This
is about a remote area in west central British Columbia, Canada
called the West Chilcotin. Surrounded by numerous glacial mountain
ranges, alpine lakes teeming with wild Rainbow Trout, and full
of wildlife. Living here goes from no running water or electricity
to spacious log homes with all the conveniences and without
the smog!
If
you would like to see pictures of wildlife, mountains, lakes,
exciting snowmobiling, events and more, and read stories like
'Lake Monsters' - just go into Archives on the lower left side
of this page.
Rolling over an image will give you its description.
Check out the Picture
of the Day.
09/12/200711:07 PM
Quick Update
Hi
everyone. This is just a quick winter update because I
just don't have the time right now to do more. I'm really
sorry about that, but the pressure is on to get a project
done before Christmas, so unless I want to spend Christmas
morning working instead of enjoying family time.... Our weather is still strange. After coming
up on Thursday, our temperatures plummeted on Friday,
then while everyone else has been in the deep freeze,
our temperatures came up again. In fact it wasn't much
below freezing today with a gloriously sunny day. In the
meanwhile, it was snow all the way up Highway 97 today,
grim and cold in Williams Lake and flurries
throughout most of the rest of the province.
A few people including Andy went out snowmobiling yesterday,
getting a later start than usual because it was really
cold yesterday morning. As usual, I was chained to the
computer but it sounds like it was a pretty nice ride
with really good snow. The young people that run the Nimpo
Lake Store and will be taking it over in the new year
got new sleds this fall and have been eager to check them
out. Insanely, they've been out riding nearly every day
including early in the morning when no one in their right
mind would go out in temperatures like that! Kudos
to their craziness though as both are becoming pretty
good riders even though they were novices to begin
with.
Logan's machine blew up the last time he went out riding
and his second machine blew up yesterday so he had to
be towed down from kilometer 18 yesterday. It's a bummer
when your sleds take honors for being both the first and
second casualty of the season.
It's -15C or around 5F outside right now and has been
dropping pretty steadily all evening so I guess
that cold front is moving in again. There's supposed
to be more snow coming in the next day or so as well.
It's sure shaping up to be quite a winter.
This will probably be the last post for a few days unless
something out of the ordinary happens so I can get some
work done. Thanks for your patience everyone.
06/12/20078:06 PM
Bella Coola Accident
Remarkably,
there was a motor vehicle accident on the Bella Coola
Hill last Friday night in which one person was killed.
A BC Hydro crew were driving the Hill just before supper
time when they noticed tracks leaving the road and called
it in. Rescue crews got there within a half hour including
a member of Bella Coola Heli-Sports trained in high angle
rescue who took two hours to make his way down the bank
1,100 feet to where the wreckage was. It was dark, about
-17C on one of the most dangerous spots on the Hill, and
the rescue member didn't want to pass any possible survivors
over the bank in the dark on the way down. The driver
of the vehicle did not survive and the name has not been
released yet as far as I know. There was compact snow on the road but it was well
sanded, as it usually is. Those Bella Coola highway
maintenance boys take pretty good care of the 'Hill' so
I'm not sure what caused the driver to leave the road.
But apparently with the snow through the weekend had the
Hydro guys not spotted the tracks before dark and twigged
onto what it meant, it's possible that no one would
ever have known that a vehicle went over and the driver
might never have been found. Kind of lucky really
because there are never that many people driving the Hill
this time of year.
What makes the whole thing so unusual is that there are
rarely ever accidents on the Hill and there have only
ever been five fatalities as far as I know. Some people
in a pickup truck were killed at the bottom of the Hill
after a party as I understand it, but they weren't really
even on the Hill proper yet. One woman and her child
died on the Hill after being stopped by an avalanche and
then buried in deep snow after that huge snowfall we had
back in November of 1990. But this is actually
the first I have heard of someone going over on one of
the worst spots on the Hill. It's so nasty and narrow
in places that normally everyone drives really, really
slowly and carefully over the bad spots. It's possible
though that the driver hit an icy patch and there's nothing
to stop you from going over the edge. I've heard some pretty hairy stories about the Hill
in winter before modern day equipment allowed it to be
maintained so well. One fellow told us a while
back about times when he and his family drove down and
there was a lot of ice on the road caused by water running
off the banks on one side and over the edge on the other.
He said it would freeze up and be higher on the inside
so that a vehicle would naturally slide to the outside.
He would walk ahead of the vehicle chopping into
the ice with an ax cutting a trench on the inside closest
to the bank so that the vehicle would slope inward.
Every time they came to a snowy or icy patch, he would
have to get out and do this all the way down the hill.
The worst section of the Hill is only 12 miles long but
can you imagine how long it would take you to reach bottom
doing that?
The road, known as the Freedom Highway because it
finally linked Bella Coola by road with the rest of the
world, was finished in September 1953 and was
built entirely by locals because the government refused
to. Government eventually took over maintenance and improvements
but there just isn't much you can do with a road that
clings to the side of the mountain and they're really
not willing to pour a lot of money into improvements.
Besides, nearly everyone that uses it, especially in winter
when it's at its most dangerous, is local and knows how
to drive it. That's why it's so rare to hear someone has
been killed on it. My condolences to the victim's family. We are in a really strange little weather pattern
here. Williams Lake 200 miles to the east of us
was -22C this morning, is again now, and I don't think
it ever got above -20 all day. The whole interior is in
the deep freeze, Bella Coola is extremely cold, and Vancouver
isn't expected to be that much above freezing tomorrow.
And yet we started warming up last night. It got up to
-9C before I went to bed and up to -5C today, which is
by far the warmest I have seen it around here in a long,
long time. Strangely, it was cloudy all day today too,
while nearly everyone else was clear and sunny. I have
come up with a totally uneducated guess
as to what has happened. Totally uneducated. There's a
high pressure system coming down from the northeast and
one moving in from the Pacific from the south west. It
looks like we're sitting right on the jet stream and the
only thing I can think of is that we're presently sandwiched
in between with all that warm air that has to go somewhere.
Everyone else got unusually warm temperatures a couple
of days ago, but we never did. It's doubtful that
it will last much longer but we've already been warmer
than I expected for a longer period of time than I expected.
It's a nice break from the cold, but I would still sure
like to see some sun.
For those of you patiently waiting for the conclusion
of the RCMP articles, it will come eventually. And I know
that last week I promised a link to the lake sounds during
freeze up. I'm working on it. I will try to get things
wrapped up in the next few days because I have work to
get to and I might take a long break this month and over
the holidays to get caught up.
Besides, Christmas is coming....yikes!
05/12/20077:43 PM
Weather Flip Flop
We
finally saw the temperature come up to a high of -8.5C
or about 18F today, which is as high as I've seen
it in days. It actually started climbing last
night a couple of degrees to -12C after it started snowing
and though it dropped again this morning, it came up pretty
fast this afternoon. We finally caught the edge of that
warming trend that hit Williams Lake yesterday as well
as the Lower Mainland and southern interior. It won't
last for long though. Already Williams Lake is much colder
than we are and a huge arctic high is creeping down from
the north and is actually blanketing most of Canada. Another
coming in from the Pacific is clearing out the last of
that Pineapple Express so that most of British Columbia
will be sitting under clear, cold sunshine by tomorrow.
Right now temperatures throughout Canada are approximately
15 degrees below seasonal norms and it has been about
15 years since there has been this kind of freezing trend
throughout. It looks like it's at least Sunday before
the jet stream moves up a bit and brings in cloud and
some warmer temperatures to the province. I don't know
how many years it's been since I've seen a long stretch
of cold weather like this, but it's been quite a while.
This really is shaping up to be an old fashioned
winter! I have no beef with that at all and can
live with the cold temperatures. It's when it's cloudy
and cold that it gets me down and that's certainly been
the case since we got home from the Okanagan on Sunday.
We've now accumulated 8" inches of snow and it's
starting to get pretty deep off the beaten path.
Andy had to get up on a newly built roof this morning
to clear the snow off and he's been on the Bobcat on a
pretty regular basis trying to keep the yard clear. Metal
roofs usually aren't a problem for snow build up in the
Chilcotin because we generally get enough sun
and sometimes warm enough temperatures for it to keep
sliding off. But we haven't had any sun lately and certainly
haven't had any warm temperatures, hence the unusual situation
of having to clear off a roof. I'm not looking forward
to when the snow on the house starts to go. Because of
the steep pitch, it's like an avalanche when it does move!
We were watching the news tonight, and you've got to feel
for everyone that was affected by the wild winter weather
this past week, which was pretty much all of Canada. The
States too, for that matter. But British Columbia
took a good hit again after getting all that snow and
then areas that were nailed with massive amounts of rainfall
on top of the snow got a double whammy. Areas
down south are now cleaning up after the flooding and
of course, you gotta feel sorry for poor old Boston Bar.
She got it last year, and she got it again. While most
roads that were closed throughout the province have been
reopened again, Boston Bar has been cut off from the outside
since Sunday, first from several snow avalanches and drifting
snow, then mudslides, then tremendous rains and of course,
has been without electricity the whole time. They
showed guests that holed up at a motel there huddled around
candles sitting on the table trying to keep warm
while folks were using a generator run electric stove
down at the community hall to feed folks that had no cooking
facilities.
Now I could not do that. I could not live somewhere that
didn't have either a wood stove, propane or natural gas
stove, or fireplace at the very least. Areas in Canada
get power outages on a regular enough basis, usually caused
by weather, that not having some kind of back up makes
no sense to me. There were only two times in my life that
I didn't and in both cases, it was when I lived in apartments
and of course, you can't get permission to install natural
gas fireplaces or stoves. But it worried me the entire
time I lived in both places, less than two years in total,
but long enough, nevertheless.
Where apartments are the exception, it always surprises
me that folks in condos or in buildings that they own,
don't install a fireplace or stove. I realize
that there are often limitations on wood burning appliances,
but there rarely are on natural gas (or propane where
NG is not available) heaters or fireplaces and both can
be installed quite easily so long as there is a place
for them to be vented. And as long as you get the ones
that don't need electricity to be started, (you just have
to remember to specify that when purchasing) you're laughing.
We rely on wood downstairs because it produces a much
drier heat than our furnace and of course, it's less expensive.
But we also have a highly efficient wood fireplace upstairs
built into a massive chimney that we rarely have to use.
However, in really cold weather like what we've been having
over a long period of time, and without the sun during
the day to heat things up, it makes a major difference
to comfort, and the bricks on the chimney radiate heat
through the night long after the fire goes out. Although
the big stove downstairs is far more efficient for keeping
a whole house warm, I keep thinking that even if
all you had was a fireplace like ours you could still
get by, and you'd be a whole lot more comfortable than
those poor people in Boston Bar. Then again, I
was raised without electricity for quite a few years so
maybe I think differently than most people. Seems to me
though that folks in Vancouver and elsewhere might want
to rethink their complete reliance on electricity. If
the climate people are right, our weather is changing,
weather events will be more extreme, and that means going
without electricity more often. And I don't know about
you....but I hate being cold! Oh, and now I can see the
wheels turning...."And you live in the Chilly-Cotin
why??"
Well, let's see. You can get out on a lake in front of
your house and do spins with a snowmobile in the first
week of December? Actually Andy did that yesterday afternoon
because he likes to be first out on the ice, and he wanted
to make a trail across the lake to the boat ramp up to
Nimpo so that folks know it's safe to ride the Short Arm
now. I wouldn't want to bet on the Main Arm though until
the guys drill it and see what the ice looks like after
this last snow.
04/12/20076:53
PM
Continuation of Dawson Creek RCMP
This
concludes the letter written by Jim Parfrey regarding
the firearms incident in Dawson Creek this fall. You can
find the beginning of this letter in the article below.
-"After the back-up car arrived, the constable
came back to our vehicle and advised Jim she was letting
him go on the traffic violation but would not release
the firearms because she was charging us with unsafe transportation
under the criminal code and that her immediate superior
had confirmed the charge. I again advised she was incorrect
and that the firearms must be returned. At this time I
removed my seat belt and went over to her and the other
two constables and advised her once more that she was
mistaken and that she should return our firearms. She
asked for proof of the legislation and regulations which
I had at my home in Vernon but not with me. I suggested
that we go to her office and pull up the Canadian Firearms
web site which was set up and is maintained by the RCMP.
I advised that the legislation and regulations are accessible
there. While she seemed to be unaware of this site she
agreed to try this.
Jim and I drove to the RCMP station where we were confronted
by the seizing constable's immediate supervisor who proceeded
to berate us for telling his constable that she was wrong
and abusing her authority. He also reiterated that we
would not get our firearms back and that we would be charged
under Section 87 of the Criminal Code of Canada. I again
stated my experience and background as well as certification
and that we had done nothing wrong and wanted our firearms
returned. I also asked to bring up the RCMP's Canadian
Firearm's website. He refused, dismissed us, and was closing
the reception window when I requested a meeting with his
superior.
10 minutes later I was ushered in alone (Jim was directed
to remain in the reception area) to meet with the Senior
Officer in Charge who's first position, based on information
from his subordinates, was that we were going to be charged.
However, he was open to my describing the circumstances
of the firearms and the legal requirements for transportation.
He also had a brochure in his possession from the RCMP's
Firearms Centre which identified the transportation requirements
for both restricted and non-restricted firearms - the
Dawson Creek detachment in error was applying the restricted
requirements to non-restricted firearms. Restricted firearms
(handguns etc.) must meet a much higher level of security
for their transportation such as disabling by a locking
mechanism and be in a locked opaque case, not to mention
additional paper work requirements. With the brochure
in his possession as well as confirmation from the police
help line it was confirmed that I was right and that neither
Jim nor I had done anything illegal regarding the transportation
of our firearms. The Senior Officer in Charge advised
that our firearms would be immediately released and he
apologized for the mix-up. I went out to the reception
area and waited with Jim for the return of our firearms.
I felt we all learned something: - justice can be obtained
by standing your ground, persevering, and being assertive
when your rights have been violated; the Dawson Creek
RCMP now have a clearer understanding of what constitutes
safe transportation and law abiding citizens will have
nothing to fear; and most importantly, a senior member
of the force has proven that he was open to protecting
the rights of honest law abiding citizens - after all
we are human and errors do occur.
Everything had been resolved and the matter was finished
to everyone's satisfaction or so I thought. The supervisor
brought our firearms out to us and I thanked him. You
can imagine my shock when he bluntly stated to Jim and
I that we would have been treated a lot worse than we
were had he been present at the time our firearms where
confiscated. Apparently in his mind citizens are not allowed
to advise RCMP or object when their rights are being violated
and/or the RCMP actions are wrong or illegal, and anyone
who questions them will be treated severely. This belief
is so ingrained that he made the statement to Jim and
me together in the RCMP reception area which has a security
camera that monitors and records. At the end of the day,
nothing was learned and nothing was gained! I am gravely
concerned that this kind of behavior and treatment of
honest citizens will continue if these attitudes are not
addressed.
What occurred was wrong on so many levels:
1.. The role of the RCMP is to enforce the laws of the
land, not to create their own laws. If they don't know
the firearms laws that have been in place for 15 years
and slightly updated 9 years ago in a community with a
significant number of firearms owners and hunters, what
other laws are they ignoring or applying inappropriately
or illegally?
2.. This is an area that attracts hunters from all over
the province as well as all over the world. The activities
of firearms owners and hunters contribute substantially
to the local economy. Mistreatment, false charges and
harassment will all have a negative affect. Ignorance
of the law is no excuse for citizens in a court of law
and therefore should not be an excuse for the RCMP. It's
a fine line between being ignorant and acting ignorantly
- in this case the seizing constable and immediate supervisor
crossed the line which leads me to believe that this occurs
as a matter of habit, not as a very rare or once in a
life-time situation.
3.. By the constable's own statement she has seized firearms
from several other owners for the same reasons. Many people
do not have the knowledge, the will or the communication
skills to defend themselves and may have lost or will
lose their property even though they have done nothing
wrong. In our case the replacement value of the 2 firearms
is approximately $3,000.00.
4.. When did it become illegal for a law abiding citizen
to advise the RCMP that they are wrong and that their
actions are wrong? When pointing out an error, omission,
illegal action, etc. why should honest law abiding citizens
be openly intimidated? At the time of the threat the supervising
officer had admitted that a mistake in interpretation
had occurred, been ordered to return the firearms, but
at the last moment added his intimidating comment.
5.. At least 7 to 8 person hours of RCMP time and equipment
was spent trying to prove that Jim and I had done something
wrong instead of simply applying the law as it stands.
A simple look at the RCMP's Canadian Firearms website,
either the "legislation and regulation" section or "brochure"
section would have provided concrete proof of Jim and
my innocence (a 5 to 10 minute exercise at most). Surely
this time could have been better spent on highway patrol
or investigating criminal activities such as break-ins
or drug gang activity. But then of course law abiding
citizens, especially seniors who can't move very fast,
are much easier targets.
6.. How can the RCMP earn and maintain respect when they
treat two retired seniors the way they did even though
we posed no threat and were involved in no illegal activity?
If they can treat us the way they did, I believe this
can happen to anyone and probably has happened many times
to law abiding citizens in the Dawson Creek area. What
right does the RCMP have to treat two retired seniors
as criminals in an active public place (seizing their
firearms, calling for back-up, impeding traffic) when
they have done nothing wrong or illegal with their firearms.
Our only fault was to state our innocence and to advise
the RCMP officer that her actions and information were
wrong. I was raised to respect the RCMP, and I call many
active and retired members friends. When I conduct a course
(CORE or Firearms Safety) I always stress respect for
enforcement as they have a legitimate job to do. At this
stage I can only say that my respect for the RCMP was
severely shaken on the 24th of August, 2007 and it is
only people like the Senior Officer in Charge that allow
me to believe there is still some hope. I wrote this letter
hoping that it will be a catalyst that prevents others
from being treated as we were, or at the very least residents
of Dawson Creek will be better prepared to defend themselves
when dealing with the institution that is responsible
to protect law abiding citizens.
Well folks, are you scared yet? Because I am. This just
puts our famous police force in a whole new light.
.
03/12/20077:55 PM
Dawson Creek RCMP
Before
getting to that letter about the Dawson Creek police,
I'll do a quick run down on the weather. It was snowing
lightly when we came home yesterday and it snowed a good
part of the night and today. Just tiny little flurries
but they've still built up to six inches of very dry,
very light snow. Temperatures dropped to a little
below -20C last night and never really got much above
-14C or about 4F today. There hasn't been a wide swing
in temperatures for us at all, compared to the Lower Mainland
where their temperatures soared in a matter of hours today.
Unfortunately, we seem to be on the wrong side of the
jet stream and the only effects we're feeling from that
pineapple express is the snow it's bringing us.
Satellite pictures and radar on the news tonight show
a moisture laden system blooming over us through the night
and then we should be in the clear sometime tomorrow.
And with that comes more cold temperatures by Thursday.
Oh joy.
Oh well.....freeze on lake, freeze on!
Our snowmobiling buddies, Bill and Anita, sent me an email
the other day with a letter written by Jim Parfrey, one
of two gentlemen caught up in a firearms incident in Dawson
Creek. All firearms owners should read this, but so should
everyone else. I find the actions of these RCMP Members
to be very alarming and indicative perhaps, of the general
attitude of our police force.
-"On Friday, August 24, 2007, I had an experience
with a few members of the Dawson Creek detachment of the
RCMP that I believe the public should be aware of.
It had to do with their incorrect knowledge of the laws
regarding the transportation of unrestricted firearms
(hunting rifles) and the potential illegal treatment of
legitimate law abiding citizens who legally use and own
firearms. I have reason to believe that others who are
not thoroughly familiar with the appropriate legislation
may have been unfairly charged and may have lost their
personal property and need to be aware of that.
To set the scene, Jim Kassen and I were heading from Jim's
residence east of Pouce Coupe to hunt moose for the afternoon
and evening off the Wangler Road approximately 40 miles
west of Dawson Creek. Our plan was to go hunting as soon
as we finished some business in town. (We both had a valid
hunting licence and a valid Moose Species Licence.)
I am retired after some 32 years with the federal government,
most of which were in management, and Jim Kassen is the
recently retired President of Northern Lights College.
While completing our business in town, we were pulled
over by two RCMP constables in a cruiser with lights flashing.
Jim had inadvertently driven straight ahead on 103rd Ave
from the left hand turn lane in front of the Co-op during
the very busy pre- noon traffic rush which was exacerbated
by the closure of the traffic circle.
As soon as Jim saw the lights of the police cruiser in
the rear view mirror, he pulled into the first available
parking spot while the cruiser pulled in behind. The cruiser
blocked Jim's truck as well as blocked west bound traffic
flow on 103rd which was extremely busy. Jim got out of
his truck but was ordered back into his vehicle by one
of the constables who approached the driver's side window
and advised Jim of the reasons for the pull over, i.e.,
he didn't turn left from the left turn only lane.
The constable then noticed that there were two hunting
rifles (non-restricted firearms) between the passenger
and driver's seats. Both rifles were unloaded with the
actions open and the officer could clearly see this. Her
manner changed immediately, she ordered Jim out of and
to the back of his truck while I remained in the passenger
seat with my seat belt on. The constable inspected both
rifles asking where the locking mechanisms were and I
advised that they were not required as both Jim and I
had valid Possession and Acquisition Licences (PAL) and
at least one of us was in the vehicle at all times.
She then proceeded to take the firearms from the vehicle.
At that point I asked what she was doing. She advised
that she was seizing the firearms as they were not properly
locked up for transportation and that Jim and I would
be charged under the criminal code for not meeting safe
transportation requirements. At this point I introduced
myself advising that I was a federally certified Master
Firearms Instructor fully knowledgeable in the legislation
and regulations regarding the transport, storage and use
of all firearms. I explained that our two non- restricted
firearms met all legal requirements for transportation
in an attended vehicle and that if she took the firearms
it would be, and is in fact, theft of private property
that was being transported legally. Furthermore to take
the firearms without a lawful reason was an abuse of her
authority.
In order to meet all legal requirements for transportation
of non-restricted firearms in this case:
1. The firearms must be unloaded - both of our firearms
were unloaded and as additional safety features, but not
required by law;
a) the actions were open so any third party who knew anything
about firearms could see they were unloaded and not in
the battery or ready-to-fire position.
b) the firearms were kept below the dash and out of view
so anyone walking or driving by would not be alarmed.
The firearms could only be seen if someone came up to
the vehicle and looked down. This, by the way, is a common
method for local firearms owners and hunters to transport
their firearms.
2. The vehicle must be attended by at least one individual
who has a valid PAL or POL - in our case both of us had
valid PALs and were in attendance. If we left the vehicle
which was a pick-up truck, the firearms would have to
be placed out of sight and the area they are in must be
locked (for example covering the firearms with a blanket
or jacket and locking the cab of the pick- up.) It is
not a legal requirement that a non-restricted firearm
be disabled by a locking mechanism while it is being transported.
3. The firearms should be registered even though the time
frame legally requiring registration of non-restricted
firearms has been extended by the current government until
May, 2008. - Regardless both our firearms were registered.
The constable stated that she knew the firearms laws and
had several charges pending for firearms offences of the
same nature. Neither Jim nor I offered any resistance
with the exception of my request that she return the firearms
to us, that we did not authorize her to take them, and
that the firearms met all legal requirements for transportation.
Regardless, she took both firearms to her vehicle. She
verified the firearms registration, our PALs, our driver's
licenses along with the fact that both Jim and I had no
criminal record (either serious or misdemeanor) and had
been law abiding our whole lives. After confirming this
she also called a back up squad car even though there
were two constables present and we were following all
direction given and were not involved in any illegal activity.
While this was occurring, traffic was delayed on 103rd
and the general public had to assume there was a major
police take down of what must be a couple of dangerous
criminals. Meanwhile I remained in the passenger seat
of the truck with my seat belt on."-
Don't get mad at me folks, but because of the length of
this letter and the importance I attach to it, I'm going
to split it up and post the rest tomorrow. See you then.
02/12/20077:59
PM
Winter Slams Us
Winter
has hit pretty hard with some seriously cold temperatures,
but nothing like it's hit the Lower Mainland and Vancouver
Island. Or the rest of the province, for that matter.
We just got back from the Okanagan this afternoon and
battled cold temps the entire time we were down there
and on the way home. It wouldn't normally matter if temperatures
were down around -20C or 0F on our trip except that we
had the dogs with us and they ride in the back of the
truck. Normally they would sleep there as well, but overnight
temperatures in the Okanagan dropped so low that we had
to bring them inside. And they aren't lap dogs by
a long shot. We were lucky to get a motel room
in Williams Lake both going and coming that had an entryway
we could leave them in, but getting River to leave the
warmth of that room this morning for subzero temps outside
and in the back of the truck wasn't easy. I felt really
badly for the dogs but all we could do was make sure their
blanket was warm and they have a mattress in the back
of the truck under the canopy as well. Had we any idea
it was going to get that cold we would have made different
arrangements while we were away.
It's amazing what a massive weather system this is. After
hearing that there was a really bad storm that was going
to be moving into the province today, we chose
to leave yesterday instead and overnight in Williams Lake.
When we left the Okanagan and topped out on the Connector
yesterday afternoon, the temperature was around -17C and
it hovered between -14C and -17C the entire 300 miles
or so coming north. It snowed light flurries or ice crystals
the whole way as well. Last night it dropped to -22C or
a few degrees below zero Fahrenheit in Williams Lake but
by the time we left it was around -18C. There was only
about a 3 degree variation the entire way west, which
is very unusual considering that there are elevation variations
and you're still moving north. It simply indicates that
the weather system holding over the province was so huge
that the temperatures remained consistent over a 500 mile
stretch.
I understand it dropped to -27C or around -20F last night
right around here, which is warmer than I thought it would
be. I fully expected it to drop to 40 below like it did
last year. Surprisingly, it was dropping steadily tonight
and was already well below -21C this evening when it started
warming up. It's already come up to -18C. That was to
be expected because the next system coming in is a warm
front. That does not bode well for the Lower Mainland or
Vancouver Island. They got great gobs of snow
today and now they're expecting several inches of rain
on top of it. First there's cars and trucks in the ditches
and jackknifed on the highways from snow and ice, next
it will be flooding. They're also expecting high winds
so I don't see it being a happy work day for folks down
there tomorrow.
I'm not sure what we can expect out of the next one. It's
showing a bulls eye of heavy moisture on the Lower Mainland
in the satellite picture, but then it creeps up our way.
If that warm front hits our cold air, I expect
we'll get quite a dump of snow in the next day or so,
which really sucks. It looks like the Main Arm on Nimpo
Lake has only been frozen over for three or four days.
The ice will be good, clear, ice but probably only three
or four inches thick at most. Heavy snows on top of ice
that thin means we'll end up with the same terrible, crumbly,
unsafe ice we had last year and that means no ice road
again. Which is really too bad because there's probably
about a foot of good ice in all the bays including ours
and on the ramps. Oh well, as the other half just said
tonight, there's not a damned thing we can do about it!
We did come home to about two inches of fresh snow today
anyway, so that means the snowmobiling will just be getting
better and better. I'm beginning to think that with all
this snow we've gotten in the month of November, someone
had better be getting out and breaking trail to the foot
of the mountains while it's still possible or there'll
be a lot of stucks until then. I wouldn't be surprised
if folks have already been up sledding the Rainbow Mountains
because they'll have several feet of snow on them already.
It's sure looking like an old fashioned winter for everyone
again this year. Most unusual with this round of weather
is that everyone got it. All across Canada and a good
part of the States got nailed all at the same time. That
just doesn't normally happen for us. If the east is getting
snow, we've got nice weather. If we're getting nailed,
they're wearing bathing suits in Ontario. But this time,
all of BC got it, the prairies got cold, Ontario and Quebec
are getting nailed with snow, freezing rain and heaven
knows what else, and even the eastern seaboard was supposed
to get some weather. Remarkably, California was fighting
wild fires just days ago while the Northwest is getting
pummeled with snow, rain and high winds. There you go.
More extreme weather events with global warming, so they
say.
I've gotten permission to reprint a letter written by
a gentleman who, while on his way to go hunting
with a friend, was stopped and treated in a manner so
inexcusable by Dawson Creek RCMP that it's beyond comprehension.
However, the letter is very long so I would like to reprint
it in its entirety in tomorrow's article, or I may split
it between two articles.
In the meanwhile, our friend John sent me a link to an
article written for Mclean's titled, "What's Really
Killing The Mounties." I think it's a must read as
well, but is directed more to the issue of the inner workings
of the RCMP and the terrible mess that the whole system
is in. So I'll leave you to digest that at Mclean's
RCMP Article and continue on with the
other article tomorrow. In the meanwhile, if you want
to keep track of the RCMP articles that were written last
week, you'll find them at November
Week Four.
The purpose of this web site is to draw attention to a
remote area of west central British Columbia. It is a
beautiful area that relies heavily on tourism. The search
engines don't know much about the West Chilcotin, Anahim
Lake, Nimpo Lake or any of the other small communities
in the region and I hope to change that! Even as large
as this site will eventually be, there just isn't enough
room or time in the day to fully describe this incredible
country but I am going to try scraping away at the tip
of the iceberg, so join me!
Follow
the links, and see what the West Chilcotin is really like!
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