Michelle at Statlu Lake:
“Too much, the Magic Bus! Awash in a sea of emails, I would have needed to own the Magic Bus to accommodate the overwhelming response to this callout.
This Trek to the Undiscovered Country still took almost 3 hrs going as fast as possible in a well equipped 4×4. This officially 4×4 status road is *possible* for a car to take on (save for the last two short branch roads) at a much slower pace, but you’ll be muttering ‘Come on, come on’ and if you try and get anywhere at any speed your passengers will be shrieking ‘she’ll fly apart!’ as you exclaim ‘(We’ll) fly her apart then!!!!’.
If you disregard the significant driving effort, the hiking effort is minimal for the fine reward of Statlu Lake. Truly an area unlike what we would expect around here. Numerous high falls set in impressive box canyons (easy to see how there have been fatalities peering over edges). Seemed more like Pemberton – aquamarine lake in a rugged blueberry-rimmed bowl and old growth surrounded by gorgeous snow capped peaks. Though perhaps this should not be so surprising as you can drive these roads all the way through to Pemberton, if your 4×4 dares.
Due to time we opted to explore Statlu and the beautiful camp at its far end instead of ascending to the upper lake/viewpoint. Beautiful place to camp and explore. No wonder climbers scramble around this area. Thanks to the gentleman who built the new connector trail and bridges.
Note that the Harrison West FSR is posted as closing @ 25 km for bridge construction for 1 week sometime TBD between Aug 15 and Sept 15 – check the FSR road advisories for updates.”
