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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
The Monashee Mountains and the historic British Columbia fire lookout.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
Negotiating – very carefully – a tight trail.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
Even trickier maneuvering.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
One of a wheeler’s worst nightmares – overheating.
Words by Kolyn Radbourne
Photos by Eerol & Kym Radbourne
Eureka is a common statement made when a treasure such as gold, jewels, or oil has been discovered. On one trail-riding adventure recently, a few of us struck a modern day treasure that included wheeling among some of the historic British Columbia fire lookouts with a backdrop of the amazing Monashee Mountains.
Our trip kicked-off by rolling east from Vernon with some of our fellow wheelers before meeting up with the last member of our group in Lumby. Our trio of trucks then hit the road and continued past the historic village of Cherryville, which has roots back dating to the 1860’s when gold was unearthed in Cherry Creek. The original mining camp of Cherryville is located within the canyon and unfortunately, most of the big scores were discovered by around 1895. We didn’t have an opportunity to visit the museum or the old mining camp, but it’s definitely on our to-do list.
Our convoy accidentally drove past the road access as this was a first visit to the area for many of us. After getting back on track, we discovered the road starts out with a power line right-of-way, which later proved to be a treasure trove of wild strawberries. In no time, however, we were in the thick of it. If you're going to wheel in BC, don’t fall in love with your rig’s paint.
During our initial planning of the trip, there was a lot of online chatter about a couple of washouts on the road, and it turned out it was rutted with signs of erosion. The first washout didn’t look too bad and Mike in his H2 was the guinea pig. If his rig fit, the rest of us would be fine. As he stayed on the high side, he made it through. The next washout wasn’t as bad.
We had been dealing with drizzle throughout the morning and then the sky opened up on us at the worst time. Our convoy came around a switchback to see a large cloud of steam coming out from under the hood of Mike’s H2. It turned out that a fitting on the heater core had let go. Improvising a way to stop the coolant flow involved some always-useful vice grips. Continuing on, the road climbed through rutted terrain as Mike was still having cooling issues. Nonetheless, we reached the lookout around noon.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
Quick fix. It always pays to have the proper tools on a trail.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
…and then the rain came, again.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
One side of the semi-dilapidated lookout.
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Eerol & Kym Radbourne
Eureka! The view we were waiting for.
The Eureka lookout sits at an elevation of 1,980 m (6,500 ft). A horse trail was built to the site in 1930, the road was completed in 1953 and the building was constructed in 1957. It’s cool to think that we had driven up on a road with historic roots dating back 60-plus years. Manned fire lookouts in BC started closing in the mid-1970s to the 1980s as technology made fire detection more reliable than the human eye. Today, the Eureka look out is mainly used as a shelter for snowmobilers.
The prize jewel among the lookouts is the Nahatlatch Fire Tower that’s located just outside of Boston Bar and has been restored with ongoing maintenance. The 4WDABC also has contracts to maintain the Lavina Fire Tower near Kaslo and the Cornwall lookout near Ashcroft. The contract to maintain the Cornwall lookout is a little more significant since it’s located in Cornwall Hills Provincial Park, which is the first time BC Parks has entered into a maintenance contract with a motorized user group.
These historical structures are slowly being reclaimed by nature due to the lack of funding at the provincial government level. The upkeep falls upon user groups or responsible users and the 4WDABC has a history of working with BC Trails & Recreation of restoring and maintaining the province’s fire lookouts.
After a bite to eat and exploring the area, we set out to find a route down to Keefer Lake on the map. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find such a route (this time) but we did enjoy some amazing views of the Okanagan Valley and the Monashee Mountains.
It’s worth noting, however, that Keefer Lake is a region rich in history with a past involving The Gold Rush. Serving as the headwaters for the Kettle River (with water feeding from the Monashee Mountains), Keefer Lake is the perfect destination for wheelers. Fishing is popular here (with access along Keefer Lake Road that leaves the highway just past the Monashee summit) and is an ideal area to take a break and admire the magnificent scenery. It’s also nearby to a BC Trails and Recreation site at Holmes Lake, which serves as a base camp to explore the Monashee trails.
With plans to visit the lake on our next run, we embarked on our journey home, discussing the fire lookout and how to further ensure its potential and enjoy the region for years to come.