British Columbia

A not uncommon sight travelling up Highway 99 between Whistler and Lillooet, good highway, rock and trees.

A hard limestone bluff being mined for processing.

Then small areas of cultivated grassland appear along valley floors.

The small town of Lillooet signals entry into the historic Cariboo Trail and cattle ranches that followed the Cariboo gold fields trail north from Kamloops.

The trail and country was not easy with difficult tallus slopes below steep rocky mountains or...

...steep alluvial tree covered terraces and ...

large flood prone rivers to cross. This meant that moving cattle into the area along rough pack tracks was extremely difficult.  There were areas where there was limited feed along the route before reaching the Cariboo grasslands from where beef was supplied to the goldfields.  When the gold rush waned the established ranchers had difficulty getting cattle to Vancouver for sale and many had disappeared before a rail link was established.

Today the sealed roads leading through small towns make it hard to visualise the hardships of 150 years ago.  Highway 99 between its junction with 97 and Vancouver has only been sealed in recent years with the development of the Whistler ski resort.

Irrigation and hydro electricity add to the ability to improve farming and process timber in the region.

The reservoirs also provide recreation opportunities.

The old (above left), the present (above right) and on the left the preserved Hat Creek Ranch homestead near Cache Creek.

Some real farming in the Cariboo region north of Williams Lake. An intensive dairy farm, no sign of the cows which it appears are housed in the buildings shown below.

NB:  These photos have been severely reduced in size to try and ease uploading but have caused too much reduction on quality.  Next blog will revert to the recommended size, Sorry Phillip, Vicky and boys.