White pelicans have been spotted in the Tranquille Wildlife Protected area and in Cooney Bay over the past 3 years. These large birds migrate to the BC Interior over the spring-summer, then return to the southern U.S. for winter. A full grown pelican can stand 5 feet high and have a wingspan of up to 9 feet, the second largest bird in North America.
They usually work together in small flocks, to drive fish toward waiting bills, consuming about 2 kg of fish each day. They breed in March-April and nest a month later. They nest in colonies and the chicks leave the nest after about 4 weeks. The pelicans we see in our area are non-breeding birds. They are here to feed on the fish coming up the Thompson River. A popular spot is right where the river empties into Kamloops Lake. In 2013, they could be seen from
In the fall, they can be spotted on migration routes from the Cariboo, on their way south. A flock of 10 spent a few days in Campbell Lake at the end September.
A few shots taken by me from the shore and from kayak are also shared here.
On Campbell Lake at the end of September
Cooney Bay in September
On Kamloops Lake
In the flooded Tranquille Wildlife Management area
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 can be a long drive and off-trail 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.
From Tranquille Bay or Cooney Bay, paddlers can follow the shoreline to Battle Bluff, which is a sheer face rising 1150 feet in elevation from the lake. The shoreline to the east is often protected from the wind, but there is usually more wind around the point. When there is no wind, the walls of the bluffs may be 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?
After a number of years visiting Painted Bluffs Provincial Park, we now only visit by boat. The land route is not easy, nor pleasing. After a long drive to Copper Creek, there is no suitable access because of private property, fencelines, and the railway. On the other hand, a boat can launch from Savona (or Tobiano) and go across the lake, following the shoreline up to the beach at the foot of the bluffs.
The landing is an easy one on a gravel beach.
A short hike up the slopes and across the railroad tracks is required. There is no discernible trail, but a route follows the dry stream bed up to the bluffs. Sinuous ridges extend from the hill above. The dominant colors are green (copper), red (cinnabar), orange (iron and algae on rocks). Nothing grows on the narrow ridges, nor in the rills between them. The foot of the bluffs is an eerie spot. A visitor can explore the foot of the bluffs easily or climb side hills for a better view.
On our last visits, we have chosen to climb the ridges for different perspectives, following the colored ridges to new viewpoints.
The narrow ridgetops are a scramble suited to good boots and steady balance and the gullies are difficult to traverse, but the diversity of colors, shapes, and materials brings new rewards to explorers willing to climb to the heights of the bluffs.
There are a few rocky ridges intermixed with the eroded bluffs too. A few scrubby plants can be found among the rocks. In the gullies are pieces of calcite, sheets of mica, and variety of interesting rock samples. First Nations people gathered copper nuggets at the bluffs and nearby at Copper Creek. When we travel to the site, we practice no impact exploration, leaving samples where they were found. On a previous trip, we watched bighorn sheep traversing the upper bluffs, but we try to stay on the tops of ridges or in the bottom of stream gullies, not wanting to erode the sides of the ridges. With almost no vegetation on the bluffs, we were surprised to see blazing stars in bloom on a rocky-sandy ridge.
Painted Bluffs retains its other-worldly beauty because it is in a remote spot. Visitors need to respect the heritage values of the site, taking only photos away with them and leaving no trace of their passing.
We chose to paddle from Tranquille (Cooney Bay) to Savona at the end of October. The forecast looked good, but at the last minute there was a warning about winds from the east.
With an escape route (at Tobiano) in mind, we started early in the morning. We had chosen to paddle the south shore of the lake. I had paddled most of the north shore at one point or another, but the shore shore had always been across 1.6km of lake, so we were interested in the other shore. We also kept Tobiano as an alternate destination in mind if the winds became too strong.
We crossed the 1 km section from Cooney Bay over to the south shore without too much difficulty, although we knew right away that the wind was going to be a challenge. The winds were blowing right down the lake, making paddling easier and we were soon making good time.
Along the south shore, we were impressed by the train tunnels and the stone walls supporting the railbed. The stones were clearly quarried. One of the walls had been recently reinforced with concrete pillars. Another featured a classic arch. Just about the whole route to Cherry Creek had a sheer rock slope rising right from the lake.
As we proceeded down the lake, the winds increased and we were surrounded by 1 to -2 foot waves. Our kayaks rose and fell as the waves overtook us. I checked my GPsr and we were averaging 7 km an hour, assisted by the wind. When the shoreline was parallel to the winds, the going was fast, and paddling was straightforward, similar to paddling in the ocean with the current. When the shoreline angled out with rocky points, there was much more difficult paddling. As the waves pounded the shoreline (with breakers), waves rebounded back and slowed down the waves coming in, and these waves mounded up into 2 to 3 foot waves. We found ourselves between whitecaps in the center of the lake and active breakers closer to the shore. In between there was a comfort zone, where the waves ran straight, but we paddled farther out from the shore. When we had to angle out into the lake, we had to cross the wave barrage at 45 degrees, which was manageable as long as we anticipated the waves over our right shoulders, paddling into and bracing into the oncoming wave. We were breached a few times, but as long as we kept our focus, we made good time down the lake.
We chose to make a landing at Tobiano on a nice sandy beach. There is a road down to the beach, a boat launch ramp, and a gangway down to a floating dock there. No one was around on a windy end-of-October Saturday morning, but we were glad to have a spot to have lunch and dry out.
From the Kamloops Airport to Six Mile Point is a straight line of unimpeded open water. The winds from the east picked up speed down this corridor. We launched and found ourselves in 3 foot waves. Looking over at my friend Russ, I would lose sight of his kayak as he dipped into the troughs and then be carried aloft again. As I paddled and a wave lifted me, the front 4′ of my kayak would be out of the water. We could surf the waves if we paddled hard enough, but after a minute or so, the wave would steam ahead, leaving us in the trough again, looking over our right shoulders for the next wave.
The most difficult challenge was when the corner of a wave passed us and we slid off the edge. This would tilt our boat at an angle. We could brace for this (if we saw it in time) but at times it caught us unprepared and we fought to keep from being turned sideways in the shifting waters. A combination of angled waves and a rudder out of the water (on the backside of the wave above the trough) might cause us to be spun about, and then the next wave swamped the boat. With spray skirts on, most of the water swept away, but we got wet nonetheless.
The angled sweep out around Six Mile Point was achieved by paddling hard and anticipating the waves. A few rogue waves broke onto the kayaks in this section. Who would be out paddling in such weather?
Kamloops Lake can be divided into two sections with the east end aiming northeast and then at Six Mile Point the lake angles southwest. Rounding the point was like being on a different lake. Six Mile Point acted as a natural breakwater for the whole shoreline down to the west end of Savona. We found the next section leisurely. The shoreline near Savona has many shallow sections so we paddled out farther into the lake, but still only encountered smaller waves. The landing at the boat launch was a welcome sight after 5 hours on the lake.
The scenery on the lake is outstanding. The route is a long one, and best suited to a calm summer day. But on those days, there will be other boaters and a lot of shore activity. We saw eagles and shoreline birds, but no boaters, and no one else in sight. We will return for a Savona to Kamloops paddle up the north shore, hopefully with no wind.
