Day 25: Hells Canyon and Hope

After breakfast, we set off around 9 o'clock and our first stop is Hope Slide. In January 1965, an earthquake caused part of the mountain to collapse and slide 2000 meters deep into the valley. The existing lake and road disappeared as a result. The new road is now 70 meters higher. 4 people lost their lives due to the resulting mudslide.
Then, 60 kilometers to the north, is Hells Gate in Fraser Canyon. The gorge is one of the most impressive in Western Canada. The raging and mostly water-rich Fraser River squeezes through narrow, almost vertical rock walls here. We reach Hells Gate and originally plan to hike the 157 meters into the canyon and then cross the bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge is closed, so we take the cable car instead. Here in the gorge, 900 million liters of water flow through the 180m deep and 36m wide gorge per minute. The river itself is 40 meters deep here. After a few minutes, we reach the other side of the canyon using the cable car, which is 157 meters deep. There is a small museum, restaurant, and souvenir shop here. We first enter the bridge over the river and see the many salmon swimming upstream to spawn further north. This year is a salmon year, so over 3000 salmon pass by here every day, the guide tells us. Then we visit the museum and learn about the history of the canyon and the salmon. After 2 hours, we start the return journey and have to drive the 40 kilometers back. We stop again in Hope. The film 'Rambo I' was shot here in 1981. René is excited and we visit the filming locations. There are large carved wooden figures on every street corner in the small town. It's very impressive. It's warm and we finish the tour. Then we want to go to the bridge where Rambo was supposed to be banned. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 2011. Now we still have to get to Saquatch Provincial Park, which takes another 60 minutes. We are right by the lake and are looking forward to a refreshing swim, but unfortunately, not every lake is suitable for swimming. The water level is too low, so it's too muddy and you sink into the mud. The short attempts end with countless mosquito bites. So we give up the activity and start packing our things. It takes a while to pack all the suitcases. After dinner, we have some campfire bread and marshmallows. The mosquitoes are so aggressive that even the many repellents don't help much against them. We are exhausted and go to bed around 10 o'clock. Then there's a knock on our door. René is in the shower and I try to communicate with the man through the window. He tells us that we must not go to bed without completely extinguishing the fire because the risk of wildfires is too high. He extinguishes the fire for us and my husband grumbles to himself.