Tag Archives: paddling

Paddling Campbell Lake

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At the send of summer each year, we drive to Campbell Lake to paddle when the pelicans. sandhill cranes, and other migrating birds are on the lake.   We have detailed how to get there and where to launch in previous posts:

 

Each year is different.   In 2018 we spotted 14 pelicans on the lake and another 2 on nearby Scuitto Lake.

 

 

We spotted 6 sandhill cranes on the lake but watched another flock fly overhead.

 

 

There were the usual consort of ducks and geese too.

 

On some lakes we paddle for the exercise, maintaining a steady stroke for outing, paddling the lakeshore, enjoying the views, but keeping a steady pace.   On other lakes (like Campbell Lake), we go for a paddle and a “float”, enjoying the eagles, ospreys, herons, ducks, geese, pelicans, cranes, dippers, kingfishers, turtles, otters, muskrats, aquatic plants, riparian flowering plants, dragonflies, chironomids,   water striders, damselflies, mayflies, and whatever else we spot.   We bring the camera and our sense of wonder each time.

Badger Lake Paddle

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One of our favorite lakes to kayak is found far up in the hills north of Kamloops.  Badger Lake has an upgraded  BC Rec Site for camping and a new boat launch area.   To get to Badger Lake, most vehicles turn north off the Sun Peaks Road, heading toward Knouff Lake, then they just keep going all the way to Badger Lake.   There are just about always lots of potholes and puddles after Sullivan Lake so it is a slow 7km drive.   There are signs along the way to get us to the lake, ignoring turns along the way.   Just before the campground is a signed gravel road that points the way down to the boat launch.

There is lots of parking and easy access to the water in the middle of the lake.

The lake is in a forested setting but clear water and a variety of trees makes a picturesque paddle

One of the best things about Badger Lake is a back channel of shallow lagoons sometimes called Spooney Lake.

Paddling through the back channels adds an extra 3km of quiet paddling, usually with good opportunities to see ducks, geese, loons, and eagles.   The marshlands have wide channels to paddle among the rushes and reeds.

Paddling the whole lakeshore is 8.3 km.   It is a popular spot for fishing too, but on a late summer mid-week paddle, the lake had only one other boat on it.

We chose to drive back on the Orchard Lake Road, a good resource road that goes down to McLure, but the junctions are unsigned so it may not be for all drivers.

We recommend both Sullivan (Knouff) Lake and Badger Lake as great paddling destinations.   We have also paddled nearby Little Knouff Lake (difficult access) and Community Lake.

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Pat (Six Mile) Lake

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Pat Lake and Jacko Lake are usually the first two lakes to be ice-free in spring so they get a lot of fishermen early in the season, but once all lakes are open, Pat Lake can be a quiet spot in summer.   We can access the lake from the Tunkwa Lake Road or from the Six Mile road above Tobiano.   Six Mile Road was once the Trans Canada Highway so there are still some asphalt sections on the way through.    When Pat Lake and Morgan Lake were dammed, dirt road bypasses were cut.    They were once rough, but they are now reasonable roads for most cars.   i parked and launched at the east end of the lake on this late summer day.

The launch is the old road bed which used to go along the north side of Pat Lake.

While I was paddling around the west end of the lake, an osprey dove and caught a fish.   As it winged across the lake, a bald eagle attacked and the fish was dropped.   The osprey turned to safety and the eagle continued to hunt and after a few circuits above, swooped to catch a fish.

The bald eagles showed little care of me in my kayak, but it kept its eyes on me as it soared above the lake.

On the northern side of the lake in the reeds were a number of logs, many of which had western painted turtles sunning on them.   Turtles will plunge into the lake if we make noise so a quiet approach is needed to spot of photograph them.   All three lakes in the Six Mile area have turtles.

The route around the shoreline is only 2 km so I paddled once counter-clockwise, then turned the kayak and paddled around the lake clockwise for a second loop.   Both Jacko and Pat Lake have grassland hills rising above the lake, a more scenic setting than forested hills for most lakes.

We enjoy hiking this area too, but we also return to paddle it once a year to enjoy a quiet sojourn on the lake.   Ospreys, eagles, loons, dragonflies, and turtles are a bonus

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Divers Bluff Loop on Clearwater Lake

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At the very end of the Wells Gray road is the boat launch.   Everywhere beyond is best explored in a boat.   We can paddle 21 km north on one shoreline and 21 km back on the other shoreline.   When the river volume drops in August, we can even paddle the additional 2.5 km up to Azure Lake by using back channels, eddies, and some shoreline lining, if necessary.    Azure Lake provides another 24 km of paddling each way.   For a day paddle, though, we can paddle up the lake to Divers Bluff Marine Campsite and back. 12.6 km on the lake.    Any canoe or kayak can paddle up the lakeshore but seaworthy boats are needed to cross the lake if it is windy.  We paddled up the east shore on a smoky day.

The lake was busy with tour groups in canoes as we headed north.

There were no winds so our progress was steady along the shoreline.

The orange-red rocks of the cliffs at Divers’  Bluff can be seen at a distance.

The journey/route to the marine campsite is 6 km, one to one and a half hours of paddling.

We had lunch on the beach then checked the campsites and a short trail on the terrace.   There is also a 1.5 km trail to a lookout, but on a smoky day, we did not attempt it.

On the shoreline were some hooded lady’s tresses (spiranthes romanzoffiana), an orchid.

By late summer, there are fewer varieties of flowers, but daisies and asters continue to bloom until first frost.

On the way back the winds rose so we stayed close to the shoreline and so did this family of mergansers.

We try to paddle Clearwater Lake every year and Azure or Murtle Lake very third year.   Smoky conditions have discouraged us from camping in these remote marine campsites this year and last year so we are waiting for our next clean-air opportunity.

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Horseshoe Lake

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There are a number of lakes in the Roche Lake Provincial Park area.   Some are easily accessible like Bleeker Lake, Roche Lake, and Horseshoe Lake and some are harder to get to, requiring high clearance or 4WD.    Horseshoe Lake  Campsite/boat launch is off the West Roche Lake Road and the branch road is clearly signed.   The road is a bit bumpy with some potholes, but is suitable for most vehicles.   At the end of the road are 4 primitive campsites, a gravel boat launch, and lots of room for parking.

The boat launch starts in shallow waters    On this summer day there was no one at the lake.

Much of the lake has a marshy shoreline.   Behind the wetlands is montane forest.

Paddlers can go down a number of marsh channels to explore.   this one was covered in lily pads and smartweed.

Dragonflies were abundant in the marshes and along the shoreline.  This one landed and stayed long enough for me to get a photo from the kayak.

Some of the shallow areas were full of aquatic plants, a great place for fish to hide from predators.

Smartweed was in bloom in some of the shoreline alcoves.

A few lilies were in bloom too, with others emerging.

A small creek on the northeast end filled the lake from Roche-Tulip-Rose Lakes and a dammed channel was draining north to meet Bleeker Creek on its way down to Campbell Creek.

There were many interesting spots to explore around side channels, around reed-rush islands, and in shallow bays.    The shallows are full of life and a quiet paddle on a quiet lake is a great way to experience the wetlands.

A paddle around the lake is only about 2.7 km so it is best suited to an exploratory paddle of the wetlands, but it could also be combined with another lake in the area.

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Jacko Lake Paddle

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Jacko Lake is one of the closest lakes to Kamloops and at a low altitude, it is also one of the first ice-free lakes for fishing.   It is a busy place in spring so we paddle on the larger lakes early and come back to Jacko in summer when the lake heats up and fishing is not so good.   When we go there in mid-summer, we may be the only ones in the launch area.    The paddle around all the lake, going into all the arms of the star-shaped lake is about 5 km.

The parking area provides easy access for both launching and landing.

Grassland hills surround the lake.

In each of the lake’s arms, the water is shallower and has marshy sections full of water insects, ducks, frogs, blackbirds, and muskrats.

On this day there were a dozens of ducks, mostly barrow’s golden eyes.

In the sheltered bays, reflections welcome paddlers.

 

Jacko Lake is really more of a Peterson Creek reservoir.   It has past mining activity to the north and east.    The dam on the east side of the lake is opened for late summer draw-down for ranches downstream.     But is is also a  stocked lake (rainbow trout) for fishing. In the shallow bays hatches were obvious and we hear that a good bet is chironomids.

The access road in can be a bit rough, but is suitable for most vehicles.  Right at the junction is Inks Lake, another  good spot for a summer paddle.

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Saul Lake

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Saul Lake is on the Sawmill Lake Forest Service Road about 30 km northwest from Kamloops.   A short drive leads to a boat launch and an open spot for camping.

The whole area is very open with cutblocks and replanted areas all around.   There are also extensive marshes to the east.

The bays on the east side are full of water lilies.

Moose sometimes eat all the lily buds, but there were a few starting to bloom on the east end of the lake.

A channel leads to the eastern marshes.

There were loons and ospreys on the lake, always a sign that there are fish in the lake.

The paddle around the shoreline of the lake is about 3.3 km.   Given the traveling distance to this lake, paddlers may want to combine Saul Lake with another lake like Truda (7 km away) or Tranquille Lake (13 km farther).   Saul Lake is a very pleasant paddle so 2 loops might be just as good a choice.

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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 KM marker then turned right onto a high clearance (private) road which follows the Tranquille River past Truda Lake and up to Tranquille Lake.

Most people going to Tranquille Lake will go to the lodge to launch a boat (there will likely be a parking/launch fee as there are at all fishing lodges) but there is also a small hand launch site at the western end of the lake.

On the western end of the lake is a log boom above the outlet to the lake.

From the lake we can see the Lodge and 12 cabins on the northern shores of the lake.   We have found the management of Wendego Lodge to be very friendly to visitors.

The paddling loop around the shoreline of the lake is about 4 km so paddlers can go around twice or alternately do two lakes in the area to make the long drive worth the effort.   We chose to do Saul Lake on the way back, but Truda Lake is another good choice.  The whole area provides “tranquil” paddling.

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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 id 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  penetrating 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 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.

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Shumway Lake

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Shumway Lake lies in the lake chain gully south of Kamloops on Highway 5 A.   The west shoreline is right next to the highway and the east side is at the foot of a mostly treed hillside.   It is not a fishing lake.   It is one of the “reservoirs” along 0hte Campbell Creek drainage, used for irrigation by ranches in both valleys.   It is also the home of the Shumway Lake Paddling Center, first established in 1991 – 1992 ready for test events for the 1993 Canada Summer Games.   from 1989- 1999, various lake and sections of river were discussed, but the requirement for a 2000m rowing course with no competing uses was not easy to find.   Rowing lanes need to be 13.5 m wide and there needs to be at least 6 lanes for competition (8 is better) so any lake area had to be consistently 13.5m x 6, plus outside return lanes for boats.   Shumway Lake curves twice, but the main body of the lake just fits the 2000m requirement.

During that period, I was the Manager of Sport, Facilities, and Operations for the Canada Games so this was part of my responsibility.   Engineers laid out the course and then an underwater anchoring system was installed by a contractor.    Cables were also installed then linked to small buoys each paddling season to mark the lanes above water.   Canoe/kayak lanes are narrower so the cables and buoys are adjusted for those races, mostly racing at 1000m.

A basic facility was installed lakeside for the Games and a Society was formed to hold the lease.   The founding members were Rowing, Canoe/Kayak, and Water Skiing (using the south end of the lake).   Since 1993, the Kamloops Canoe and Kayak Club, the Kamloops Rowing Club, and the Kamloops Water Ski Club continue to use Shumway Lake as a water sports facility, mostly for training, and racing.

 

The 2000m+ section of the lake at the north end is a straight paddle south to north.

When a race is on, a number of facilities are available.

The whole area is gated so it is not open for recreational paddlers (non-members).   I once asked if I could launch there but I was told it was not open to the public.   Rather than join the club for a single day of paddling, I parked on the water ski loop area and hauled my boat down the steep, rocky bank to the water’s edge and then paddled the whole lake, a 7.8 km shoreline loop.

At the south end is another pullout with another steep bank to the water, not suitable for kayak launching or landings.

Just a few minutes farther south is Trapp Lake with a good hand launch site for recreational paddlers.   For paddlers wanting a facility at which to train, the Kamloops Canoe and Kayak Club would be a very good choice.

Trapp Lake

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Trapp Lake is in the lake chain Highway 5A.   When we drive south across the grasslands hills we drop down Cardew Hill to Shumway Lake then 3 km farther along is Trapp Lake.   All of these lakes are murky, alkaline lakes, prone to algae build-up in summer.

Half-way down the lake is a short track to water’s edge with a  good hand launch spot.

In the morning light the waters were calm looking north.

All of the route to the south is right next to the Highway with forested hills on the east side.

There was a flat area with a small marsh on the east side at the widest part of the lake, a good spot for a short landing and stretch of the legs.

A family of killdeer scampered across the shoreline nearby.   There were 8 chicks with the parents.

Foxtail grass shimmered in the sunlight on a hot summer day.

An eagle perched on a snag overlooking the lake, then took flight when I approached in my kayak.

A few smartweed patches filled some of the shallow bays.

I paddled this lake once when the winds came up and it was a battle to get back to the launch spot.   On this morning I got onto the water before the summer thermals built up and before the drone of trucks on the highway.

A paddle of the whole shoreline is 10.5 km, a good outing for a hot summer morning.

 

Paddling the Galiano Island Shoreline

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We paddled out to Wallace Island on a calm day, so we went right through the middle of Trincomali channel, but on the way back 2  days later, the winds were stronger from the southeast so we did a crossing of the channel right to the bluffs of Galiano island, then followed the line of cliffs for 15 km all the way to Montague Harbour.     This was a more challenging paddle with headwinds and currents to battle for the whole distance.

 

The cliffs rise 70 to 100 m above the water for almost the whole distance.   There are sandstone layers in the cliffs and the action of waves at high tide, winds, and runoff have sculpted the sandstone layers.

 

 

Large sandstone boulders that have fallen from the cliffs at the high tide level stand as other-worldly sculptures.

 

 

The whole shoreline has interesting sandstone formations, including some caves.   Most are very hard to get to so we just watched them from our kayaks.   In this rock formation, swallows have constructed their nests in the overhang.

 

 

With only a point-and-shoot camera and rolling seas, we settled for a few shots from the kayak, but we would love to paddle this coast on calm seas, using a telephoto lens on a DSLR next time.

 

 

On one section of the cliffs is a large colony of pelegaic cormorants.   The guano streaks mark the area below the well-used nests in the rock.   This is the Trincomali Nature Sanctuary and the only access is by boat to the bottom of the cliffs.   Cormorants were busy flying to the nests and back out, bringing in food or nesting material.

 

 

The winds died down  at the end of a 4.5 hour paddle, closer to Montague Harbour.

 

 

The best access to Trincomali Channel from this side of Galiano Island is at Montague Harbour Provincial Park, due south in this photo, following the bluffs to Shell Beach.   .   .

 

 

We hope to return to Galiano Island to paddle the same shoreline on a calm day from Montague Harbour to Retreat Cove using a 2 vehicle system.

Fighting the current adds to the challenge so we use the Tide Tables and remember this rule:

  • on a rising tide, expect the current to run north, with the strongest current about 3 hours after low tide;
  • on a falling tide, expect the current to run south, with the strongest current about 3 hours after high tide.

 

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Mabel Lake South

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We paddled much of the south end of Mabel Lake, launching out of Mable Lake Provincial Park.   The shoreline down to where the Shuswap River drains into the lake is 3.5 km away.   A circuit of the south end is about 10 km.    There is a concrete boat launch at the park, but we hand-launched off the beach.

The lake is 1.5 km wide near the park.   Treed hills rise steeply above the shoreline on both sides for much of the 35 km long lake.   It is a deep lake with an average depth of 114 m (374 ft) and a  maximum depth of 192 m (630 ft).   While we were there, the lake was high and the beaches were small, but we could see a number of golden sand beaches along the eastern shore.

From the park, the lake stretches 15 km north to Kingfisher, where the lake drains west through the Shuswap River  down to Enderby.

The weather was cloudy while we were there, and the clouds reflected in the lake’s surface as we paddled north.

We paddled north up to look at some marine campsites up the lake.   All of the sites had beach landings and primitive campsites.

one of the Cascade Creek campsites

 

We wanted to scout out the lake to see if it would be possible to paddle-camp with our high-capacity kayaks on the southern half of the lake since there are a few potential camping spots.

Our paddle to the Cascade Creek sites and back was about 12 km.

Mabel Lake Provincial Park is a good launching point for paddling the south end of Mabel Lake.   We have paddled the north end, launching out of the Dolly Varden Beach at Kingfisher too.   There are 2 marine-access campsites at that end too.   A complete circuit of the whole lake is a long way, but we can divide the loops into several days of paddling launching out of different spots.

Stake Lake Loops

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When the weather gets hot, we often go to the high country to find shade, to be next to a lake, and to enjoy moderate in the hills trails.   In this last outing, we brought our kayaks and paddled 2 loops around the lake then hiked one loop around the lake.

We find the water in Stake Lake to be remarkably clear as follow the shoreline around for each 3.3 km loop.

After one loop, we swing the boat around to do the second loop in the opposite direction,   On the western shore there is an osprey nest so we paddle in close to see if there is any activity at the top of the broken tree,

Stake Lake is a relatively quiet lake in the summer  and we may see another paddler, but fishermen are not often encountered.

After paddling 4.6 km, we stowed the boat and hiked around the lake.   The main loop around the lake is 2.6 km, but there are many route options.

Although there is no striking scenery along the Stake Lake Trails (except for the basalt bluffs on McConnell Hill), there are birds, insects, flowers, marshes, wildlife, trees, lichens, fungi, and rocks to observe, especially if we hike quietly.   Wild strawberry season is approaching and the flowers lined the sides of the trails.

Butterflies and other pollinators are visiting the flowering plants of the area.

Bees are attracted to vetch and peavine in the open areas near the trails.

Caterpillars were cater-piling in the trees.

Various birds flitted from tree to tree along the loop.   Blackbirds and a kingfisher were on the shoreline.   A cedar waxwing flew from branch to branch in the open forest.

There were remarkably few mosquitoes, partly because there were lots of dragonflies and damselflies to prey on them.

Red columbine was displayed in forest glades or at the edges of trails.

Indian paintbrush was growing on dry open slopes and at the sides of trails.

Common blue butterflies were pollinating the strawberries.

We were tempted to go for another loop on the Stake Lake trails but we ended up with just three loops, but we will be back more times this summer for additional loops on the lake or on the trails.

Cooney Bay in Flood

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When freshet brings the North Thompson and South Thompson Rivers to a high water point , the area at the head of Kamloops Lake floods.   The flat floodplains near Tranquille  get covered in several feet of floodwaters.   In addition, Cooney Bay floods, the beach disappears, and the shoreline recedes.   We paddled out of Tranquille Bay then followed the river downstream to Cooney Bay.   the feet of the cottonwoods are under water and a barrier of logs covers all parts of the shoreline.   A river buoy was untethered from the channel and also ended up along the log-covered shoreline.

The piling up of logs on the shoreline started about a kilometer upstream and continued all the way to the north end of Cooney Bay.   The gate to the Cooney Bay Road has been closed for a few weeks now, but there would be nowhere to walk anyway.Ducks, ospreys, loons, and bald eagles are still  resident at Cooney Bay.   This eagle had caught a sucker and landed on a pot in the logjam.

The shoreline past Cooney Bay was log-free all the way to Battle Bluff.

Paddling back upstream,  we enjoyed seeing the sheltered floodwaters reflecting the images of logs and stumps on the shoreline, this time creating a loop in the water.

Lenticular clouds formed over Tranquille Bay.  Lenticular clouds, scientifically known as altocumulus standing lenticularis, are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned at right-angles to the wind direction.

Mount Mara and the shoreline reflect in the calm waters of Tranquille Bay on the paddle back to the launch area.

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Exploring the Floodlands

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Freshet brings meltwaters from the north and the east to Kamloops and the South Thompson River and the North Thompson Rivers join to bring floodwaters to the area near the head of Kamloops Lake.   On the north side the 2km x 1km flatlands become covered in 2-3.5 meters of water to become Tranquille Bay.   On the south side of the river the 2.5 km x 0.7 km areas also become inundated and channels and bays form among small islands and willow groves.   If we paddle through channels into both areas, crossing the river twice, we can cover 10km in our kayaks.

 

 

By mid-May the floodwaters reach the shoreline near Tranquille, but we need to wait for the waters to rise enough to cover the barbed-wire grazing fences too.   We can usually launch and paddle through this area for 6 – 7 weeks.

 

 

When there is no wind, the waters of Tranquille Bay are mirrors of the shoreline features.

 

 

Mara Mountain provides colorful background terrain, standing above Tranquille Bay and the Floodlands.

 

 

Willows stand out in the floodwaters like floating islands.

 

 

We often paddle south for 1.3 km to the river then we have a 1.1 km crossing of open water.   Our seaworthy ocean kayaks handle any wind and waves well.   Smaller boats without rudders should probably stay on the north side of the river on a windy day.   All kayakers should be carrying a paddle float, tow rope, a bailer/pump, and some kind of communication device if crossing Kamloops Lake or the open river of this area.   Too few kayakers have practiced self-rescue but they still venture into exposed conditions.

 

 

Once we are on the other side, the river channels provide protected paddling.   The channels are a maze of navigable routes and dead-ends, but in general if we stay close to the shoreline we can paddle all the way through the south floodlands to the east end.

 

 

The channels of the south side have a special quality not available anywhere else in the Interior.   There are some grazing fences on this side, but when the water is high, we drift right over them.

 

 

We take any channel that leads back to the river which we cross, using the current to take a long diagonal route northwest.   Once we are on the other side, we look for more channels to work our way into Tranquille Bay.   We took our time and paddled for 3 hours in a large loop.

On other days, we stay in channels and bays on the north side only (a good plan for smaller boats or less-experienced paddlers).   We watch for wetland birds, turtles, raptors, muskrats, river otters, carp, and water-tolerant flowering shrubs as we explore the floodlands.   We will continue to explore these “water trails”  as they change with flood volumes right up to the point when the rivers drop at the end of June.

 

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