Tyax, tires & trails
Words by Jeff Bertoia.
The morning was growing late and we were hurtling down the logging road anxious to get our journey underway. The camper van drifted dangerously close to the ditch, nearly waking the Newfie in the back from his Whistler-party, self-induced hibernation. Something didn’t feel right, ‘ol Ruby Red was drifting a little too much for comfort. As we pulled over she leaned a little to one side. The ‘Hurley’ can be viscious on any tires under 6 treads, be warned! Clambering out I told the troops to relax while I inspected the damage. My old college mate Scott jumped out to help, my old flame Sheena went to the fridge to prepare some beverages, and the Newf didn’t stir. Jacked up, tires changed, a nice morning cocktail, and we were back off cruising down the Hurley on our way to Tyax Lodge for our rock star fly-in, ride-out trip we’d planned at the start of summer.
Not all riders are created equal ~ someone asked if we were having a yard sale.
It all started as the Newf and I departed Vancouver Island the week prior for a biking road trip that would take us to Crankworx at Whistler, and then to a rendezvous with a couple of my old friends and do the now popular Tyax Air, float plane assisted Chilcotins ride. Pedal up?! Ha! Car drops are so last week! We picked up my now Floridian friend Sheena from the Vancouver airport in my trusty ’79 Ford camper van aptly named ‘Ruby Red’ and busted up to Whistler. We rode many of the classic valley trails and hit the lifts, and were spellbound by the likes of Bearclaw and the new kid Basagoitia during the events.
Tyax Lodge - a bar, a hot tub and a float plane dock - what more could you want?
Repairs completed we eventually arrived at Tyax Lake Lodge - home to the largest log home structure in the world and also as a base for Tyax Air, a small float plane air service that runs shuttles between Whistler and Tyax and does sight seeing, remote camping and fishing and now luxury mountain bike tours in some of British Columbia’s best kept secret trails. As we arrived at Tyax, about 2 hours drive from the madness of Whistler, the sun was shining, the lake glittering and we all piled out of the van like clowns at the circus. (You can also avoid the Hurley by taking a flight with Tyax straight from Whistler to Tyax Lake). We went inside and met our pilot and the operation manager Dale Douglas (namesake of Dale's Trail on Seymour), and loaded our things down to the dock in preparation for takeoff. I got shotgun but everyone had a wicked view out of the Dehavilland Beaver float plane as we crept off the lake and into the clear blue yonder.
Now that’s service, lets get loaded!
The Chilcotin Mountains are absolutely stunning in their ruggedness and diversity of colours that mosaic the landscape. The sharp peaks are stained with rusting minerals that make beautiful patterns in contrast to the green shades of the alpine meadows and fir, pine and spruce. Aspen and poplar stands dot the landscape and are excellent spots to catch a foraging grizzly looking for a scratch or getting some shade. A bonus with flying in was the reconnaissance work you could do on the trail prior to riding it; looking down at the miles of singletrack that lay ahead for your afternoon adventure, seeing where you could open it up and where you might jump a rock or have to hold on tight.
Luckily there are only window seats in the Beaver.
After about a 25-minute flight, we arrived at our destination - Spruce Lake. We pulled up to the dock and unloaded our bikes and bags, thanked Dale for the flight in and told him we’d be back and checked in later that evening. Our trip was going to be the Gun Lake trail from Spruce Lake in the Spruce Lake Wilderness area, a Provincial Park that encompasses 71,000 hectares, and is covered in old trail networks from the days of cowboys and even more ancient native trails.
Bikes assembled, water filled, packs on, helmets strapped, heads buzzed and off we ride along the shores of Spruce Lake. The first section of this trail is an up and down, flowing section through nice sub-alpine forest. It’s a good warm up for the body as you round the corner of the mountain and emerge into open mountain views. The trail gears up to no-brakes, dust-flying, high-speed madness and since I'm on the pole I notice a couple of grizzly cubs running up into the woods as we round the corner. They are too fast for me and disappear before I can get any photos. However, the next section of trail provides us with an excellent photo op so we can all have a nice screen saver once we get back to the office.
Something to write home about.
The trail continues at high speed through the meadows and Aspen stands until you reach further down the valley and begin running along the banks of Gun Creek. At the bridge over Gun Creek we stop for a cooling dip and some lunch courtesy of the Chez Newf back country chef. Jesse has made up for sleeping through the flat tire!
What tastes better than a mid ride lunch by the creek?
Water refilled, body’s fuelled and cooled, we get back on our trusty steeds and begin the winding creek trail that takes up past a number of spectacular scenes and couple of challenging sections of trail. We pass a couple of folks riding their way UP to Spruce Lake and wish them good luck. So old school!
Lower Gun Creek trail, tricky talus! Photo: Sheena Johnson
The last couple of miles are downhill but at a low gradient. As the trail comes out to a forest service road there was a road cut that made for a wall ride feature we hit before climbing back to the resort, checking in and loading up en route back to Whistler.
What goes up, must come down - One last wall ride. Photo: Sheena Johnson
As everyone lay fatigued in the van on the return trip it was all smiles and laughs as we recounted the days epic journey and stared into the digi-cams to look at our downhill accomplishments. Tyax Air offers single and multi, guided and non-guided trips to Spruce and Warner Lakes and numerous other secret stashes in the surrounding Chilcotins. These trips blend in nicely with biking in Pemberton, Lillooet and Whistler. Why ride when you can fly? Look for a part two tale later this summer when I tackle a multi-day expedition with Dale and one of his fabulous guides.
Want more info on rates and dates: tyaxair.com
Ever been to the South Chilcotins? Want to tell us about it or find out more? Questions, comments and smart-ass remarks here.
Jeff Bertoia
