FTF: Eevah + RATCHET_FMR

STF: 

TTF: 
 

Be aware that this cache is 15+ kilometres up Sts'ailes Forest Service Road, there may be logging trucks and other heavy machinery and fast moving vehicles at any time! Help keep yourself safe by staying on the right side of the road and driving as if you are expecting someone to be around the next corner. There is no cell service up here and it is a long walk to civilization, at minimum come prepared with enough fuel, water, and a spare tire, always tell someone where you're going and when you plan to be back. While doable, I wouldn’t recommend taking a 2 wheel drive/lower clearance vehicle up here, the road is riddled with large potholes and rocks, this is not somewhere you want to puncture an oil pan. In the drier months FSRs can get extremely dusty, always have your lights on and only go as fast as you can see. This is a pretty popular area, you will see lots of people up here in the spring, summer and fall, on weekends, and holidays. If there are people behind you let them pass, signal and pull over when it's safe to do so. The T rating is higher because of the rough road to get there and needing a specific vehicle, once you arrive at GZ it is more like a 1.5-2.

Backroads Memories is a series of caches I'm starting to commemorate my love of off-roading, the outdoors, and the memories I’ve made along the way. Caches will typically be placed at or near the places these memories were made. Please note: I do not have a specific number chosen in terms of how many caches will be in the series nor do I have a scheduled release/creation plan, they will be placed when the mood strikes me and when I’m in the area. These will be placed in areas I regularly visit so I can properly maintain these caches. 
 

Welcome to the start of Simms FSR, which is just off of Sts’ailes West FSR around 15km up. If you look East across the main FSR, you’ll see a gate and a road that heads down towards Harrison Lake. This used to be an un-gated road that went down to Ten Mile Bay, one of many beautiful little lakeside views and free camping areas up West Harrison. 

Back when it wasn’t gated I did a number of group runs to Ten Mile Bay, they were usually laid back and uneventful as long as no one got water in their air intake after blasting through the giant puddle at the bottom. One of the more eventful runs was when the clutch went on one of the Jeeps in the group. A number of people fiddled with it for an hour or so, hoping they could at least limp it back to the start down by Weaver Creek Spawning Channel, but didn’t have much luck. Fortunately someone was able to help pull it back up to the main FSR, where  the Jeep, it’s owner, and about 5-10 of us waited for a few hours until a tow truck could come and get it. None of us wanted to leave them so we stayed, kept eachother company, and made sure they got picked up by the tow truck safe and sound. I can’t remember if it was spring or fall but it had been a pretty grey day weather-wise, with some sprinkling here and there. To keep busy I tried to start a fire, except we didn’t have any firewood, and any other potential fuel was still wet from previous days of rain. Between us, all we had was a near empty roll of paper towels, a roll of toilet paper, some napkins, what few semi-dry sticks, bark strips, and moss clumps we could find, and a can of starting fluid. I was crouched on the side of the road by the Simms FSR sign for probably an hour, trying hopelessly to get a teeny tiny fire going. It was pretty clear it wasn’t going to work but it did provide some much needed entertainment for myself and a couple others who were watching. After giving up on the fire I went back to join a couple of my friends who were sheltering from the rain under the back hatch of my car. All things considered it did a good job of keeping us mostly dry, that is until one of them sat down on the bumper and all of the water that had pooled on the roof came pouring down onto them through the gap between the body and the hatch 😅. We still laugh about that one to this day. During our wait, numerous stories were shared and many laughs had. Over time some people had to leave so only a few of us remained. The sun had set and it was pretty much completely dark out by this point, just our flashlights, hazards, and one truck’s headlights lit up the little section of road we were on. I think we all felt pretty relieved when, after about 4 hours of waiting, the flashing lights of the tow truck finally came around the corner. The Jeep was loaded on the flat deck and made it home safe from what I remember, albeit a lot later than they originally planned when they left that day. 

For a few years now Ten Mile Bay has been inaccessible by vehicle (to my knowledge), someone told me years back though I had forgotten what exactly the deal was. When I was in the area on the weekend I noticed the gate was open so I ventured down to take a look. The road was completely smooth this time and when I rounded the corner near the bottom I noticed trailers, construction equipment, and what looked like people living here, I quickly turned around thinking I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. As of writing this (Feb 20th) I’ve since found out that Ten Mile Bay is actually getting turned into a campground, with tables, fire pits and the like, and it’ll be opening in March 2026. It’s a lovely area, though I knew there had been issues with dumping/garbage down there in the past, so I’m really glad to see that the area will still be open to campers instead of being closed for good. 
 

You are looking for a small-ish but not quite regular-sized camoed container, please re-hide as found or slightly better so as to help keep this cache safe from curious non-cachers