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Bella Coola

August 30, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > Bella Coola, Historic & Heritage Sites
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While attending the 73rd Annual Anahim Lake Stampede, as members of the group who had ridden horseback from Titetown Lake, led by Dale and Yvonne Dunn of the Blackwater Spruce Ranch, four of our number decided to take advantage of our proximity to visit Bella Coola.  As students of the history of the Cariboo Chilcotin region know, Bella Coola played a major role in the early development of the area.  All manner of goods, from foodstuffs, to cookstoves, to farm machinery, were brought in to Bella Coola by boat and packed inland by horse and mule.  When they established the Frontier Cattle Company in 1937, Rich Hobson and Pan Phillips made extensive use of this route to supply their ranch needs.  Anyone who has driven down "The Hill" into Bella Coola will appreciate just what a daunting undertaking it must have been to lead a heavily laden pack string up from the coast onto the interior plateau; anyone who hasn't should avail themselves of the earliest possible opportunity of doing so.  What is equally amazing is the history of the construction of the "Freedom Road" from Bella Coola inland.  Undertaken by the citizens of Bella Coola, it was only taken over by the provincial government after its completion in the late-1950s, a task which provincial engineers had predicted could not be accomplished.  As one wanders around Bella Coola, the history of the area comes alive, and a good place for any visitor to start is the Bella Coola Museum.  Located in one of the first permanent dwellings built by white settlers to the area, its construction obviously borrowing heavily from the Scandinavian maritime tradition, the museum houses an impressive collection of artifacts and covers the the whole period from prehistoric to modern times.  An interesting sidebar to our trip was a visit to the Bella Coola United Church.  The grandfather of one of our number was the resident preacher at this church around 1927.  During his tenure, the church was located on the opposite side of the river to its present location.  Due to chronic flooding on that side of the river, the townsite was moved across the river in 1929 and the church was floated across during the move.  Lunch and a tall thick milkshake rounded out our visit, and we made it back to Anahim Lake in time to enjoy the afternoon's events.

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Posted by Ray, Almonte at 11:47 AM

Anahim Lake Stampede

August 24, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > Anahim Lake, Cattle Drives & Rodeos

On Friday, 3 July 2009, three wagon teams, nine riders, two spare saddle horses and two dogs entered Anahim Lake, intent on attending the 73rd Annual Anahim Lake Stampede.  And attend we did, enjoying to the fullest all of the rodeo events, and participating enthusiastically in the daily, $10.00, all-you-can-eat, BBQ suppers, and the Saturday night, Stampede dance.  Led by Dale and Yvonne Dunn of the Blackwater Spruce Ranch, we rode and drove for 10 days, from Titetown Lake west of Quesnel, via the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail and the old wagon road along which Pan Phillips drove his cattle to the Quesnel stockyards.  Enroute we visited the Pan Phillips Fishing Camp, operated now by Robbie and Linda Phillips, and camped overnight at the long-deserted Home Ranch.  The adventures that we enjoyed on the trail were surpassed only by the warm welcome and hospitality that we received at Anahim Lake.  Our group camped on the property of Frank and Betty Ayres, who very generously hosted us for the three days of our visit.  However, members of our support team, who brought much needed supplies for the return trip, found very comfortable accommodation in Anahim Lake motels.  Everything written on the Tourism BC website regarding the desirability of the Anahim Lake Stampede as an adventure destination spot can be taken as gospel.  It also puts you within easy striking distance of Bella Coola, another location well worth a visit.  On Monday, 6 July we turned our horses' noses eastward, and nine days later arrived from whence we came, Titetown Lake.  Another great BC adventure!!

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Posted by Ray, Almonte at 09:13 AM

Pan Phillips Fish Camp

August 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > Quesnel, Horseback Riding

 When he rode to the Anahim Lake Stampede in 1977, Dale Dunn and a group of his friends were hosted overnight by the legendary Pan Phillips at his fish camp on the Blackwater River.  From 24 June to 14 July 2009, Dale and Yvonne Dunn led a horseback trek from Titetown Lake to Anahim Lake and return.  During this trek we had the pleasure of visiting Pan's son Robbie and his wife Linda at the Pan Phillips Fish Camp, which they continue to operate on a year-round basis.  Robbie and Linda were extremely gracious hosts who invited us into their home (and main lodge), which is replete with memorabilia extolling the life and times of Pan Phillips.  Anyone who has read the numerous books about Pan's life and adventures would relish a visit to the Pan Phillips Fish Camp, as would anyone wishing to avail themselves of the magnificent fishing opportunities afforded by the Blackwater River.  The accompanying photo shows (left to right) Linda Phillips, Yvonne Dunn, Robbie Phillips and Dale Dunn with the main lodge in the background.

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Posted by Ray, Almonte at 07:57 PM

Blackwater Spruce Ranch

July 29, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > Quesnel, Horseback Riding

In 1977 Dale Dunn and a group of friends rode from the family ranch, just west of Quesnel, to attend the 41st annual Anahim Lake Stampede.  That year, 57 head of horses were ridden or driven to Anahim Lake on this annual pilgrimage.  Significantly, at one of their overnight stops, they were  hosted by the legendary Pan Phillips at his fly-in fish camp on the Blackwater River.  Over the years the number of visitors arriving by horse for the Stampede steadily declined until they were just a memory.  This year Dale and Yvonne Dunn, owners of the Blackwater Spruce Ranch, organized and led the first horse-powered expedition to Anahim Lake in over 20 years.  I had the distinct pleasure of participating in this almost historic adventure.  Leaving from their property on Titetown Lake on 24 June, three wagons and nine riders (15 people, 17 horses and two dogs) crossed the Euchineko River and picked up the old wagon road to Kluskus and beyond.  Ten days later on 3 July, after riding and driving almost 200 miles, we arrived, somewhat trail-worn, at Anahim Lake.  Enroute we visited Robbie and Linda Phillips, who live year-round at, and still operate Pan Phillips' fish camp.  Five miles further on we camped overnight at the famous, but now deserted, Home Ranch.  Many of the other ranches along the trail have also been deserted over the years, but Jim Chadwell, and Walter and Norah Lambert still pursue their traditional lifestyles on the interior plateau.  Our welcome at Anahim Lake could not possibly have been any warmer, and the 73rd annual Anahim Lake Stampede provided a much appreciated and truly memorable interlude, after which we retraced our route back to Titetown Lake.  The horses, refreshed after their two day respite, were quick to recognize that their noses were now pointed east, and as a result the return trip was completed in just nine days.  I characterized this trip as an expedition, and not by accident.  We camped out nightly, experienced a wide variety of weather conditions, crossed and recrossed the Euchineko and Blackwater Rivers, cleared deadfalls, repaired wagons and a bridge, shod horses and just generally lived a lifestyle that most can only read about.  Dale and Yvonne did a truly amazing job of planning and conducting this adventure, and everyone who participated in it has lived a piece of history.  This was an amazing trip and it ought to be on the "bucket list" of every horse person who truly wishes to re-live a long-forgotten, and much simpler lifestyle.

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Posted by Ray, Almonte at 01:29 PM

Blackwater-Spruce Ranch

February 1, 2009 | Tips from Travellers > Quesnel, Horseback Riding

 In his books, Grass Beyond The Mountains, Nothing Too Good For A Cowboy, and The Rancher Takes A Wife; Richmond P. Hobson, Jr recounts the story of himself and fellow cowboy-adventurer, Panhandle Phillips. In 1934 they traveled from Wyoming to British Columbia in search of the last great North American cattle frontier, finally establishing the Frontier Cattle Company in 1937. Today it is possible to travel the trails blazed by Rich and Pan, guided by a third-generation Cariboo-country rancher who actually overnighted at Pan Phillips' fish camp in 1977, while riding to the Anahim Lake Stampede.

Dale and Yvonne Dunn own the Blackwater-Spruce Ranch, located about 60 Km north-west of Quesnel, on which they raise high quality Angus-Hereford cattle. They also conduct ranch-related activities such as spring branding, cattle drives, and horse trekking.  They are the only operators in BC licensed to conduct horse treks on the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail (AMHT). Last summer I joined Dale and Yvonne for a 10-day trek from the ranch to Kluskoil Lake Provincial Park and return, with overnight stops at Blackwater Crossing, at a primitive campsite along the AMHT, at Gillies Crossing Forestry Station on the Euchineko River and at Titetown Lake. The hospitality was outstanding, the scenery magnificent, and the experience unforgettable.

I am returning to the Blackwater-Spruce this summer (24 June - 14 July) for a spectacular 22-day, 400 mile ride to the Anahim Lake Stampede and return. This trek will follow the AMHT and the old Kluskus wagon road that Pan Phillips used until 1969 to drive his cattle to Quesnel. This trek will include overnight stops at Gillies Crossing, Titetown Lake, Kluskoil Lake, Pan Meadow crossing, Kluskus, and the home ranch, among others. For serious horsemen this adventure is unique in Canada. In fact there are very few operators in North America who offer horseback treks of this scope and duration.

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Posted by Ray, Almonte at 07:06 PM