On an August day I drove east toward Chase and just after the Neskonlith IR, I turned south onto the Harper Lake Forest Service Road.     The road becomes rougher, then at about 6 km from the highway, there is a small Rec Site, with seven primitive campsites and a small boat launch.

The plan was to kayak the lake twice (6 km), once in each direction.   On the second loop I was paddling toward the west end and I spotted wildlife on the shoreline.    With a medium zoom lens I could see it was a mother cougar and two cubs.    Not wanting to spook them, I drifted closer while taking more photos.    I could not get close enough to get really crisp shots, and when I got too close, they headed off into the forest.    I did get a few reasonable shots, though, shared here in a gallery.    Click an image for a lightbox view.

I have been back to Harper Lake each year since and have not yet spotted more cougars.