Christian Valley - Kettle River FSR

[lrp374]

This was a short trip ( 680 km) from Kamloops via Kelowna, down Highway 33 then various forestry roads to the Christian Valley and the Kettle River FSR to Highway 6 and back to Kamloops. It is a part of BC close to us all that is quit unique. The Kettle river this time of year is crystal clear and with the large number of treed or open sites along the river makes a nice fall getaway. I have attached a few pictures to show the countryside and have several more of the many Rec sites along the river if anyone is interested.

Taurus lake is accessed from Hwy 33 via the Taurus FSR. It is a nice clear lake with mostly small fish and 3 areas around the lake to camp. Sites on the north side are large and accessed from a separate road. ( The picture can't be added as only 7 are allowed and I'm to lazy to do another post.)

[FalcoColumbarius]

Right on, Irp. I love going on those solo missions where you potentially have something to lose, there's something more real about it. What kind of saw do you use? I've come across a few roads, that on the map were marked as a thick black line ~ but in reality were a thin dotted grey line or worse.

( The picture can't be added as only 7 are allowed and I'm to lazy to do another post.)

I load my pix in either the DC gallery or my Picasa gallery then link the images to the thread in which case you can fit a lot more than seven in a post. It also allows the thread to load faster, which is why each post is limited to seven attachments. The only drawback to linking images is if the site you post the actual images in gets deleted then the images in your thread will also disappear, which is why I tend to post in the DC gallery and link to that. I would love to see more pix if you have them, pictures of your camp craft would be cool, as well. Thanks for posting!

Falco.

[lrp374]

Thanks for the comments Falco. I use Backroads GPS to plan my trips which can avoid some problems as you can do overviews on Google Earth to determine if a road exists. This has worked well but you really never know until you get on site. A plan 'B' is always a good idea.
I carry 2 saws. A typical “Swede” hand saw for small jobs and a 16” chain saw if I have a real issue and to cut firewood. My setup is simple and portable as I've made boxes to fit the Delica when camping but are removed when only fishing. Reduces my carry around weight which is really important when everywhere you need to go is uphill from 1000 to 3500 feet!!

[FalcoColumbarius]

I carry 2 saws. A typical “Swede” hand saw for small jobs and a 16” chain saw if I have a real issue and to cut firewood. My setup is simple and portable as I've made boxes to fit the Delica when camping but are removed when only fishing

One of these days I'm actually going to post a Member Rides thread that's going to be called "Welcome Aboard The Good Ship MLB", I just haven't gotten around to it yet due to procrastination issues, of which I'm working on ~ just you wait and see! I've got a Stihl (I think it's an 18" bar) and a kukri for the smaller jobs, also good for kindling. Typically I keep one really dry cedar cork on board for starting fires in the event there's nothing dry around.

I like your camp set up, it looks like a convenient arrangement. Do you sleep in the wagon? Do you ever sleep outside?

In the case of the "thick black line" ~ that was in a brand newly released Mussio back roads map book, the mapping information was maybe three months old? I've found that the roads tend to come and go in the toolies, where the water ways tend to be more reliable as far as getting one's bearings goes ~ 'though I still look at the roads of course.

What kind of line do you use to support your awning posts? That looks skukum!

Falco.

[lrp374]

I sleep in the van along with all the food. If anyone comes with me they get a tent. As you can see from my trip to Ripple lake the tent option isn't as good if you have thunderstorms and hail. Luckily good planning and bullshit luck kept the tent and contents dry. I use a combination rope and bungee cords for the tarp and awning. This works great as it can give a little ( for hail and water) but returns in place and is always tight.

[thelazygreenfox]

Irp
Your Taurus Lake pic looks like the campsite on the north side of the lake. Has the logging stopped on the north side? It was very noisy there last fall.

thx
TLGF
wayne

[lrp374]

The only logging truck I saw was @ the north end of KFS road just before you get on Hwy 6. Was nice and quite @ Taurus except for the odd hunter.