Whistler to Clearwater — Lake Heffley, Bear Spray & A Rough Patch
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Not every day on the road goes to plan. Whistler to Clearwater covered some of the most staggering scenery of the trip so far — and also turned into one of the toughest, as a rough stomach caught up with me somewhere between Lillooet and Lake Heffley.
A Slow Start
I woke up feeling off — a bit nauseous, pretty tired, and a Garmin sleep score of 65 continuing a run of poor nights since leaving home. With 350km on the map for the day, there wasn’t much to do but push on and see how it went.
Pemberton — Gas and Genuinely Bad Coffee
We left Whistler by 9am and made a quick stop in Pemberton, just 30km up the road — a small fraction of the day’s driving. Tank full, and armed with what might be the worst coffee I’ve ever had, we set off for the long haul north.
The Sheer Scale of It All
Canada’s scenery on this stretch is properly hard to put into words. The scale of the landscape is difficult to comprehend from a New Zealand perspective — it’s just enormous. The roads are wide and get quieter the further north you go, and it struck me that campervan maneuverability, something we’d actually factored into choosing our van size, would never have been an issue out here. Worth remembering for next time.
Lillooet — Photos and an Off Day at the Bakery
We stopped in Lillooet for photos before heading into town for lunch. We found a cute little bakery, Abundance, with nice food — though the staff weren’t quite the usual warm Canadian hospitality we’d gotten used to. Everyone has bad days. I forced down lunch despite still not feeling great, and we carried on.
Kamloops and the First Sign of Trouble
Next stop was Kamloops for groceries — a great supermarket with almost too much choice. Partway through deciding on dinner, I started feeling shivery. Not a good sign. We grabbed what we needed and pushed on to Lake Heffley.
Heffley Hideaway Retreat — A Beautiful Spot, A Frustrating Evening
The Heffley Hideaway Retreat sits right on Lake Heffley, partway up the road to Sun Peaks, and it’s an absolutely stunning location on a beautiful day. Unfortunately, we arrived just before 4pm to find reception already closed — meaning no firewood, and no tokens for the showers, which was the only site on the trip that charged extra for them.
Not the ideal welcome, especially with me clearly going downhill. Elaine messaged the number left on the office door, hoping someone was nearby — a reply eventually came, but too late for a fire. We did at least get shower tokens, which turned out to just be one-dollar coins.
Elaine went for a swim while I got progressively worse. A small dinner and an early night followed. Being unwell in a small campervan is honestly no fun — I woke at 3am and just made it outside before being sick in a nearby bush. After cleaning up, I managed a couple more hours of sleep.
The Lowest Sleep Score of the Trip
Garmin clocked it at 11 — the lowest sleep score I’ve ever recorded. Somehow I felt marginally better by morning, and with checkout not until midday and only 120km to cover to Clearwater, we had time to take it slow. We did miss out on a nearby hike as a result. The shower token got used for what turned out to be the worst shower of the entire trip — cold, and barely any pressure.
On to Clearwater
The scenery on the drive to Clearwater kept up the same epic standard. We stopped at a pharmacy for indigestion medication, since that’s what it felt like I had by this point, and grabbed lunch from the Backcountry Bowls food truck outside the visitor centre before continuing to Spahats Creek Resort.
Wells Gray Outfitters — Bear Spray, Finally
On the way, we stopped at Wells Gray Outfitters for bear spray, long overdue given the warnings on the Lost Lake trail back in Whistler. The guy behind the counter talked us through how to use it along with a few good stories — a solid stop if you need any outdoors or mountain bike gear in the area.
Spahats Creek Resort
Spahats Creek Resort turned out to be a great campground, fully equipped, laundry facilities included. We checked in, grabbed firewood, and settled into our site — though I was sick again shortly after, meaning another quiet, early night.
Wells Gray Provincial Park is on the agenda tomorrow, so I’m hoping for a quick turnaround.
The Numbers
What we spent:
| Item | Cost (NZD) |
|---|---|
| Gas in Pemberton | $144 |
| Coffee at McDonald’s | $5 |
| Lunch at Abundance, Lillooet | $45 |
| Groceries in Kamloops | $85 |
| Shower tokens, Heffley Retreat | $8 |
| Lunch at Backcountry Bowls, Clearwater | $70 |
| Pharmacy | $30 |
| Gas in Clearwater | $149 |
| Bear spray | $99 |
| Firewood at Spahats campground | $14 |
| Total | $649 |
