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Caption: The UNCONQUERED COUNTRY
Caption: I had mythologized it,
I had romanticized it, I had wanted to visit for almost ten years.
In a province filled with remote and rugged places, BC's Nemiah Valley remains distinct. It is a land of wild horses, grizzly bears, and giant wind-worn turquoise lakes framed by jagged peaks and sprawling golden pasture. But what really sets Nemiah apart is its history — it was never settled by Europeans.
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Caption: We drove up with our friends at the tail end of Summer, driving east into the arid interior then north towards the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
We took dirt roads and slept in forests and fields, discovering canyons and wild open country.
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Caption: You know you've reached the
Nemiah Aboriginal Wilderness Preserve when you start spotting
wild and free-roaming horses alongside the long dirt road.
There are approximately 800 wild and free roaming horses in the Chilcotins, and no one is quite sure how they got there but DNA and historical evidence suggests they arrived long before European explorers did.
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Caption: And then, at the very end of the road, waits a huge turquoise lake.
At over 1000m elevation it's BC's largest high-elevation lake. And the winds roar unceasingly through its broad picturesque valley.
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Caption: Grizzly bears are everywhere here,
and we spotted the remains of dinner along the lakeshore.
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Caption: After exploring the lakeshore
and reconstructed Xeni Gwet'in First Nations pit house and ritual site,
we set back out.
Returning to Farwell Canyon and the Junction Sheep Range, we set out on foot across the stunning landscape.
It's truly beautiful country—rolling golden grassland with sage and scrub overlooking the beautiful milky-blue Chilcotin River.
It is also perfect tramping country,
and it really really made us want
to get some packhorses.
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Caption: It had rained the night before, clouds still rolling low over the range, and our shoes were sodden as we trekked back to the car to begin the trip home.
Going home is always the worst part of any good road trip, so we had the good sense to spread the return journey out over two days, taking more dirt roads and visiting loon-haunted lakes and rolling ranch land.
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Caption: It's a long drive, but the varied landscapes and inevitable discoveries will remain with you longer still.
Caption: More stories and adventures:
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