February 17th, 2001: 

Saturday morning in Cache Creek B.C., clear skies and very cold.  We were lucky to have gone through the safety inspection late Friday.  David strapped in the cooler and secured the gear.  It was going to be a hurry up and wait affair.  We needed some northern climate wiper fluid and a quick petrol stop before the ten a.m. novice driver's meeting.  Soon after the debriefing, we left the parking lot of Kal Tire on our first transit, or "traveling section", a bit confused why all the cars were leaving before the scheduled time.  We  missed getting a glimpse of  the Mayor who was supposed to wave us on.  Time and speed on transits, we learned, is fairly irrelevant, as long as you get to your first timed section before your "out time".   A sign on the road read "Slippery When Frosty." 

The first regularity, or timed section, of the brisk 30th B.C. Thunderbird Rally.  Lot's more snow...exactly what we were hoping for.  The hills around the area appeared dry much like eastern Oregon or Washington, but deep in the countryside there was plenty of unplowed snow.  We quickly understood the importance of the odometer correction factor.  I also discovered that I was unable to compute remedial algebra, even with a calculator, given the slightest distraction.  The surface changed from gravel to snow to ice.  The studded Nokian tires ate up the miles like a starving navigator with a fresh bag of jerky.  David took the corners relatively fast and accelerated smoothly, keeping us on time. 

We took several cattle guards at maximum speed (44.7 mph, a bit faster with the correction) and bottomed out the rear shocks on occasion.    The miles, cattle guards and "may be considered unnecessary" land marks ticked by, and the car ran perfectly.  David had strapped "camel baks" behind both driver and passenger seat for quick drinks of water.  I had Bonine, Swiss army knife, scotch tape, highlighter pens, calculator,  clipboard, Nicorette, and a stop watch at my disposal.  We used Tyvek tape to affix David's wristwatch to the dash board, set to perfect rally time. 

There were some minor mishaps early on.  One car happened upon a civilian truck, and both must have swerved to avoid each other.  The rally team got stuck, the pick-up unfortunately hit a tree.  Nobody appeared  injured.  This added fifteen seconds to our time as we slowed for the caution triangle.  Later in the day a Range Rover had stuffed itself into the snow, but the smiling team waved us by, the cargo rack off and ten feet away. 

As darkness approached, a slight grade and quick right turn grabbed a Mazda 323 and a Subaru Impreza from the ice and they were both stuck and forced to wait for the ubiquitous yank from the sweep vehicle.  The Impreza had some digging out to do!   We stopped for the Mazda team because they were close to the side of the road and ready with tow rope in hand.  David hit the accelerator hard on our second and last tug, spun all four wheels, but to no avail.   (Nothing like a neck snapping jerk when you are setting stop watch, trying to calculate seconds to hundredths of a minute hey, where did my pen go!?)  Our rescue attempt may have cost us a minute twenty seconds and possibly a t-shirt, cap and some smoked salmon, but it was a good gesture. 

The red lens for the navigator light was very easy to read by and less distracting for the driver and as darkness settled in, we were both thankful for it.  The first day of of the rally exceeded our expectations.  The last transit brought us into Williams Lake B.C.   We inspected the Land Rover for damage and realized it had been nicely rolled.  (Perhaps only Sasquatch, navigator and driver know exactly how they ended up pointing the wrong direction and back on all four wheels.)  We checked our score, had a beer, skipped dinner and went to bed. 

Day two, 6:45 am wake up call.  We enjoyed an excellent buffet breakfast, fresh squeezed orange juice and good coffee.  -3 degrees Celsius and light flurries.  Went to the Fraser Inn for morning driver's meeting to obtain the route instructions.  Some route revisions extended our departure time.   We were ready to get going despite pounding headaches from all the driving.  Left for the first regularity late morning.  Fresh snow offered a bit of traction, but did a good job concealing the icy spots.  Roads were narrow with a rather abrupt edge on the passenger side.  You could see all the way down to the bottom of the canyon. 

Never yell  "Did you see that bald eagle?"  in the drivers ear when a precipice looms ahead and the road is a steep sheet of ice.  Cautious driving was the rule through this section.

The snow covered switchbacks brought us down to a suspension bridge over the Fraser River.   It was very cold out.  The river was jammed with large slabs of ice.  The last section after lunch proved to be  quite challenging. I took in the scenery and called out the mileage, speed changes and cattle guards, but did little in the way of precision navigating.  The road surface was thick snow of varying consistency.  The driving appeared difficult, and we had to average  41 mph through snaking forest roads.  We were pretty worn out by the end. 

2:30 p.m. Clear sunny skies! The last transit and anticipation of  the  "Ice Racing" track  heightened our mood.  On to the frozen lake ten miles outside of Ashcroft, B.C. where all the rally cars gathered for one final taste of fun driving. 

We lined up in car number order for a turn on the track; an extremely polished one mile loop.  Our chance arrived and we sped off down a long straight away at about 50 mph, did a nice twenty yard sideways slide into  the center of the turn, pulled it out and around again once more we went.  What a rush!  A bit later the Range Rover got really sideways in the far turn and stuck again in the snow bank--the absolute hero of the weekend in terms of spirit and perseverance!   Another crowd favorite was a huge F350 Ford pickup equipped with additional testosterone.  I admired the skill of the historic team powering a rear wheel drive 1970 Datsun 240Z around in ultra slick conditions.  Somebody should make a drink called Zephyr on ice, it has a nice ring to it. 

I was uneasy out on the ice and then I felt it crack right under my feet.  No I wasn't imagining anything.  Is this normal?  I haven't spent much time loitering about on frozen lakes.  It was a sunny day with fifty heated up automobile engines all in a row. Somebody call William Shatner. A moment of panic for me, and David agreeably moved closer to shore and we were accompanied by one of the Tabor Rally Team cars. 

Soon after, everyone pitched in to remove the course markers from the ice, a hundred or more used tires.   Back to Cache Creek and the Wander Inn for awards, banquet, raffle, and some laughter.  We arrived home in Portland at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning. 

I think we are done reliving this until next time.  Visit Subie Gal's website for some quality images.

 - Judd and David