Over the Mountain

The title almost makes you think of the old song "She'll be Coming 'Round The Mountain," doesn't it?  For this post, I'm going to reach back into my archives a little bit and write about my trip to Kitsault.  The purpose was a delivery of construction materials, and I was sent because I was somewhat familiar with the territory I was going into.  What I didn't realize, was that I would be mountain climbing with the truck.

I left Terrace at 6:00 in the morning, and the weather was simply terrible.  The rain was coming down in buckets and I couldn't really see a whole lot because the wet pavement was swallowing up the light from the headlights.  Around 7:30, I was in the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Park and just shy of New Aiyansh.  You can see how soggy it is in spite of the windsheild wipers doing their best to keep things clear.  And in case you're wondering... yes I DID stop to take the photo.  At this hour of the morning, the road is fairly lonely, with only the odd truck coming down the road.  It can be pretty lonely up there in many ways, if something happens to go wrong.

My brother worked up in the Nass and lived in Nass Camp, back in the late 70's and early 80's, so I figured I would take a couple of pictures that would ring some memories for him.  The whole road is different now to what it was back then... just the addition of pavement is a vast improvement.  Truthfully, it's only been paved all the way up for the last 12 or 15 years, and part of the road is totally different.  You now drive up the east side of Kalum Lake, right along the lake itself, and it's very windy and narrow in spots, which make it a real challenge to drive sometimes.  But the road is extremely scenic, even once you get into the lavabeds, which have a beauty all their own.

After you pass New Aiyansh, you eventually come to what they always called the 'Camp Y,' which is a "Y" in the road if you couldn't guess.  Going left would take you in to Nass Camp with its various services and homes, while going right would take you farther up the Nass Valley and into the bush.  For where I needed to go... I went right, on the road less travelled.  It was perhaps a kilometer before the pavement ended and the bouncing began.

I hadn't driven this stretch of road in years, and it hadn't improved any.  I had forgotten just how rough bush roads could be, especially since I had an airseat the last time I was up there.  Now I was sitting on a rock hard bench seat with about a 9-ton payload to bounch me around.  Truthfully... thank God for the load to take the bang out of things!  After debating whether or not to go over "The Hoodoo," I drove on up what's called the Nass Mainline until I came to the Kinskusch Forest Service Road, more commonly called "The Squish."  I knew there was one long sonofagun of a hill to drop down on the Squish to the Nass River, and going over the Hoodoo would be faster, but would make the hill even longer.

The bridge over the Nass is a single lane wooden bridge that you come down to with not a whole lot of warning.  You have to be very accurate as to where you place your vehicle, as you can see.  It could be a little unforgiving if you misjudged it, or didn't know where your wheels were.  Crossing the Nass told me that I was almost to where the going would start getting tough... only about one more kilometer to the Kwinitahl. 

I'd been up the Kwinitahl a few times before... and this sign was there even then, so I at least knew which direction to go so I could find my way to Kitsault.  I knew there were a number of small single-lane bridges, and that it was twisty, with a few surprises that could catch you if you got going a little too carelessly, but I didn't realize that there were a handful of small washouts.  I guess washouts is the wrong term, thinking back... it was more like places where a beaverdam had caused the water to back up and overflow across the road.  But still... if you weren't careful you would end up getting yourself into trouble.  And I didn't notice that the road was slowly, and steadily starting to go up already from the bottom of the valley.

Eventually I got to the far side of the valley, and started very clearly going up.  The road again became twisty with lots of pitches and a few sudden dips... it was challenging driving, but it WAS fun.  And the scenery.... I need to go back with free time and my fishing rod.  Here's some shots, and then I'll carry on again:

The alpine lakes and meadows are beautiful... and you can see a distinct change in how the trees grow, even... But to carry on... eventually the road levelled off, more or less, and the going was easy for about a mile or so... and then... gently at first... I started down.  I got the truck slowed down, and shifted it down into First Gear and proceeded to carry on cautiously, because I had been warned it was a steady downhill.  I took advantage of every single level spot to slow down as much as I could and creep over the top of any hump or drop...  And because I was so heavily loaded, and had no engine brake... I had to keep hitting the brake pedal to keep things under control and not run away. 

Steadily, I continued downhill, working hard to stay on top of everything... and then I looked back in my mirror and saw.........

Smoke.  My brakes had hit that critical temperature and were beginning to burn up.  This required immediate attention or else I was going to end up with a critical problem and not be able to get back to town.  I immediately found a relatively flat spot to stop, set my park brake (which works on the driveshaft with that truck,) and blocked the wheels, and went to inspect things immediately.  You can imagine how excited I was when I saw flames on the brake pads.  Here's a video I took AFTER using the fire extinguisher:

Needless to say, it was time to stop and take a rest.  I had a cup or two of coffee, a couple of cigarettes (yes, I had that habit at the time,) and ate a sandwich.  After about a half hour, I decided it was time to proceed down the road in the hopes that I was close to Kitsault.  It turned out that I was close... and proceeded to find where I needed to unload.  I was also able to send word back to my employer of what had happened and that I was going to make my best effort to return, and if I was longer than a certain time, come searching.  As it was, I made it safely back to the yard, although THAT trip was uneventful, and done almost nonstop.

I'd love to go back... either with the truck or simply for recreation.  It's beautiful, and it's worth the trip.