A Fall McConnell Lake Morning
In mid-October the weather was fine, but the mornings were cool. The sun was up for a paddle on McConnell Lake. Twice around the lake took 60 minutes on this 87th day of paddling in 2022:
Continue reading →In mid-October the weather was fine, but the mornings were cool. The sun was up for a paddle on McConnell Lake. Twice around the lake took 60 minutes on this 87th day of paddling in 2022:
Continue reading →When we hiked in the Six Mile Lakes area, we called Morgan Lake “The Slough.” Before it was dammed it was a long marsh. Now it is a popular fishing lake. We drove in from the Tunkwa Lake Road. We parked at the west end of the lake (by the old Trans Canada Highway track, now submerged below the lake. … Continue reading →
Leighton Lake is located in Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park. It is a popular fishing and camping destination in the warmer months. The North Campground is used by off-road enthusiasts who use the backroads and ATV tracks of the area. In mid-fall, though, it was a quiet spot. On this day, I paddled once around the lake, then headed down the … Continue reading →
On a fall day, the river was calm, the sun was shining, and the downriver flow had slowed down to allow easy paddling. I paddled downriver to the highway bridge area and back up, another section of the South Thompson River worth kayaking
Continue reading →Stake Lake is a favorite lake for a return paddle each season. It takes about 52 minutes to go around the lake twice. On some of those days, after paddling, a hike on the trails follows, a double benefit.
Continue reading →On a fall day, I launched from the beach at the Pritchard Bridge and paddled out into the river. I paddled upstream and the downstream flow was quite manageable for steady progress. I paddled up to Pritchard Provincial Park, a marine strip park along the South Thompson River. I paddled past the park, around a rocky bluff and some farmland … Continue reading →
Bush Creek Campground is part of Adams Lake Provincial Park. There is a good boat launch and a wide gravel beach. Paddlers can paddle along the shoreline north or south or cross the lake and explore the shoreline. Adams Lake is a large lake which can provide many days of paddling. On the last day of September I paddled north … Continue reading →
The low-elevation grassland lakes of the Interior get long days of sunshine and hot conditions and it is common to have algae multiply in these spots. Trapp Lake was like pea soup near the end of September, but I paddled the lake anyway. Though the lake was green and uninviting, the scenery around the lake was wonderful, and on a … Continue reading →
On a September day I drove to Falkland, then up the Chase Creek Road to Pillar Lake. There is a BC Rec Site on the east side of the lake with a gravel boat launch. At the start of the paddle there was no wind. The Pillar Lake Resort is located on the hillside above the lake for about 200m, … Continue reading →
This year I have been doing more paddle and hike combinations. On a mid-September day I paddled twice around Stake Lake, then hiked 6.5 km on the trails. Calm conditions and scattered clouds resulted in lots of reflections and steady paddling around the lake. Click or tap an image for a lightbox view. The hike was on double tracks to … Continue reading →
Once the logs were cleared from the path to Cooney Bay I put my kayak on wheels and launched the boat on the river. The goal was to paddle upstream to the sand-silt islands where the pelicans were. Paddling upstream was okay, but there is a lot of very shallow water so it was hard to get close to the … Continue reading →
Red Lake is a longer drive on backroads so if we go there to paddle we wait for good conditions. It is also a popular fishing lake so there can be a lineup to launch or land during prime times. For this reason I go to an informal launch on the south end of the lake. A paddle around the … Continue reading →
Campbell Lake is at the end of a long, bumpy road and it can be a busy spot in prime times so I try to paddle it off season. Over the last few years, there have been pelicans on the lake in late August and much of September so I schedule my time to coincide with their time on the … Continue reading →
Whenever conditions are marginal or time is short, we pick one of four lakes – Jacko Lake, Edith Lake, Stake Lake, or Paul Lake. The distance to the lakes is shorter, access is good to each lake, and they are enjoyable places to paddle. On this September morning, it was raining in town, but it was drier up at the … Continue reading →
For some of the larger lakes, we can paddle half of the lake at a time, taking the time to explore the bays and marshy areas. In the middle of September the paddle was on the north end of Roche Lake. We can paddle the channels between bulrushes on the north end, then head down the west shore and across … Continue reading →
As summer wound down, the nights became cooler and morning mists were starting to shroud the hills around the area. In an early paddle on Paul Lake, the sun was filtered through the low-hanging clouds. The lake was calm and quiet with no other boats in sight. I paddled down past Gibraltar Rock. Crows, eagles, loons, and a Canada jay … Continue reading →