Harrison Gong Show

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Ok, so took the wife for a road trip/preliminary scouting trip to Harrison - first time in the area (just moved here). Heard about spring bear in the area. Drove up the east side FSR for a good 2h, turned right after Rainbow Falls and up the mountain, rather aimlessly, taking random turns.

Great views, but what a *#&^$SWD Gong Show!

Quadders everywhere, people shooting "targets", shotgun shells literally covering clearings by the road. Not going to lie, we were actually uneasy driving around some parts due to the amount of shooting going on there.

Did I take a wrong turn? :-) Are there any areas that are a little...hmmm "less busy"? Don't exactly expect solitude but THAT was harsh yesterday! Or should I write off the area all together? No idea how things are in April/May...

[RackStar]

Welcome to little Iraq.

I suggest driving a wee bit further either Boston bar or Larson hill and past up the coq.

High population of LML means higher population of asshats, just drive further then them.

[Wild one]

Get out of the lower mainland if you want to avoid the gong show

Outside of blacktail hunting leave the lower mainland

If you want to learn the lower mainland look for places that are not easily accessed and that does not mean you need to hike miles

Best advice do like I did MOVE

[ghost]

that place is no good used to go up there a lot.

[Rieber]

I went up Harrison a few km in October and then gave up and turned back. Too many rec vehicles bombing by having way too much fun to be concerned about others. For me it was like a scene from Mad Max - horrible. But, they're out there doing their thing and that's fine, I won't try go up there anymore - no problem. It's a shame but they need to go somewhere and they all might as well be in one location - that's just fine with me except I'll never go into that hornet's nest of ATVs again yet it really has so much to offer.

ATVs are everywhere now but the further you drive the more peace you can find.

Only time you see a reduction of ATV traffic is in our coldest portion of Winter. Soon as there is decent (non-freezing) weather, the boys take out their toys. You can't blame them - that's why they bought the toys in the first place - to enjoy them.

You think it's bad here in the LML. Hit the backroads between Penticton and Kelowna and onto Vernon or beyond. The woods are buzzing and thrashed with by the ATVs and the garbages associated with all that human traffic. Sad, but you have to find alternate locations if you want solitude.

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

^^^ "Little Iraq" and "Mad Max" describe it quite nicely. So even going further North and East (I see "Cogburn Creek FSR", for example) it will be similar? Shame really, the terrain is beautiful...

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

So, ditching Harrison.... For Spring Bear - would Boston Bar or the Coquihalla be a better/quieter area to explore (coming from Coquitlam)? How far up the Coquihalla would you have to drive to hit FSRs that take you into suitable terrain?

Thanks for the feedback...

[twoSevenO]

Harrison west main FSR is under the new "no shooting" restrictions so it is not surprising that more people would be out on the east side.

Both sides are FULL of recreational 4x4 use these days. Quads have become affordable and anyone can afford one pretty much. There are new trails all over.

When I was big on the 4x4 scene up there, between 2007-2012, it was almost exclusively jeeps and trucks.

[caddisguy]

Never hunted up that way but spent some time out there. We used to do some early season camping at the beginning of the March. We would just drive up some random spur with a good view of the lake and the perfect mix of stars and the Harrison lights off in the distance... then we would re-heat Jim's Pizza on the pocket rocket and play some cards. It was never too busy that time of year. I went up there a year or two ago and was sad to see the timber companies are gating a lot of the spurs. No equipment or anything, just gates. Lost some easy nice views for sure.

Like most places in the Fraser Valley though, the roads are super busy but the overall land mass on average likely receives less hunting pressure than anywhere else in BC. 98% of hunting pressure is condensed into less than 5% of the actual land mass, in and around roads. I have poked my head in the timber for a few little hikes and it looks like everywhere else... mess of animal trails, rubs, mauled stumps/logs, bear crap and hardly any sign of humans.

Kinda funny. Last year I tried to help a guy on Facebook who was complaining about doing something like 2000km's up and down east harrison FSR and various spurs on ATV over a few weeks and didn't see a bear. I gave him a few tips on some terrain to look for and suggested walking around that area a bit, as Region 2 bears have decades of education to bolt for cover when they hear a vehicle and that where I hunt, I have only ever seen 2 bears (bolting away) on the road (April to December) in around 25 years, but on foot, we see one pretty much every day late April to June and have shot one every year without much effort. He promptly told me to F off and, that I am wrong and that I am the reason there are no more bears left in Region 2. Can't help stupid I guess :)

[Rieber]

Never hunted up that way but spent some time out there. We used to do some early season camping at the beginning of the March. We would just drive up some random spur with a good view of the lake and the perfect mix of stars and the Harrison lights off in the distance... then we would re-heat Jim's Pizza on the pocket rocket and play some cards. It was never too busy that time of year. I went up there a year or two ago and was sad to see the timber companies are gating a lot of the spurs. No equipment or anything, just gates. Lost some easy nice views for sure.

Like most places in the Fraser Valley though, the roads are super busy but the overall land mass on average likely receives less hunting pressure than anywhere else in BC. 98% of hunting pressure is condensed into less than 5% of the actual land mass, in and around roads. I have poked my head in the timber for a few little hikes and it looks like everywhere else... mess of animal trails, rubs, mauled stumps/logs, bear crap and hardly any sign of humans.

Kinda funny. Last year I tried to help a guy on Facebook who was complaining about doing something like 2000km's up and down east harrison FSR and various spurs on ATV over a few weeks and didn't see a bear. I gave him a few tips on some terrain to look for and suggested walking around that area a bit, as Region 2 bears have decades of education to bolt for cover when they hear a vehicle and that where I hunt, I have only ever seen 2 bears (bolting away) on the road (April to December) in around 25 years, but on foot, we see one pretty much every day late April to June and have shot one every year without much effort. He promptly told me to F off and, that I am wrong and that I am the reason there are no more bears left in Region 2. Can't help stupid I guess :)

Stop telling these road warriors how to hunt. They need to stay on the roads where they belong. :grin: I'm actually starting to like how it is now because I can better predict where I need to be when the roads are buzzing.

[Vortex hunter]

Stop telling these road warriors how to hunt. They need to stay on the roads where they belong. :grin: I'm actually starting to like how it is now because I can better predict where I need to be when the roads are buzzing.

So true so true but I still would avoid hunting in harrison

[albravo2]

^^^ "Little Iraq" and "Mad Max" describe it quite nicely. So even going further North and East (I see "Cogburn Creek FSR", for example) it will be similar? Shame really, the terrain is beautiful...

I'm happy to say there is no shortage of terrain like that in BC. Welcome, by the way.

Take a drive up this way (Squamish) a fair number of roads and fewer crazies. PM me if you want more specific details.

[caddisguy]

Stop telling these road warriors how to hunt. They need to stay on the roads where they belong. :grin: I'm actually starting to like how it is now because I can better predict where I need to be when the roads are buzzing.

LOL fair enough. Nothing against road hunting either. It is effective in some places but Reg 2 bears know how to play that game. I think it might actually be the only coherent part of their thought process. Engine sound, hide. No engine sound, commence grass eating and pooping.

[caddisguy]

So, ditching Harrison.... For Spring Bear - would Boston Bar or the Coquihalla be a better/quieter area to explore (coming from Coquitlam)? How far up the Coquihalla would you have to drive to hit FSRs that take you into suitable terrain?

Thanks for the feedback...

I am not sure how good Boston Bar is for Spring Bear. They are definitely active in the Fall though. It's probably quite reasonable and there would definitely be less traffic. It is steep country and might be a few weeks behind lower elevation places in snow melt though. Worth checking out though. Any south facing exposure with grass should have bears. Find the nipped grass, find the poop, play the wind, shoot a bear.

The bears are still a little bit spooky in there from what I have seen. I saw one in the fall bolt across the road while driving. Another I saw on a power line trail. Silly me though. I camped on top of a section of power line trail, figuring the thermals would switch right around first light and I would have the wind in my face. Dead wrong. Spotted what I am guessing was a tank at 400 yards but it was already standing up sniffing us out.

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Like most places in the Fraser Valley though, the roads are super busy but the overall land mass on average likely receives less hunting pressure than anywhere else in BC. 98% of hunting pressure is condensed into less than 5% of the actual land mass, in and around roads. I have poked my head in the timber for a few little hikes and it looks like everywhere else... mess of animal trails, rubs, mauled stumps/logs, bear crap and hardly any sign of humans.


Guess that makes a lot of sense. I have to say though, what I saw yesterday, the traffic/people you have to "go through/see" in order to get to some nice spots I would consider for hiking in is very off-putting. Then again, it was sample size of "1", so maybe I should explore more and worry less.

[Wild one]

Lytton North things start getting better. Drive right past Boston bar it’s too popular

[RackStar]

WWBF

check out soo River past whistler.

Go mid / end of May

enjoy the amazing scenery and abundant bears.

I had many good weekends up there when I lived in the LML

[caddisguy]

Guess that makes a lot of sense. I have to say though, what I saw yesterday, the traffic/people you have to "go through/see" in order to get to some nice spots I would consider for hiking in is very off-putting. Then again, it was sample size of "1", so maybe I should explore more and worry less.

The worry part is valid. I'd also worry about the way people drive/shoot on that road, I would also worry about my vehicle being broken into our vandalised (though I worry about that a bit where I hunt too)

I think it all comes down to the kind of hunting you want to experience. I have no doubt about coming out of East Harrison with a bear, but I know the trip in and out will be far from serenity.

The thing I like about bear hunting within the gong show is that it's just over an hour of driving and still super easy to cut a tag.

If I wanted or needed more space to myself or even if I didn't mind driving (couple hours of driving drains me more than packing a bear out LOL) I'd go further for bear.

Wild One mentioned some really nice bear country that isn't too far out.

[walks with deer]

sounds like not much has changed..

moving the shooting boundary just pushes the garbage shooters...
i would like to see police and co come to these spots..not just road block at the bottom but drive up in a un marked beater...and observe...
the amount of restricted weapons,garbage shooting,drug use, excessive alchoal,and stolen atvs and vehicles detected would be massive..
i am proud to say i live in a quite corner of the world now.

[walks with deer]

but these new rules are encouraging to go hunt blacktails...tasty little guys.
my freinds and family that still live down there still get deer yearly.

[Vortex hunter]

sounds like not much has changed..

moving the shooting boundary just pushes the garbage shooters...
i would like to see police and co come to these spots..not just road block at the bottom but drive up in a un marked beater...and observe...
the amount of restricted weapons,garbage shooting,drug use, excessive alchoal,and stolen atvs and vehicles detected would be massive..
i am proud to say i live in a quite corner of the world now.

DRUG USE what you talking about hard drugs ? Cause from what I remember POT IS LEGAL now no different then the guy sitting around a fire at hunting camp drinking a BEER ...

[Wild one]

DRUG USE what you talking about hard drugs ? Cause from what I remember POT IS LEGAL now no different then the guy sitting around a fire at hunting camp drinking a BEER ...

When I was growing up in the lower mainland there was a lot more then pot at the bush parties and I highly doubt that has changed

Yes pot and alcohol are the most common but not the only thing out there

[Vortex hunter]

When I was growing up in the lower mainland there was a lot more then pot at the bush parties and I highly doubt that has changed

Yes pot and alcohol are the most common but not the only thing out there

Yes but what I am saying anyone doing hard drugs is a idiot anyhow but I was trying to say if it was POT theres no difference then guys in hunting camp drinking beer both are legal period...

[Wild one]

Yes but what I am saying anyone doing hard drugs is a idiot anyhow but I was trying to say if it was POT theres no difference then guys in hunting camp drinking beer both are legal period...

You might be in one of those situations where you’re defending something no one is attacking

Pretty sure walks with deers issue is with the idiots

[Vortex hunter]

You might be in one of those situations where you’re defending something no one is attacking

Pretty sure walks with deers issue is with the idiots

yeah I was just wondering what he was meaning , and I agree them idiots need to stay outta the woods where WE all enjoy to bring our familys . was not meaning any disrespect period

[Rieber]

LOL fair enough. Nothing against road hunting either. It is effective in some places but Reg 2 bears know how to play that game. I think it might actually be the only coherent part of their thought process. Engine sound, hide. No engine sound, commence grass eating and pooping.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with road hunting. I road hunt all the way to and from my intended stalk and still hunt destinations. I appreciate the legal game that give themselves up on the road. All my grouse were taken while road hunting this year. With my road hunt, I'm the slow fart that everyone passes by. But these dirt bikes and atvs that pepper the rocks afterwards is something else.

[Rieber]

So true so true but I still would avoid hunting in harrison

I agree - I'm not going there even though it is close to my home. I've found other decent locations close by and I'll definitely be working those areas in 2019.

[Vortex hunter]

I agree - I'm not going there even though it is close to my home. I've found other decent locations close by and I'll definitely be working those areas in 2019.

yes near the end of this hunting season I found some good black tail pockets that im gonna hunt hard in the new year

[Rieber]

yes near the end of this hunting season I found some good black tail pockets that im gonna hunt hard in the new year

THat's a great way to describe the spots - pockets. I haven't been hunting them incorrectly. I've walked through their areas, recognized the deer signs but blew it by not realizing that these BT's will reside in these tiny pockets and I just passed right on through these areas without enough investigation. I also know that these suckers sure like to be near rock bluff that will make goats second guess their footings. And they watch you - I swear the moment you make eye contact, they book it never to be seen again.

I'll get one sooner or later but it sure as heck won't be up Harrison. Sure would be nice to get up onto that low plateau between Harrison and Agassiz.

[Wild one]

THat's a great way to describe the spots - pockets. I haven't been hunting them incorrectly. I've walked through their areas, recognized the deer signs but blew it by not realizing that these BT's will reside in these tiny pockets and I just passed right on through these areas without enough investigation. I also know that these suckers sure like to be near rock bluff that will make goats second guess their footings. And they watch you - I swear the moment you make eye contact, they book it never to be seen again.

I'll get one sooner or later but it sure as heck won't be up Harrison. Sure would be nice to get up onto that low plateau between Harrison and Agassiz.

Start thinking in pockets for hunting in general not just BT. Most people do just like you did and hike right past the sign rather then put in the time to see what is making

Now that you are thinking pockets start thinking how small of a pocket can hold huntable deer populations. There is some awesome BT pockets that are overlooked because it’s a small area.

Bluffs are good but there is no lack of low land deer as well

[walks with deer]

vortex hunter 2 sounds like i hurt your feelings..

i mean, crack,crystal meth and cocaine... that said i do not believe people should smoke pot and shoot or hunt..nor should they get drunk and shoot with buddies or hunt..
and a dubbie at lunch is a lot different than a beer at lunch...
dubbie your high... 1 beer your clear..
all firearms and all mood altering substence shouldnt be combined espeacially in really busy places.
only a matter of time tell some garbage shooting idiot kills somebody.
i grew up hunting sylvester road every saturday,or burma...trust me bud its not the same..
imagine no garbage...if you saw simeone else your dad new them...and you never shit yourself because someone was sending lead your way.

[walks with deer]

ps i have harvest many deer and bear up harrison and even off the main road...
however there are great pockets all over region 2 buy a bow.

[Vortex hunter]

vortex hunter 2 sounds like i hurt your feelings..

i mean, crack,crystal meth and cocaine... that said i do not believe people should smoke pot and shoot or hunt..nor should they get drunk and shoot with buddies or hunt..
and a dubbie at lunch is a lot different than a beer at lunch...
dubbie your high... 1 beer your clear..
all firearms and all mood altering substence shouldnt be combined espeacially in really busy places.
only a matter of time tell some garbage shooting idiot kills somebody.
i grew up hunting sylvester road every saturday,or burma...trust me bud its not the same..
imagine no garbage...if you saw simeone else your dad new them...and you never shit yourself because someone was sending lead your way.

No hurt feelings... but beer to weed I agree is a mind mood altering substance and I say no to drugs anyhow so no hurt feelings there , I just dont think beer or weed is any different in my opinion

[Vortex hunter]

vortex hunter 2 sounds like i hurt your feelings..

i mean, crack,crystal meth and cocaine... that said i do not believe people should smoke pot and shoot or hunt..nor should they get drunk and shoot with buddies or hunt..
and a dubbie at lunch is a lot different than a beer at lunch...
dubbie your high... 1 beer your clear..
all firearms and all mood altering substence shouldnt be combined espeacially in really busy places.
only a matter of time tell some garbage shooting idiot kills somebody.
i grew up hunting sylvester road every saturday,or burma...trust me bud its not the same..
imagine no garbage...if you saw simeone else your dad new them...and you never shit yourself because someone was sending lead your way.

But to answer your other question I actually did have lead fly down range towards my wife and 3 year old son at the time and our dog , and this was up behind the chief in squamish , two guys and a girl with a POS sks well , they sure changed there tune when my 300 win mag went off in the air and I came charging down that cut block. some people are just morons

[walks with deer]

yes the old indian arm road...
very busy...

as the sea-sky highway was expanding for the olympics, vancouver hit small town squamish like a freight train.

people shooting at beer cans on branches into cutblocks...very common and sad...you hit the can great where did the bullet go.

[walks with deer]

first 10k of the mamquam parales valley cliff.
sadly more closures to come...

[Vortex hunter]

yes the old indian arm road...
very busy...

as the sea-sky highway was expanding for the olympics, vancouver hit small town squamish like a freight train.

people shooting at beer cans on branches into cutblocks...very common and sad...you hit the can great where did the bullet go.

the bullets hit the bank infront of where the kid and the dog was just starting to run towards and we was above them in a red jeep kinda hard that the didnt notice us above them as they looked up at us before shooting...

[walks with deer]

scary story...

when i said were did the bullets go typicall idiot shooting at a can on a bush no thought of whats behind

[Vortex hunter]

ahh miss read the morons where shooting at a paper target against a stump......

[Vortex hunter]

they where also shooting rocks on the bank in front of us .. didn't convince my wife at the time hunting was very SAFE as I always wanted to bring our son out ..

[Arctic Lake]

Sad ! Hate to say it but young minds are probably the most to blame for the problem ,but not exclusively ! You just don't think the same when your younger and depending how you were brought up can dictate your behaviour . So easy to just pick up your garbage when your done ,take it home or drop it off at an appropriate place on the way home . JMO !
Arctic Lake

[4 point]

Used to hunt up there late 1960ies. Bear in the spring & deer in the fall. Hardly saw anyone when going on days off during the week. Things have sure changed as has society. Glad we had the opportunities when we did there.

[ducktoller]

Within 1.5 hours of vancouver there are accessible roads that offer simple access and have little traffic.

My now developing bt spot sees industrial use but little hunting cause you have to leave the truck to see deer. Even deactivations once the tire tracks stop the deer appeared.

Hard work local blacktails. Hooked now though.

Other than some friendly guys who were just pre scouting for hike in spots didnt see a single hunter on their feet other than 2 or 3 empty trucks the whole season. Spent about 5 days in September there and 4 in November. I mean one morning from first light till 1pm I sat on a porch above the mainline and saw one truck and one work truck. Peak rut.

If you're willing to put in the work for hikes trip reports on club tread often talk about wildlife they see.