Trip 106 - June 4, 2016 (Saturday)

Sikanni River Trail Hike

Between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson BC

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Location of the trailhead: Northeastern British Columbia, 24th kilometer of Mile 171 (Grassy) Road off Alaska Highway, approximately midway between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson.

Liked: Several fine mountain and river views, lots of shade, decent trail condition, meeting free-roaming horses.

Of note: Remote wilderness area, the trail is not marked, several creek crossings required, lots of mud when wet, horse manure galore, the road from Alaska Highway to the 3-way split on photo #1 is much more rutted and potholed than last year.

Northern BC Backroad Mapbook (3rd edition) Trailhead Coordinates: Page 73 (Pink Mountain) B6.

Related Trip: Sikanni Chief Falls.

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25. We are back on the main trail and are facing the second creek crossing. Again, if the water level is high, this could be an issue. Coordinates: N 57⁰14.737' W 123⁰19.644'. Elevation: 1,035 meters.

Sikanni River Trail second creek crossing

26. Quite a neat water colour.

Creek Crossing Sikanni River Trail

27. The path after the creek crossing.

Sikanni River Trail - British Columbia Hiking Canada

28. We started to get more opportunities to get good river views near the trail.

Sikanni River Northeastern British Columbia Canada

29. Looking in the opposite direction.

Sikanni River view off Sikanni River Trail BC Canada

30. And here is a not-at-all obvious split, where we stayed left (indicated by the red arrow) to continue walking along the river. The main road makes a sharp right turn at this point and becomes steep. Coordinates for the turnoff: N 57⁰14.431' W 123⁰20.467'.

Sikanni River Trail - BC Hike Canada

31. The path after the turnoff.

Sikanni River Trail - Hike British Columbia Canada

32. Another good view.

Sikanni River British Columbia Canada

33. And, soon after that, the only time the path became semi-dangerous, as it narrowed substantially, and there was a drop-off on the left side. Nothing too complicated, though.

Sikanni River Trail BC Canada

34. The path then went back to normal smooth and wide self.

Sikanni River Trail British Columbia

35. And, then, we have had enough, tied two pieces of flagging tape to a tree to indicate the end of our hike, and had a picnic by the river. Coordinates: N 57⁰13.770' W 123⁰21.050'.

Sikanni River Trail Province of British Columbia Canada

36. River view from the site of the picnic.

Sikanni River

37. The return trip was memorable too, as, at first, we have met this grouse.

Grouse

38. The grouse was much displeased by our presence, made threatening noises, and pretended to attack. Where is a hunting license when you need one?

Angry grouse

39. After that we have met the source of much (all?) of horse manure on and around the trail - thirteen free-roaming horses belonging to Sikanni River Ranch. A rancher told us later that there are several places where ranchers place salt, the horses come to partake, and get caught whenever needed by the ranch. The rancher also told us that, sometimes, the horses go as far as the Alaska Highway, so watch for them as you drive to the trailhead. These horses saw us and...

Sikanni River Trail

40...ran up a hill.

Horses roaming on and by Sikanni River Trail

41. Checking us out.

Horses

42. In a few minutes, the horses started to graze, and did not run away when we approached to pet this mule. The mule stoically allowed us to pet it, mostly staring straight ahead in a nonchalant fashion.

Mule

43. Several horses did turn their faces towards us and started to stare rather aggressively, so we decided to depart, but not before snapping a photo of this glamour horse.

Glamour horse

Turned out quite a biking trip. Time to the picnic stop: 5 hours 30 minutes. Time back (with lots of downhill riding): 3 hours. It's entirely possible to save at least an hour by knowing where you are going, and we spent about 20 minutes dealing with the horses too. Which means it's probably possible to reach Trimble Lake and be back in one long day, but that remains to be seen.