Triple M Triathlon - Misty, McBride, Mamquam: Bike, Canoe, Ski. Map and Splits.

Dates: June 22nd - 27th
by Christian Veenstra

Elevation profile for the alpine portion. Getting there and back is relatively flat.

Ok, ok, enough posts about the same trip. This is the last one, though. For some people, and probably me for planning other trips in the future, this will be the most important page. A map and split times for the trip. The longwinded trip report is split into three other posts.

A map! The way there is a lot noisier than the ski portion or return trip, as I only had my InReach on and it's not as accurate (and doesn't take as many points). I smoothed/reduced everything by applying a 2-minute filter. A couple little chunks are missing, where I forgot to turn on after a rest, but you get the idea. If the embedded map doesn't work for you or you want to download the KML you can also try looking at it in Google Maps directly. If you use the route to do a similar trip I'd be very interested to know! I cut off the track a little ways from my house, so it doesn't show exactly where I live.
Condensed beta to go with the map:

• Don't try the Trans-Canada-Trail through Pitt Meadows while towing a canoe.
• Shale Creek FSR was good. A bit bushy at the top, but manageable. I hit continuous snow just before the end of the road. Yes, I cut some switchback corners by bushwhacking through old clearcuts.
• Normally the Misty starts a couple logging roads further to the South, the bridge over the Pitt River I wanted is near the Hotsprings and I was trying to make a loop. Crossing the Pitt River without a bridge would be a major adventure on its own.
• My alternative route around Tuwasus Creek was pretty OK. The bush wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be.
• I'm not sure if I would recommend my alternative route around Sinister Ridge in the McBride... but it wasn't so bad. Might have been better with firm conditions. Was only a half-hour slower than going over Sinister when I did the McBride last time, although my times were somewhat faster getting to Drop Pass. It is more distance/elevation, but easier route finding.
• Ditto for my route to get back on the Neve, but over an hour slower. I'd already started travelling slower getting to Gray Pass, though, due to deteriorating conditions.
• Mamquam route was pretty good, but there are creek crossings. There is opportunity for better efficiency near the Rampart Ponds if I'd wrapped around the ride more and gone a little further North; maybe could have even eliminated a transition.
• Bucklin Creek FSR was pretty bad. Consider alternatives, or leave time for bushwhacking.

Timeline, distance, speed, elevation gain, etc. for the different sections. You'll notice that the start time of one leg is the same as the finish time of the previous one, and the average speed includes the whole time (ie - including short breaks to eat, navigate, etc. and not just the "average speed when you are actually moving" that your GPS probably gives you). I find this is a more relevant time for trip planning purposes. I did call out the "major" transitions and rests with their own entries, though. I don't know if the average vertical per hour is a relevant quantity at all as most legs include significant up and down...

Start Time (previous finish)	Leg	hours	km	km/h	m	m/h	Notes
June 22, 21:20	Bike to Pitt Lake	5.58	58	10.4	150	27	Got stuck behind a lot of gates, also rode to the end of the Pitt-Addington Marsh, only to find no put-in opportunities
June 23, 02:55	Transition to Canoe	0.79	0	0.0	0	0	Needed to figure out where to put in, lock up, etc.
June 23, 03:42	Canoe up Pitt Lake	5.37	25	4.7	0	0	Pretty good conditions, but windy at the end.
June 23, 09:04	Transition to Biking	1.27	0	0.0	0	0	Needed to figure out where to put canoe etc.
June 23, 10:20	Bike to Hotspring Camp	2.03	22	10.8	250	123	Included going past where I needed to check out the hotsprings.
June 23, 12:22	Camp, sleep, transition to skiing	7.07	0	0.0	0	0	Found it hard to get a good sleep, too excited (and it was day).
June 23, 19:26	Logging road approach	3.45	11.5	3.3	1250	362	Got a bit bushy at the end, but not too bad.
June 23, 22:53	Misty Portion, to Pitt-Greenmantle col	8.32	23	2.8	2050	246	Pretty good conditions. Some nasty suncups.
June 24, 07:12	Tuwasus Creek to Forger Shoulder	5.51	10.5	1.9	750	136	Pretty good, all things considered.
June 24, 12:43	McBride Portion, to drainage below Pike Glacier	9.09	23	2.5	2275	250	Pretty mushy towards the end. More second-guessing than I'd thought there would be.
June 24, 21:48	Climb to Neve Highpoint	3.44	5.6	1.6	1020	296	Major climbing skin problems. Starting to notice my wet feet.
June 24, 01:15	Neve Highpoint to Mamquam Lake	2.96	7.2	2.4	90	30	Skin problems countinue, bad suncups, and feet starting to cause problems.
June 25, 04:12	Camp at Mamquam Lake	3.29	0	0.0	0	0	Slept ok, but left my boots on. Fell over immediately due to hurting feet upon waking.
June 25, 07:30	Mamquam Portion, to Bucklin Creek FSR	12.45	19	1.5	1600	129	Major foot issues, some river issues, good route overall.
June 25, 19:57	Bucklin Creek FSR night bushwhack	7.42	3	0.4	150	20	Also includes finding the road. Pretty bad bush.
June 26, 03:22	"Camp" on Bucklin Creek FSR	3.73	0	0.0	0	0	Not a bad sleep, considering.
June 26, 07:06	Bucklin Creek FSR day bushwhack	3.98	2	0.5	25	6	Still pretty bad bush. Daylight does help, though.
June 26, 11:05	Regular logging road back to camp	1.92	6.5	3.4	100	52	Finally...
June 26, 13:00	Camp, sleep, transition to biking	10.48	1	0.1	0	0	Includes biking a little ways to make "breakfast" (dinner?) by a little waterfall.
June 26, 23:28	Bike back to Pitt Lake	1.10	22	20.0	100	91	Includes going to the hotsprings again because whoops (waterfall was past junction).
June 27, 00:34	Transition to Canoeing	0.63	0	0.0	0	0	Faster this time. No messing around figuring stuff out.
June 27, 01:12	Canoe down Pitt Lake	5.21	25	4.8	0	0	Got kinda windy, especially at all the corners.
June 27, 06:25	Tranistion to Biking	0.67	0	0.0	0	0	Again very little time wasted at this transition.
June 27, 07:05	Bike back home	4.33	52.5	12.1	300	69	Didn't get trapped by a single gate and didn't spend much time navigating. Only overshot one corner.
June 27, 11:24	Finished!

And various totals:

• 110 hours, 317 km distance, and 10,100 m elevation gain total
• 28 hours in camp or major transitions (maybe 17.5 of which was sleeping)
• 82 hours on the go, 42 hours in the alpine (88 km) and 40 hours (229 km) getting there and back
• Ate about 2kg of food during the alpine portion and had maybe 300g of leftovers. Could have eaten a bit more, but started rationing a bit near the end in case the road was bad (good call, as it turns out). Grilled cheese, bars, gels, chocolate, candied ginger... healthy stuff. Didn't track food closely on the way there/back, but had plenty of leftovers.
• Drank so much water during the alpine portion. Maybe 15 L. Managed to find almost all of it, but did use a stove.