Into the Back Country

My buddy and I went for a long, one day tour down to Gilnokie Provincial Park, over to Yahk and then up to Grey Creek and home via Grey Creek pass. I had my Harley Davidson Buell and he had his BMW GS 1150. While his bike would be considered an Adventure Tour motorcycle, I would think of mine as more of a Tour Adventure bike. His is made for this kind of riding, where as mine is much more of a highway motorcycle. Both motorcycles operated very well and mine got a bit better fuel economy.

The route goes straight south out of Cranbrook via Gold Creek and then onto Caven Creek Rd for a short bit, then south on Plumbob rd. You have to watch for the correct roads when they connect, but it is pretty easy to find. Eventually, you go up and over a pass that caps out at about 5,200 ft and down into a valley that takes you to the Park.

At the park you will find a couple of campsites. There is an outhouse and some tables, so it is a good quiet place to camp. There is a creek just a bit north of the campsites so there is lots of fresh water. I would still suggest you boil any water you find in the back country.

This was taken at the bridge which is just west of the campsite.

This is taken just west of the park and you can see the pass we are about to ride over on the middle right side of the image just behind the tree.

A panoramic shot from the top of the pass followed by the elevation taken from my iPhone. There are some serious switchbacks up there that required first gear and the judicious use of the clutch to get us around. There was only a few spots where it got a bit testy. There is active logging at the very top, so the roads are loose with the type of rocks that can cause flat tires.

Heading over the west side of the pass, you will get to Yahk. We kept on heading West and had lunch and fueled up in Creston. Then we headed up the lake to Grey Creek and came home over The Grey Creek Pass.

This up at almost the top of the Grey Creek Pass at Olive Lake. There are some nice campsites up there, but take cold weather sleeping gear as the elevation is over 6,500 ft.

As you an see, I lost a lid off of the left pannier, but it is easily replaceable and truly a "First World Problem". It was a great day and we where out about 10 hours, with a total of about 350 kilometers of both gravel and paved roads. Here is the route we took for the entire ride.

View Gilnockie Provincial Park/Grey Creek Loop in a larger map