Date:          3 days trip  (from Sept. 3 to Sept. 5, 2005)
                  Saturday and Sunday were a bit cloudy and with a little rain.  Monday was great!

Trail name:  Lower Stein Hiking Trail

Location:     The park lies west of Lytton and approximately 290 km north of Vancouver, both
                  via the #1 Highway.  The main trailhead is located on the west side of the Fraser
                  River by Lytton, accessed by crossing the Lytton Ferry.  After disembarking from
                  the ferry, follow the road to the right for 4.8km to the junction with the Stein
                  Valley Road.  Turn left and follow it to the parking lot.

Round trip:  about 48 km we travel from Trail Head pass Ponderosa Creek

Elevation gain:   Easy (about 380 meters / 1260 ft) - see GPS profile 
 
The GPS tracking shows the campsites waypoints: Loop, Devil's Stairecase, Teepee, Earls, Suspension Bridge (our base camp), Leanto Creek, and Ponderosa.  One way about 25km.
 
The elevation gain is about 1,250 ft only.  The trail is not so demanding.
 
Drive along Hwy #1 past Hope, through the Fraser Canyon, and then take Hwy #12 through Lytton.  Cross the Thompson River just above the Thompson-Fraser confluence, then go left at the ferry sign some 800 m beyond
 
Cross the Fraser River on a cable ferry.  Stay on the stop sign.  Don't drive down the ramp.
 

The ferry runs on demand from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm, 7 days a week
 

We’re boarding on the ferry.
 

The ferry is manually operated by 2 crews.
 
The ferry is crossing the swift flowing Fraser River.  Another car is waiting at the stop sign.
Is it safe?  I'd say it is exciting.
 

Ready to disembark.  (By the way the, the ferry is not pulled by this cable. This cable roller
is for display only)
 
Off the ramp & drive 6 km to the Stein Heritage Trail.  (This is not my car.)
 

The information kiosk at the trail head.  Please read before the trip.
Bear sighting was reported at Leanto camp site.  Actually that site was frequented by bears.
 

The sign of the trail head.
 

The logo of Stein Valley – an owl in the middle with a goat on the right & an elk on the left.
 

Overview of Lower Stein Valley.  The place where we are going to hike in.  If have already hiked Whistler alpine mountains and Vancouver Island rain forests, you should not miss the Stein river.
The blue colour at the lower right hand corner is the Stein river.
 

We start our trekking from here.
 

Bridge over Stryen Creek.
 

Right after the bridge, we came to the base of a cliff where lots of pictographs on its rock wall.
 

This rock is known as “Asking Rock”.  At this site Nlaka’pamux people stop, recite a prayer, and ask permission to travel through the valley in safety.
 
There are pictographs on the top and offerings at the bottom of the wall.
 
Pictographs
 

People leave offerings of burnt sage, tobacco, cigarette, flowers to accompany their prayers.
These are flowers.
 
Tobacco, candies, feather
 
Burnt sage
 

Roaring and fast moving section of Stein River
 

Also called “Easy Camp”; 1st camp site about 1.75 km from the trail head
 
Passing “Loop Camp”, keep your eyes open for this culturally modified tree, it’s on your left.  The first nations stripped boards off the tree and form dents in square shapes.
 
Plaques are nailed on the tree trunk to commemorate their deceased relatives or friends
 

Glimpse of the River from a talus slope.

 
 
There are pictographs on this car size boulder closes to TeePee Camp
 
A close up look
 
A person and an animal
 
Is it a dog?
 

A food cache in TeePee Camp.  Basically there are food cache and pit toilet for all camp sites.
 

Earl’s Cabin
 

This once quaint little cabin has almost returned to nature.
 
Only three chairs inside.
 

The view of the River from Earl’s Camp Site
 

Earl’s Creek
This creek commemorates the same man, a prospector from the early years of the century.
 

By the Earl’s Creek

 

On the bridge over the Earl’s Creek
 
More pictographs on the way
Can you guess what these are?
 
A grouse?  We see a lot of grouse on the way to Leanto campsite.
 

The Suspension Bridge is 13 km away from the trail head.   The bridge passes the Suspension campsite
where we set our base camp.
 
Me & my wife
 

Another view of the Stein River shot from the Suspension Bridge
 
After crossing the Bridge to the north side of the River, hike for 1 km, you can find this nice undesignated camp site.  There are a picnic table and a guy little platform built between two trees.
 
Camony managed to climb up to the platform.
 

Maybe it’s a good practice for climbing the West Coast Trail ladders.  This site can house at least
10 people and Stein River is at its side.
 

Leanto Creek Camp Site
 

The rest area in the camp site
 

Heading to Ponderosa Camp
Most of the time the trail is lining along the river side.
 

The River becomes calm in this section.
 

The shallow river bed.
 
More pictographs found on the way to Ponderosa Camp.
 
 
 

An abandon native camp (or logging camp, I’m not sure)
 

Bridge over Ponderosa Creek

 
 
At the Suspension Camp Site
 

Gott Mountain peak as seen from the river bank of Suspension bridge
 

The old cable car crossing not far away from the replacement Suspension Bridge
 

Back to the trail head on Monday after at 3:00 pm
 
This smart Husky is named “Spirit of Stein” by hikers.  He leads hikers to the parking lot, greets them by wagging his tail, and accompanies them for a short hike.
Please don't feed him.
 

Camony is saying goodbye to him.
 

Waiting the ferry

 

A nice bench for passengers to stretch legs.
 

The village office in the town centre of Lytton
 

The glorious church
 

The visitor information centre & the Chamber of Commerce.  Hikers are advised to check in at the information centre.
 

A train in display.  See you again!