Sikanni Chief Falls

Hi Blog!

As some of you know, we lost a day in Pink Mountain waiting for the mobile RV tech to come and help us secure our leveling jacks. The computer controller that operates the jacks lost its mind lifting us high in the air. The controller had to be taken off-line and the jacks raised manually. It may be a while before we can get a new controller. Good thing we have lots of leveling blocks.

We are currently camped in Pink Mountain Campsites. The Pink Mountain area is the southernmost region of the Northern Rocky Mountains. The Liard River marks the northern end of the Rocky Mountain chain. Between the two points are 330 miles of opportunity for Rocky Mountain adventure and beautiful scenery like Mason Creek.

With the repairs to the motorhome complete, it was time to get out and explore. On Friday, May 24, 2019, we took a drive up to the Sikanni Chief River. Sikanni means "dwellers on the rocks." It was the custom of each of the separate bands of Sikanni to hunt on only one river. The rivers were named after the leaders in each band - Musquah (Muskwa, as our previous hiking trail was named), Prophet, Fantasque, as well as Sikanni Chief.

Our ultimate goal was the Sikanni Chief Falls located in the Sikanni Chief Falls Protected Area.  This BC Park protects a 100 foot waterfall on the Sikanni River. To get there, we had to find Mile 171 Road and follow it 16km to the parking area. There were no signs on the Alaska Highway indicating which road was Mile 171 Road, we had to trust our GPS. However, once we started down the road, there were plenty of signs pointing the way to the falls. Unfortunately, this area has received a lot of rain recently. The ranch trucks and gas pipeline work trucks have left the road a bit rough.

Just as we got to the trailhead for the 1.5km hike to the falls, a sprinkle cloud passed over us. We decided to leave our picnic lunch in the Jeep and just make the out-and-back hike before lunch.

The first part of our hike was thru an aspen forest.

As we approached the step cliffs leading down to the Sikanni River, we could hear the roar of the falls. The aspen forest gave way to a conifer forest. Unfortunately, the forest fires in Alberta are sending their smoke this way. The smoky haze is making sweeping scenic vista shots difficult. Here we got our first glimpse of the falls through the tall spruce trees.  

When a Canadian sign says a trail is steep, they mean it. If the trail was any steeper, we would have needed a rope to rappel down. Kathy stopped halfway down to pick out the safest route.

When we reached the end of the trail, we couldn't wait to peek over the edge of the cliff. The force of the water falling almost 100 feet created a whirlpool that undercuts the rock along the river bank creating a large bowl of water.

The rushing river has exposed dozens of layers of rock sediment. According to our hiker GPS, the falls were called the "Niagara of the North." According to Google, several other waterfalls also call themselves Niagara of the North. While Sikanni Chief Falls was not as large as the true Niagara Falls, we were nevertheless impressed.

Here's a close-up view:

As you'll see and hear in this video if you click this link, the Falls made a mighty roar and were impressive as they roared over the basalt ledge into an ice-lined pool.

While we did spent a lot of time admiring the falls, we also took a moment to admire the views downstream of the Sikanni River Canyon. It is reported that mountain goats like to romp and play along the steep canyon walls. We looked, but we didn't see any, although we saw their signs. The sprinkles may have forced the goats to seek shelter.

We had fun poking around the top of the cliff. The rocks layers have shifted and cracked, creating small caves where critters could hide.

Small springs seeped from the hillside, creating inviting pools:

To get the best views, sometimes you have to go out on a ledge.

Can you say, "Sikanni Chief Falls selfie"?

There weren't any photos taken on our hike back to the Jeep. We started to hear rumbles of thunder and didn't want to be caught out in the forest if a storm came through. We made it back to the Jeep without getting wet. Unfortunately the dirt road we dropped in on had time to turn to mud on the way out. As they say, adventure happens when your plans go awry.

By the time we got back to camp, Dusty was covered with mud. His new name for the duration of this trip along the Alcan is "Muddy"!

The weather is predicted to improve on May 26. If it does, we hope to get in some fishing. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.