Tag Archives: kayaking

Jacko Lake in April

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One of the first lakes in the hills to be ice-free is Jacko Lake.    Since it is also a popular hike for fishermen, avoid peak times to paddle the lake.    The Jacko Lake Road is an extension of the Inks Lake Road.    It has been a rough road, but it has been improved by the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project staff.  Nevertheless it is still a high clearance road.

With little wind and a dozen fishermen, I paddled around the lake twice (8 km if you paddle the bays too).

Jacko is a favorite to paddle so I will be back again soon.

Phillips Lake

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Phillips Lake lies on the Skimikin Lake Road between Turtle Valley and Skimikin.   The fastest approach from Kamloops is to drive on Highway 1 East to Squilax and turn onto the Squilax – Turtle Valley Road.   Follow the valley toward Skimikin then turn onto Ptarmigan Road.   A good parking area and boat launch is located on the northwest side of the lake.

The whole lake is surrounded by reeds and rushes.   In fall, the lake was fairly quiet, but the lakeside would be full of blackbirds, marsh wrens, and ducks in the spring.

A paddle around the lakeshore is 2.5 km, but there is also marshland which can be paddled on the far end.   This would be better in the spring when there is more water and before the water lilies fill the channels.  In summer and early fall, an algae bloom also fills the lake.   Spring is the recommended time to paddle this lake.The lake sits between the Fly Hills on the south (see below) and Black Mountain on the north.   To the northwest are the rocky slopes of Squilax Mountain (seen above).

In fall, the Turtle Valley and the Squilax Valley were filled with color.   We continued east to paddle Skimikin Lake on the same day, another fine small lake for paddling.

 

 

 

 

 

Lac le Jeune West Loop

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When we launch our kayaks from Lac le Jeune Provincial Park we can choose to do a loop east or west and if we choose to head to the West Lake we then have to paddle to the bridge underpass.   My loop route followed the north shore of the lake, then a circuit on the smaller lake, followed by a circuit of the south side of the main lake and back, a 5.5 km morning paddle.

In a year of high rainfall, the lake was full and that left minimal space to get under the bridge.   By removing my PFD and laying flat on the deck of the kayak, I pulled myself through (barely).

Winds made even the small lake choppy, but I headed around the lakeshore, watching for birds and wildlife.

There are some interesting channels in the marshes at the far end of the lake.   The waterway is the start of Meadow Creek which flows down to Logan Lake, then into Guichon Creek which flows south to the Nicola River.

Water lilies were in bloom on both lakes.

Goslings were steered by the mother goose in sheltered bays on the lake.

Silver light was cast on Lac le Jeune for the return paddle

Each summer I do a circuit of the area’s lakes, some of which are done every year (like Lac le Jeune), and some are in alternate years or every few years.   I try to do a few new lakes each year too, but this now means more traveling time, smaller lakes, or a challenging portage.   The overall goal is to get out paddling more than 50 times each year, and in 2021 it was 80 times.

 

 

 

 

Tranquille Lake

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Tranquille Lake lies at the foot of the southern end of Bonaparte Plateau.   Porcupine Ridge is due north and backcountry surrounds the lake.   The road ends at Wendego Lodge, the destination for most people who go to this area.   We drove through Lac du Bois, then took the Pass Lake Road and continued on the Sawmill Creek Road.until the 40 … Continue reading →

On Plateau Lake

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Plateau Lake lies in the hills of the Douglas Plateau, accessed on backroads from Highway 5A.     From the highway, it is a quick drive to Peter Hope Lake, but a slow and difficult drive over the hills to Plateau Lake.

It is not easy to get there.   There are several possible routes in, but Rec Sites and Trails BC recommends taking the Peter Hope Lake Road (from the south end of Stump Lake), then turning onto the signed Plateau Lake Road for 4.4 km then taking a right turn onto an unsigned secondary road.

This road was very narrow and very rough and it is definitely high-clearance, and but possibly 4WD.    If you go in that way, carry a chainsaw too.  Cross the power line and follow another rough road down the hill to the lake.   This is a total of 8.5 km of slow, careful driving.   On the way back out, I followed a different route, following the power line northeast to a junction and then following a much better (but longer) road back. to the Dardanelles Road.  From that road, it is possible to go back to Peter Hope Lake Road along the Plateau Lake Road, or down the hill to the north end of Stump Lake.   A GPS is helpful but if you use a map, the BC Backroads Mapbook is very unreliable for this area.

There is a good boat launch at the lake.   When I was there, there was no one else at the site, nor on any of the backroads of the area.

One of the features of this lake is extensive marl shoals.   The silt-mud bottom has lots of lime and calcium which clarifies the water.   The shoals had a clear yellowish colour.

The lake was very quiet with no noise from any direction.A paddle around the lakeshore is about 4 km, but there are lots of marshes to explore and it is such a pleasant spot that two loops of the lake makes sense.

With the clear mineral-rich water comes little lake weed growth, except for one bay where the sun shone on the emerging weeds.

There are 6 campsites at the site, all on flat ground.   This would be a fine place to camp, but I can’t recommend pulling a trailer down that road.   It is a good spot for a paddle if you have the right vehicle to get in to the lake.

More Information:

 

The 90th Day

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In 2021 I had paddled 90 days by November 6th.    There would likely be a handful more before the weather became too cold.    For this day, it was 3 degrees C and there was a 10 km breeze.    The sun was out at Jacko Lake for a paddle around the lakeshore.

The lower approaching-winter-sun made all views to the south glaring and bright.    There was snow on Greenstone Mountain to the southwest.

I have photographed this snag quite a few times and each time I go around Jacko Lake, I swing by.

I had a GoPro on, but I only got a short clip:

 

 

Everything will be put away for the winter soon, but only for three and a half months.    The ninety days of paddling were partly a result of a foot injury, the late spring heat dome, the summer fires, and Covid restrictions.    Paddling seemed like a good choice for all of these.

Tournament Capital Ranch Channels

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Launching a kayak from the Tournament Capital Ranch requires driving a dirt road to the bank above the river, then hauling the boat down the sandbanks to good spot.   There is a bay with a back eddy and a beach south of the slow pitch diamonds area.

The river runs very quickly, too fast for most paddlers to proceed upstream, but we can paddle downstream, cross to the other side and come up channels on the west side.

In the first channel the water was still, but the shoreline was very colorful.    At the end it was easier to turn around than to portage to the next channel.

The next channel ran aground after a while, but it was a short portage to get to the next channel.

Each channel was flanked by fall colors.

Most of these channels could be paddled without any portages in spring and early summer.

Some hard paddling and a short portage across a gravel bar took me back to the main channel so that I could paddle downstream to the start, turning quickly into a back eddy.

This was fun paddling, but it would not be the kind of venture that novice paddlers should try.   Any route from the shoreline will involve paddling upstream into fast currents, paddling across the current, paddling in shallow water, portaging, and hauling.   All safety gear would be a must, especially in cool or cold water.

I plan to return in early summer to explore more channels or to paddle downstream to Riverside Park.

 

On Red Lake

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On a mid-October cool day Red Lake was the destination paddle.   It is about 45 km on gravel roads to get to the boat launch.   It is about 9 km around the lake to follow the whole shoreline.  The lake area was closed during the wildfire season.     The Sparks Lake fire started just past the north end of the lake.   The route for this day was counter-clockwise, following the east shore to the end of the lake.

The north end of the lake is marshy, but there is a channel through to the end of the lake.

The back bays are quiet, especially with no road access to some of them.

From the middle of the lake, all of the trees were black about 5 km north.   This was the biggest fire in the province, extending up over the Bonaparte Plateau.

The day was partly sunny with a light wind for a cool, but enjoyable paddle in the high country.

A website page with more information is dedicated to Red Lake at this link (tbd).

Belle Isles Tour

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From the east side of Mayne Island, there is a lot of good paddling along the shoreline, around bays, through channels, and around islands.   We paddled from the Horton Bay area around Curlew Island and out toward Georgia Strait to a chain of rocky islets called the Belle Isles.   They act like a breakwater to the incoming winds and waves so we paddled out on a calm and sunny day to the first islets.

We heard there was a colony of sea lions on one of the outer isles, so we paddled along the sheltered side of the chain, parallel to Samuel Island.   Winds were light right across Georgia Strait.   We looked for Mt. Baker, 100 km east, but it was wreathed in clouds.   We had great views a few days later from the ferry.

On one of the islets sea birds were perched, mostly cormorants and seagulls.

We spotted many seals in the channels, and sunning on the rocks.

The cormorants were alert to the approach of the kayaks so we kept a distance, using a longer lens to photograph them standing on the seaweed at low tide.

We got close enough to hear the sea lions, but the winds picked up so we did not get closer.   We were told there are up to 300 of them on one rocky isle right out where the waves run onto the rocks.

We paddled back on a circuit between islands, about 9 km on the waves.   A Google Earth fly-over is provided here as a tour of the Bell Isles:

Back on Jacko Lake

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In the fall, I returned to Jacko Lake to paddle around the shoreline twice (8km).

The shallow bays are filled with aquatic vegetation, but it doesn’t take much surface water to glide over the masses below the surface.

This lake was busy with fishermen, but by staying close to the shoreline, I stayed out of their way.

On this website, I am developing a page of information on each lake in our area.    There will be over 100 pages when done, by mid-winter.    One of the first to be ready is a page on Jacko Lake.   Click the link below for more information:

 

 

Le Jeune Equinox

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On the first day of fall, I drove up to Lac le Jeune in the morning and paddled the east end of the lake.    There was no wind at the start and the lake water had a blue-silver glaze.

There was 3 still fishing boats with quiet electric motors on the lake, but no other paddlers and almost no ducks or geese.    Loons were fishing in the middle part of the lake.

I followed the shoreline, veering around fallen trees, and seeing more ready to fall over the winter.

The marshlands on the northeast side of the lake provided some color as the reeds, rushes, and sedges lose their greens and show yellows, oranges, and a bit of reds.

I don’t choose to paddle Lac le Jeune in the summer when there are too many boats on the lake and shoreline activity includes a lot of noise.   In the fall, the lake becomes quieter, especially on a cool mid-week morning.

The sun was shining through clouds and dark clouds to the east was contrasted with sunnier conditions to the west.    The wind picked up near the end of this paddle, the 77th day of kayaking this year.

Lac le Jeune is one of the best paddling lakes of our area.    This was my third time on the lake this year and I plan to paddle the west end and the smaller lake one more time before the weather becomes cold.

 

To Battle Bluff

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On a calm September day, I hauled my kayak down to the river near Cooney Bay.    I use some wheels which attach to the back end of the boat and pull it down the pathway, lifting the boat over some logs.   At this time of year the shoreline of the river is muddy so paddling boots are a good choice.    It is only a short paddle from the launch beach to the lake.

I rounded the point at Cooney Bay and looked back at the morning sun, shining through scattered clouds.

I try to avoid paddling Kamloops Lake in the wind, but on this day, only a light breeze came across the lake from the southwest.   I paddled around a rock bluff, then past a shingle beach.

Battle Bluff rises 324 m (1063 ft.) from the lake to the top.

contI paddled around the base of the bluff, noting the high water mark on the rock.

It is about 1 km under the cliffs to get to the west end of Battle Bluff.  There are no landing spots.    With some wind, the waves rebound off the rock, providing choppy conditions.

At the west end of Battle Bluff, the shoreline is series of sloped under the Fredrick Bluffs.   Across the lake, the rocky hills are continuous to the benchland near Tobiano.   The hill between Cherry Bluffs and Tobiano is called Roper Hill.

Battle Bluff, Dewdrop Ridge and all of the rocky slopes on the north side of the lake are built up on a series of lava flows.    On the east side of Battle Bluff, basalt columns rise above the shoreline, an older lava flow than the rocky hills above.

In Cooney Bay, pelicans were feeding by the mouth of Tranquille River.   The flock was settled on a sandbar up the river, but small numbers of pelicans flew down to feed where the river met the lake.

Kamloops Lake is a favorite place to paddle, but the road in is potholed, the haul to the river is hard work, and winds on the lake can be difficult.    Still, I try to get onto the lake when I can.   In this particular day, I paddled about 8 km in fine conditions.

On Hyas Lake

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Near the first day of fall, Hyas Lake was the planned paddle.    It is 13 km up into the hills from Pinantan at 1237 m (4060 ft).     The boat launch is at the Hyas Lake Recreation Site, at the end of the Hyas Lake Forest Service Road.  There are 5 small campsites there, adjacent to the Hyas Lake Fishing Camp.

On a calm morning, I paddled around the shoreline of the lake, a 4.3 km paddle.

To the north Shaw Hill at 5200 feet rises above lake.    We have hiked to the top, coming up backroads from the Heffley Lake area.   There were many potholes in the roads, but it is accessible to most vehicles, but in shoulder season, it may be best to have a 4x 4.

Hyas Lake is a beautiful clear lake with marl shoals and a forested shoreline, a fine spot to paddle in the off-season.

We have also walked/hiked the backroads in the area and hope to connect a loop route after some more exploration.