On a warm May morning I drove east on the trans Canada Highway to Chase then up into the hills to Neskonlith Lake Provincial Park. There is a boat launch area on the north side of the lake and a parking area above. I vary the route each year. This time I paddled around the eastern side of the lake, then down the south … Continue reading →
On a mid-May morning the wind forecasts were favorable for a drive west to Ashcroft. I went through the town and up the Logan Lake Road, then turned onto the Barnes Lake Road. At the far end of the lake is a Rec Site with a shallow boat launch. I unloaded my kayak and paddled around the lake. There are several camping areas around … Continue reading →
On a cool and breezy weekday morning I drove up the Lac le Jeune Road to McConnell Lake Provincial Park. I was the first boat on the lake as I launched my kayak to paddle around the lakeshore. I paddled once in a clockwise direction, then reversed it for the second loop for a 5.1 km route. One fishing boat was on the lake by … Continue reading →
On a mid-May morning I drove up the Heffley Creek to Sun Peaks Road, then turned down the gravel road to the boat launch area, just west of the Rec Site. With an early start I was the only boat in sight and there were no other vehicles (yet). With almost no wind I paddled out through the islands and into the main lake, staying … Continue reading →
In early May I drove up the dusty Lac du Bois Road past McQueen Lake and continued northwest to the Pass Lake Recreation Site. The one-lane road goes down to a campground and two boat launch areas. At the farther one I parked the truck, then used the gravel launch for the kayak. I paddled around the lake twice, once in each direction, 5 … Continue reading →
At the end of April the wind forecast for the area south of Kamloops was good so I drove south on Highway 5A to an informal launch on Trapp Lake. I had earlier paddled south from the spot on the point and for this day the plan was to kayak the north end of the lake. There was almost no wind when I launched as I … Continue reading →
On a sunny and calm morning. I drove south on Highway 5A down past a chain of lakes to the north end of Nicola Lake. At a rest stop/boat launch below the highway I parked and unloaded my kayak and gear for a loop route around the north end of the lake. This ended up being a 5.7 km route, taking about 80 minutes. … Continue reading →
In mid-April the ice had cleared from most of the area’s lakes, except for the higher elevation sheltered locations. I drove up to Edith Lake for the first time in 2025, then paddled the lake. there were light winds at the start, but stronger winds came from the north for the second half of the time on the lake. I paddled steadily for the … Continue reading →
With many windy days, paddlers sometimes need to venture in a direction of less wind. As a general rule, it is better to avoid paddling larger lakes in the wind, but the forecasts predicted less wind to the east so the decision was to drive to Chase and launch the kayak at the boat launch below the bridge over the South Thompson River mouth and … Continue reading →
I paddled Shumway Lake on a spring day in windy conditions. The forecast called for stronger winds in Kamloops but lighter winds to the east and to the south. I decided to go south to paddle one of the lakes – Shumway, Trapp, Napier, Stump, or Nicola. I drove past Shumway and the winds drove the waves down the lake so I decided to … Continue reading →
