Slim Creek

This trip was basically an access trip up to the alpine areas at the top of Slim Creek.  In short, it was a slog.  Useful for winter camping experience, but in future I would access this area via snowmobile or helicopter.

Route:  up Slim creek logging roads as described by John Baldwin.  The trails at this time of year are heavily used and well maintained.  No access issues whatsoever, but not necessarily peaceful either.  Total access was 35 kilometers and 17 hours of sled hauling.  On the way (net downhill) out we managed to fit everything on our backs and did it in one long day.

Food Usage:  1 kg / person /day.  Averaged 3400 calories PPPD, ate most of it.  Total average cost of $8.66 PPPD.

Fuel Usage: melting water, boiling water for breakfasts, and some dinners.  3 people. Using an MSR whisperlite, with the full winter setup, total fuel usage was 1900mL.  Temps on average at cooking time probably -15C, with lows of -20C.

Protips:
1) take kickwax for the ski out.
2) Baby Bel cheese freezes at approximately -15, and tastes like chalk.

Report and Pictures:

The drive to Lillooet was spectacular, if a little long.  Also not sure it would be something I would want to do  with snow on the roads, but our conditions were fine.







Our sleds.  These worked out pretty well.  Overall travel speed with the sleds was slower than I expected, but our total weight was not carryable, so we didn't have much choice.   Changes for next time will be a better harness system, and probably the use of some sort of duffel bag - this would be lighter than using packs, and would also allow easier access to contents during the day.  Depending on the trip, being able to ditch the backpack and haul just a sled would be way more comfortable.



We were going to take a laid back day on day four to recover from all the sled dragging.  But after a few hours relaxing in the sun we couldn't stand not taking advantage of the nice weather anymore, and headed out.  This meant a pretty late day.



And this is why we should have allowed more time (and maybe taken a helicopter).  One week of dragging a sled along a logging road, with a few days in the alpine?  Pretty good.  Two weeks of pulling a sled through terrain like this, with days off to bag peaks and go skiing?  Unbeatable.