grande Cache day hike
• Grande Mountain in Grande Cache day hike
• Mt. Hamell in Grande Cache day hike
• Stearn High Country Loop 2 day backpack
• Wells Gray Provincial Park day hikes
• Spirit Caves in the Fraser Canyon day hike
• Tikwalus Trail in the Fraser Canyon overnight backpack
• Monkman Trail to Monkman Lake in Tumbler Ridge, 7 day backpacking trip

We have begun training already, mainly indoor track work at the Eastlink Centre and I have made

At the foot of Lightning Ridge, Grande Cache

one bicycle ride into work this year already, which is about an 8km one way ride. This has started to get the leg muscles built up. I still have a good size scar down my abdomen from the operation and have been slowly building up those muscles with crunches. The shorter day hikes at the beginning of the year should help me gauge how much I can handle leading up to the final Monkman Trail expedition which we are planning for September 5.

Ace Doubles D-509

Serial Number: D-509

Published: 1961, Ace Books.

List Price: 35 cents

Condition: Readable. Very good cover condition. Pages are tight to spine but do not want to bend them back fully.

The Beast Master - Andre Norton

Cover Art: Ed Valigursky








Star Hunter - Andre Norton

Cover Art: Emsh (Ed Emshwiller)