The Rover-Landers of BC

Whipsaw Oct 2013
We will be having the Whipsaw end of season clean-up run & dinner at Lodestone Lake next weekend Oct. 19-20. Starting Saturday morning a group trucks will run the trail from the south performing light maintinance & installing some signage on the way (meeting at 10am Saturday morning in the Whipsaw turn off lay-by a few Km's past manning Park on H-way #3). Upon reaching Lodestone lake (5pm ish) we will be having a dinner for Members and Members family supplied by the club. A separate smaller group will head directly to Lodestone Lake via Princeton to set up the dinner . We will be camping overnight at Lodestone lake. Be aware the elevation is over 6000'. The forecast right now is for Sunshine and clear skies but beware, Mountain weather is unpredictable always expect snow and sleet ,rain ,cold and likely minus temperature at night. We will have some small shelters and a big fire at camp.
For those members not wanting to run the Whipsaw are more than welcome to head straight to Lodestone Lake and help with camp set up and wood chopping etc ...

NOTE: you need to register for this run by posting here by no later than this Thursday please. This will enable the chefs to purchase the food and prep for a certain amount.
Those will special food requirements will need to look after themselves... :wink:

You will need to give yourself 3 hrs from Chilliwack to the whipsaw turn off, which would mean departing the Valley no later than 7am or heading up the night before and camping out.

Count me +1 in!!! :D Anybody from the lower mainland care to meet up and drive up in a convoy? It'd be my first time going up the Whipsaw, and somebody who knows exactly where the trailhead is would be a huge bonus!

I'm in! :D

Convoy is a good idea, Mr e. I'm up for that IF the Disco's up and running again. If not, that'll be up to my chauffeur. :mrgreen:

Mind you, considering my club reputation with directions, following me could end up like the Donner party. :shock:

I'm in.

Are non members welcome for the run? Or is it members only?
Paul

Crs wrote:I'm in! :D

Convoy is a good idea, Mr e. I'm up for that IF the Disco's up and running again. If not, that'll be up to my chauffeur. :mrgreen:

Mind you, considering my club reputation with directions, following me could end up like the Donner party. :shock:

No worries. I looked it up on this magical thing called the internet, and the google gave me a good idea where to go.

I will be heading-up Friday.

Hi Andy, I'm in. Sounds fun. Is there still a loose plan to head out via Coquahalla? Would be fun.
I'll se you and the group at Whipsaw turn off for 10AM.

Hi Paul,
As you are a honoured guest of Pete's you are more than welcome to come along. We do plan to do some clean up along the way which we would appreciate some help with and install a few trail markers as needed.

Hi Mike
Yes, after departing Lodestone on Sunday we will give the group the choice of exiting through Princeton or out onto the Coke.

Good to see a nice group building,
Cheers,
Andy

Paul... who's Paul?

I think my daughter and I are looking for a bit of a road trip on Saturday. I'm about 75% confirmed that we'll head out from Maple Ridge on Saturday morning, cross over from Britton Creek and be at Lodestone in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, I can't stay over as I have a boat race on Sunday morning, but we should be able to spend a bit of time on the trail before heading home.

Off to find my GPS tracks to refresh my memory of trail/road systems...seems like the last time I was up there, I took a few creative liberties with directions and added about 200kms of unintentional "exploring" to my trip!

Should I go out and buy a set of snow chains? Are they really necessary?

Thanks Andy.

I was thinking I will just join the club so I can badger you guys at will. I'm also having a vanity plate made for the Ram. WNBALR.

To the person looking for chains, I have a set of Rud diamond pattern chains that will fit 33's. $200.00 for 4. Used once.

Paul

No you don't NEED chains, but if things get nasty they can help you get out without damage and without endless hours digging and winching. Like Andy says, the conditions in the alpine can change in minutes. We've seen ten inches of snow fall overnight at Lodestone and then (like last year) seen the snow on the trail get packed into a hardened glaze of ice. Under some conditions it's not impossible to have trucks without chains bounce off trees and each other (ask me how I know).

I'm in...

Ok, it looks like we have 12 trucks, 3 of them heading straight to Lodestone Lake and 9 running the Whipsaw. A bunch of us are heading up on Friday evening and will camp out at a very nice spot besides Copper creek just on the other side of Manning Park. We will all meet at 10am Saturday morning at the Whipsaw turn off on highway #3. If you are not sure of the camping /meeting locations let me know.
If anyone wants to convoy up on Friday, let us know. We expect to be at Whatcom road Tim Hortons around 5.30pm Friday.

The Whipsaw is an awesome sight on a sunny day with a sprinkling of snow, should be a great weekend. Expect pockets of snow, bring snow chains if you have them.

Cheers,
Andy

Mackenzie and I will be at Lodestone in the early afternoon, leaving Maple Ridge at about 8am (I am not willing to risk my life trying to drag teenagers out of bed earlier than that). We're heading up the Coquihalla and then cutting across to Tulameen. We'll have to head out at 6is as everyone in my family has plans for Sunday.

Hey Steve sounds good,

We are hoping to get the convoy to Lodestone around 5pm so you should still be there when we arrive. Our smaller "set-up camp" group should be at Lodestone around Noon-ish.

Cheers,
Andy

Hmm just saw your post above Andy. Can you send me GPS coordinates for your site? I'd like to join you guys there.

Paul,

I've sent you a PM with the directions,

Andy

ANDYD wrote:Ok, it looks like we have 12 trucks, 3 of them heading straight to Lodestone Lake and 9 running the Whipsaw. A bunch of us are heading up on Friday evening and will camp out at a very nice spot besides Copper creek just on the other side of Manning Park. We will all meet at 10am Saturday morning at the Whipsaw turn off on highway #3. If you are not sure of the camping /meeting locations let me know.
If anyone wants to convoy up on Friday, let us know. We expect to be at Whatcom road Tim Hortons around 5.30pm Friday.

The Whipsaw is an awesome sight on a sunny day with a sprinkling of snow, should be a great weekend. Expect pockets of snow, bring snow chains if you have them.

Cheers,
Andy

I'll be there at the Tim Hortons Friday.

I'll be there at the Tim Hortons Friday.

Sounds good, lets say between 5.30pm and 6pm to allow for traffic,

Cheers, Andy

Hey guys it was pretty cool running into you on the crowsnest. Have fun at whipsaw hope to join you all on another run in the future!

Great trip this weekend! Thank you to Pamela, Dave and Shawn for the dinner prep, great desserts and the fire! Thanks to Andy for leading the run and to Greg for the great Trail out! It was a pleasure spending the weekend with a great group of men, women and hounds. I look forward to the next one. Hope you all are home safe, have enjoyed a warm shower and had as great a time as I

Chris

Beautiful weekend on the Whipsaw, even Lodestone was mild for us this year ...