Traveler III
Hello all!
Finally found a few moments to get started on a trip report of our recent expedition to Northwestern BC, to the ghost towns of Kitsault and Alice Arm. The idea for this trip began over a year ago when I first heard about Kitsault. Founded back in 1981 by Amax Mining Corporation, Kitsault was an audacious and creative attempt to combat the trend of excessive staff turnover in remote mining operations in BC. The notion was that if the company built a town, it would encourage workers to bring their whole families and once settled, they would be reluctant to leave. Unfortunately the mine was extracting molybdenum and in 1982 the bottom dropped out of the market, and the town was shut in 1983, just 18 months after it opened.
When the town was shut, the power was left on and many of the resident's belongings and furniture were left, such was the haste with which the company evicted everyone. In 2005, the town was bought sight unseen by a billionaire who has since had several different ideas of what to do with it, none of which have come to fruition. So the town sits empty save for the two caretakers and their small team of groundskeepers who mow the grass and keep the buildings from excessively deteriorating.
In the course of my research into Kitsault, I discovered that just across the bay from Kitsault lies Alice Arm, another ill fated mining town which went derelict in the 1930's and today is home to only one couple who live there full time and a handful of seasonal residents who keep vacation homes.
I was captivated and resolved to visit these towns, as well as Anoyx, once a city of over 3000 people located 33kms down the inlet from Alice Arm and Kitsault, now a ruin. It took a year, a lot of emails, and a lot of patience and persistence but finally we got permission to visit the two privately owned towns, Kitsault and Anyox, and everything was set for us to head off on this epic, once in a lifetime adventure. Sadly we could not visit Anoyx on this trip, but after a year of planning, the expedition was an outstanding success.
The route was over 2717kms round trip, further than driving from Vancouver, BC to Kenora, Ontario.
Originally we planned to have 3 of us, co-workers, along for the expedition, but unfortunately one of us couldn't get the time, so we had two. We set out very early on the morning of the 3rd, meeting at Hope, BC, at the start of the famed Fraser Canyon.
The first day was a long slog, and we drove around 15 hours all together before making camp. Along the way, we stopped in to pay a visit on The Lady Franklin, an impressive rock island in the Fraser near Yale, named for the wife of the famously ill fated arctic explorer (pic is from my previous Fraser Canyon exploration from October last year).
Our route also took us through Vanderhoof, the geographic center of BC. I note that their sign is spelled incorrectly lol.
This trip interestingly highlighted both the benefits and the limitations of satellite recce of potential routes and campsites. I had scouted this camp spot using various online resources, primarily Zoom Earth, but also the Land Title Office's online map system. As it turned out, it was an absolutely fantastic camp spot on the Bulkley River, and we had it all to ourselves save for a fellow overlander driving an awesome newer model Tacoma that was fully kitted out.
We were quite exhausted from the long haul driving the first day, so we capped the day off with some whiskey, beer, chunky soup and hot dogs. It was a very relaxing sleep, although I was awakened once by the train passing high overhead on the edge of the canyon. It was kind of nice to listen to the train rumbling by, however, and I soon fell back to sleep.
The next morning, the true adventure far from civilization would begin...
Finally found a few moments to get started on a trip report of our recent expedition to Northwestern BC, to the ghost towns of Kitsault and Alice Arm. The idea for this trip began over a year ago when I first heard about Kitsault. Founded back in 1981 by Amax Mining Corporation, Kitsault was an audacious and creative attempt to combat the trend of excessive staff turnover in remote mining operations in BC. The notion was that if the company built a town, it would encourage workers to bring their whole families and once settled, they would be reluctant to leave. Unfortunately the mine was extracting molybdenum and in 1982 the bottom dropped out of the market, and the town was shut in 1983, just 18 months after it opened.
When the town was shut, the power was left on and many of the resident's belongings and furniture were left, such was the haste with which the company evicted everyone. In 2005, the town was bought sight unseen by a billionaire who has since had several different ideas of what to do with it, none of which have come to fruition. So the town sits empty save for the two caretakers and their small team of groundskeepers who mow the grass and keep the buildings from excessively deteriorating.
In the course of my research into Kitsault, I discovered that just across the bay from Kitsault lies Alice Arm, another ill fated mining town which went derelict in the 1930's and today is home to only one couple who live there full time and a handful of seasonal residents who keep vacation homes.
I was captivated and resolved to visit these towns, as well as Anoyx, once a city of over 3000 people located 33kms down the inlet from Alice Arm and Kitsault, now a ruin. It took a year, a lot of emails, and a lot of patience and persistence but finally we got permission to visit the two privately owned towns, Kitsault and Anyox, and everything was set for us to head off on this epic, once in a lifetime adventure. Sadly we could not visit Anoyx on this trip, but after a year of planning, the expedition was an outstanding success.
The route was over 2717kms round trip, further than driving from Vancouver, BC to Kenora, Ontario.
Originally we planned to have 3 of us, co-workers, along for the expedition, but unfortunately one of us couldn't get the time, so we had two. We set out very early on the morning of the 3rd, meeting at Hope, BC, at the start of the famed Fraser Canyon.
The first day was a long slog, and we drove around 15 hours all together before making camp. Along the way, we stopped in to pay a visit on The Lady Franklin, an impressive rock island in the Fraser near Yale, named for the wife of the famously ill fated arctic explorer (pic is from my previous Fraser Canyon exploration from October last year).
Our route also took us through Vanderhoof, the geographic center of BC. I note that their sign is spelled incorrectly lol.
This trip interestingly highlighted both the benefits and the limitations of satellite recce of potential routes and campsites. I had scouted this camp spot using various online resources, primarily Zoom Earth, but also the Land Title Office's online map system. As it turned out, it was an absolutely fantastic camp spot on the Bulkley River, and we had it all to ourselves save for a fellow overlander driving an awesome newer model Tacoma that was fully kitted out.
We were quite exhausted from the long haul driving the first day, so we capped the day off with some whiskey, beer, chunky soup and hot dogs. It was a very relaxing sleep, although I was awakened once by the train passing high overhead on the edge of the canyon. It was kind of nice to listen to the train rumbling by, however, and I soon fell back to sleep.
The next morning, the true adventure far from civilization would begin...
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