Gold Bridge ~ Bralorne ~ Carpenter Lake, BC

We began our round trip day in Kamloops and arrived in Lillooet before noon.  From Lillooet we drove onto Gold Bridge and Bralorne, BC.  So many sights and history.

It is just over a two hour drive from Lillooet on Hwy 40 to Gold Bridge today and that is driving on a fairly decent road.  I can’t imagine how long it would have taken to make that same trip so many years ago when this community was first settled and the road would have been nothing more than a trail.

 Gold Bridge townsite

Gold Bridge was at one time the place to go to for supplies and services when the gold mining was what brought so many up to this neighborhood.  The Fraser River Gold Rush in the 1850’s was a major draw and there were several mines and communities developing then.  The population of Gold Bridge is now about 40 so things have changed a lot.

Bralorne, BC

From Gold Bridge we begin a good steep climb through more color and a view of the valley when the trees allow the sights.  10 km of mountains and trees.  There appears to be more people living here in Bralorne these days than in Gold Bridge.  There are more historic buildings here, too, but what we do see appear to be suffering from neglect and or are being used as private dwellings.  Bralorne was the sight of one of the most productive gold mines in the area, it closed in 1971.

Carpenter Lake

We’ve reached our destination of the day and are making our way back home to Kamloops.  The weather has been even better than we’d hoped for and there were still plenty of photo opps on the return drive.  The sun sits differently now and offers some more great sights.

Gun Creek

Gun Creek crosses the road and drains into Carpenter Lake.  Gun Creek recreational camping ground is at the mouth of the creek and is where we stopped on our way up to Gold Bridge for a short lunch break.  The campground does sit on Carpenter Lake and the Gun Creek fishing may also be a big draw.

Sun hits the perfect location on Carpenter Lake

This looks so similar to a photo I took at Crown Lake but this one is on Carpenter Lake, with the sun shining into a different valley altogether.  Who wouldn’t want to take a photo of such a beautiful sight, even though it is similar?  

Terzaghi Dam

We’ve now reached the beginning or end of the Carpenter Lake Reservoir, that must depend on which direction we're going.  There is a yellow ‘log boom’ stretched across the lake that would prevent any floating logs from getting to the dam.  I’m a logger’s daughter so didn’t need to ‘research’ that. LOL.  Once you drive across the dam, you are on the road to Shalalth and Seton Portage, which can be seen on the other side of the lake.  We’d hoped to drive over there but there just wasn’t enough time left on this day. 

Narrow roads on Hwy 40

Parts of this road are not for the faint of heart.  There are many narrow areas that hugs the canyon wall suitable for one lane traffic and have a very long drop down to the river.  Going up to Gold Bridge the road was the easiest side but coming back and being in the passenger seat means I’m riding the edge and there is a good view of the bank below.

Pavillion Lake

Pavillion Lake is one of the three lakes we passed in Marble Canyon during the early part of our day.  The sun is behind us around another mountain so it’s not sharing that sunshine anymore.  This tranquil sight is so pretty in spite of the remnants of a forest fire on the mountain behind.

 Kamloops, BC

We’re now back home in Kamloops and the sun is sinking quickly behind the mountains but leaving a warm red hue on the hilltops as we arrive.  A few moments longer and we would have missed this.

It’s been a long day of 600 km and 10 hours but what a lovely day it has been.  Almost 500 photos taken, so that means I wasn’t taking one photo per kilometre, must work on that a bit next time.  Never seem to have enough photos. LOL