When the heat and the smoke settled over the Interior, I used firesmoke.ca and Environment Canada forecasts to determine which direction to drive to find a paddling lake.    On one of those days, the northeast looked better so I headed up from Pinantan Lake to Hyas Lake (at 1237 m or 4058 feet).    Hyas Lake Forest Service Road was in good shape, though there were bumpy spots near the end.    There is a small BC Recreation Site on the south end of the lake with a hand launch area.   The site was empty so I launched into the lake.

There was some smoke in the area, but there was also some stormier weather coming in.    I paddled around the lake (4.3 km).

There was some rumbling to the south, but it was hard to spot because of the smoke.

On the next day the best direction to travel was southwest, so I drove up toward Logan Lake, then onto and up the Surrey Lake Forest Service Road.    Just before the resort, a rougher road goes west around the shore of the lake on its way to Sussex Lake.    There is a hand launch spot just off the road there.The air was cleaner and the lake was quiet for a paddle around the shoreline (5 km).

For the rest of the summer, I will plan a day of paddling wherever the smoke is less, getting an early start, and avoiding peak use.     There are still some more lakes on the paddling list for this year as I approach 50 days of kayaking.