High Endeavors!: Bowron Lakes Delight!

Back from a week of adventure on the Bowron with son Bryan. I last paddled the lakes 32 years ago with my best man, Ken just weeks before I was wedded that August. It was a sunny, hot passage in 1980 with low river levels, too many bears and portages to forget!

This time round, the weather was variable with rivers near flood level following a late, wet spring and the bears were happily replaced with lots of moose. While our tent was visited by a bear at 4am when camped at Wolverine Creek, this problem has been largely eliminated by the addition of improved out-houses and metal bear proof food caches. A good improvement from my earlier transits when food bags were hung with a rope from a high tree branch, and out-houses were either non-existent or very basic at best. A win-win for the bears and the canoeists.

Other positve changes to the 115km chain include some pretty nice shelters for cooking (complete with wood stoves), metal fire rings and better trails permitting canoe carts to be used with up to 60 lbs. of gear in the canoe (ok, sometime a few more pounds were added!). My earlier adventures required carrying the canoe on one's shoulders during the numerous portages over often very muddy trails and a second trip across each portage to move the packs. This time each portage could be completed in one trip saving considerable time and effort.

All these improvements to the chain do not meaningfully detract from the wilderness experience, and I was impressed with the efforts to maintain the essence of the lakes. Perhaps we were fortunate as the closely regulated number of canoes on the circuit were well below capacity this year. I recall that on each of my prior transits there were very few other canoes on the circuit while we were there...often we could travel for several days without seeing a soul. This time we often enjoyed a similar sense of isolation and were able to set-up camp on two occasions without company. On one other night we shared the site with another couple (Bern & Pat...very nice people on their 8th transit). For the remaining nights only 2 other couples camped in the same location as we stayed in the smallest sites available (1-3 tent spots). Fortunately we didn't run into any groups, although others we met along the way did, somewhat detracting from the wilderness.

One thing that hasn't changed are the bugs. We had only one stop without them plaguing us...deet and nylon head screens saving the day!

The other things that haven't changed: the utterly stunning scenery, brilliant sunsets and the startling clear waters. Isaac Lake remains forever my favorite lake on the chain. Since I first ventured around the lakes at age 15, I have carried permanent images from this lake with me, and I have only to close my eyes to bring this special place back to life.

We experienced all types of weather on the trip. The most challenging weather day occurred as we transited the Cariboo River and portaged the falls and heavy rapids. It was raining heavily that day and I've never seen the river so high! It was fast moving and the shore-side sweepers and deadheads were particularly dangerous. We were warned by the rangers that 6 rescues had already been completed on the river this year, which is quite unusual. In any even we passed safely through with only a few 'moments' and continued on to Lanezi Lake in the driving rain where we eventually found one of the new shelters. We stopped there for the night and dried our gear, meeting two nice couples from Washington State who arrived quite late...very wet and happy to join us at our fire to dry out. We all agreed to set-up our tents in the shelter (against the rules...ooops!) as the rains were torrential that night. Good decision! Our experience with the Americans was indicative of our encounters with the other folks we met along the way. Most were courteous and companionable.

Our last day on the lakes came earlier than expected as we had trouble finding a suitable site on the western leg of the chain due to the number of folks paddling south from Bowron Lake. Limited access is permitted on the easier western lakes (do not have to complete the whole chain) and this portion it is largely without portages. Heavily promoted by the canoe rental companies, many 'recreational' paddlers are attracted to the west side. In any event, when we arrived at our intended destination to meet up with Bern and Pat we found the small site full. We decided to move on further, but the site we selected had a bear warning posted, and the bugs were so bad at our last option by the Bowron River that we decided to simply paddle out...on a very hot day.

Lots of moose all along the way on that last day, and as we left the Cariboo River (further downstream) on the last day we found ourselves about 12' away from one young lady in a narrow channel.