***
thedougsite
Over The
Duffey
Aug. 28/10 Weekend - The Duffey
With CMC
|
A group of riders from the Port Alberni and Campbell River chapters of
CMC (Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers) were coming over from Vancouver
Island for the weekend with the
intentions of riding the Duffy. The Duffey Lake Rd. is a bit of a
motorcycle mecca with its high alpine, glaciers, deep canyons, twisty
steep narrow roadway and simply spectacular scenery.
Ryan and I along with another rider from North Van. met the five bikes
and seven riders in Horseshoe Bay when they got off the ferry. After a
smiley greeting we mounted up and rode in formation up to Squamish,
with a stop for picture taking at the Chief. We pulled into the Chief
parking lot below the vertical cliff where we watched climbers that
were half way up the cliff wall. From there we cruised up to our place
for a noon BBQ that 'The Wife' had waiting for us. After an hour of
eating, visiting and enjoying the day we mounted up and headed north.
With Ryan leading the way (road captain) we rode on up through Whistler
to Pemberton where we did a fuel and chat stop. It have been on the
cool side as we climbed toward Whistler but warmed again as we dropped
down into the Pemberton Valley. The clouds were pilling up against the
higher mountains ahead so we were riding into an overcast. From
Pemberton we headed up onto the Duffey. Its a steep twisty climb out of
the valley and into the alpine with its icy streams, hanging glaciers
and snowcapped mountain peaks. The temperature dropped and the road
climbed. There are few safe pulloffs on the northbound side of the road
but we did find a couple of spots where we could dismount and stretch a
bit.
Even a simple wide spot on the shoulder of the road has its points of
interest, the vegetation is high alpine, the rocks are changing as we
leave the Coastal Range and enter the dryer interior mountains. The
road was in great shape with sections of new pavement and little of the
usual loose gravel out on the pavement. The drop down into Lillooet is
steep, twisty and tight and requires every bit of concentration you
have. We pulled into the gas station for fuel and another chat break.
It was here that Ryan and I would drop out and head back for home. The
CMC riders would continue on to Cache Creek to spend the night before
back tracking out to the coast so they could catch a ferry. The cool
thing about these roads is that the scenery is totally different when
going the other way, you see things that were not visible making for
another great ride.
Our return run was done a bit faster as we were just two bikes instead
of eight. We ran into some cold rain through the high country of the
Duffey and got a bit frustrated with an incapable tourist trying to
inch
down some of the hills. Other than that it was a good run back down to
Squamish. The CMC riders will have many more photo opps on the southern
leg of their trip as thats the side of the road that all the pulloffs
and lookouts are on. Only regret is that we had not been able to do the
whole ride with them. Perhaps next time.
This was the first time we've ever
done the Duffey twice in one day, thats kind of cool!
