1986 GMC S-15

[Andrew_S]

Day 3, exploring Seymour arm and Seymour river.

Pictures don't do the size of these slugs justice. They are damn near 4" long.

Quick morning paddle on Humamilt lake.

Hiked into Albas falls

Lobster mushroom on the side of the trail

Dip in the falls

Absolutely stacked blueberry bushes at the bottom of the falls

Next stop was Seymour falls

Then exploring out Seymour river provincial park

By far the largest pile of bear ******** I've come across. Thats one big butthole.

 

[Andrew_S]

Found this gem of a spot the next night on a little unnamed lake.

This lake was unreal for fishing. Small little pan fries, but every single cast.

2 weren't going to make it back so they hit the frying pan

Antesy creek

Driving up to the Antesy range

Wicked cabin for anyone to use in the woods

Driving down the gorge fsr all along the shuswap was unreal

Raspberries are out now too

Ended the trip with a hike into Caribou lake.

Found this treat at the lake. A dock with frying pan paddles!

All in all an awesome trip. 400+km of backroads and a new area explored. Hope to get out again soon.

 

[shirk]

I have been here in BC since 2007 and just saw my first garter snake this week here on the North Shore.

Another zone to add to the exploration list.

 

[Explorerinil]

Awesome pics, i have always said Canada is the most scenic country, your pics reaffirm that. I wish I could have made my annual trip up there but COVID ruined that.

 

[Todd780]

Amazing pics as always. Just got back from the Okanagan ourselves. Wish we could have gotten out to the back country more to see some of the sights you posted up.

Unreal. Such beautiful country.

 

[jpat30]

Amazing pics X 2, man I cant wait til we are free to fully travel and explore again....

 

[Andrew_S]

^ Thanks for all good words. It's so nice to be out and exploring again. That is definitely one drawback to building your own unit, the time building takes away from everything else.


We just got back from a 6 day trip exploring Wells Gray provincial park and some of the surrounding area. Here are a few posts filled with pics.

Before we left I gave the truck it's first wash in a long time. Friggin thing looks weird this clean.

We started our trip just north of Kamloops in Lac du bois provincial park.

Everytime you come around a corner in BC it's like you enter an entirely new eco-system, this grassland being one of them.

We camped at Isobel lake that night and headed out towards Dunn Lake outside of Little Fort the next morning. It always blows me away these little ferries operate at no fee and with immediate service. The operator said he went back and fourth 85 times the day prior.

Heading up into the sub alpine to check out windpass mine and Baldy mountain

Windpass Mine was a gold mine started back in the early 1900's. All that's left now is a number of these crazy mine shafts.

These things head deep in the mountain, way further then we were willing to go.

Some of the old log cabins are still standing.

The hike up Baldy was gruelling. 600ish meter climb over 2ish km

The view from the top was unreal

There is still an old forest fire look out that a local club maintains

Enjoying a very much deserved beer

We found a bunch of raspberries, blueberries and huckleberries on the way down the trail

 

[Andrew_S]

That night we camped at Dunn Lake and lucked out with the one of the nicest spots we've gotten at a rec site in recent memory.

A little evening fish and paddle

The fish were gorging on these guys

The next morning, Nicole was trying to spot some wildlife

Then onward to Wells Gray. First stop, Spahat falls.

We hiked down into the Gorge to get an upclose look

Onto to Dawson Falls next, this little guy on the trail.

Some of the Fungi spotted

Next up was Baileys Chute. We were both very surprised to see Chinook Salmon jumping up the falls.

More mushrooms

Wells has some absolutely stunning spots.

 

[Andrew_S]

We went for an evening paddle on Clearwater lake.

Only place to camp at this end of the park is a provincial campground which was totally reserved. We just asked the park ranger if she had any spots and luckily she had this double site cancel just an hour before we arrived. Otherwise it would have been an additional 3 hours of driving. So we were happy to stop here.

The next morning we headed down to Stitka Falls

Forest floor jack in action

for the rock nerds

Taking in the view of Clearwater river

Helmcken falls

Moul Falls

Very cool spot, the trail loops behind the falls.

Camped at Silver tip falls recsite the next night.

When everything in the bush is soaked a fire can become a fair bit of work.

The next morning at Silver tip falls. Unreal beauty.

We both went for a wake me up skinny dip in this glacial fed pool.

2nd last day, en route to Hyas Lake

The fishing was fantastic and we luckily got out before a huge windstorm blew through the area.

Fresh rainbow trout and wild mushrooms for dinner.

The very last day Nicole went to start the truck in the morning and nothing. Wouldn't crank or click or anything.
I doubted the battery was dead but hooked up the second battery in the bed with jumpers to the main battery and still nothing. So we were officially broke down. I ended up jumping the starter directly from the positive terminal on the battery and spun it once, still nothing. Bumped it again and thank god the ignition switch worked afterwards and it fired up. Would have been an expensive tow bill and a very long day...

So first thing I did when we got home is, yup new starter. The 34 year old unit had paid it's dues. I'm going to disassemble it as I'm curious to see what was causing the dead spot in the starter.

The tailgate had also been getting harder and harder to open lately, really only worked if you pushed on it as you pulled the handle. Upon close inspection it appears the vibration of the backroads had started to wear a deep groove in the catch. Quick trip to the junkyard and it's like brand new again. I love an easy fix with a high reward. Can't believe how easy the gate is to open now.

 

[Todd780]

Great photos!

We camped at that provincial park in Wells Grey a few years back and went to those same water falls. I recall there were frogs everywhere you really had to watch where you stepped.

Our spot was right along the river and we were told that if you follow the trail along the river a bit, it's not uncommon to see bears feasting on the other side of the river along the banks..

 

[Andrew_S]

^ that would have been an awesome sight to see. Man I was blown away by the beauty of that park. I'm really hoping to go back and do a multi day canoe trip.


Couple random days out here and there, here are some pics.

Out for an early morning hunt/sight in the rifles with a buddy a week or so ago.

Bumped into 60+ rabbits but were only able to take the one home.

The wife and I went on an over night hunting trip.

It was partially ruined by the smoke that blew in from down south.

This is the exact same spot with clear skies

No big game, but did manage to bring home the first grouse of the year.

Currents are out

Shaggy's are popping up too, must be fall.

Chasing grouse around on these roads

Blackberries are plentiful

 

[Andrew_S]

Something a bit different. Had the blower rebuilt for my '84.

This has been sitting for nearly 4 months now. It will be nice to get a month or two of driving out of it before it gets parked for another 4 months+.

Now back to the camper.
The actuators making loading and unloading it from the truck an absolute breeze.

Back in, pop the top to the ceiling, unclamp it from the truck and pull the camper up off the bed with the actuators. Then drive out.

I've been procrastinating the diesel heater for a hot minute so I got started this evening.

Just need to weld the mount to the wall now and I'm halfway done. Next up is the fuel tank.

 

[1stDeuce]

So... A diesel heater on a diesel means you just use fuel out of the tank, which is convenient. A diesel heater on a gas truck means you need a separate fuel tank for stinky fuel. Can we expect a diesel conversion before or after SAS??

Thanks for sharing all the pics of your adventures!!! We are getting really impatient to have our house built so we can get back to doing fun stuff too!!!

 

[onemanarmy]

Yep. One of the best threads here.

Did you build a ladder or something to get into the bed once the camper is raised?
How do you attach the base of the camper to the truck? Maybe I missed it.

 

[TwinDuro]

Awesome! I agree with everyone, best thread ever! It’s so cool to see the new camper out and about and your guys’ paddling, fishing, hiking and hunting photos are flat out beautiful!

Awesome find on the SAS components. The Dana 30/Ford 8.8 are a great combo. I take it you’re going coils up front judging by the truss? I imagine you’ll be going for a lower SAS setup to keep the CG low?

Keep up the great work Andrew!