#4: [09-Aug-12]

#3: [04-Jun-09]

#2: [08-Dec-02]

22-Jul-2001 -- We started the day early and hopped in the Jeep. Knowing that we'd have to travel a couple hours south and then probably do a lot of 4x4'ing to even get close, we packed a good amount of supplies with us. Leaving Vernon and heading through Kelowna and up to the Connector Highway to Merrit, we finally headed off-road in the Bear Creek Area.

After a 28Km run up the forestry service roads, we got to within 3.5 Km's and were tempted to follow the road a bit farther to see how close we could get, but found an old Skidder trail and decided to head down it. With mud everywhere and a couple of hard charges we broke into a clearcut and had a 2km Walk to go. "Peanuts" we figured. Well after only 300 yards we hit a pond, a big one, and the mosquito's and black flies were out in droves. The pond was easily a 5km detour, with 3 marsh-like streams flowing into/out of it. Since circumventing it meant we'd have to eventually cross one of the mud-bog swamps where the streams came in/out, we decided to backtrack and make an attempt from the other side.

Back in the Jeep (thank god for Jeeps!) and back up the Skidder trail, we ran the Forestry Road around, and then 4x4'd through a clearcut and hiked through a meadow. A little bit later, and we were there. Smack in the middle of this glade was our objective. We took a few pictures of the clearcut looking towards the treeline, and the area around the Confluence. It was a stunning site. The meadow had blue and red flowers everywhere, and we saw a Moose and her Calf, a couple of deer, and some great big loons calling out across a pond. All in all, a good day.