Telkwa Pass – Overland Jeep Trip

We had been planning a Jeep trip with some friends for over a year. After our test run with the Jeep TJ on our fishing trip, Leroy had made a few modifications, including new tires and taller springs, to give it a little more clearance. The plans had originally been a loop trip south of Vanderhoof through to Bella Coola, but some changes in accessibility and an abundance of forest fires in the area forced a change of plans. Instead, we made our loop through the “short-cut” maintenance trail built for the gas pipeline and transmission lines through the mountains from Telkwa to Terrace – the Telkwa Pass.

Leroy and I had done this trail once before on a quad in 2019, but that required us to turn around and head back to the Telkwa side once we had finished. Now the goal was to take the Jeeps all the way through to Terrace. From there we would decide if we would come back through the trail or head home along Highway 16.

The weather for most of the summer had been hot and dry. The rainy days seemed to save themselves for the long weekends and the August long weekend was no different. We left Vanderhoof early Monday morning with telltale smoke from fires west of us. We were hoping that it would clear up once we got past Houston and the weather cooperate enough for us to enjoy the scenery of the Pass. The goal was to camp at Jonas Creek Recreation site along the Telkwa river and spend the evening driving up to the alpine on the nearby Winfield Creek Microwave Trail. Under 300km from Vanderhoof, but a days trip at Jeep pace. The forecast for the Telkwa area was questionable at best, with a severe thunderstorm watch, just to make things interesting.

We grabbed some food and ate lunch by “Canada’s Largest Fishing Rod” at Steelhead Park in Houston. There was some ominous and very dark clouds in the mountains west of the highway. But we still had some time. Maybe they would blow over before we got into the pass itself. Loaded up again, we headed on to Telkwa where we crossed the Bulkley River to follow the Telkwa river up to the Pass.

The clouds didn’t look like they were moving on. Loud claps of thunder were echoing around the valley as the mountains closed in along the road and the river. It didn’t look like a trip up the Microwave Trail was going to be in the cards this evening, unless that happened quite a bit later. The sky continued getting darker as we drove along beside the Telkwa River, keeping our eyes peeled for the rec site. With our family of four in our little Jeep, there was no room for gear inside the vehicle – it was all strapped in the custom roof box Leroy had built earlier that spring. If the rain broke before we could get set up, everything would be soaked and the evening would be a failure. At last, we spotted the rec site. Leroy had the wherewithal to grab our pop-up awning immediately and start setting it up over the picnic table just as the first splats of rain started. Within 10 minutes of parking, the clouds let loose the kind of rain that only comes in a severe thunderstorm – the kind of rain that comes in nickle sized drops, the kind that piles up on the ground and splashes in itself, the kind that sounds like a train going past and will soak you in a second. The kind that, surely, can’t last long before it rains itself out. We waited. And waited. Occasionally, it would settle down to a respectable steady rain, before getting up for another go, all the time punctuated by flashes of lightening with their rumbles following quick behind. It came on to dinner time and it was still raining. At least preparing the food was easy – Chicken Stew, Mac and Cheese, Lasagna were all enjoyed as we watched the rain, then the hail, then more rain bounce off the awning. Eventually, we all sat on the picnic table, keeping as much of everything off the ground as possible, watching the puddles grow on the ground and considering where we would set up our tents… if it ever quit raining.

Suddenly the whole air, for a second, turned an electric shade of blue. I’m sure I jumped before the deafening crack, though it couldn’t have been more than a millisecond later. I grabbed the kids to me, both were petrified, and to be honest, we were all more than a little shaken. Even the air smelled electric. Lightening had struck a tree not 100 yards away. When the rain finally stopped, about 4 hours – and 4 inches – after it had started, we went looking for the tree. A large poplar between the campground and the road had a fresh crack running down one side and bits of bark were strewn around on the road. A further trip to the riverbank proved just how much rain had fallen – the previously glacier-blue Telkwa river was visibly swollen and chocolate-milk brown. But, finally, it was over. Towards the west, the sun began to break though the clouds – we could see the tips of the mountains in the Pass where we were heading in the morning.

We passed the night with no extra rain and woke to a somewhat cloudy day, though it looked likely to clear off enough to see mountains. We all had a round of Scrambled eggs and coffee before packing up and heading out.

The actual trail head of the Telkwa pass lay a ways further down the forest service road. Glimpses of the mountains continued to peek out around the corners and trees along the way. The landscape in this part of the province is truly spectacular. I kept trying to get some decent clips for the video Leroy was planning to make of the trip, and each fresh peak got us more excited.

For a softer ride over the football sized rocks we knew were coming, we stopped at the trail head parking lot to air down the tires. The trail itself is only 23 km of the total 125 km route, but it is all high elevation and often sees avalanches and rock slides. The kids took the opportunity to get out and run around and mooch a snack from one of the roof mounted coolers. The weather had continued to clear and was looking even more promising. Prepped for the real Jeep-ing we turned down the narrow start of the trail and began the main adventure.

I spent a lot of the ride filming with my phone at various angles, often hanging out the window. On some of the steeper hills I got out to get a better shot and footage of both Jeeps. On the hill going down at the end of Top Lake we stopped to get out the drone. This part of the trail is a narrow track wedged into the side of a steep south facing slope with the lake at the bottom. Of course, Leroy is both the better driver, and the better pilot. After he set up the drone, I held the controller and made sure it was tracking us as we picked our way down through the rocks, the impressive bulk of Redemption Peak looming up beyond the far shore. Its here where the water turns, Top Lake drains west in to Tauw Lake, then into Limonite Creek, the Copper River and finally out through the Skeena, while the Telkwa river heads east out to the Bulkley river. At the bottom of the hill we found the trail much more submerged than on our trip through in 2019 – likely in part due to the rain the previous day. The willows closed in, scraping and banging along the windows, not quite masking the sound of the exhaust blowing bubbles before we found a dry spot big enough for both Jeeps. There was another watery section of trail ahead and Leroy wanted to put the drone up again before we continued to the nearby shore of Tauw lake.

This really is the best part of the trail. Glacier topped peaks surround the aquamarine lake with waterfalls cascading down their sides. The gravelly east shore is a great spot to take break and enjoy the impressive scenery. From here the trail picks its way along the boulder strewn southern shore. Several glacial meltwater creeks rush over the trail, adding just that little bit more excitement to the drive. The last of these was rushing enough that my attention was focused more on helping to spot boulders and choose a line than it was on filming – much to Leroy’s chagrin.

On the Terrace side of the trail, we stopped to air up the tires again before getting back on the forest service roads. It was all downhill from here – truly showing just how high elevation the pass is – before the road joins up to follow the Copper river back out to Highway 16 and the Skeena. The weather was wet again in Terrace, the clouds moving in to hide the tops of the mountains again and bringing a steady coastal rain. The next morning we opted to make our trip a loop after all, and headed took the long route home along the highway.

Leroy did make a video from all the footage. Check it out here: