May 13, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Quesnel, Hiking
Find more information about Quesnel - Hiking
View a larger image on flickr.com
A short drive 15 minutes west of Quesnel, up Baker Drive, brought us to the trailhead of Pinnacles Provincial Park. A short saunter from the car, through the forest on a well-maintained trail, brought us to a fork. Luckily for us we had run into some folks from Oregon at the trailhead who were just returning, advising us to stay left to avoid the longer route. Pressed for time and unaware of where this mystery route would take us, we pushed aside the notions of the late Robert Frost and chose the path more traveled, as advised by the Oregonians.
A stone’s throw from the fork brought us to a fenced lookout showcasing the park’s most valuable assets, the hoodoos. Impressively sculpted naturally pinnacles standing guard over the valley. They sat just beyond the fence line, in the foreground of the magnificent Fraser River. From there, the path continues along the fence allowing increasingly impressive views of the natural wonders, the raging river and the quant town of Quesnel.
However for this adventurous soul it wasn’t enough. Following an alternative trail bringing me closer to the hoodoos exposed more of their natural magnificence and revealed the rock’s fragility that had allowed their formation. Not only that, but it lead me far enough astray as to separate me from my partners in hike and extend our route beyond what the Oregonians had warned us against. Time restraints and worried friends aside though, the path less traveled again made all the difference.