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| Unloading the quad at Chippewa Bay. |
Summer rides are fun because the weather is usually sunny and warm. The down side is dusty roads and trails. Fall rides are just about perfect, the weather is pleasantly cool and the roads have received enough rain to tamp down the dust.
We loaded up the barge with what we would need for a day quad ride to Chippewa Bay.
The quads stay on the barge all year long, but in the rainy season we take everything out of our cargo boxes to keep it from getting damp and possible damage. Plus it's always good to take along a chain saw just in case a fallen tree blocks your way.
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| Riding well used Museum Main to find the new logging roads. |
We wanted to ride over in the Chippewa Bay area on Powell Lake because
Western Forest Products has been building new roads into future cut blocks. We like riding through the trees before logging begins. We've been able to experience such rides in the
Eldred River Valley, at
Chippewa South, at
Pickles Point and now in Chippewa Bay.
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| Large fir trees along Chippewa Main. |
After the roads are completed, the logging company waits for several months for the newly compacted dirt and rock to settle before heavy logging trucks and equipment begin their work.
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| Wayne coming down a new section of road. |
We missed seeing all of the large trees cut down to make way for the new road beds, but a few were still resting at the side of the road.
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| Wayne next to two sections of a huge fir tree. |
This fir tree was over a hundred years old based on the tightly spaced rings. Just think of all the lumber that could come out of each section and how many new homes it could help build.
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| Tightly spaced rings make this tree well over a hundred years old. |
There are sections of road that are too steep for me to feel comfortable. Wayne rides ahead while I get off my bike to explore and take pictures. I found a Western Toad hiding in a hole. Right now her looks pretty secure, but I'm not so sure it will stay that way when huge trucks start rolling with their massive log loads.
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| A Western Toad in his hidey at the edge of the new logging road. |
And there were still a few flowers to be seen.
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| Pearly Everlasting doing what it does best, lasting forever. |
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| A bee enjoying a last few sips from a Butterfly Bush. |
We stopped by the log skid and could see a boom of logs already boomed together. These came from road clearing. It's good to see nothing being wasted.
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| Looking down the skid to the first boom of logs. |
Wayne checking his iPad GPS to see our track for the day.
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| Wayne using his iPad GPS for road identification and tracking. |
Western Products Products has online geo-referenced maps that can be used with handheld devices.
Click here to find WFP map and other road building, logging and hauling information.
Click here to find information about the Avenza map app. The basic app and WFP maps are both free.
Have you been riding this fall? What are some of your favourite destinations?
Want to read more about how we use a barge to take our quads to ride the logging roads surrounding Powell Lake?
Powell Lake by Barge and Quad is available in both print and e-book formats at
Amazon.com and
Amazon.ca. It's also available at other online booksellers and Coles bookstore in Powell River. -- Margy
After my first book in the series Coastal British Columbia Stories, I decided to write about a subject that initially excited me very little -- exploring the local area by all-terrain vehicle. My friend John insisted I learn to ride a quad, and I followed his lead only because adventures with John are always worthwhile. I didn't think I'd become a quad addict, but it happened. The Powell River ATV Club is a big part of my book, Up the Main, and influenced much of my future writing. Now you'll find me on the trails regularly, and writing more about off-road riding. Join me (and John and his dog Bro) in exploring the Powell River backcountry. 
