This year’s versions of the Discovery Coast and Vancouver Island tours have changed considerably because of the discontinuance of BC Rail’s passenger services. We still get (or plan on getting), a train ride but it’s not the same without the familiar Cheakamus Canyon and the long climb up the banks of the Fraser River above Lillooet. But, on our first Discovery Coast circle trip of the year we didn’t expect to get this much of a change! Read on …..

Our tour bus picked us up at Pacific Central Station as scheduled, on Thursday morning, the 10th of July, Keith & Vera Anderson were the guides, group of 29 passengers. We proceeded by bus (!!) to Shannon Falls, and then on to a great lunch and tour at the Heritage Park. This was followed by mini-rail ride, before carrying on to Whistler for the evening. After a pleasant evening there, we departed with our chartered motorcoach northward to Pemberton, Mount Currie, Duffey Lake Road, and Lillooet. A short stop was made to see the Lillooet Museum, which highlights newspaper pioneer, Ma Murray. Ma Murray often met our earlier tours by rail to Lillooet, chatted with our passengers and gave them apples. Such a kind act takes a long time to forget. Then it was on to Pavilion and the Hat Creek Ranch. At Hat Creek Ranch, we ate a very good lunch, and then had a tour of the ranch and roadhouse from the Cariboo Wagon Road era. The roadhouse was most interesting, because it is untouched and appears as it did until the last resident left in about 1950. We continued to Williams Lake for the evening at the Fraser Inn.

Next day, we began our trip west over the Chilcotin Plateau. We were aware that there was construction on the Bella Coola hill, with road closures for two sections of four hours each, ending at 1730. Knowing this, we visited Farwell Canyon, which is 22 km south of the highway from Riske Creek. Farwell Canyon is extremely beautiful, with the Chilcotin River in a canyon, and hoodoos on the hillside across the river. We continued west after this visit, stopping for coffee at the extremely colourful Chilcotin Inn at Alexis Creek. We had lunch with Cindy Nadeau at Nimpo Lake (where you can buy a hat that has the word "Nimpomaniac" across the front). Cindy is always gracious and entertaining. She put out a great lunch for our group, and gave us great music.

We were hearing that maybe the Bella Coola Hill was blocked for more than the stated four hours, but nothing was certain. We boarded our bus, and went 55 km west past Anahim Lake to the top of the hill, where there was nothing indicating that the hill was closed. The gate was up. However, eastbound vehicles as we were traveling west, were telling us that the road was not open. We waited at the top of the hill for an hour. During that hour, we saw vehicles go down past us, and return. As it turned out the hill had suffered a huge rockslide as a result of overzealous blasting. It was reportedly to be closed for 4 or 5 days.

So we went back to Nimpo Lake. Cindy had anticipated that we would need dinner and breakfast, and had arranged with the Country Inn, (next door) that we could get rooms. One room had been rented. We took the rest of the hotel. Fortunately Bill had faxed a rooming list – just in case Thank You Cindy!!

What can we do now?? Working with Bill Johnston back at the office, a plan was formulated. We explained the plan to our passengers. (and what a great group of passengers we had on this tour!)! The plan was to go to Hope next day. The following day would be Hope to Powell River. The next day we would cross to Courtenay, via the Comox ferry and be back on our tour as scheduled. The majority of our passengers agreed. So we were off on our “mystery tour”.

After breakfast at Cindy’s the next morning it was back to Williams Lake for a rest and shopping stop. Then we were off to 100 Mile House for lunch, arranged on short notice. They did a great job. Then the longer ride to Hope, where a hotel had been arranged for us. The next day, we traveled through the big city again (our only tour ever to go through the point of origin during the middle of a tour!), then off to Horseshoe Bay. Since we got an earlier ferry than planned, we had a good visit in Gibsons, with many buying their lunch at Molly's Reach, of Beachcomber fame, and others buying some souvenirs of the area. Then it was off to Earls Cove, and onto that ferry, also earlier than planned. The weather was great over these days, making the ferry rides pleasant.

At Powell River, the Inn at Westview was ready for us with dinner and rooms, making us extremely welcome. They provided us a great breakfast next day, before we departed onto the ferry to Comox. We shared the ferry with "Tour BC", a group of perhaps 200 bicycles touring BC. They were going to Port Alberni that day. To see that many racing bikes in one place was impressive. At Courtenay we were "back on track"! Yes, we were going to get our experience on the train after all. Our bus driver Rob was not happy that he had to stay with his bus, and miss the train ride. As usual, the ride on the E&N was lovely, with extreme scenery just north of Victoria at about mile 14 where the line crosses Arbutus Canyon, and Niagara Canyon. Very beautiful views of the canyon and Finlayson Arm abound as you descend from the Malahat. We dropped down to Goldstream and Langford, then on into Victoria where we were met by our driver and tour leaders, Bill and Terry, from the next CDC tour that began at Victoria. We were on Day 6, while they were on Day 1. Our "mystery tour" story was a hit!

We concluded our tour next morning with a leisurely visit to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, and then on to the ferry at Swartz Bay, and return. There is never a dull moment traveling on West Coast Rail Tours. Always something happening. Surprises, too!

Continuing on with the saga, it is now Bill Johnston’s turn to relate his trip on the clockwise version of what the previous tour should have been.

CDC - 3, WHERE DID WE GET THE HORSESHOES?

What a pleasure it was to see the train come into Victoria station with Keith & Vera’s tour group looking happy and content. Fortunately their bus was there with barely 10 minutes to spare having let off the Nanaimo returnees and then getting stuck in traffic.

Now the CDC-3 group was ready to leave with much uncertainty about whether “The Hill” would be open or not. CBC Radio 2 interviewed the hotel manager where CDC-2 should have stayed noting that a tour had been turned back just as they were about to set up. With 19 Americans and 7 Canadians in our group, we shuttled from the hotel to the train on Wednesday July 16th. The Malahat Dayliner’s newly refurbished cars and smooth running made an enjoyable trip to Courtenay where veteran ISL driver Will McPike met us. We enjoyed a great lunch in the “Old House Restaurant” then rolled north with a brief stop for pie and coffee at the Cable House in Sayward. A brief spin through the railway yard at Woss saw the steam loco and coach Grey Ghost behind a fence and looking quite forlorn. Port Hardy was reached by 6:30 pm in drenching thunderstorms that cleaned off the bus.

The next morning we boarded the “Queen of Chilliwack”, certainly one of BC Ferries most unique vessels. The day before, frequent phone calls to the Bella Coola area ensured us that the “Hill” would be open for our passage on Saturday. “Please come”, was the ardent message. So this little ferry with personality, transported us through pods of Orcas, Humpbacks and Minkes before docking at Bella Coola at about 22:00. The short ride to Hagensborg got us in bed by 23:00.

As with previous tours we toured the area and marveled at the incredible scenery made even more spectacular by the great weather. Of course the discussion in the area was about the state of the Freedom Highway, the region’s only road link out. On Saturday we were about to test it and the accompanying photo through the bus windshield (page 16) says it all. Still scary, but open.

We arrived in Nimpo Lake for an early lunch to hear rumours that the road east was closed because of forest fires. “Not again”, was the thought running through this tour organizer’s mind, and this time there was no turning back. Fortunately during lunch we heard that phone lines were restored, credit cards would again work and that the road was opened with pilot cars. So off we went with a stop at Chilanko Marshes for the avid birders on the coach. The smell of smoke from a fire some 60 km east was now noticeable. Sure enough, an hour later we were stopped in the middle of a smoldering forest fire waiting for a pilot car to lead us through the smoke. Just as some smoke cleared we looked off to the left and saw, no more than a kilometre away, a huge Martin Mars water bomber dump its load complete with red retardant and the inevitable roar. Two more planes in the air kept us transfixed as flames licked away at the roadside pines. About 10 km later we were through this and on to Williams Lake via Farwell Canyon.

We told our passengers that it was unlikely we would see wild animals, even the bear lecturer in Bella Coola said our chances of seeing a bear were small. We were surprised, therefore, to see bears, bighorn sheep and deer. We couldn’t have organized it better. After Williams Lake it was home via the Fraser Canyon with a stop at the Hell’s Gate Airtram for a salmon lunch and a better appreciation of the mighty river.

By the time you read this our last “CDC” tour (departed August 19) for 2003 will have ended, and we hope with just as much fun and excitement as the two described here. For those of you who have never taken this most interesting tour yet, we hope this has whetted your appetite. Why don’t you join us next year?