In mid-May we drove north through Clearwater into Wells Gray Provincial Park.    We continued on paved roads to the turn to Helmcken Falls.    We parked in the lot there and enjoyed the viewing areas for the falls, but we continued on along the rim trail following the Murtle River down to the Confluence with the Clearwater River.   A signed single track follows the edge/rim of the lava cliffs bearing west, then contours north above the Clearwater River,  with many views down into the canyon.   There are no guard rails on this section of the trail, making it unsuitable for dogs or children, and even experienced hikers have to be cautious along this part of the trail.

Any hike that starts and finishes at Helmcken Falls is worth the longer drive.

The trail continues along the rim, then starts to wind down a sloped area to the river.    Along the route is a rough trail which can be used to scramble down to the river and back up the Murtle River to the base of Helmcken Falls.    It is a long and difficult route.   I did that once 40 years earlier and I enjoyed the misted area below the falls, but it was not a route to repeat.   Along the trail to Gattling Gorge, there were some fallen trees to get past, some drop-offs spots, some wildflowers to enjoy, and many views down to the churning river.

 

 

The trail emerges out of the forest to a rocky jutting out into the river, the turn-around point, but a great spot to enjoy the roaring river and stop for lunch.   This spot is right at the opening into the gorge.

A lot of water funnels into narrow, rocky Gattling Gorge.

We returned by the same route for a 7.3 hike.    We stopped to enjoy the views a few times and some of the sections required slow and careful hiking so we were out for 3 hours on the trail.

There are many fine trails in Wells Gray Park and Gattling Gorge is one of the best.

Note – The Parks sign and All Trails spells this Gatling which is not pronounced the same way as Gattling.    Was this was an error from the staff person and sign maker?    The person who named the route was Roland Neave and it is spelled Gattling in Exploring Wells Gray Park and in other reliable sources.    I have found other spelling errors in other BC Parks signs and I have sent emails to Parks Offices, alerting them to the errors on maps and signs (the Murtle Lake map had 5 misspellings).