Biking the Williams Lake River Valley Trail

Once we finished our hike around Scout Island this morning, we took Dusty the Jeep out for a good washing after our muddy drives to the Chilcotin Dome and Dunes yesterday (see our blog entry about that adventure).  Once we were done with that and some grocery shopping, we turned to a bicycle adventure for the afternoon, which was forecast to be the warmest and sunniest of our stay here in Williams Lake.

We learned about the Williams Lake River Valley Trail from our counselor at the Williams Lake Visitor Centre, and, based on her recommendation, we were eager to have at it.

The trail meanders, interweaving with the Lake Williams River down its deep canyon between opposing cliffs toward its junction with the Fraser River:

The Williams Lake River is a gorgeous stream, and it is the spawning ground for a variety of salmon species that swim up the Fraser River from the Pacific Ocean.

The Williams Lake area has been subjected to the action of great ice sheets about 10,000 years ago during Pleistocene times.  Today, glacial deposits from these ice sheets can be found in the sides of the Williams Lake River Valley. These deposits are exposed in some areas where the valley wall has given way to gravitational forces or along stream cut banks where water erosion exerts its influence. As ice retreated from the area in a South Easterly direction, the Fraser River was dammed and a lake formed that covered the entire Williams Lake area.

Near the top of the valley sides there are deposits rich in shells that provide evidence of the former glacial lake. Over the years since the glacial epoch, Williams Lake River has eroded away significant amounts of glacial sediments and redeposited them as fluvial sands and gravels.

The river valley starts within the boundaries of the City of Williams Lake as a narrow green strip draining from the north end of Williams Lake and is surrounded by industrial and commercial development. West of the city boundary, the valley is at its widest. As it nears the Fraser River, the Valley narrows again with high spectacular cliffs rising over 150 metres with deep gullies on each side. A variety of trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses are found in the valley.

As we bicycled, we found rich wetlands filled with migratory geese, coots and other water birds:

As we bicycled, we were treated with spectacular views of the sandstone-and-glacial-moraine of the surrounding cliffs, through which the Williams Lake River flows:

Our trail intertwines with the river.  We crossed 16 bridges over the river as we pedalled the 12 kilometers from the city to the Fraser River.  Here, Kathy peers from one of the bridges into the waters of the river to watch the salmon spawning:

The salmon were everywhere in the river this year, despite challenges presented by commercial over-fishing and a rockslide at a pinch-point in the Fraser River downstream that created a 15-foot waterfall that made it nearly impossible for salmon to navigate up the Fraser River to spawning grounds such as these.

Some of the salmon were huge and aggressive, and we enjoyed watching them as they competed for territory and females in order to obey the spawning imperative:

We weren't the only observers.  One bald eagle soared right over our heades, up the stream, and perched on a well-placed fir branch to watch for his (her?) opportunity to snatch a tasty salmon from the river:

Lower down the river, the valley opened up and flattened, and we were treated to more spectacular views of the cliffs on either side:

The descending sun cast shadows on the canyon walls as we pedalled down the trail:

Here is where the Williams Lake River empties into the Fraser River --

-- and here the mighty Fraser River speeds its way south toward the town of Hope and its turn west toward Vancouver:

We paused to admire the Fraser River before climbing on our bikes and starting our return pedal uphill back to our trailhead in Williams Lake.

On our return, we spotted several hoodoos we hadn't seen on our way down, including this prominent fellow:

The afternoon sun lit our way as we continued our uphill ride back to where we started.  The dramatic scenery made indelible memories for us as we rode:

Unfortunately, today was our last day in Williams Lake.  Our only consolation is that we will move south tomorrow to the mountain community of Lillooet, which has a strong First Nations population and promises us more adventures of the fishing, paddling and hiking kind.  We'll see what we find!