Paradise Road / Longbar GCOS Trip

April 2, 2000

by Rob Horstman

Participants:
Daryn & Jeremy - Bronco, GCOS Members
Larry & Marty & Rob - 67 Ford, GCOS Members
Marty (PG) - Suzuki
Joe (PG) - Toy
Ray & Passenger (PG) - Toy

For us Northerners snow is a part of the Cariboo lifestyle. You don't necessarily have to like it, but it's a fact of life up here and you get used to it. It does however take its toll on the wheeling season. So now that things are starting to get warmer and the days are getting longer, the GCOS decided to do some exploring.

We had decided to join up with a few members of the NCOAS near the Quesnel Canyon, but after several unsuccessful attempts to plow through the 3 ft of snow we decided to look for something a little lower down in elevation. Daryn suggested the Paradise road area, as it was down near the Fraser River, and thus had very little snow left. So off we went, cross-town to the West Side of Quesnel and over to Paradise Road.

450+ horsepower!

Our snatch straps got a workout on this trip.

The first obstacle that we encountered was snow… Hmmm, we just can't seem to escape it today, no matter where we go. Well, we decided to give it a shot anyhow and sent in the smallest & lightest vehicle we could find, Marty's Suzuki! So, off went the Suzi, the two Toys, then the Bronco and finally Larry and his ex-mud bogger. It didn't take long for the Suzuki to get stuck in the snow as it just didn't have the weight to dig into the snow. So after pulling him out, we

Descending the switchback trail.

decided to send the biggest heaviest truck in the bunch first. Well, it worked, that's for sure. The monster ‘67 Ford with a 429cid and 39" Swampers made short work of the snow. After opening up the 450+ horsepower, there was little snow left on the trail, and was quite easily traversed by the remaining members of the group. After following the fence line for a bit, we turned and crossed a farmers field (which we had received permission for), and started heading down towards the river. The snow at this point was only about a foot deep, and wasn't really presenting a problem, but once we dropped down into the trees the snow turned to ice, which made for an interesting descent. With Larry in his Ford breaking trail, we dropped down further and further towards the river, at one point, crossing an ice bridge that as each truck crossed, broke off a little more each time. This may make our return interesting. Who knew?

Finally after several large steep switchbacks covered in snow, we made it to the fields below. We proceeded across them and found ourselves on what can only be described as a 40-50 acre playground. Everything from sand dunes to water crossings and small tight trails to play around in.(This area in fact, is in the process of being adopted by the GCOS as our local "designated" playground. One of our members knows the landowner, and we are in the process of getting all the details worked out!) The group played around down here for a bit, then after having a bite to eat, decided to head on out.

Woohoo!

Larry's mighty Ford was put to good use on the sand banks.

Larry breaking off some chunks of the ice bridge as he crosses.

The climb out was interesting, the steep switchbacks covered in snow presented a problem for the smaller rigs, they just didn't have the horsepower to climb the ruts that had been made on the descent. Eventually, headway was made when they went to the far side of the switchback and clawed there way through the unbroken snow. Upon reaching the "icebridge" Larry was in the lead again and upon going across, dropped his tire into the far side hole. Actually, gravity was against him, and he was "pushed" into the hole, the ice gave way underneath him and broke into several large chunks, washing down the creek in the process.

After backing out of the hole, he tried again, but this time, the other side started breaking through. Punching the throttle, he climbed up through the creek, coming to a rest on the far bank, phew… The only small problem was that the "ice bridge" was now only about 4 ft wide, and very unstable. No fear… we can go higher on the creek and traverse it a little further up. Everyone else worked their way through the upper part of the creek, and with a little ice breaking, made it with no problem. After this obstacle was conquered we proceeded up the rest of the hills, ascending into the field and back on the main road from which we came.

All in all, it was a great day, no major breakage, a few small dents, and great inter-club interaction. We all said our good-byes and headed home. Thanks go out to Marty, Ray and Joe, for joining us from Prince George, and next time… we'll come up your way!

Rob Horstman,
President, GCOS - Quesnel, BC