September road trip: Anahim Lake

The next destination after Bella Coola was in the Chilcotins, just on the other side of Tweedsmuir Park, at the end of Anahim Lake. It was not a long distance to drive, but we had to climb 'The Hill' to Heckman Pass. I'd heard so much about it that I was nervous to start the day. The Hill climbs over 1000 m in less than 20 km, and the grade on some of the switchbacks is over 15%. Apparently trucks and RV's can't do the switchback turns at once, but have to do a three-point turn to get around them. It is gravel, no guardrails, and a sheer drop-off on the side. Fortunately the road was widened a few years ago, so it actually wasn't that bad. The reputation was worse than the reality.

Once up on the Chilcotin plateau, the climate and landscape were totally different - from the lush coastal zone of Bella Coola to the dry rolling hills of the Chilcoltins. The road continued unpaved for the rest of the day, and after a couple of hours we reach the Eagles Nest Resort on the west side of Anahim Lake. It has a rustic lodge with a beautifully decorated, ornate restaurant inside with a view of the lake. The rooms in the surrounding buildings were simple but had everything we needed, and it was very quiet. There was a nice garden in the front for sitting, and we hung out there for a while before dinner. The resort is run by an elderly couple and the wife prepares all the meals. 

The next day I took the car and drove about 40 minute west back to Tweedsmuir Park to do the Rainbow Range hike, while Celene stayed at the resort to do a walk on a trail by the lake. The Rainbow Range hike is 9km one way, and fairly flat, through amazing scenery. The first part climbed a bit through an area that was burned by forest fire a few years ago. 

There were great views of the coastal mountains to the west.

It then flattened out to a rolling, sub-alpine forest with small lakes, with views of the rainbow range to the northeast. 

Geologically, the area was formed by a combination of volcanic activity and glaciation. The different colours of the volcanic rock give the range it's name.

On the hike I met a group of seniors from Calgary with backpacks, and they doing a five-day hike all the way to the Burnt Bridge Loop Trail in the Bella Coola area. It is all part of a larger trail system called the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail. 

I hiked to the end of the day-hike trail, had lunch, and turned around. On the way back I met a Danish couple who were on the ferry, and who we sat with at the Beer and Burger night at the legion in Bella Coola. 

A little while later I met another couple who had been on the ferry. They were a young couple and they said they had been camping, and asked about accommodation. I told them about the Eagles Nest Resort.

I made my back to the resort. Celene's easy hike turned out to be more stressful than planned, since she had a close encounter with a bear. We had dinner at the resort and called it a night.

The next day I got up early and went to the dock on the lake to watch the morning mist. 

I saw something swimming and diving by the dock. I tried to get a picture of it. It's face look like a rodent, so I figured it was a muskrat.

In the morning, on the recommendation of the man at the resort, we followed a gravel highway south for about 10 km and then a logging road for a while, to get to Hotnarko Canyon. It is a large canyon formed of volcanic rock with walls of large basalt square columns in places. 

In the afternoon we drove a bit further east of the resort, to the little town of Anahim Lake, and had a late lunch at Donna's Place. Next we continued east to another little place called Nimpo Lake and walked around a bit. 

Back at the resort, we sat in the garden and chatted for a while with the young couple from the ferry that I had met on the hike and told about the resort.