Museum Main to Steam Donkey No. 1

Steam Donkey No.1 on a cedar log sled.

Quad riding in the winter can sometimes be problematic. We get snow in the high country that blocks our passage, and we get rain that makes riding not as much fun (at least for me).

Last week after some trail building to create a spot to offload our quads from the barge and intercept an old logging road, we decided to go up Museum Main in search of the steam donkeys.

Piston to turn the cable drums for extension and retraction.

There are two donkeys in the bush above Chippewa Bay on Powell Lake, but with shorter riding days we opted to go to No. 1 and only scout out the way to No. 2.

Levers that were once used to operate the drums.

Our good friend John took me to Steam Donkey No. 1 years ago. Then we had to slog through some pretty bad slash and under growth. Now Museum Main goes right by Donkey No. 1.

Massive steel drums that played heavy steel cables in and out.

We almost didn't make it because of the snow on the road. But then there we were. There's a short trail from the main up into a grove of second growth trees that were preserved around the steam donkey.

Starting a fire in the boiler to warm our hands.

The old steam donkey was used to yard logs from up high up on the hill down to Powell Lake to float down to town and either to the mill, or out to sea to be delivered to Vancouver.

Many steam donkeys were abandoned in the bush when logging operations were completed. This was the case for the two up Museum Main from Chippewa Bay on Powell Lake.

A few have been lovingly restored and maintained like this one in a YouTube video by tubesmartine.

For more stories about riding in the Powell River backcountry, there's Up the Main and Farther Up the Main. Both are available in Kindle, e-book and print formats. -- Margy