Once you have launched your canoe or kayak, you will pass through a lagoon for 1.5 km. At this point, you will emerge into Murtle Lake. There are two campsites (Murtle Lagoon) here if paddlers get a late start. The large east bay makes good paddling if the winds are calm, but if not, you may have to stay inside … Continue reading…
Paddlers from all over the world travel to North America's largest non-motorized lake. In British Columbia, we sometimes take such special places for granted, but it's right in our backyard. Murtle Lake is a destination for paddlers, hikers, and anyone loving to camp in remote mountains. The water is crystal clear, the beaches are wonderful, wildlife is abundant, and the … Continue reading…
Bring your GPS with you when you go for a hike/bike/paddle and it can record how far you have traveled, how much actvity time you had, your average speed or much more. The Trip Computer (or whatever it is called in each type of GPS) can record any of the following that you choose: Field Description Accuracy of GPS Your … Continue reading…
You can go out for a hike and bring your GPS and then come back home and download your track onto your computer. You can create an elevation plot, show your route, show your speed, and much more. Here is a plot from a recent off-trail exploration: In the top image, the blue line represents the route I took. The … Continue reading…
Desolation Sound is not far from Cortes, but if you don't want an expedition, you can day paddle out and back at various spots with safe conditions and interesting locations. The campground at Smelt Bay is a bit of a minimalist experience, but we liked the beach and the quiet forest. Kayakers can easily launch and land at the … Continue reading…
Salt Spring is the biggest of the Gulf Islands and we have not yet made the time to explore it fully enough. We enjoyed our paddling in Ganges Harbor and Long Harbor. We were impressed by the hiking and camping at Ruckle Park and we enjoyed the hikes on Mount Maxwell, but we have yet to do a dozen or … Continue reading…
Paddlers can base out of Montague Harbor or can launch from many sites on the island. Routes down to shoreline offer explorations. Two are featured here: Bellhouse Provincial Park is a small park near Sturdies Bay with a short trail but with interesting sandstone formations: Dionisio Provincial Park is accessible by boat only and paddlers will have to pay … Continue reading…
We will continue to return to Galiano Island for a late winter retreat to hike and explore, and in summer to camp and paddle. Galiano is the first stop on the Southern Gulf Islands Ferry from Tswassen. Once the ferry is launched, you can be offloading at Sturdies Bay in an hour. We prefer to head inland down the … Continue reading…
In two previous posts, Mount Warburton Pike and East Point Park were featured. There are lots of opportunities to hike and paddle on Saturna and a few are noted here. Winter Cove Park This point of land is within the National Park Reserve. There are about 1.5km of hiking and some shoreline viewpoints. Winter Cove and the shores around Samuel … Continue reading…
If you travel to Painted Bluffs Provincial Park on the north shore of Kamloops Lake, you can hike into the bluffs, and when you do, you will be stunned by the "other-wordly" feeling of the shapes and colors in front of you. Eroded, sinuous multi-colored slopes drain the slopes above, channeling water into one stream gully above the alluvial fan. … Continue reading…
As of today, there are 156 posts on this site. Over the next year, it will grow to over 300. How do you find information on this site? Use the Search function (on your right). It works very well. Go to the Site Map page (see Pages on the right) for a quick scan of content. Search by Category. Over … Continue reading…
If you don't set goals and targets for your efforts, you won't set aside the time and effort to explore new areas. A new area takes time to research, time to prepare, time to travel to and from, and will probably take longer than planned if you are exploring new territory. For some areas, there is no information, so you … Continue reading…
Along the river or in the forest, we heard many songs and calls from birds. Over time, we learn to recognize them: Song Sparrow: Song Sparrow (click to hear the song) Blue Jay Blue Jay Blue Heron: 04-Great Blue Heron
Continue reading...We chose to paddle from 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, a tailwind for the paddlers. With an escape route (at Tobiano) in mind, we started early in the morning. We had chosen to paddle the south shore of … Continue reading…
The North Thompson River rises in the glaciers of the Premiers Range west of Valemount, flows east to the Monashees, then is steered south and down the North Thompson Valley. Many rivers flow into it – the Albreda, Mad River, Thunder River ,Blue River, Mud Creek, Raft River, the Clearwater River, the Barriere River, Jamieson Creek – and many other … Continue reading…
The best (paved) road into the north end of Mabel Lake heads east from Enderby, following the Shuswap River upstream. Be sure to stop to at various points (Cooke Creek, Skookumchuk, etc.) to look at the river along the way. As you approach the lake, the road really ends at the RV Park/Golf Course/Airstrip/Resort and there is some limited access … Continue reading…