Category Archives: Kayaking

McArthur Island Rabbit Island Loop

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I paddled from the McArthur Island Boat Launch into the Thompson River and continued upriver.

When I had gone past (and above) the east end of Rabbit Island, I crossed the river and swept down the south side of the island, gaining speed for the downriver journey.

Below Rabbit Island I crossed the river again to the channel on the west end of McArthur Island and then turned into the channel.

There were lots of ducks and geese in the brackish water of the island lagoons, including quite a few goslings.

It is not possible to paddle around McArthur Island.   I had to turn around at 12th Street, but out and back is 2.5 km.   Back at the river, I knew the current was too swift on the shoreline of McArthur Island, so I crossed back to the north side of Rabbit Island and continued upstream until I could cross back over where the river does not move as quickly.   The whole route is about 8 km with some energetic upstream paddling during freshet.

 

On Stake Lake

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Stake Lake is one of my favorite lakes.   It has good access and lots of parking.    There are rarely any fishermen or other paddlers on the lake.   The water is crystal clear.   But it is only 2.3 km around so I usually do 2 or 3 loops.   On other days I will paddle a loop, secure the boat, then go for a hike.

On a cool and breezy May morning I launched my boat for a paddle with no one else in sight.

The wind was gusting out of the south and it was forecast to become much windier in the afternoon.    I found it quite manageable, but it did hail twice.

While paddling I spotted loons geese (with goslings), ducks, and a woodpecker.I completed two laps around lake in about an hour before the stronger winds came in.    Of all the lakes I paddle, I return to Stake Lake the most so I will be back in late spring again.

On Paska Lake

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On a  grey, drizzly May morning I drove up toward Logan Lake, then turned onto the Paska Lake Road.   Just after the 8 km mark, I turned into the Paska Lake Recreation site.   All was quiet as I launched into the lake.

In spring there is a long channel hidden from the lake which can be paddled down and back.   It is the drainage for the lake, but has a lagoon-like quality.   In summer it is full of lily pads, but in spring it floods the shoreline where ducks and geese were nesting.

 

The channel is about 1 km long (one way) for an out-and-back exploration,  adding 2 km to the paddle around the lake.   From there I went around the south end of the lake and then back up the east side.

There are some shallow bays all along the east side of the lake, under the slopes of Chuwhels Mountain.

Rain clouds were all around and the showers started just after I had loaded the boat and started back.

There were no other people or boats on the lake.    I spotted an owl, a great blue heron, killdeer, loons, a muskrat, a woodpecker, and many ducks while paddling the 5km circuit at an elevation of 1451 m (4760 ft).

This can be a busy spot on weekends in the summer, but it is a perfect destination for a late spring paddle.

 

On Walloper Lake

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On a cool May morning I drove to Walloper Lake and launched at the Rec Site.

There was a steady breeze on the lake, but there were bays and coves to tuck in to to avoid the winds.

A paddle around the lake takes about an hour, but wetlands called for some exploration while following the shoreline.

 

At the west corner of the lake is a marsh where I have previous spotted nesting loons.

Walloper Lake is a favorite paddling spot, but it is even better when it is not a busy afternoon or weekend.   For most of the outing there was only the kayak and the birds on the lake.

More information – Walloper Lake

 

South Thompson River from Valleyview

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On a grey, cool May day with rainshowers in the hills, I decided to paddle from the Valleyview Boat Launch.    There was no wind at the start, but it was only 4 degrees.

The sun started to shine through filtered clouds over the calm river.   I paddled upstream for 3.6 km.

A wind out of the southwest rippled the water and helped in my upstream paddle.  There were no other boats on the river.

I turned around at about the Pineridge Golf Course and came back on the other shore, now into a 10 km headwind.


This was a 1.5 hour paddle, a good workout wedged in between weather systems.   I turned on the GPS watch at about the 1.4 km mark and then created this video from the track.

Relive ‘Valleyview River’

 

On Mamit Lake

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I drove through Logan Lake then turned down Highway 97C to get to Mamit Lake.

On a sunny day with no wind, I launched onto the lake and paddled the north and middle part of the lake, exploring the bays, for about 7 km of kayaking.   I had done the whole lake before so I was content with the north end for this day.    I will kayak the south end next time.   I prefer to paddle the lake in spring when spring runoff fills the shallow lake.    In summer, the water is drawn down and algae forms over the lake.

I explored an old homestead on the western shore.

The lake has a scenic setting with grasslands and rounded hills surrounding the lake.

The lake was calm for about 1.5 hours of paddling.

I spotted bank swallows, ducks and geese, an immature eagle, an ospry nest, least sandpipers, and loons on the lake.   Another fine day of paddling in the high country.

There is a good launch area on the east side of the lake.    It is not a popular fishing or boating lake so it is not crowded, even on a sunny weekend day.

 

On Bleeker Lake

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Bleeker Lake is  long narrow lake just 1 km from Roche Lake, accessed by the Bleeker Lake Forest Service Road.    The backroad has potholes, but can be driven by most vehicles.   Most people who fish or paddle the lake launch from the Rec Site on the north side of the lake, but I used my truck to launch from the end of the lake in an informal campsite area in a shallow lagoon.

I paddled around the lake, a 5 km loop.

There had been winter kill so there were no fishermen on the lake, but there were lots of ducks

I like to explore the shallow, marshy areas around the lake.   All of the lakes in the area (Roche, Horseshoe, Scuitto, Black, Hosli, etc.) have lots of birds, insects, and wildlife.

I will be returning to paddle more lakes in that area in the weeks to come.

On McConnell Lake

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On a sunny May morning I drove into the high country and paddled McConnell Lake.    I was there early and there was no one else in the park.  Winds were light and I launched my kayak for two loops around the lake.

On the east side I spotted two sunken boats.

Each lap around the lake is 2.5 km.   I reversed by direction for the second lap, finishing the paddle in an hour.

By the time I finished there were more dog walkers, paddlers, and hikers in the park.   This can be a busy spot in season.

On Lac le Jeune

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On a grey May day I drove into the high country and launched my kayak at the beach on Lac le Jeune.

Loons were fishing in the lake on a calm day.

I paddled around the lake in a clockwise loop.   Gulls were clustered in one of the bays.

In the marshy area on the north side of the lake a great blue heron stood on the shoreline.


Various ducks were on the lake, like this Barrow’s golden eye.

I paddled for 1.5 hours (7.3 km) doing the whole shoreline.   It was great to be back paddling on another favorite lake.

On Sullivan Lake

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On a cool May morning, I drove up to Knouff Lake and launched my kayak at the Sullivan Lake Rec Site on the northwest corner of the lake.

The north end of the lake has lots of marshland with bullrushes, cattails, and reeds.   Red-winged blackbirds called out as I glided by.

A paddle around the lake is about 4.7 km.    One loop was enough for this day since I had a Mother’s Day appointment down at Heffley Lake.

I always enjoy both Sullivan and Badger Lake and I make sure they are both included in my rotation of lakes to be paddled each year.

Maps and more information can be found on http://www.kamlopstrails.net

 

 

On Edith Lake

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On a grey, cool, windy morning I chose to find a smaller nearby lake to paddle. I drove up to Edith Lake and launched onto the lake by 8:30 am.

The main part of the lake was windy and cool, but there are two back arms that are more sheltered.   Fishermen do not go back there so it was just the kayak, the ducks, and the geese.

Surrounding the lake are grazing lands

It is preferable just to keep paddling, treating the outing as good exercise.   On many of these days, I would go twice around the lake, but I had a tennis game set for the afternoon, so it was just once around, 4 km in 55 minutes.

A Google Earth tour of the paddle from Relive:

On Heffley Lake

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On a nice Sunday morning, I drove to Heffley Lake and launched from the northeast end near the Rec site.    There was no wind to start out.

From the south shore the view to the north was of Embleton Mountain.

On the lake were loons, ducks, geese, a heron, and many small birds.

I paddled almost all of the lake in just over 2 hours.

 

There will be more lake destinations this week…

On Pass Lake

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I heard that the ice was off Pass Lake, so I drove up to the Rec Site on a grey morning.    There was no one else at the campsite, nor on the lake when I arrived.    I launched my kayak from the gravel boat launch spot (there are two of them now):

I paddled around the lakeshore, passing the old Agriculture Canada field site, now private property.

On the marshy shores there were geese, ducks, and blackbirds.

redwinged blackbird

marsh wren nest

loon

 

I had heard that Pass Lake had suffered from winterkill and indeed I spotted a number of dead fish in the shallows.   But, there were two loons on the lake so I have to assume there are still some fish to catch.

A loop of the lake is 2.5 km so I went around twice.   As I was packing up another truck arrived and two fishermen were getting ready to launch.   I then toured the rec site and all seemed well.    The road into the site was muddy and at this time is best suited to high-clearance vehicles.   I will be off to another lake later this week.

On Pat Lake

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I went up the Six Mile Road to paddle and hike.     There are two good launch spots on Pat Lake and I chose the one on the eastern shore.

I paddled around the lake twice (4 km).   I got there early in the morning before all the fishermen who were arriving just when I was finishing paddling.   There were lots of birds on the lake or on the shoreline, like this loon:

A few ducks stuck to the reeds on the shoreline like this coot:

Red-winged blackbirds were doing their territorial dance and yellow0headed blackbirds were paired off for nesting.

A goose was perched on top of a trimmed snag high above the lake.

I paddled the shoreline enjoying the light winds, wildlife, and the scenic hills around the lake.

For more information on paddling Pat Lake, click this link.

 

On Louis Lake

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On a grey and cool morning I decided to paddle a smaller lake.   I had done Louis Lake before on a SUP on a windy day.   This was the first time in a kayak.

The lake has extensive marshy sections with lots of bullrushes and cattails.  When the rushes are growing, they can be a barrier to paddle through, but in early spring, it was easy access.

On the lake were ducks and geese.   Blackbirds, an osprey and a woodpecker were spotted near the shoreline.   The duck most spotted was Barrow’s golden eye.

The west end of the lake is shallow with long sections of rushes.

The hillside rises up on the south side providing shade and darker water.

When I paddled east the sun broke through the clouds warming the lake.

Some of the east end is in Paul Lake Provincial Park.   Although there is no trail to the lake from the south, it would make a nice route.

The ridge that separates Louis Lake from Paul Lake rises 340 m and is covered in forest.    I have hiked to the top of the ridge from Gibraltar Rock (there is no trail).    I call this unnamed ridge Louis Ridge.

A paddle around the perimeter of the lake is 4 km and on this day I did it twice, building some stamina for the longer paddles of the summer.