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Alice Arm Schoolhouse

Alice Arm is another of our stops on the Ghost Towns of Northwest BC Tour.  It is home to the historic  Dolly Varden mine which  operated from 1919 to 1940 and the North Star mine which ran  from 1919 to 1921, and the Torbrit mine from 1949 to 1959.  We will cruise along Observatory in our chartered yacht and begin exploring this eerie community.  The Alice Arm Schoolhouse is one of the structures still standing and it is full of stories from the past.   The names of the kids still remain above each coat hook where they were to hang up their jackets.  Hundreds of old textbooks from the 30’s scatter the shelves and remnants of the past can be found everywhere.

The Alice Arm schoolhouse still remains from the early 1900’s
Old Chests in the attic of the schoolhouse
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Port Essington Photo Opportunities

Port Essington is another stop on our Jet Boat Photography and Ghost Towns of Northwest BC programs.  It is a remote historic that is difficult to access and coordinate.  It is located on the lower Skeena River which is impacted by 16ft tides  which makes the launching of boats and planning of activities very important.  The jet boat ride on the lower Skeena River is amazing though as we cruise past the remnants of many old canneries as this was the centre of the canneries on the Skeena River. We will explore the cannery site and the view what is left before it all disappears.  The highlights are the old boardwalk and the objects that line the forest just up from the beach.

The Pilings at Port Essington at Low tide
The Port Essington Boardwalk which runs along the shore of Port Essington
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Anyox Dam

The 44 metre high, 207 – metre long concrete dam on Anyox Creek was built in 1924 to power a copper mine and smelter, and abandoned in 1935.

In the mid 1920′s the town of Anyox was a thriving community of over 3,000, with each home supported by electricity and hot water from the hydroelectric plant.

In the early 1920s concrete pioneer and dam engineer John S. Eastwood designed the  hydroelectric dam as it stood as the tallest dam in Canada for many years.

We will have the opportunity to explore in and around this magnificent structure that seems so out of place in the middle of nowhere.

The owner of the site Jeff Wolrige still has plans to one day reactivate the dam and start producing power again.  For now the water passes through the dam through a couple of small outlets and a larger hole that they created with dynamite to alleviate any backlog of water while decomissioned.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be one of a handful of people to visit the dam this year!

Come and explore the Anyox Dam as a part of the Ghost Towns of Northwest BC
Exploring the Inside of the Anyox Dam
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Jet Boat Photography 2014 Group Pic

This photo was taken on the first day of the trip last year with the entire group. We had only boated up 5-10 km or so up this amazing river and got out to take some photos of the waterfalls and snow fields that come right down to the shore of the river in JUNE!

Jet Boat Group Photo 2014
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Welcome

Welcome to the site of UNBC Continuing Studies’ Experiential Tourism blog!

Rob Bryce

I’m Rob Bryce and I want to share with you my knowledge of Northern BC and my passion for adventure. Come along with me on some of the most exclusive trips in Northern British Columbia!

As a coordinator for Continuing Studies at UNBC, one of my true pleasures is to bring together my love and knowledge of Northern BC and my passion for adventure resulting in this new Experiential Tourism program. I’m always looking for that new niche based northern BC “experience” that can be coordinated into a new “Experiential Tourism Program” through Continuing Studies.

This year we have a great line-up of tours:

 

These tours pride themselves in taking you off the beaten track and seeing sights that are exclusive to this program.

Check back daily for a new photo and story about our trips.

If you are interested in any of these adventures or have any questions, please email me at rob.bryce@unbc.ca.