Chilcotin

For all of these areas; Black Bears - and in some cases Grizzly Bears - are common; be bear aware. For information on bears in a specific area, contact park staff. For general guidelines on bear safety, visit the Parks Canada 'You Are in Bear Country' page at: http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/docs/pc/guide/nature/nature02_e.asp.

Ts'il-os Provincial Park

This park was created in 1994 and is south west of Williams Lake. The park is surrounded by the dry Interior Plateau and the Coast Mountains. While the area is only an hour or two by air from Vancouver, it is a remote, rugged and wild area. Trips into this park are ONLY for well equipped, experienced, advanced groups. Your group must be ENTIRELY self-sufficient, trained and experienced in route finding and use of map and compass.

The most commonly used access to the park is by road from Williams Lake (allow 4 to 6 hours from Williams Lake; one-way), follow signs showing route to Bella Coola to reach Highway 20. After you leave Highway 20 at Hanceville, the road is gravel / dirt. In poor weather conditions, the road can be very bad. It is about 100 kilometeres on this road from Hanceville to the park boundary.

A vehicle with high clearance (at least) is recommended for access to some trailheads. Make sure vehicles are in good repair before attempting to access this park; this is a remote area. Telephone service is not available in the park and mobile phone service is limited. The nearest RCMP and first aid available is in Alexis Creek (about 20 kilometres west of Hanceville and about 100 kilometres away from the park on rough roads).

[To obtain the appropriate Forest Service Recreation Map, visit the web site located at: http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/rec/maps/svanisle/index.htm. The map to get is included in the Cariboo Forest Region's recreation maps and is the one called: Cariboo West Map. The map is in PDF format and you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it. The map is a large file, about 5MB.]

If price is no object, you can fly directly to Chilko Lake or one of the other lakes (depending upon the route that you will be following) by float plane. Note that a park use permit is required for commercial aircraft accessing the park.

Beware that; hunting, trapping, and cattle grazing are allowed in the park through a cooperative management system.

Ts'il-os Provincial Park is user maintained; you are expected to carry out everything you carried in, no toilets or outhouses, etc... Campfires are permitted in the park but please keep them small and re-use existing fire pits where they exist. Be prepared to hang food from trees - away from camp - at night to keep it out of reach wildlife. There are NO developed trails in this park.

One common routes used in the park is along the Tchaikazan Valley, over Spectrum Pass and into the Dorothy Lake / Yohetta valley area. To reach the trailhead, leave the main road from Hanceville and take the Lord River / Elkins Creek Forest Service Road [about 100 kilometres from Hanceville]. The road along Elkins Creek (Elkins Creek FSR) is VERY ROUGH, travel very slowly. It is recommended that more than one vehicle be used in case of mechanical problems. Some pointers for this trip:

1. Be prepared to walk in the Tchaikazan River bed and through the many smaller streams that exist in it. If you will be wearing sandals (i.e. Teva type or similar) for this [recommended], be sure to securely fasten both hiking boots to your back pack before crossing any water or put boots inside your pack. Note that the river is fed by glaciers and is VERY cold even in summer.
2. Many streams will have to be crossed. Use extreme caution when doing this (especially on slippery wet rocks). When crossing streams and rivers, unfasten your backpack's hip belt so that it can be easily discarded if you lose your footing. A length of good quality rope to use as a hand line is strongly recommended.
3. While you should be keeping an eye out for bears at ALL times, be especially careful when near rivers and streams. The noise from the water makes it difficult for bears to hear you coming and you don't want to surprise a bear.
4. Winter conditions can occur in the area at ANY time. Be prepared for this (One group received 30 centimetres of snow while camped at Spectrum Pass in August).
5. As an additional excursion along the way, consider traveling to the south end of the Tchaikazan Valley to near the foot of the Miserable or Friendly Glacier. This will add about two days to your trip. It is about a one day hike - from where the route would normally head west up to Spectrum Pass from the valley - to the glaciers and another day to hike back. Be prepared to spend the night near the glaciers if you take this excursion. A word of caution: DO NOT go on glaciers unless you have the proper equipment and are trained and experienced in glacier travel.
6. If weather permits, spend an extra day at Spectrum Pass. From a base camp near the small pond at the pass, it is a worthwhile trip to the top of the mountain south west of the pond (referred to by some as 'Looking Glass Mountain'). The route up the mountain is mostly non-technical but, does require traversing a small snowfield or two, some scrambling on rocks and across boulder fields. It is strongly recommended that you plan ahead for this by having (at least) an ice axe and prior training with recent practice in its use (i.e. to self-arrest a fall on sloping snow). Do not attempt this side trip if any members of your party are not familiar [equipped, trained and experienced] with techniques for crossing snowfields and the use of an ice axe.

For further information, contact BC Parks (see the "References and Further Information" page on this web site for a link to the BC Parks website).