tay away from Muncho Lake, BC

Hello Joe Not intending to hijack thread, your info is better than my memory. The bread and butter of the lodge was hunting and outfitting, they would horseback hunters two day ride to a hunting cabin (thirty miles I think?) and then helicopter in supplies. I remember the helicopter would land beside the gas station and I pumped fuel from a 45 gallon drum for a free ride over the mountains to the cabin. Hard to describe the beauty of the terrain and my first helicopter ride. I would have been 14. They sold the whole operation for a big dollar and retired to Fort St John and took up golf. I think back to the scale of that operation with no communication between the cabin and lodge, they just knew what to do and when. Dave

Dave, here is a photo ad of the Muncho Lake Lodge from the 1975 Milepost™. Your grandparents were listed as the owners in the 1970 guide, but I don't have copies of the years between. As best I can tell, your grandparents were listed as the owners where it mentioned your grandfather, Tom Mould, had been working as a tour and fishing guide since 1942 in the Muncho Lake area. That was approx the year, the Alaska Hwy was finished. (if it will ever be finished, LOL) As many know, the Alaska Hwy in numerous places just connected sections of road that were already in place. Not at all sure when you could first drive from Dawson Creek up to the Muncho Lake area. The road was in to Fort Nelson, well before the Alaska hwy project was completed. Bridges over some of the major rivers was what seemed to have held up the road being built all the way through, prior to WWII. The roadhouses and other businesses were originally more oriented toward the sports fisherman, than to road travelers. Along the shores of Muncho Lake, there must have been 6 or 10 lodges, etc. Not many still remain in business along that area of highway. Some of the old falling down buildings are still visible but others, farther back in the trees, seem to have just gone back to the earth, over time. Muncho Lake Lodge, from what I can determine, was one of the first places opened and operated along the lake, year around.

The ad up at the top of the scan, is the now defunct, place next door, with signs of being the J&H Lodge. It has had several names since I first started running back and forth to Alaska, 52 years this past summer.

On edit:


The new owners of Muncho Lake Lodge were the Tauers in 1973, according to the shown ad in the 1973 Milepost™. So the Mould family must have sold it in 71 or 72, after running it for about 30 years.

On the right page is the Wiebe's Lodge. (now the closed J&H) Some interesting prices. There was one night free camping with gas purchase, or $3.50 a night with hook-ups, cottages were from $6 to $8 a night and they had a duplex apartment for $16 a night, each side. They had a licensed restaurant (could sell liquor)and Gulf oil products.
Back in 1973, I believe fuel in Canada was still being sold by the imperial gallon, which was larger than the US used gallon. During this period of time I think the Canadian dollar was worth about $1.30usd. So that made Canadian travel seem even more expensive. Fuel prices were probably in the $1 to $2 an imperial gallon which would have been about $1.30 to $2.60usd to fuel up. While those prices seem nice now, back then few of us were making the wages, we make now either. The first year I lived in Nome, for the winter, in 1964, I made $6,000 for the year. At first I couldn't imagine how I was going to spend that much money, but by Christmas time I had figured it out.

Hello JoeB Thank you for the pics, my grandparents Rose and Tom Mould owned Muncho Lodge until the seventys or eightys. I was last there in the late sixtys and those pics really brought back some good memories. I think that water was the coldest I have ever been in. Thanks again, Dave

I've stayed in a room inside the lodge twice. Once in November, once in January. The workers I spoke to were very nice, but then again it was winter and I was the only guest one of those nights. Expensive yes, but a very nice lodge in a remote area and most places were closed in the winter. Save your money and top off at Watson Lake or Fort Nelson.

The place next door has gone by many different names, Larry's Fish Camp, J & H Lodge, Den's Place (current owner's first name is Denny as I remember) He and his wife ran it for probably 30 years, decided to retire, but couldn't find a buyer for the place so shut it down and boarded up the windows. It was a real popular place for the caravans to stay in that area.

Say it isn't so. Breeze learned to swim there when the was 15 weeks old.

(click on picture to open a larger version in a new tab)


Tom

Morning joe..just to clarify...the truck had the 4 wheel conversion when I bought it. Was the primary reason for buying that particular chunk of metal and fiberglass. Now that I have had it for four years, I couldn't imagine not having. And a couple grand? a hhhaaaaaa...it would be $22,000 as of 2 years ago.

And you are right, as always, in your explanations and observations.

I don't necessarily enjoy blacktop camping, but I will grab it in a flash due to my addiction to all things wifi. Plus, if I am solo, I have no one else to yatter at.

My views of RV ownership and operation there-of are same same as having a boat..and maybe a plane, not that I have ever had one of those...but if I am not using it to it's fullest I shouldn't have bought the blessed thing to start with. Water on the Exstew Road, sand of the Chocolate Mtns in Ca., , snow in the north country, steep goat trails. And so on. Why I strapped on that winch...if I get stuck, I'll need to get UN-stuck. And I don't even fish. I just like being able to go places. And the sides are all scratched from branches and I am getting some dings in the pretty SS wheel covers and that all about breaks my heart..almost.

And if the border person is a hunter/fisher/outdoors person...never mind the questions about my smuggling stuff...it's, where did you get 'this'?

\

Best to you, Sir


Gary Haupt

Gary, I would use the word, selective, instead of cheap, for you, me and most others on the forum. The folks that have chosen to stay are the Northern Rockies Lodge and campground on the shores of beautiful Muncho Lake are being selective. They must have felt the location, the view, the attractive buildings, etc. was worth the extra costs, but didn't expect the attitude problems they encountered.

Just like my friend Larry, and his Prevost rig. He considers himself to be cheap as well, driving 30 miles out of the way to stay somewhere cheap or free in a campground. My thinking is if he wants to be cheap, spending close to a million dollars for an RV is not the way to do this. LOL

I know soon after you bought your Class C rig, you spent a few thousand dollars on having it modified to be a 4 wheel drive. In Colorado I had a new 15 passenger van converted to 4 wheel drive, for my employer and it cost them about $4,500. But that van was being used year around in snowy western Colorado in the mountains so was very handy and used often. So again, you were being selective where you spend your money, not cheap by my definition. The last Class C we owned was a mid sized bunk model that we made, I believe, 6 round trips to/from Alaska, to the Lower 48, and I can't remember ever needing 4 wheel drive. We put over 80,000 miles on that rig. I know you posted a video of you driving through some flooded road. But for me, when the water is deep enough to need 4 wheel drive, probably not where I want to take a Class C anyways. I suspect you feel differently. The old addage of different strokes for different folks. Which works for me ad I suspect you too.

Now I have 4 wheel drive in my current pickup, a Chevy one ton, and one of these days I may need to use it. But until then I will just continue to drive it, looking all cool and that is not easy for a 72 year old guy to do. LOL Again, being selective. Now I know you and I define boondocking differently, to me, I use the term to mean away from a dedicated area for camping or parking area, private or whatever, but I don't consider rest areas, parking lots, ect to be boondocking. That is pavement parking which I don't enjoy. I just don't enjoy sitting outside my camper in my lawn chair, in a Wal Mart or Canadian Tire Store parking lot, when I can have more attractive scenery. To me, boondocking is pulling down by the creek or river, the lake shore or other impromptu spot for the night, often starting a small campfire, to sit around and enjoy the night sounds of the place.

But I know from your posts and our emails, Gary and I email often to each other and have for years, you find pavement parking to be most satisfactory to you. To you that is being cheap, to me it is being selective. You are willing to give up anywhere from a half to a mile per gallon less on fuel, just to have 4 wheel drive on your rig, just in case you need it. That is not being cheap and I believe you are the only forum member I have read of having this conversion done. We have a few that drive rigs build on a truck chassis that were originally built with 4 by, such as the Tigers, and a few others.

But the best thing the OP can do is to write some good reviews of the place he stayed. I would also suggest he use RVparky.com as they are a fairly new site but will post the actual opinion of the writer without censoring it, as the other one mentioned will do. RV Parky.com also has a nice app you can download on your smart phone or tablet. This site will even let you comment on the management and their attitudes, which won't get by the censor/administrators of the older site.

I know we have gotten off the subject of the OP but hopefully the discussion is related to why people stay at RV places like that, in the first place.

joe b. wrote:
Gary, good question.

You as a Canadian, could be driving a diesel Smart Car and getting 65 mpg and sleeping in a tent in a boondocking site. Then you would really save money.


Sort of like don't condemn the other guy, because he sins differently than you do. LOL

And I would in a heartbeat, if I could figure out a way to carry the 17' Folbot, the STAND-UP shower, freezer, bbq, camp chairs, and my bourbon.

In my own defense...I just like being off on my own, ok fine..and I am cheap, too. And some of the places I get to, very few others can or do, except the camper crowd..rowdies, all of them. And, of course, if I could afford a Prevost, I'd have one and tow some obnoxiously pretty 4x4 Jeep.


Gary Haupt

Gary, good question. We stay about half and half, boondocking or pivate or government. Never liked math a lot. LOL The reasons we will stay in a private campground is when we want to plug in to power. I really dislike the sound of generators and find too many with people, boondocking at times, when we need to do laundry or when the weather requires the AC or if it is smokey for a forest fire. Some places we tend to stay in privates more than others, such as for a 4 or 5 day stay in Whitehorse, also in Fairbanks, in Valdez and a couple of more places. We do like the provincial parks and national parks, where they enforce the generator rules. I much prefer to take a shower in a campground facility as my Lance camper wet bath wasn't designed for a guy my size, 6'4" and 285 lbs. It fits my wife fine, 5'2" and 125, but not me.

I have made trips to and from Alaska when I was sleeping, wrapped up in a surplus tarp and bag, showering every couple of weeks, whether I needed one or not. LOL
So there are lots of reasons why people stay in private campgrounds. Somewhat the same reason why some travelers stay in motels instead of tent camping.

Some people think those of us that own RVs are nuts for spending that kind of money. You as a Canadian, could be driving a diesel Smart Car and getting 65 mpg and sleeping in a tent in a boondocking site. Then you would really save money. I have a good friend, with lots of money, that has a Liberty converted Prevost bus. However he will drive miles out of his way to stay in a cheap or free camping spot. At about 6 mpg, he is spending more on fuel looking for those cheap sites than he is saving, but to him, he is saving money. I tend to think of the "back to the land" movement when I was in my 20s and 30s. People wanted to grow their own food, windmills for power, raise goats, attend rock concerts with others of the same thoughts. Not sure any of those folks ever saved any money doing it their way.

Sort of like don't condemn the other guy, because he sins differently than you do. LOL

mockturtle wrote:
Look at it this way, Gary....if everyone decided to boondock, it would become awfully hard to find good boondocking sites. :)

And I am also forever grateful to those who simply must be hooked up every single night, even though they are riding in a completely self contained vehicle, never really needung to step outside.

Some must have a death fear that they will fill their 50gal black tank overnight if they are not hooked up.