I actually got thwarted by the closures due to the motorcycle accidents so just stayed in the Pemberton area. It's open though and I will actually be going this weekend - for sure.

I'll try to post a TR next week.

Other than the absolutely terrible weather (rain, hail, snow and thunder!!) and my camera shorting out because it was so wet, the road is in great shape! No issues at all, other than the possibility of running into someone and having nowhere to pull over. Happened once and I had to reverse down a few (20 maybe) meters to let someone squeeze by.

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Thanks so much for posting. I too got blocked by that motorcycle accident the other week so I'm excited to get up here. Your photos are great by the way.

Those are some seriously sweet pics. Much appreciate the info too

Thank you both! My camera spent 4 days in a bag of rice after this and has started working again so the trip is all good memories now, instead of "that trip" which ruined my $4000 camera! LOL

that weather sure made for beautiful pictures though. Stunning.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! After I got home and saw the images, I regretted not staying longer and taking more pictures before my camera died on the way out!

I was up there last weekend - It was brutally hot.

On the left fork (the road that goes over in the twin lakes direction) tehre was a dude stuck in a toyota corolla, well beyond a point where a toyota corolla should have been.
Looks like he spun out on the way up, or while reversing down and ended up off the side of the road in the ditch.

It's a miracle he got up as far as he did without puncturing a tire or smashing his oil pan. He certainly went through a couple of deep cross ditches to get to where he was.

I passed him twice on my ATV and offered to drive back and make a phone call to someone. He refused me both times.
I asked if he had a plan and he said "no".

He had some canned food, and there's water nearby, so hopefully he's alright.

Seriously? Not too sure what is wrong with these people.. I guess I can understand trying to push your vehicles limits but at least take the help!

We were in there for the August long weekend to climb Linus etc. The road to Branch 2 was mostly 2wd. Branch 2 itself seemed like 4wd-hc on the way in, but I was surprised to see some people had managed to get their Subaru in there. I imagine they must have had some scraping as the road is deeply grooved in places and there are minor waterbars. The parking for the hike to Holly Lake was pretty rammed, with at least 20 vehicles. We parked a bit further along the road for privacy.

Important note: the driving directions in the Gunn scrambles book are correct. His site coastbackcountry.com has a "correction" indicating a left turn is necessary:

"The directions 'Follow the main road for 5.7km to fork (595044) and go right.' is incorrect and should indicate to to left at that junction."

This is wrong and the book is correct - keep right. In any event, the well-used nature of the road at this point should keep you on the right track.

Surprisingly, there weren't that many people actually scrambling the peaks. There were quite a few tents around Holly Lake. The upper lake (forget its name) was empty. So I guess most people were just day-hiking and camping by the lake.

We climbed up to an obvious notch just climber's left of Schroeder and traversed over to Statimcets. The 4th class ridge between Schroeder and Linus is quite fun if you stick to the ridge crest. There are options to drop down to easy ledges if things get too exposed. Once through the Schroeder-Linus col, the route turns into a slog all the way to Statimcets.

The long granite ridge directly south of Schroeder certainly looks cool. Google Maps shows the western terminus of this ridge as Lost Peak.

Downton Ck FSR is closed at the bridge right from the Duffy Lake (Hwy 99), with a sign stating the effective date was June 23, 2021 -- 4 large concrete blocks are in place, blocking car access across the bridge (bike or motorbike can get by). Unclear if and when it may re-open.

I was up there two weeks ago and the blocks had been moved such that a car or truck can get through. The bridge sign still says "Closed" and the bridge is in poor shape, but judging from tire prints, there has been plenty of traffic up there. Has anyone gone past the bridge for a look-see?

I biked up Downton Ck FSR last October (2022). And at that moment the bridge looked closed (like permanently) by the concrete slabs; I guess moved now.
That day there were some fires around just <1k from the bridge. But the road (and one forking left midway) looked in OK shape for driving, up to its end.

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