Dream Chasers

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The fall and heavy rain was knocking at the door of the coastal mountains in British-Columbia.I still had a big check to cross off my summer bucket list. Luckily for me with the summer we had, i was able to cross off many of them. My desire to keep the flame burning in me , allowed me to ride lots of unique places this year. To this day, i still get flash back once in a while. Priceless moments like the time i "Guinea Pigged'' a bodacious double drop line that a friend just finished up building in the deep woods of Vancouver, to a epic sunset lap on Mt. Harper, without forgetting the wide open high altitude views & steep terrains of Golden and Revelstoke. After all those kilometers behind me,i knew the best was yet to come.
Looking at it everyday during my morning commute to work. Here she was, the highest mountain of the district & peacefully sleeping since 10 000 years ago.With it's peak looking as sharp as a diamond, the jewel of the sea to sky, Mt Garibaldi.

The night before our departure, the dilemma came to me. Not really knowing which of my bikes to choose but then it became clear when my 'Dark Cycle Scarab' started screaming at me! A original chromoly double suspension frame designed and built in North-Vancouver with 8 inches of rear suspension still covered with dry 'Khyber' mud from the previous day. Now these days with enduro mountain biking reaching sky high popularity, i do believe there is still room for riders that like riding big Downhill rig into those hard to reach locations. Reaching those places often involves having to push your bike up one step at the time but once you are where you want to be , there is simply no other feeling like the connection between you and your bike .

Still dark outside,finally the morning of our departure arrived, we were packed up with 2 heavy bags filled with food, tent,cooking pan,burner,water, sleeping bags and basic camera gear.We hit up the local breakfast shop & started our journey to the top of Brohm ridge.

The plan was to drive up as far as we could on the North access road and spent the next 24 hours in the mountains.It was my dog Marley's 6th birthday and surprisingly for myself, my girlfriend and Marley, a bridge on the main access road had been removed for repair. Which meant that we had to cross the river by foot and start our four and a half hours hike to reach the precious Alpine meadows. We drank most of our water along the way while carrying our backpacks and gear.We took a few brakes at each major elevation change to admire the surroundings .


On our way up we met some dirtbikers that cheered us on as we hiked.We also came across few researchers that were collecting plants samples from the sub-alpine.At 6000 ft , we discovered an old sled remnants that were left to rust from the previous Winter .With no mountain biker in sight,my anticipation just kept growing and growing.Having to work on the Monday being on my mind and knowing this trip was not so much about pushing my own riding limits but more about finding flowy lines that have possibly never been ridden on 26 inches wheels.Keeping those highly addictive death defying moments for another day.


Looking around for some flat ground to place our tent,we ended up setting camp by 'No Name ridge'. The location was a no-brainer,being surrounded by 360 degrees view,from the Tantalus Range located on the East, Blacktusk mountain in the foreground and being able to see all the way past Whistler mountain. With a quick meal in my belly, Marley and i started riding lines around the site.What a great landscape for downhill biking.

I found that one line that was dropping into a wide open bowl. Riding over a mix of dirt and loose sheer rocks with basketball sized boulders at the bottom, which made the run out challenging and interesting in the same time.We then ended up hiking around during the sunset, Mylene was capturing the moment behind the lens, crossing over one hill after another.The wind really picked up and kept the bugs away.We could not have picked a better time for this mission.


Once we reached the border between Brohm Ridge and Garibaldi Provincial Park. Being above and looking down at the famous Alpine meadows. I had first seen this zone in the early 'New World Disorder' movie with Thomas Vanderham keeping it real with his big bike segment.I couldn't wait for what was going to happen on the next day.

Waking up on Day 2 ,the clouds covering up part of the sky. I started looking around for glacier melt run off.Which turned out to be more difficult than expected after such a dry stretch of weather. Everything around seemed so quiet,peaceful,almost a meditation feeling.Nothing but the wind and the occasional rockslide with thunder like sound thumbing down the steep ridge of Garibaldi every now and then.



We left the camping zone and headed toward the meadows.Once i got up there ,i could not believe the type of dirt that was waiting for me. It was a dark clay type of dirt that can be shaped into anything in a matter of minutes.Having a couple years of trail building under my belt , I can say for sure that this type of dirt is the type of dirt trail builders dream about. Half an hour later, a fun little popper had come to life. I made it with my bare hands and a rusty half broken shovel that I found a bit above by a dirtbike jump. The run in was perfect with no pedaling needed, simply letting the gravity take its toll. . I can still hear my dog running behind me every time that i sessioned the jump.This is it, here I am , chasing my goals , living my dream, feeling free.


When mid day arrived,we packed everything up,boiled some more water and started to head back toward civilization.Riding the moto single track on the way down the ridge and then into the access road. I helped my brave girlfriend out and carried a backpack on my chest and back down the road for the next 5 Kilometers. I have rode with heavy backpacks before but this was the most weight I ever had on a bike.Every time that I was letting the brakes go those speed bags for sure added some fun to my ride.The 4x4 road can get pretty rough coming down . There was a nice layer of medium size loose rocks covering some long and steep hills. It felt a bit like surfing on top of them at times.With good brakes and a flawless suspension, I knew I picked the right tool for the job.

We finally arrived at the truck with smiles on both of our faces,my phone filled at full capacity with voicemail from work. Our short little get away adventure being so close to home and so far away in the same time would make any week end warrior feel like the luckiest man or woman or dog alive.

Words Jonathan Desrosiers
Photos: Mylene Neveu

September 2013