We try to visit Painted Bluffs every year. It can be done by driving the Sabiston Creek Road and then down to Copper Creek. but this is a long and awkward route. Our preference is to paddle over from Savona, a 6.5 km route (each way) with a 1.5 km lake crossing.
There is a beach below the park suitable for landing a boat. Be careful of poison ivy in the area behind the logs. Follow the dry creek drainage into the foot of the hills, then pick your own route to explore the multi-hued cliffs, stained with copper, cinnabar, and iron. Each time we explore the area, we pick a different route. The combination of perspectives and light conditions makes each visit a new experience.
From the east side, we found new views down to the lake.
Each perspective brings new detail.
One of the few places the blazing-star can be seen is at Painted Bluffs in June and July. It was in bloom on barren sandy hillsides.
After lunch on the beach, the winds had picked up. This is always a risk in paddling Kamloops Lake. Crossing Kamloops Lake is best done in ocean-kayaks (16'+). We angled off into the wind, a 2.5 km challenging crossing, but once across, we followed the shoreline west with the wind at our backs.
Images of Painted Bluffs stay with us for the months to follow.
The floodlands out from Tranquille invite paddlers an opportunity to paddle for about 10km through channels, bays, and lagoon-like mazes of wetland vegetation. Launching out of Tranquille, both sides of the river await exploration.
As the freshet approaches in June, the wildlife also moves in. The earliest residents are ducks, geese, blackbirds, and other nesting waterfowl and wetland birds. Under the water, fish and aquatic invertebrates proliferate and the larger birds like great blue herons and pelicans also move in. With the abundance of life also come the predators. Bald and golden eagles, ospreys, red-tailed hawks, and even kites and peregrines can be spotted. Painted turtles sun themsleves on logs. All are best seen while drifting quietly.
Paddling requires both hands and attention to balance, so calm conditions and a slow approach facilitate seeing and photographing wildlife. When we paddle out into this area in June and July, we try to take our time and keep the focus on exploration. On the last venture, a number of dead-end channels were found. As the river recedes at the end of freshet, through channels start to disappear, but new surprises can still be found – wild asparagus, knotweed in flower, amphibians, and wading birds.
Framing all of this are the hills and skies of the Thompson River Valley, a favorite place.
We spent 5 days in the Broken Islands Group in June. Lauching out of Toquaht Bay, we overnighted on the Stopper Islands, then proceeded to tuck in behind Lyall Point, Hand Island, and Dodd Island before arriving at Willis Island, our base camp for the next 3 nights. There were some winds in Sechart Channel, but staying close to the shoreline along the islands allowed us to make good progress without risk. We beached at Willis Island and found a good spot to camp. There are two large side-by-side crescent beaches between Dodd and Willis, protected from the winds. All of the Park's designated campsites have protected beach landings, areas for tents, and composting toilets, but the rest of the islands' interior areas are impenetrable forest. The campsites are just narrow strips above the high tide mark. Sitting and camp kitchen areas use logs on the shore. The Broken Islands are part of Pacific Rim National Park and they remain primitive and unspoiled. At Willis, our view looked northeast across Loudon Channel.
From the central location of Willis Island, we kayaked out around the various island groups. One day, we paddled west around Willis, Tricket, and Turrent to the Turret Island campsite for lunch. We really liked the sheltered cove, facing west into Coaster Channel. We agreed that this would be a good camp to explore the outer islands on another trip. We returned around Turtle Island. The lagooon-like area inside 4 islands (Wills, Dodd, Tutle, and Chalk) makes calm conditions and good anchorage.
On another trip, we paddled east through the Tiny Group (recommended), past Mullins, Keith, and Dempster Islands and beyond to Gibraltar Island for lunch. Three of us went around the outside of Gibraltar Island to see the sea arches on the windward shores. These were impressive and worth the extra paddling, but the open channel had big winds and large waves coming up Imperial Eagle Channel. Photography in these conditions is impossible. Constant attention to reading the waves and paddling aggressively is needed. From Gibraltar, we wanted to get into the lagoons created by Jacques and Jervis islands. There are lots of calm, narrow channels and bays to explore inside the protected area. The whole area has hundreds of islands to explore and it will take many trips to see them all.
Rainy conditions is not much of problem while paddling as long as paddlers use a spray skirt, paddling jacket, and a good hat. But rainy conditions (which is most of the time) make for wet camping. Bring a good tarp (or two), and extra dry clothes For my next trip, I will bring an extra siltarp to place above my tent. I will bring additional light, synthetic clothes (for under the rain gear) in separate dry bags (10L). I want to upgrade my rain gear to GoreTex to allow some breathability while I stay around camp. I am also looking for rain-proof booties.
The paddling and exploration was superb. Camping in the rain was ok, but I won't choose to do this again without better rain gear. Better yet, I will wait for better weather.
Our goal was to be camping in the Broken Islands in the same day we left Kamloops. We evaluated the various options and decided to try a less-known route. We left in the early morning and caught the 10:40 ferry to Nanaimo (with an overheight reservation). Our goal was to get across Vancouver Island and take a turn-off at Kennedy Lake (before Ucluelet) onto a logging road to the Toquart Bay area, which had been closed due to some environmental issues. The Toquaht area Indian Band had opened a temporary kayak launch at the hamlet of Macoah, across from the Stopper Islands. We didn't know what to expect, but we found the facility fine as a hand launch site, especially at high tide. There was a large parking areas, a gravel ramp down to the gravel beach, porta-potties, and an attendant to take our fees.
Within an hour after arrival, all five of our kayaks were on the beach, gear was loaded into the hatches, and our vehicles were secured. We paddled off into the Sound. There is often afternoon winds coming up the channel, so we had hoped to get out to one of two primitive campsites on the nearby Stopper Islands, only 2.5 km from the launch. The islands are outside the National Park on Crown land, unlogged and wild, mostly used by First Nations for shellfish harvesting. We had a rough set of coordinates for the beach landing which proved to be not very accurate, but we followed the shoreline until we found a sand-gravel beach behind an islet with some spots to set up tents above the high tide line.
By early evening, we had our boats secured, tents set up, and dinner was being prepared. We were pleased to be camping out in the Sound that day. We could have bypassed Stopper Islands and paddled to the closest of the Broken Islands (Hand Island), but paddling late in the evening is a bit of a risk, especially crossing David Channel, then Sechart Channel. Hand Island is also the closest campsite for those taking the Lady Rose to Sechart Lodge. We would have been the last to arrive that day. We were pleased to have the whole beach to ourselves at the southern Stopper Island and we were also easily able to find firewood for an evening beach bonfire (there isn't much wood to be found at the National Park sites in the Broken Group).
Although we were anxious to be out in the main group of the Broken Islands, we really enjoyed our camp at Stopper Island and would gladly stay there again, especially if we had a late arrival (it took us about 11 hours to go from Kamloops to the launch spot). From Stopper, we faced some early winds, so we crossed the first channel and tried to stay in the lee of islands and along the shores to work our way out into the Sound Many years ago, I had paddled out of Bamfield and crossed Trevor Channel, then Imperial Eagle Channel. I didn't want to make this kind of crossing again. That is another story and, in short, I feel lucky to still be vertical after that venture. Our 2013 route allowed us a safe and partly sheltered approach out into the Broken Islands. Now we just need full rain gear.…
The launch for Clearwater Lake is 3 km up the road past the campground. Part of the reason for this is Osprey Falls.  The Dragon Tongue lava flow blocked the Clearwater River (7600 years ago) and increased the size of Clearwater Lake, but the lava wall also created a waterfall 540m wide.  For much of the year, it is a 3m drop, but in the spring the water backs up and the falls looks more like a large area of rapids.  This view was from the Osprey Viewpoint on the Chain Lakes Trail.
Before the boat launch was built up the lake, a number of boats and swimmers had been swept over the falls.  Even now, there is still a boat launch for Clearwater Lake Tours on the east shore.  We paddled down to these docks by the campsite last year and hugged the shoreline to avoid being pulled downstream toward the falls.
This spring, I launched up the river and paddled down to look at the falls.  The river starts to pull the kayak closer to the falls so when I felt the strong pull, I moved closer to the shoreline.
 This is a pleasant 6km paddle.  Just make sure you don’t paddle too close to the falls.
We launched our kayaks at the McLure Ferry and paddled to Kamloops.  We had dropped off a a vehicle at the end of Harrington Drive in Westsyde and we were paddling 36 km downriver when the river is high.
The paddle is not very technical except when you have to be careful at side channels and in the Heffley Rapids, but the trip was rewarding and uneventful. Â Just after launching into the river, we spotted an island and back channel at the south end of McLure, so we went under the footbridge.
A number of islands are only surrounded by water for two months so we took the time to explore back channels when we could.  We spotted deer on a number of occasions.   Most of the time, we got through these channels quickly.  They will be a slower diversion next month.
We were moving quickly.  Even with explorations, drifting, and playing in the back eddies, we averaged 9.6 km/h over the 36 km distance.
Down on the river, we see the shoreline which is below the line of sight from the roads.  We see the shape of the river, and most of all we see the movement of water – whirlpools, back eddies, standing waves, rebound chop, fast lines of water, rapids, calm bays, and sweeps.  Photography is awkward and hard to compose, but the sounds and swirls of the river are part of our visual memories, ones that need refueling each year.
We stopped at the mouth of the Jamieson River for lunch, to scout the rapids below, and to plan our on-water routines in the event of a spill.
In high water, the Heffley Rapids are a bumpy ride, but the drops are smaller and the standing waves less imposing.  We found a good line through the rapids.  No “Oh, God” moments.  A couple of “yahoos” were heard.  In a fast kilometer of paddling, we were in calm water heading to Rayleigh and chose to continue at a leisurely pace to Westsyde.  36 km in under 4 hours was a surprising result.  The goal was never to see how fast we could do this river run.  Paddling downstream in an active river has an ineffable quality that becomes part of who we will are or will become.  It is a logistical challenge and makes a long day, but the call for another adventure resonates in our hearts and calls for another outing.
From Tranquille Bay or Cooney Bay, paddlers can follow the shoreline to Battle Bluff, which is a sheer face rising 1150 feet from the lake. The shoreline to the east is often protected from the wind, but there is usually some wind around the point. When there is no wind, the walls of the bluffs are reflected in the lake.
Paddling close to the rock, the reflection creates a strong optical illusion.
Sometimes it is hard for our eyes and our brains to make sense of the scene. How many logs?
The paddle around Cooney Bay and beyond to the end of Battle Bluff and back is an 8 km journey. On this last trip, bighorn sheep were grazing on the shoreline, ospreys were scouting for fish, mergansers perched on logs, poison ivy was spotted on the shoreline, Tranquille Creek was surging out into the bay, and eagles cirlced overhead. The lake can be very peaceful, but strong winds are always a possibility. Will the new marina at Tobiano bring more power boats into the lake?
As the rivers reach freshet, the floodland near the mouth of the Thompson River can be paddled. A small launch spot next to the Y in the road provides parking and a hand launch spot for one boat at a time, suitable for kayaks and canoes only. From this spot, paddlers can paddle through the Tranquille Wildlife Management Area (Tranquille Bay) or out towards Cooney Bay, across the river to the wetlands, or up river along the shoreline.
Paddling conditons inside the bay, in the wetlands and in Cooney Bay are protected. Crossing the river is not too difficult, but has one kilometre of open water. Paddling from Conney Bay to Battle Bluff can follow the shoreline for protection, but winds around Battle Bluff are probable. On a calm day, paddlers can go beyond or across the lake. Wide views are available from the middle of the valley.
On a day with no wind, the reflections in the water provide optical illusions which can only be seen from the water.
Mount Mara provides a scenic backdrop to the calm waters of the bay.
Ducks and geese use the wetland habitat from May to July. Predators move in soon afterwards. On this day, ospreys and eagles roamed the shorelines. Painted turtles sunned themselves on logs. Fish jumped with a fresh hatch on the water. If you go to the wetlands, go quietly, bring your binoculars and your camera, glide unobtrusively among the "floating islands." This is place of peace. Paddle in synch with the rhythm of the wetlands.
Badger Lake is a fine paddling destination, one of the forty lakes of our area within an hour's drive. To get to Badger Lake, turn off the Sun Peaks Road onto the Knouff Lake Road and continue past Knouff Lake without turning off, until you reach the BC Forest Service Site on the northerat side. Some fishermen also take the Orchard Lake Road up from Highway 5. Both are good roads once the road surface dries out.
The Badger Lake Recreation Site has 18 campsites and a primitive boat launch. The lake has clear water and some marl shoals. I watched a loon swimming under my boat in a back channel, its black and white speckled back clear under the water. The narrow channel to the west is called Spooney Lake and this quiet marsh-lined channel offers some additional paddling. On a spring day, small rainbow trout were jumping with a recent mayfly hatch. Eagles seemed to be everywhere. I spoke to a fisherman who said he had spotted 18 on the pevious day. I couldn't spot their nests, but they flew along the lakeshore and perched in the large trees overhead. A large wooded isand (800m x 200 m) separates Badger Lake from the Spooney Lake Channel. The whole lake is surrounded by trees but at one point, snow-capped Mount Baldy filled the north horizon, 43 km away. Much of the area to the north and west has been logged, but little of this can be seen from the water.
There are numerous backroads to explore on mountain bike and the Orchard Lake Trails are only 4.5 km down the backroad to the southwest (link to Orchard Lake Trails). I have hiked the Orchard Lake trails, but almost all of the trails can also be biked (deferring to any horseback riders since the trails are primarily a horse-hiker system. The area is a bit remote so come prepared for wildlife, backroad conditions,unmarked routes, and few people.
Nearby Knouff Lake and Community Lake (link) are also good for paddling. 2013 is a good year to bring your boat onto all 3 lakes.
Paddlers in the Kamloops area are blessed to have many paddling destinations within an hour's drive. There are more than 40 lakes within that radius, but the lakes must be big enough to get a good workout by going around the perimeter once or twice. Some of the lakes are large enough that it will take several trips to do the whole shoreline. If we paddle 50 times in a year, we can go onto sections of the river or one of the 40 lakes and paddle somewhere different every time. There area still a small number of lakes we haven't yet paddled on, but by the end of 2013, we will have done the perimeter of most of them. Shuswap Lake, Adams Lake, Nicola Lake and Okanagan Lake will take longer to complete.
The other challenge on some of the lakes is competition from other boats. We want to avoid big power boats or lakes that are full of people fishing, but that is mostly just picking the right time of day. Power boats rarely get out in the morning. Fishing is not good in the middle of the afternoon, so we paddle on the larger lakes in the morning and on the smaller lakes in the afternoon. We go to more remote spots in warmer weather.
And we have our favorites that will require multiple visits – Tranquille Bay, the North Thompson, Adams Lake, Heffley Lake, Johnson Lake, Campbell Lake, Azure Lake, Clearwater Lake, Murtle Lake, and the Shuswap River. We will feature some of these after paddling them. This week, we paddled Paul Lake, Badger Lake, and Stake Lake. If you don't have a kayak yet, it may be time.
Clearwater Marine Campsites Part Two is the second in a series on paddle camping on Clearwater Lake.
From the boat launch to most of the marine campsites we will paddle north, but Caribou Beach Campsite is southwest, only 750 metres away. If it is a blustery day, this is a good backcountry destination.  We found 4-5 sites with beach front and lots of trees.  There are two distinct camping areas.  We liked the two facing south, although they were farther from the woodpile, the bearproof cache, and the outhouse.Â
If you paddle north, the nearest campsites are Divers Bluff (6.2 km up the lake) on the west side, Bar View (8.4 km) on east side and Ivor Creek (10.5 km) on the east side.Â
We like Divers Bluff with south-facing sites.  The beach is small, but the sites are fairly open, though not very private.  Swimmers dive off the cliffs in warm weather.  There is a trail going up to a viewpoint above the campsite.  The lake is narrower here, a good spot to cross over to Bar View and Ivor.
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Farther up the lake are 3 more official sites and two unofficial ones.  Archer (15 km) and Huckleberry are prime spots farther up the lake. Barella Creek is the most northern campsite on the lake.
Archer has fine views up and down the lake as well as alpine views of Zodiac and Azure Mountains.  The point has beaches on both sites.  Campsites are set up above the beaches.  This is our favorite campsite on the lake.  Huckleberry is another nice campsite, also suitable to power boats.  It has a good stream and lots of beach.  Barella Creek also lies next to a creek, but it can be a little swampy and buggy.  The beach is nice later in the summer, though.  For anyone planning to portage or paddle upstream, this is the closest campsite. Â
For a three night tour in good weather, I would camp the first night at Divers Bluff, the second night at Archer, then return to Ivor Creek or Bar View before paddling back to the boat launch.  Watch for my blue Delta 18.5 foot kayak out there too. Â
Part Three features photos of the campsites.  (Don’t you wish it was summer now?)
At the end of the Wells Gray corridor, the road ends at Clearwater Lake.  Further progress is marine access only.  The lake runs for 24km north and has 7 campsites along its shores.  Beyond is an upriver paddle to Azure Lake or a rough portage.  Some people take the water taxi to the end of Azure and then paddle back.  Whichever choice you make, camping on Clearwater Lake is a prime destination for paddle camping. Some things you need to know include:
early season campers may find deadfall and facilities yet to be maintained.
high water may flood out campsites in June; in 2012, all sites were closed for a while
mosquitoes start mid June and continue through mid to late July
the prime camping season is May, August, and September
bear-proof food caches are found in every campsite
outhouses are found at every site, but bring your own paper, just in case
firepits can be found at every campground, but not at every tent site
firewood is cut by the contractor, using deadfall from near the area
you may have to haul firewood from the cache/woodpile to your firepit
firewood may be wet; you may have to be patient to maintain a campfire
the contractor goes up the lake each day and checks in at the marine campsites; pay your fees at the lauch and keep your receipts with you
some of the campsites are more open to the winds blowing up and down the lake, especially those on a point
most campgrounds are next to a creek flowing into the lake; treat your water just to be safe
campsites with a sandy bach are more likely to be stop for a power boat or groups
Ivor Creek is a canoe-kayak only campsite with 3 tent pads; we also saw room on the beach for a few more
the busiest campsites are Bar View and Huckleberry
east-side campsites get the afternoon sun after a day of paddling
cross the lake only in calm winds which is usually in the morning or evening;
the narrowest part of the lake is at the south end and is 2.5 km wide near the middle of the lake
on a windy day, stay close to the shoreline
Part Two of this series will feature images and information on specific campsites
Even in November, we can paddle on Kamloops Lake. It remains a wild spot, with rocky shorelines and steep slopes, hard to access. A lone paddler will see no one. Trains and airplanes infrequently pass by, but the lake is the domain of the gulls, loons, and eagles. Fall colors ornament the hills. As the river drops, sand bars rise along the shores down to the mouth. The river is too shallow for boats where it empties into the lake at Cooney Bay, except for canoes and kayaks.
The paddle will be stored for the winter, awaiting the arrival of spring, with migrations of ducks, geese, cranes, and shoreline birds. The song of the lake will remain in our heart even while snow lies on the hills.
A popular fishing lake, Campbell Lake is also a nice paddle.   Grasslands surround two sides of the lake and forest on the other sides.   The approach to the lake is to drive up the Campbell Range Road, then turn onto the Scuitto Lake Road.  Follow this good gravel road to Scuitto Lake.   Follow the road along the lake going east until it crosses the creek which connects the two lakes.   The new road winds through the forest to the newly developed Campbell Lake Recreation site.
There is a good boat launch and parking lot.  The campsite lies to the east of the boat launch.  It has 32 sites and meets a fairly high standard for BC Rec sites.
Along the south shore there are some rocky shallow areas near the campground and byond along the southeast shore is an extended shallow area. The three bays are also quite shallow.
On this day, the lake was full of waterfowl.  Ducks and geese swam in all the shallows and perched on rocks.   10 pelicans waded in the lake then took flight to spot fish.  On the other shore, I heard, then spotted 8 sandhill cranes in a bay out of sight of fishermen. Two black bears foraged on the shoreline.
This is a quiet location when the campground is not full.  If you paddle the entire shoreline, it will cover 7.5km, but this will mean paddling long stretches of shallows. The shoreline on the north side is dramatically different from the south shore, grasslands and ranching terrain.
On a migration route for birds, this plateau lake (3450 feet) is full of birds in the spring and fall, also times when the area is quieter.  Perfect for a paddle…
Holdings Road runs the length of Adams Lake along the west shore.  It is an active logging road, but much improved.  I would be happy to pull my trailer on this road all the way to the north end.  There are some beautiful campgrounds on the shores of the lake.  An earlier post described the marine campgrounds in the middle section of the lake (link).  Beyond Brennan Creek at Km 37, there are a few more Rec sites: Honeymoon Bay, Refuge Bay, Rocky Point, Gordon Bay, and on the other side, Tsikwustum Creek, and Momich Creek. Â
Honeymoon Bay – This lovely spot has 13 campsites that front a sandy beach/bay.   Turn at Km 47.5.
Refuge Bay – This is a provincial marine campsite on the shores of Adams Lake.Â
Rocky Point – There are 5 sites along the lake at Km 52.5 north
Gordon Bay – Near the end of the lake, there are 2 sites at km 62.  Two islands lie just offshore. Â
End of the Lake – The road splits in two with the left fork heading over the hills to Vavenby and the right fork following the Adams River north, then around the lake to the east side.
Tsikwustum Creek – Also called Silviculture Camp.  There are 7 sites over a sandy beach and 3 more sites a short distance south.  Located at Km 8 south.
Beyond – The road continues south to Momich Lakes and explorers can drive right through to Seymour Arm in a very large loop route (but bring extra fuel).Â
Edith Lake is small enough that it will take two loops around the lake to get a good paddle, but it has an interesting shoreline, with grasslands, a north-aspect bluff, a swampy area, and probably a few fishermen to dodge.  The shoreline is 3.5 km rorund.   There are 3 places to launch from off the Edith Lake Road.
A long narrow bay out of sight rarely has anyone in it, although some people do hike the shoreline to cast their lines in behind the hill. Edith Lake is a good spot for an after-work paddle, especially on a warm summer evening.
To get to Edith Lake, drive out Highway 5 A South to Knutsford, then take the turn onto Long Lake Road.   At about 3.5 km, turn onto the Edith Lake Road and follow it to the lake.  The road is a good gravel road.
