Getting this show on the road

Dispatch from Michelle Olson — July 12, 1997

The team enjoys a hot meal at NOLS before hitting the road

We are traveling from Sicamous, B.C. It's been a long drive. We got on the road this morning and were driving for maybe an hour and a half when we were delayed by a mudslide on the road ahead of us.

All through this place there are incredibly high rivers and waterfalls streaming down the cliffs alongside the road. In the hotel we stayed at last night, there were maybe 12 families who were there because their houses had been flooded out. The group is wondering if we will even be able to put our boats in the water at Golden due to the height of the river.

The car line caused by the delay from the mudslide on Highway 1 in Canada was nearly 2 miles long. Morgan and I stayed and talked to two young men on "holiday." They were headed up to Calgary. They helped us pass the time while Bill, John, and Dan walked up the road to take a look at the mudslide.

Also, we had talked a lot about leadership in our discussion last night. The group has decided to alternate leaders every day (today's leader is Dan). This person will make sure chores get done, navigate our driving, and help out Judd and Del by doing a lot of things for them. I believe this is a good thing. It will help all of us learn leadership skills and aid us in becoming more efficient.

We stopped at Grace National Park on the way to Golden. Here Del and Judd picked up lots of books on Mount Sir Sandford. We have been reading about different attempts and trails up the mountain. Most books talk about the Palmer Creek ascent as being incredibly tough and dangerous. As strange as it may sound, despite its difficulty, we are looking forward to it. We have also been learning new knots as we go along. Each of us has a long piece of rope that we practice with.

The terrain in this part of Canada reminds me a lot of home. Lots of big green trees and — yes — rain. At about 4:30 p.m. we arrived in Golden and had lunch at a park. After lunch, we went to Mountain Ridge Motor Sports where the film crew is renting a boat. The people there were very helpful and told us there was probably a trail up Palmer Creek and it would take us four and a half hours with the trail.

There were mixed feelings about taking the trail, which later were dispelled by the men at Canadian Helicopters who informed us that there was no trail. And it may be the hardest bushwhack he'd ever heard of. So, after talking to the locals, we needed to observe all the information and make some decisions.

The Columbia River is so much more beautiful than in Astoria. Here, near the beginning, it's unpolluted. What's even more beautiful are the Selkirk Mountains. They stand tall and broad, topped with snow masses and black, green, and brown — sculpted with trees in a way only nature could.

There is definitely an air of excitement amongst the group due to the mystery behind Sir Sandford and Palmer Creek. It's definitely a more remote mountain, so less is known about it. In addition, the contradictions among the locals about the trails supports the mystery of Sir Sandford for our group.

Tonight we're camping at this great little lake resort with campgrounds that is right at Kinbasket Lake (alternately referred to as McNaughton Lake or Columbia Reach), and it's a very beautiful spot along the Columbia Reach. Here is where we'll leave our van while we are climbing and where we'll put in our kayaks.

The woman at the resort has said there is a trail up Palmer Creek and the map does show it. But we've been told the trail only goes up a few miles and after that it looks like there will be a bushwhack. There is also a risk of falling and grabbing Devil's Club (a thorny bush that grows in the area).

Today has been pretty laid-back and mostly dealing with logistics. As a whole, the team has been getting along well and we are very excited to get this show on the road.