By Margaret Gmoser
July 11th to 16th, 2020 was slated for a section of the GDT from south to north. I checked out the Oldman River crossing in June when the water was cloudy and high and decided that Cache Creek would be our entry point. By the date of our departure the river looked much better and was just knee deep.
Our cheerful group consisted of two Grannies 70 and 75, two 13 year olds and one in the middle at 39 years old. The Grannies soon realized that the teenagers had plenty of extra energy which could be put to use carrying some of the groceries.
Heather Ware, Barb Renner, Charlotte Wilson, Aria Renner Grandi, Margaret Gmoser
We had cool temperatures and lots of wind, but blue skies and very few bugs as a result. The flowers were outstanding. One night of hail and snow at High Rock campground made us happy that we had packed an extra layer.
View of The Elevators from the head of Cache Creek
We did a long day from there to the Cataract Creek campsite – not our favourite since it had limited tent sites and was bushy and dark. The trails were in good shape with the usual deadfall. Two dirt bikes had made tracks on a portion of the route where this is discouraged. This was unfortunate since they left quite a mark on the trail. There are so many other places for them to ride.
We shared our last campsite at James Lake with a mystery man who arrived in the dark and left before 6 am – perhaps a keen GDT’er. We wish him luck.
Trail junction with a GDT register box
At the end of the trail we had the lucky coincidence to meet Lani Smith, one of the GDT originators. Our youngsters were impressed that he was headed up Baril Creek on his mountain bike.
We’d like to return in the fall sometime to see all the beautiful larch in full glory.
