Highway through Hell

I’ll bet if you ask anyone who lives in Kamloops, or Merritt, or even Vancouver where the “Highway Thru Hell” is, they would scratch their heads and answer honestly, “nope.”  Interestingly many of these same people would have driven this highway. Some might question all the new hype (after all the highway has been around for a couple of decades) but all would acknowledge its dangers. However, when coming up with catchy names like “Highway Thru Hell,” most local British Columbians would leave that to the folks in Hollywood, which is kinda, sorta exactly what happened.

The Coquihalla, usually referred to as the Coq (pronounced like Coke) by southern British Columbians, is that stretch of the number 5 highway between Hope and Merrit which also happens to be the star of the National Geographic and Discover Channels’ “Highway Thru Hell” (http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/highway-thru-hell/). Yes the show seems to have gone syndicate, who would have guessed?

 Traversing the Cascade Mountains it offers a haunting beauty. Drive BC (http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/coquihalla/) says the Coq passes through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the province.  Now I agree it is very beautiful highway; I have driven the Coq possibly hundreds of times and its hard beauty does wow me every time, but I would argue that Highway 1 along the Fraser River offers a little more beauty than that of the Coq.

When you approach the Cascade Mountains from Vancouver, you travel a good distance along the flat lands below the mountain range—miles and miles of lush farm lands and wet foliage. From a distance they seem large enough to reach the sky.  As you approach them, they loom over you, and suddenly you are within them, absorbed by their sheer magnitude. Then you steadily ascending towards the hauntingly beautiful summit and traverse across the higher alps, constantly winding up and down.

All of that said, no one will argue the dangers presented by the Coquihalla, especially that section that runs about 20 kilometers north of the old toll booths almost to Hope itself. I will never forget the day I was driving towards the snow shed, and my car turned sideways and continued to slide down into the snow shed, which is intended to keep the snow from the avalanches off the road . Cars were passing on either side and I was sliding at about 100 kilometers an hour down the hill. Even my daughter had an accident and totaled her car at the summit. THAT was pretty scary.

According to the Discovery Channel and Drive BC, the highway has some pretty steep hills such as one that runs about 8% grade all the way up. I am pretty sure that was the hill my old Honda Civic over heated on way back in 1990. I will never forget the terror of feeling those large semi-trucks whizzing by my little car, shaking the ground, knowing that only a few feet of gravel and pavement stood between me and a very long drop into the valley below.

During the winter the four lanes are usually reduced to one OK lane and one slushy slippery lane. Furthermore the single lane is constantly being treated with gravel and many, many, many large semi trucks travel that highway both winter and summer.  During one trip along the “Highway Thru Hell” I did try to pass one of those semis by driving on the slushy lane. The semi kicked up so much gravel and wet snow that my windshield wipers and cleaner couldn’t even keep up with it. With no visibility and the car slipping and sliding, I managed to white knuckle it by, but I don’t ever try to pass since that experience. When driving the Coke in the winter, I just focus on making it to the other side alive; even if that means driving at 40 Kilometers an hour ½ a Kilometer behind any large trucks to avoid the rocks that they kick up from the gravel.

Winter driving on the Coq is something that many locals just avoid if at all possible. Better to fly or take the bus, but I didn’t think of any of that when I drove the Coquihalla last Thursday the highway was clear, clean, with only a little traffic. However, I did think of all of those things knowing that my son was driving that highway last night!