Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit '11 {Day 3: Indianpoint Lake to Isaac Lake}

Kimberly and I with my Magnificat; guys hauling cargo to the canoes

Zachary, Peter and Tim paddle into the wind on Indianpoint Lake. (Perhaps Zac prefers I pick up a paddle rather than a camera?)

Like ducks in a row, three canoes navigate the shallow, marshy region at the end of Indianpoint Lake.

Awake hourly through the night in pain, I wished I had taken a preventive dose of vitamin I (ibuprofen).  Sometimes getting used to sleeping on the ground (Thermarest) takes a little time, and after a day of great physical exertion, the comfort doesn't always happen.  As the boys finished the washing and packing up after breakfast, I prayed morning prayer from my Magnificat in the sunlight with a cup of Via coffee + powdered milk.  Time for quiet contemplation after breakfast? I really am on vacation...

Zachary tries gondola style in the shallow end of Indianpoint Lake after hopping out of our canoe to retrieve a suitable stick for the purpose.

Warned about extreme mud at the end of Indianpoint Lake, a few of our canoes were wrangled up the steep, dry bank at the rangers' pier rather than at the quagmire.  The rest of our fleet paddled in and pulled up the canoes right through the thick muck.  So deep and sloppy, sandals were sucked right off; barefoot was the only way to go.  The going was tough, but once the canoes were landed, the boys hopped back into the mud pit for fun.  After all, what boy can resist a giant mud pit?  The fun continued as several Scouts opted to hike the portage barefoot (like AJ, who lives barefoot). 

Tim and Canon pull a canoe onto the shore through an extreme mud hazard at the end of Indianpoint Lake.

One messy portage...

Peter, knee deep in the muck

Tim's shoes: almost lost in the goo

Spectacular view along Isaac Lake

Setting out on a glassy Isaac Lake under broken clouds, the afternoon paddle to campsite 21 invited a casual pace.  Some paddled more casually than others, and soon we had a set of four buddy boats in the lead, and a pair of slow buddy boats as the caboose.  I found myself a hostage of the Lingering Flotilla (two canoes lashed together, getting nowhere fast).  Not that I minded the leisurely pace, in fact we might have missed the deer skeleton in the sandy shallows if we had been seriously paddling.  Plus, the glassy lake photos are impossible to take in a swift moving canoe.  By the time we arrived at camp, Joseph and Judah were already about to head out to the nearest wood lot to collect firewood.

Co-captains of the Lingering Flotilla, Zac and Isaac

Isaac Lake: like glass

View from our room at campsite 14 on the shores of Isaac Lake

With camp set-up accomplished, or mostly so, the canoe play, swimming, whittling, reading, plotting gigantic funeral pyre, and hammock relaxation time began.  A few odd ideas about two tents sharing a tent pad meant for one were squelched along with the whole funeral pyre idea, much to the dismay of the clever and creative Scouts.  Not to be outwitted, they opted to sleep under a tarp like sardines (forget the tents) for the night rather than on separate tent pads.  The more the merrier, and the later the bedtime!

Cooks Joseph and Judah add instant rice to boiling water under Zachary's watchful eye.

A delicious chicken fajitas dinner, pre-cooked and frozen at home, prepared at camp by Joseph and Judah, hit the spot... and then kept hitting the spot well past the point that most of us were full.  The late afternoon snack had taken a bite out of the usually predictably large appetites, and for our Leave No Trace clean-up, we generally need to consume all that we prepare.  In hindsight, we could have tipped some of the left-overs into the garbage bucket; but instead we force fed the Scouts until almost every bit was gone.  Most vowed to never eat chicken fajitas again, and we also decided that afternoon snacks should not be served after about 3PM.

A few Life Scouts tried to convince us that they would sleep just fine inside this tent. 

Want to see more from Day 3?

• Visit our online album @ Picasa Aug 20, 2011.
• Watch a video of the muddy fun.

Glimpse of Day 3:
9AM: oatmeal over; all gear nearly packed, not yet loaded; wash-up begins
9:41AM: paddling into a headwind on Indianpoint Lake
10:30AM: arrive at muddy portage; slip and slide canoes out of the water through mud onto carts
11AM: mud play over; portage begins
11:41AM: portage ends at shores of Isaac Lake
11:59AM: underway on Isaac Lake
1PM: gorgeous glassy lake views; two canoes strapped together making very slow progress, but having fun
1:45PM: final slow canoes reach camp; sandwiches made, lunch by the campfire
2-4PM: set up camp; Scouts' plans to assemble and light a funeral pyre (massive floating fire) squelched by adults; hammock time; swim time; water purification
4:30PM: afternoon snacks distributed (soon to interfere with dinner appetites)
6PMish: chicken fajitas dinner cooked by Joseph and Judah, enjoyed by all
9PM: bedtime for half
1AM: Scouts sleeping out under tarp finally call it a night

Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit '07 {Day 7: The Chute, McCleary Lake and Cariboo River }

The day our Bowron trip truly became high adventure:

3 canoe flips in one day!

Packed and ready for action, the Scouts prepare to ride the rapids.

Ready for the rapids, after a warm breakfast of pancakes with PBJ toppings, we made a few canoe personnel swaps to ensure strength and experience in the helms.  Each canoe in turn took on the "chute", the rapids at the end of Isaac Lake leading to Isaac Falls.  Scouts' boats went first, with adult leaders on hand down-stream for any necessary rescue efforts, (and for the photo opportunities, of course).  The first three canoes managed the "chute" without incident, then Patrick and Eric ran aground, having failed to make the turn against the raging current.  That's when I overheard two men on the shore discussing their nickel bet that one of our boats would flip.

Patrick and Eric failed to make the turn, and smacked the shore at full speed. 

Ron, Peter, and Linda paddle through the rapids and prepare to make the turn downriver.

"I hope we don't flip, cuz I'm wearing cotton underwear." ~Peter

One small paddling mistake and FLIP, into the freezing river current.

"Stay calm!" we yelled to Linda and Peter as they bobbed by, having been ejected from their canoe as it flipped in the rapids of the chute.  Ron stayed with the canoe and managed to haul it to shore after swimming alongside it at a 30 degree angle. Tim attempted to grab Linda's outstretched paddle to pull her and Peter to shore, but instead Tim was pulled into the river with them.  He regained his footing and brought them safely to shore.   Then the bailing began.  Peter's canoe seat, Ron's shoes, and a few water bottles were lost to the current, but no one was hurt.  We counted our blessings.

Bailing and bailing, and more bailing; Ron readies the canoe for the rest of the day's journey post-flip.

Just in case we didn't really feel like portaging... the sign says it all!

T lines up the cart under the canoe before starting off on the portage crossing.

Back to back portages followed, and the second was the first portage on which Patrick and Eric's canoe didn't flip off its cart onto the trail.   Paddled along a tiny, delightful McCleary Lake to a sandbar to enjoy our picnic lunch.  Moose tracks dotted the surroundings, but none could be seen in the flesh.  To our delight, there were wild strawberries in season, which were delicious!

Moose print along the sandy shores of McCleary Lake

Next stop: Cariboo River... with a pair of canoe flips to keep things interesting.  Our first mistake was veering right when we should have stayed left at the first fork; then in the current we should have stayed left instead of heading to the right ~ right into a tree protruding off the high bank over the water.

I ducked, Joseph ducked, and Tim tried to duck but was struck by the branch and FLIP, we were upside down in the freezing water.  I screamed, "We're down!" to alert the Scouts who were upstream near a bend, and tried to grap the paddles as they floated by...  Joseph yelled, "Get my sandal!" and I reached it just before the current took it forever.

In an attempt to offer assistance, Ron, Linda, and Peter suffered the same fate in the same place: FLIP.

"Help them!" Tim yelled, as I found a deer trail along the high bank and ran upstream to find Peter perched in a tree (he later told us his monkey skills had come to the rescue).  Ron held fast to the tree with one hand and somehow managed the canoe against the current with the other.  Linda was trapped between the canoe and the tree, in a very swift current.  She managed to climb up onto the bank, and Ron released his grip and floated downstream with their canoe to a gravel bar to begin the bailout.  Tim and Joseph worked together to bail our canoe, and after some time we were finally ready to carry on. 

Zac takes it easy on a day's break from steering duty.

Joseph and Tim, surrounded by gear

We camped, we cooked, we cleaned up.  We thanked God for our safe travels.  We slept.

Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit '07 {Day 6: Isaac Lake}

Isaac Lake, Bowron Lakes Provincial Park, BC, Canada

Isaac and Bryant chllin' along Isaac Lake

Floating by 7:50AM today, with a bright sunny Isaac Lake before us.  We enjoyed watching a river otter swimming and peeking at us near a creek mouth; paddling close to shore we stopped to visit a waterfall up close.  Bald Eagle flying overhead, miles of silence and solitude... this section of our journey gave us rest and refreshment for upcoming difficult waters and portages.

Peter and Bridget at the foot of a waterfall along the shores of Isaac Lake

Bridget and Joseph ride the rapids at the end of Isaac Lake.

After camp set up was complete, we played in the currents of the river at the end of Isaac Lake.  Floating feet first wearing our PFD's, we rode the 'chute' in the freezing water.   As the day of play drew to an end, our planning and mental preparation for negotiating the river currents in our loaded canoes began in earnest.  In a few boats, new pairings were needed to have each canoe 'anchored' by a stronger, older Scout for better handling of the canoes in the rapids.

Bridget sipping a cuppa on the beach of Isaac Lake.

Joseph, the hopeful fisherman

Sunset on the shores of Isaac Lake

Goodnight Isaac Lake!

Preparing for Bowron Lakes {High Adventure BSA}

Peter sharpens his pocket knife with a sharpening stone from Grandpa Pete, which had belonged to his Grandpa Peter from Scotland.

As our departure day draws near, preparations for our BSA high adventure canoe camping trip in Canada have switched into high gear.   Grandpa Pete drove up for a visit and left us his truck for our journey, as our gear-hauling needs surpassed our gear-hauling capacity by a long shot!  Grandpa Pete drove Tim's car home after his stay with us; we certainly got the better end of that bargain to say the least.

Zachary, as the elected crew leader, will be the Scout in charge on this high adventure BSA trip.  Of course the adults (Tim, me and Kimberly) will ultimately be 'in charge,' but the Scouts will be running the show, so to speak.  With great mentoring from Dr. M, Zachary planned out the 7-day meal plan, complete with snacks and desserts, measured to meet an anticipated 2,800+ calorie/day/person need.

Ezra's back home after working at Fire Mountain Scout Camp all summer, and jumped right in to help baggie up all the week's snacks for our Bowron trip.

Seven days' meals and snacks for 9 people measures up to quite a boatload of supplies, for which we will need water-tight, lidded, handled buckets, to be tied to our canoes when we're paddling to prevent a lost load if/when we flip.  Tomorrow Zachary and another Scout will make an appeal at our locally owned hardware store for donated or discounted buckets for our trip.  We have budgeted carefully for the various expenses of the trip, but with the price of fuel in Canada, we could probably use the cost savings of 15 buckets to offset the cost of a half tank of gas.

Zachary and Joseph measure out quantities of calories.

Zachary's before photo, having grown his hair out for a few months

One optional Bowron tradition, at least in our troop, involves donning a Mohawk at some point in the Bowron experience.   On our last Bowron Canoe Adventure in 2007, Isaac's dad, Ron, gave him a Mohawk; having had his own Mohawk as a youth on the Bowron Circuit over 30 years earlier.  Ron's fond memories of his childhood trip to Bowron Lakes inspired our 2007 trip; our entire family was fortunate to be on the crew (though Joseph and Peter were too young to paddle, and rode as canoe passengers).

Peter's hair already cut and styled, Tim gives Zac the zany buzz while Tony looks on.

Zachary and Peter, head to head, ready for Bowron

Matching Mohawks, Zachary and Peter faced off in style just days before our 500 mile drive to our 70-90 mile canoe camping expedition.  The weather forecast looks drippy, but we'll be prepared with our rain gear and high spirits.  We had a few days of rain on our last visit to Bowron Lakes, and although the sunny days shine brighter in our memories, the rainy days had their highlights, too.

Peter practices carrying his dry bag; fastened to a stripped external frame backpack. 

During our 2011 Bowron Lakes adventure in a few days, our blog will feature daily flashbacks from our 2007 expedition.  We hope you'll stop by and check out the scenes and stories from our first visit to Bowron as we tackle the circuit of lakes for a second time around.


Warning: once you've seen the rugged beauty of Bowron Lakes, you'll want to go experience it for yourself!