May 20, 2021, the start of the Bro’s 24th almost annual trip around the Bowron Chain, always on the very same Victoria Day long weekend. Why almost? Well, in 2020 a combination of Covid 19 restrictions along with some incredible wet (as in rainy, big snow pack, flooding, totally saturating, campground destroying) spring and early summer weather was calling the shots. Safety was a prime consideration. There was no Bro’s spring trip; in fact in 2020 the first registered paddlers did not leave to paddle the Chain until August 14th.

The Bro’s last trip as a group was in 2019, a truly memorable time with 17 participants.  This year nine fellows answered the roll call, seven veterans and two more tackling the Chain for the first time.   Well over 100 different individuals have participated in these trips over the years. This year, some of us were meeting each other for the very first time as we gathered at the Park registration building check-in. We didn’t stay strangers for very long.

Two members of our group actually did paddle the Chain last year in September, after the deluge had subsided, so we did have some first hand information of what we might see this year.  In 2021, Covid weary outdoor loving campers and paddlers have ensured that the Park  will experience an incredibly busy season, virtually every reservation spot has already been claimed.  We were at the  very beginning of this stampede.  We know that three other boats left the same day we did, and we had heard of one or two others that had started out (and finished)  the week before, so we knew that the route was passable and that we would be among the first 10 boats to tackle the Circuit in 2021.  There were four tandem canoes and one kayak in our group.

Of the three other tandem canoes that left about the same time as us, one of them we never really did see once out on the Chain and we later learned that these two paddlers had finished their trip in three days. A second couple seemed to be training for marathon racing.  They were using a racing canoe and when they passed us as we were getting settled into our first night’s campsite we observed that they were switching sides every five strokes, were travelling really light and we thought that they were maybe even going through without stopping (the record time for a trip around the Chain is about 12 hours).   A third couple caught up with us at Turner Creek on night #3, and they planned on spending a bit more time on the Chain than we did.  

The start and first portage was interesting as both the Park Facilities Operators (PFO’s) and the Park Rangers were also making what seemed like their ‘shakedown’ trips out on the Chain at exactly the same time as we were….the portage trail was pretty crowded and we got a bit of an insight into their operations. It seemed that for some members of both groups, this was their very first opportunity to actually be out on the Chain. Someone must have gone ahead though, for most (but not all) of the large trees that had come down over the trails during the winter had been cleared.

The PFO’s are contractors, responsible for the physical maintenance of the Chain/Park as well as ensuring the smooth operation/implementation of the reservation system and overseeing the overall safety of paddlers who may be experiencing a crisis while on the Chain. The Park Rangers are provincial government employees whose role includes responsibilities for public safety and Park security, ensuring public compliance with and enforcement of Park rules, they also provide field contact for Park visitors and contractors. In addition they have responsibilities in the area of conservation.

There was another reason for the first portage trail from the start to Kibbee Lake to be crowded.  The wives of two of our group members wanted to make  this first portage with us.  One was finalizing preparations for an extended family  trip around the Chain in July, and she was just wanting to get a ‘feel’ for the logistics of the trip so that she could use this information to help with planning their July trip, the other was simply her long time friend wanting to share the experience.  From our point of view, it was great to have two extra strong backs to help with moving some of the gear to Kibbee Lake.  If that wasn’t enough, without any warning, three  grandsons and their father appeared from out of nowhere. These four boys had driven out to the Bowron and when they arrived, started running  to catch up with our group on the portage trail.  What a wonderful, wonderful surprise!  Three  of these four had completed their own trip around the Chain the previous September. 

In the old days, paddlers carried their canoes over portages on their shoulders.  The number of dedicated rest points (called un pose by voyageurs) along the portage trails seem to be decreasing, there are now very few designated points along the trails where it is possible for a paddler who is carrying their canoe, to prop it  against a specially constructed canoe rest.  These canoe rests seem to be going the same way as the log outhouse and the precarious tree top bear caches that were also once a distinctive part of the Bowron experience.

The use of wheeled canoe carts to move both canoes and some gear over the trails has been a very positive innovation, opening up the whole Bowron experience to many who would not be able to make the trip had it been necessary to carry their canoe or kayak on their  shoulders.  The successful use of carts however is dependent on the quality of the trail. The pre-trip Park video focuses on the damage that overloaded canoe carts can do to the portage trails.  While this particular argument is somewhat questionable,  there is a weight limit and paddlers are asked to weigh specific items they intend to carry in their canoes.  It is not uncommon for each paddler to have to make two or more trips over each portage, carrying excess gear on their backs.  Actually that is not a bad thing, it is really part of the whole canoe tripping experience, and quite frankly the scenery is not too hard to take.

It didn’t take long to see some of the impacts of the 2020 weather conditions on the trails. The quality of the portage trails is dependent on two things, drainage and the availability of appropriate trail building materials/soil.  The difficulty of each portage trail is further exacerbated by one more factor……increase (or decrease) in elevation.  The first three portages, from the Park office to Isaac Lake are essentially uphill. In stark layman’s terms, they can be a grunt!  This is the real reason that paddlers should minimize the amount of gear they place in their canoe on wheels.  Never mind doing damage to the trails,  the canoe cart is simply too difficult to manage if it is overloaded, taking much of the pleasure out of the trip.

Last year’s weather-related trail damage was particularly evident at the end of portage #3, where the trail meets Isaac Lake for the first time.  This is a height of land.  Up to this point, water drains to the west or downhill towards Bowron Lake and Bowron River and eventually to the Fraser River.  At this height of land however, water also begins draining to the south towards the Isaac River at the end of Isaac Lake and eventually into the Cariboo River and then the Quesnel River into the Fraser.  At this height of land, which is actually quite flat, there is water that doesn’t seem to know which way it wants to flow and so it just sits there. The end result is a large, boggy, very wet and muddy area with little evidence of a passable trail.  Last year’s extreme high water levels have really exacerbated this problem.  It would seem that the only solution (apart from a good pair of hip waders) might be to build a significant boardwalk over this very difficult section.  (A prototype of  the type of boardwalk that would do the trick has just been completed in the community of Wells  running from the Wells School over the meadow, linking the school with the Wells Community Forest).  As it turned out, we made it through portage #3,  soakers and all, and were looking forward to at least a day of   paddling without any more portages.  

Before tackling this third portage, we had camped on night #1 on Indianpoint Lake at a favourite site that offers a wonderful view of McCabe Ridge,.  There was lots of room for everyone as there are actually two ‘regular’ campsites immediately adjacent to one another along with a group campsite.  It is interesting to note that in 2021 it is understood that there will be no group bookings on the Chain due to Covid concerns.  Does this mean that all campsites will therefore be open to all paddlers?  

There is often a headwind on Indianpoint Lake that for safety reasons forces us to hug the left hand shore, but not this time. Once on the lake we did  look to our left to see the mouth of Indianpoint Creek. This is the spot where in the 1930’s Thomas and Elinor McCabe had built a very impressive two storey log home with a magnificent stone fireplace and chimney that still stands.  Thomas, an ornithologist, was a biology professor from a California university.  Both he and Elinor had a significant presence in the Bowron for a couple of decades. When they left the Bowron, their home fell into disrepair and at some point around the time the Bowron became a Park, this home burned to the ground.

As we were paddling by this spot, we were unaware of another significant development involving Indianpoint Creek, which flows out of this lake into the Bowron River, which in turn flows into the Fraser River.  We subsequently learned that at the beginning of May, just three weeks before our trip, 40,000 Chinook salmon fry had been airlifted into Indianpoint Creek. Chinook fry live in rivers, not lakes, before returning to the ocean as adult fish.  What is very special about these Salmon fry is that they were raised from eggs harvested from the early run Chinook salmon that were part of the 2020 migration of salmon trapped behind the massive  Big Bar landslide that was blocking the Fraser River.  

Someone had the awareness to note that all of the early run migrating salmon that were heading to the more northerly rivers and creeks where they were from (the Stuart, Nechako, Babine, the Upper and Lower Bowron rivers as well as Indianpoint Creek and many, many other rivers and creeks)  would simply not make it to their destinations to lay and fertilize their eggs unless something quite spectacular was accomplished.  The eggs of these fish were harvested and fertilized essentially in captivity, the fry hatched and were now being transported to the very places where their parents would have laid and fertilized their eggs had they not been blocked by the landslide.  At the same time, 40,000 Chinook Salmon fry were introduced to the lower Bowron River and 110,000 Sockeye Salmon fry were introduced to the upper Bowron River which is the longest Sockeye Salmon migration route in North America.   Biologist Thomas McCabe would have been very pleased.

The weather  on day #1 of our trip had been warm (until sundown), there was no rain that night, but the temperature did drop and in the morning there was ice on a bucket of water that had been left on a bench overnight.  While we were at this campsite the PFO’s boat pulled up  asking if any of us might have lost a pair of glasses at the portage at the end of Kibbee Lake.  In fact the glasses did belong to this writer and their return was greatly appreciated. What a thoughtful gesture from this young man, most likely he would only have been required to turn them in to the ‘lost and found’, but he made a special effort to find the owner.

Also at this Indianpoint Lake campsite a little exploring revealed a loon’s nest in which there was one egg.  We were careful not to disturb things by getting too close, but in the morning we were thrilled to find a second egg  in the nest with a loon  swimming nearby.  This was to be the only nest that we observed on the whole trip.

On Day #2, the view as we entered Isaac Lake was  (and always is) spectacular, especially this early in the season  with lots of snow on majestic Wolverine Mountain dominating the viewscape.  We were now surrounded by the Cariboo Mountains and the Interior Temperate Rainforest.  This magnificence  was to continue for most of the next three days….and to think that this experience is only an hour and a half’s drive from our homes in Quesnel!  We were now truly not simply at the Bowron, we were inside the Bowron.

The paddle down Isaac Lake was proving to be uneventful but it was enough just to take in the sites.  The weather was perfect for paddling, there was no headwind, the lake was smooth, there was lots of time to converse back and forth between canoes, we had a rough idea of just where we might spend the night as we leisurely made our way down the lake’s eastern shore.  One of the things that Covid has changed about our paddling routine is the practice of ‘rafting up’ all of the boats to drift, visit and to mooch as many jujubes or Werthers Originals  as possible from some generous fellow paddler.  Definitely not good social or physical distancing practice.

We stopped at the Moxley Creek Cabin for a look. Named after trapper Jason Moxley, the creek was originally known as Cottonwood Creek.  This cabin is dark, surrounded by thick forest, and in need of a bit of TLC. One of the members of our group had spent a few nights in this cabin about 5 winters ago when he and two others were attempting to be the first to circumnavigate the Chain by dog team.    The going had been really tough, the humans were all exhausted.  The dogs, all of which were veterans of the famous Alaskan Iditarod Sled Dog Race were fine, but the trail was impassable, the snowfall was extreme…..in fact there was no trail.  The decision had been made to turn back.

While the Bro’s all depart on their journey around the Chain at the same time, they are not officially a single group, but rather a number of  sub groups, with each registering individually.  Friends or family members make independent arrangements regarding meals, sleeping arrangements, canoe and equipment sharing.  While it is always preferred that we will be able to find campsites that can accommodate everyone, and this is usually not a problem this early in the season, there have been times when we have had to split up the larger group to utilize two separate  campsites. This has sometimes been necessary on Isaac Lake, but not this year.  

We stopped at Lynx Creek as it seemed that  last season’s extreme weather may have made changes to the flow of that creek…..and change there was.  This campsite has always been different as a bridge had  been constructed to allow campers to gain access to part of the campsite because of the creek flowing right through the heart of the campground…..but not any more.  There was now no water flowing under this bridge.  In the past, part of our group has camped at this small site while the rest  moved on to the next site, just past the large valley to the east through which the Betty Wendle Creek enters the Park.  It is possible to maintain visual contact between the two campsites so we have been able to co-ordinate the put-in time in the morning.  This year the campsite past Betty Wendle was saturated and the tent sites were muddy….we moved on a few more sites and found a beauty that was right at lake level but which was quite dry and with just the right number of tent pads to accommodate us all.  All we had to do was ‘shovel’ a bit of snow off of a few of the tent pads, not realizing that this was a sign of things to come.

We had a quiet evening  at this campsite that seemed to be tailor made for our group. Once we were all fed and the chores done, there wasn’t a lot of interest in staying up too late, we were tired. We did enjoy some time around a small fire but were in our tents before it got dark.  Everyone had outdoor experience  and making and breaking camp was not a difficult thing for anyone. The first sounds of life in the morning happened about 6:30 a.m. and we were on the water before 8:00 a.m.

As we got underway we were remarking on how the water seemed as smooth as glass; that was when we heard the sound of our canoes breaking through a layer of ice that suddenly seemed to be covering the whole lake. It wasn’t actually a soft tinkling sound either, but rather more of a crunching sound, it was difficult to make headway.  Of course the thought of ice covering the lake had not been on our minds at all and we were really taken back when we realized that we hadn’t even seen the ice until our boats started breaking it up.  As we looked around, it now seemed that there was ice everywhere.  We instinctively turned toward the shore and in fact there was an open channel closer to shore, which is where we chose to paddle and soon we actually forgot about the ice on the lake completely.

The end of Isaac Lake was lonely and deserted there was no-one there, not even the Harlequin ducks which are so often a highlight at this spot  The water level of the Isaac River was definitely higher than in the past and the way through the Chute seemed to be quite straight forward.  One boat chose to use the portage trail and the two fellows staked themselves  out below the Chute with throw bags….just in case!  Everyone got through with no problems, the river was moving very fast, the Roller Coaster was rolling and coasting quite a bit more than in the past, everyone took out for the start of the portage around the Cascades.  At the check in we were told that there ‘might be a bit of snow’ on this portage trail, which we knew is definitely in the shade of the thick Interior Rainforest foliage.  

And so started the portage from hell.  Not ‘might be’ but ‘yes definitely’, there was snow in places up to our knees.  Dragging loaded canoes on wheels through this mess required maximum effort from everyone. The situation was compounded by the fact that there was very slippery ice under the snow.  There is no way that some of the more senior members of this group could have made it through without the unbelievable assistance of the younger (age 20’s and 30’s) members of the group, particularly two strong, tireless Inuk brothers who helped virtually everyone through this section of trail.  There don’t seem to be any tricks to use to help get through a  disaster area like this.  Possibly jettisoning any and all gear from the canoe, removing the wheels and then pulling the canoe through like a komatik, but then what do you do with all of the gear?  It was not easy going, but we made it, more-or-less in one piece.  

We regrouped for the third part of this portage, paddling a gentle section of the Isaac River to a takeout  on river right at a log jam just above the Isaac River Falls. Often there have been Harlequin ducks playing in this section of moving water, but not this year.  We took out  to tackle the last part of the trail before McLary Lake (note the spelling). There was no snow on this section but there were two large trees waist high across the trail that required unloading and hoisting all the gear including the canoes over these trees. It was with a great sigh of relief that we repacked our canoes at the end of this portage and pushed off into the last few hundred metres of the Isaac River before it entered McLary Lake which in turn empties into the Cariboo River.

McLary Lake is truly beautiful, it is actually completely surrounded by snow capped mountains.  Freddy Becker’s old trapline cabin  sits alone on the eastern shore, it is slowly sinking into the ground. The shelter cabins around the Chain do serve a valuable function, and here is a story about this one.  A young family was paddling the Chain, mom and dad along with two little boys about 7 or 8 years ago.  They were all paddling together in a 20 foot canoe.  The weather was miserable, lots of cold rain, they decided to overnight in Freddy Becker’s cabin.  They moved in, set up their tent (minus the fly) in the cabin so that they would not be bothered by the mice during the night and lit the wood heater. The rain storm continued and by the time it was morning, two more couples had joined them for the night.  This little cabin had become a warm, dry oasis for 8 people.  These cabins do get used,  often in dire emergency situations, yet they are the oldest structures on the Chain, many of them at least 60 years old,  and they are all in need of continual upkeep and improvements.  The front of Freddy Becker’s cabin is clearly sinking into the ground.  This is not an uncommon problem with old log buildings that never had the benefit of a solid, rot resistant foundation to begin with.  It needs to be jacked up and most likely the first one or two rounds of logs will have to be replaced before setting the building back down on to a better foundation.  By the way, Freddy Becker had a second cabin, in the mountains upstream on the Cariboo River, which is joined by the Isaac River, right at McLary Lake.  There is a small but persistent group of hard core Bowron buffs who are determined to find Freddy’s second cabin and word is that they will be searching again this summer.

There was high water and the river was moving along at a good clip.  One of the Bro’s who couldn’t make this year’s trip had sent an email just before we left, offering his good wishes and a reminder to “keep on the inside on all of the corners on the Cariboo River”. That of course is where the slower water is and as this river is notorious for snags, sweepers and strainers, it is good to maintain total control at all times.  We chose our lead boat and sweep boat and started off.  We barely had to paddle, we only had to steer. There was silence as everyone took in the beauty that surrounded us, around every corner there was  yet another panoramic treasure.  Our trip down the Cariboo River was wonderful! We had warm weather, bright sunshine and breath taking wrap-around scenery. Sitting in our canoe was like sitting in the middle of a huge I-Max theatre. The only thing missing was Louis Armstrong singing ‘What a Wonderful World’. This was one of the best trips down this river….ever!

The Cariboo empties into Lanezi Lake, a Dakelh word that means ‘long’.  This lake used to be called Long Lake….go figure.  Lanezi is long and narrow, it’s  dark green silty waters are glacier fed.  The two highest mountains in the Park are at the far end of Lanezi, Mount Ishpa and Mount Kaza.  There can be a notorious head wind once the Cariboo empties into Lanezi.  We had been looking and listening for signs of this headwind as we neared the outfall of the Cariboo into Lanezi, but these signs weren’t there.  There was no headwind, it was a beautiful paddle as faster than ever we made the crossing to Turner Creek in a straight line, without having to hug the right hand shoreline.  This was to be the site for our third night’s camp.

Turner Creek  is named after George Turner who was both Game Warden and Policeman in the Bowron in the 1920’s.  He had a patrol cabin at this location, where Turner Creek flows into Lanezi Lake. This is yet another beautiful spot with both  regular campsites and a comfortable group campsite.  The two campsites are separated by the swift flowing and quite loud Turner Creek.  There once was a bridge over the creek joining the two campsites, but this bridge is no longer in place. There is a lovely cooking shelter in the regular campsite and because of the very cold winds that come blowing down the creek which originates in the glaciers above, the areas between the squared timbers of the shelter are filled in with Plexiglas, which means that if the wood heater is on, the shelter is warm and comfortable.

One of the advantages of having a cooking shelter is that there are tables for cooking and eating.  There is nothing like a flat surface to ensure that the meal is not going to end up all over the ground.  At meal time each sub group was gathered around their table. The shelter is a natural place to relax and visit, and before long it was getting dark.  Day #3 had been exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. It was difficult to find room in our thoughts for all that we had experienced in the past 12 hours.` We were tired.  Getting to sleep was not a problem and despite Turner Creek’s reputation for cold nights,  everyone enjoyed a good night’s sleep. 

The Cariboo River flows right through Lanezi Lake and then does the same through Sandy Lake before tumbling over the Cariboo Falls en route to Quesnel Forks where it joins the Quesnel River.  This means that there is actually a current helping us as we leave Turner Creek en route to our next campsite at Pat’s Point, the ‘Riviera of the Bowron’.  The fact that there is moving water passing through these lakes all winter means that it is not uncommon for there to be open water in the middle of winter. Trumpeter Swans overwinter in Sandy Lake as well as at Swan Lake.  As we paddle westward, we can see the terrain changing.  In front of us is the Quesnel Highlands, we will soon be leaving the Cariboo Mountains behind us.  We are also leaving the Interior Temperate Rain Forest as pine trees start to appear.

Just as we are leaving Lanezi Lake there is a striking rock face on the right.  This is the site of a rock carving that is dated 1926.  This year it was almost impossible to decipher the wording, mother nature has taken its toll over he past 100 years.  This rock carving,  or maybe more correctly etching, states  Reed Morris Ohio 1926.  An interpretation of this carving could be as follows.  Reedrefers to Floyd DeWitte Reed who was a big game guide who worked with or for Frank Kibbee, another big game guide. It is known that Kibbee had a cabin almost directly across the lake from this rock face.  Morriswould be the name of the hunter or client who had come to this place to hunt big game.  Ohiois where Morris came from, it is also where Reed is from, might they have been friends?  1926 is the date that the interior of the Bowron Chain became the Barkerville Game Reserve.  Might this date just be a co-incidence or was this carving/etching made to acknowledge the creation of this Game Reserve?  Right across the water from this carving, guided big game hunting would still be legal.

The good weather is holding, despite the grim forecasts before we left, our rain gear has remained in our dry bags, we have not experienced any rain.  The paddling was pretty much effortless and we ate up the miles quite quickly.  Just before we ran the risk of tumbling over the Cariboo Falls we  turned into Babcock Creek which enters the Cariboo River on river right, and paddled a short distance upstream to the take out for the  portage trail from heaven.  Before this quite beautiful portage trail was constructed about 10 years ago, it was necessary for all paddlers to line their canoes up (or down) Babcock Creek.  Some of our group had fond memories of this experience, pulling the canoes over beaver dams and becoming mildly hypothermic in the process.  It was stated that the main reason for establishing the portage trail was to protect migrating salmon, but  it is difficult to know what salmon these could be.  The Cariboo falls certainly would stop all salmon from  being able to make their way upstream  on the Cariboo River to spawn and there is a small dam on Skoi Lake, which is actually at a height of land, to make sure that the water flows to the west into Spectacle Lakes and then to the Bowron River.  Maybe they put in the portage trail along  Babcock Creek just to protect the creek.  We found a wonderful secluded picnic/camping site right at the end of the portage trail when it reached Babcock Lake.  This is where we had our lunch.

A quick crossing of Babcock Lake, then a short portage over a gentle, very short and quite straight former ‘railway’ portage trail. This took us to a small lake now known as Skoi Lake, that previously  has been called both Little Lake and Tenas Lake.  This is the height of land. Here we met the PFO’s who were on their way to clear out those two trees that were blocking the last part of the Isaac River portage trail.   There is then another short and straight former railway portage trail that leads to Spectacle Lakes.  At one point, this portage route also boasted a canal, but these are stories for another time, it’s enough to state that our portaging was now complete.

Why is Spectacle Lakes spelled with the plural ’s’ when in reality it is actually only one lake?  The answer goes back to the days when what is now Bowron Lake Provincial Park was only a Game Reserve, and it was actually called the Barkerville Game Reserve at that.  If you look at the outline of Spectacle Lakes on a map, or from the air using a drone, Spectacle Lakes does look like it could be three lakes and some would even say four lakes.  But these are not separate lakes, they are in fact contiguous and are one continuous body of water.  In the 1920’s, when maps of the Game Reserve were first produced  the cartographers were obviously of two minds.  They named each of these distinct lakes Spectacle, but they  spelled the word Lake with an ‘s’, giving the impression that there was more than one lake, but there is in fact only one lake.  However until this day, the name  Spectacle Lakeswith an ‘s’ has stuck.  What about the fourth lake?   Well this body of water was called by the early cartographers Swan Lake and to this day there is a Swan Lake adjacent to Spectacle Lakes, but it too is contiguous with Spectacle Lakes.  Enough of this for now, the discussion gets even more interesting when we start naming the islands in these lakes.

There is a spit of land on Spectacle Lakes about half way between the put-in at the end of the portage trail and our destination for the night, Pat’s Point.  We were dealing with quite a head wind and when we got to this spit of land we decided to lay low to see if the wind might calm down.  There were folks camping at this spot, it is a numbered campsite, and even more campers arrived while we were hunkered down, they were all paddling the West Side of the Chain.   Finally the wind seemed to be letting up and we made the decision to paddle in close formation for the left shore of Spectacle Lakes.  I’m sure we all had racing heart rates and dry mouths when we first left the safety and quiet of our shelter, but gradually the wind was dying down and everyone was doing a great job of paddling, being careful not to allow ourselves to be broadside to the wind, which was coming from our left. Soon we were at the left  shore which was  now a wind break and all the while the wind was letting up.  We got to Pat’s Point with no trouble, even stopping to pick up some firewood on the way.  When we arrived we were a little surprised to see only one other tent, a family from Prince George.

We set up our respective camps pretty quickly and staked out a table in the cooking shelter, anxious to enjoy supper.  We were tired but got the after dinner chores done and things put away for the night and briefly gathered around a small campfire to review the day and to set out plans for tomorrow.  It wasn’t long before we headed to bed, I know that I slept really soundly, and didn’t even hear the Pat’s Point owl who has been present at that campsite for years.

Day #5, started with the usual 6:30 wake-up, everyone was in the shelter for breakfast, lots of instant oatmeal, some bacon, coffee, yogurt, some fruit, lunches were made  and kitchen clean up completed.  The bedding was all packed, tents taken down, slowly the gear was being piled up beside the respective canoes.  We were on the water by 8:30, we figured on about 4-5 hours to the take-out back at the Park headquarters.

Conditions were great, a beautiful morning paddle. We remarked on how high the water levels had been throughout this trip.  Obviously not as extreme as the previous year, but high just the same.  We wondered if this was the reason that the numbers of ducks and geese that we observed seemed to be so low. Our thought was that the conditions weren’t right for them to be nesting in this area as rising water levels would flood out their nests.  We were used to seeing large numbers of geese on these trips and while there were some, they were relatively few in number and  were not in large groupings.  Similarly the ducks we saw were few in numbers and also of limited species. There were mallards and mergansers. We saw very few eagles and osprey. There were smaller birds like warblers and pine siskins.  As for larger animals, my paddling partner and I only saw one beaver, there were no large mammals although we were told when we arrived at the take-out that a canoe before us did see moose with calves.  It is good to report that we saw virtually no mosquitoes or no-see-ums…..just one more reason for making this trip in May.

We stopped at ‘the Birches’,  a special spot for this group, and after a snack we then started out on the last leg of the trip.  When we reached the Bowron slough or marsh we were astounded, we had never seen it so large and open.  The high water had turned it into a lake and while we were thankful for the  markers that are in place along the Bowron River, we essentially paddled in a straight line towards the distant marked spot where the river meets the lake.  Once on Bowron Lake we kept to the right hand shore, wind really wasn’t an issue and we were making great time.  We didn’t stop for a break, the high water would have made it pretty difficult to get out of the canoes as there really was no shore so we just kept going.  It took us a little over our 4 hour projection to get to the take out.  We had arrived back to the very place where we had started, in one piece.

Once the canoes were on the trucks and the gear packed away, the nine of us gathered for a photo.  Everyone was feeling good, perhaps the highlight for a couple of the oldest members  of the Bro’s was when one of the youngest members spontaneously said “hey, we’ll do this again next year.” 

With a very special thanks to my paddling partner!

A Recipe for a Great Bowron Thanksgiving — 2019

If you were put in charge of arranging the 2019 Thanksgiving campout at Pat’s Point on the Bowron Chain here are some of the essential ingredients that you would have to requisition….

Ingredients

• 31 people ranging in age from 10 months to 73 years of age for supper
• 9 canoes— 1 26 foot Voyageur, 1 20 foot Mackenzie, 2 18.5 foot Mackenzie’s, 5 assorted tandems
• one 16 lb. turkey
• all the trimmings including appies and mouth watering desserts
• 9 tents
• 1 shelter cabin
• 1 cooking shelter
• several tarpaulins
• one very special campsite
• a variety of great autumn weather
• endless energy
• positive attitudes and big smiles

Before We Start

 Some of this group have memories of spending Thanksgiving weekend at Pat’s Point at various times over the past 10 years, whether with others or alone.  For the past three years for certain, it has been a planned outing featuring a full turkey dinner served on Thanksgiving Sunday at 5:00 p.m. precisely.

 This year’s group consisted of several young families as well as some older paddlers.  Almost everyone knew each other prior to the weekend, a connection with the local paddling club, the Blackwater Paddlers, was one thing that everyone had in common.

Discussions and planning had been ongoing for several weeks leading up to this second week and weekend of October.  Four men in two tandem canoes planned to leave on the Wednesday, to paddle clockwise around  the whole Bowron Canoe Circuit, their goal was to  take 5 days and to arrive at Pat’s Point on Spectacle Lakes in time for supper on Sunday evening, at  5:00 p.m. precisely.  Everyone had been asked to contribute towards the meal, and these fellows arranged that their food contributions would be transported out to Pat’s Point in one of the other canoes that was leaving on the Saturday morning for the much shorter 4 – 5 hour paddle  counter-clockwise around the Chain on the Bowron’s West Side.  This was one way to ensure that the pumpkin pies would arrive in a more-or-less edible condition.

Another group consisting of a daughter, her 8 year old son and her 72 year old father were also planning to  make the same journey around the whole Chain only they planned to do it in 4 days. Once they arrived at Pat’s Point, they would be met by this woman’s two younger sons and her husband.  I should mention that everyone (except for grandpa) had already been around the Chain at least twice and for most there had been multiple trips.  These were two very experienced groups of paddlers.

The rest of the larger group (22 in number) all planned to start  together on the Saturday morning, leaving the put-in on Bowron Lake in six canoes at around 10:00 a.m.  (If you are keeping track of  the number of canoes, there was one more that joined our group at Pat’s Point.  We met up with a young couple that told us they were actually on their third date. It is understandable that they wanted to camp somewhere on their own and they chose one of the group campsites, but we invited them to join us for supper….which they did.  Two very brave young people.

We’re Off

 Wednesday came and the group of four fellows set off.  Thursday came and the group consisting of grandfather, daughter and grandson also started off.  This was completely as planned, with one surprise.  As the second group was completing the second portage from Kibbee Lake to Indianpoint Lake on Thursday, they ‘ran into’ the first group that said they had met thick ice at the far end of Indianpoint and   after spending some frustrating time chopping away with axes, realized that it would be incredibly arduous for them to proceed in this manner. There was also the concern that even if they did get through to the end of  Indianpoint, they had no idea what conditions they would find on Isaac Lake.

In the spring/early summer, paddlers have been known to run into ice at about this same spot.  In May it is of course melting ice as opposed to this newly formed ice in October.  In both cases, the temperatures influencing both freezing and thawing most likely are related to the increased elevation.  As those doing the portage will tell you, this spot is on a continuous climb from the start at the Park headquarters.

The first group was making their way back to camp for the night at Kibbee Lake with a plan to head out to Pat’s Point the following day (Friday).  The second group (which had an In Reach 2 way satellite communicator with them) decided that they would try their luck at getting through the ice on Indianpoint so they camped on Thursday night  in their tents at the  Cushman cabin campsite located on a small hill near the end of Indianpoint Lake.  There is actually a little known portage trail that runs from this cabin to the start of portage trail #3 that leads to Isaac Lake. It was felt that this could be an option if the ice at the end of Indianpoint was really as difficult as the fellows in the first group had experienced.

To make a longer story shorter,  the second group also found the ice to be really difficult so they too turned back and made their way  to the campsite on Kibbee Lake to spend Friday night.  All this time they had been in touch with family via In Reach and early Saturday morning two fresh, brawny young fellows hiked the portage trail into Kibbee Lake and helped the second group portage out to the trail head and transported them to the put-in on Bowron Lake where our larger group was getting ready.

Everyone was now either already at Pat’s Point (we hoped) or was en route.  Our flotilla was large, colourful and quite impressive.  Everyone was in high spirits and full of anticipation, the children were a real source of positive energy for everyone.  Canoes were piled high with camping gear, this was a group of quite experienced campers; everyone had packed for all conditions. We paddled closely together, partly as a safety precaution, but also because it was fun to talk back and forth. We were in no real hurry, we knew that there would be lots of time once we arrived to set up camp and to prepare for the night.

The view spread out before us was spectacular.  There had been a fair bit of snow and the mountain tops were clearly starting to build their winter snow pack.  There had also been some snow at our elevation, but it could only be seen in scattered spots.  We were dressed for cool fall weather, a combination of polar fleece, down sweaters and jackets, nylon  wind breakers and rain boots, toques and gloves.   Rain gear was kept at-the-ready (although it was not needed today).  The sky was a bit overcast but it was generally a bright day.  We all felt thankful for the good weather, certainly above freezing and much better than the predictions had offered.

Entering the Bowron Slough and the meandering Upper Bowron river is always a transition point. Rather than paddling on the Bowron, this is where paddlers begin to feel that they are entering intothe Bowron.  Around each bend of the river one of the Bowron’s secrets is revealed.   There are some geese, shouldn’t they be on their way south by now?  Trumpeter Swans, are they getting ready to spend the winter in Swan Lake?  What are those little ducks rafted up over there, surely they should be on their way out of here by now?  The high water level we were experiencing  has really been a reality through all of this past summer, there has been a lot of rain.  Places where we normally expect to be grounded out didn’t seem to be an issue this time around.

We had the traditional lunch break at the Bowron River.  The children took the opportunity to run and explore.  Parents tried to keep track of them, eventually they all returned because it was “time to go….do you have to go pee before you get back in the canoe?” Children were switching canoes so they could sit with another friend and visit.  We were on the home stretch to Pat’s Point, past Maternity Island and the large limestone rock face or bluffs.  There are parts of this section that are quite shallow, but  it was clear that there was no ice on this part of the route, we were assured that the first group of paddlers who had turned back at the end of Indianpoint were now well established at Pat’s Point.

The entry rounding the spit of land and paddling into Pat’s Point proper was pretty exciting.    It was reassuring to see our four friends waving and taking photos from the shore, our group was complete.  Children donned the now traditional Dollar Store turkey hats for the grand entry.  This year the hats were joined by Saint Gobble, the (now) patron saint of all Pat’s Point Thanksgiving (turkey) celebrations.  Gobble is actually a paper mache turkey that was acquired at Quesnel’s premier specialty shop, the reuse store at the local landfill!

Pat’s Point

 Many people ask about the provenance of this place….who was the Pat of Pat’s Point?  While the answer has been elusive,  the search is continuing.  In her booklet  ‘Bowron Chain of Lakes, Place Names and People’, author Jean Speare notes that this area was once the property of Harold Mason, for whom  Harold Creek (sometimes referred to as Mason Creek) which flows into the Cariboo River just above the mouth of Babcock Creek is named.  The area known as Pat’s Point was later owned by Vince Halverson and Sid Dannhauer of Wells.  These men were married to sisters and the two families built what is now the grey coloured shelter cabin located on ‘the point’.  When the Park was created in 1961, and private properties were expropriated, this cabin served as the Ranger Station  for this part of the new Park. On his 1925 map of the Chain, Thomas McCabe includes lots of invaluable detail, but it would appear that at that point in time, Pat’s Point had not yet been given a name.

Pat’s Point has been dubbed ‘the Riviera of the Bowron’  but what is it that makes this place so attractive?  The setting is idyllic it has everything a canoe camper could wish for. The long sandy beaches, the snow clad mountains, the beautiful, healthy, mixed forest with just a hint of the adjacent interior rainforest, the sunrises and the views of the lake.

Opportunities for watching wildlife, both mammals and birds are plentiful.  The ‘who cooks for you’ hoot of the barred owl seems to be a fixture at this spot  and has been heard during every visit.  Moose have been reasonably plentiful in the past, but the moose population throughout the Chain (indeed throughout central British Columbia) does seem to be decreasing. While it is impossible to know exactly where it was found, there is a fascinating caribou skull complete with well chewed antlers along with part of the spine on display in the rafters of the cook shelter.  Mountain Caribou numbers are on a steep decline throughout the province, in some locations local populations have been extirpated.  The sighting of a living  Mountain Caribou anywhere around the Chain would be a wonderful gift and a reason to celebrate.  There had been a great deal of excitement over the fact that several of  those present had been able to view as many as 15 members of the Barkerville Caribou Herd near the Stanley turn-off  on Highway 26 en route to the put-in for this trip.  There was at least one of this year’s calves among the group.  There are wolves throughout this area and their howls can be heard, especially if they are drawn to the area by a moose kill.  Signs of wolves and indeed the wolves themselves are quite evident in the winter.

The location of Pat’s Point is ideal for paddlers, whether traversing the whole Chain or just the West Side.  It has the feel of a natural meeting or stopping place.  For our group and at this time of year it is a well-placed destination to set up camp and to have a special celebration.  It is also a great spot to spend some time, to regroup, to rest, to meditate.  Many use the site as a ‘home base’ for a day trip to the Cariboo Falls or to Sandy Lake. It is a wonderful spot for  leisurely walks along the beach or through the woods.  Pat’s Point offers great amenities including a nearly new timber frame cook shelter with many adjacent tent pads as well as two group campsites located  discrete distances from the main campsite.  In the main campground there are several outhouses, a shelter cabin and well-located fire rings.

The area around Pat’s Point is steeped in Bowron history.  First Nations lived in the Bowron for hundreds and possibly thousands of years before the first non-natives ‘discovered’ this area.  The Upper Bowron River is the final stage of North America’s longest migration route for spawning Sockeye Salmon.  It is not too difficult to imagine First Nations fishers along the banks of this river.  One of the few confirmed archaeological sites in the Bowron are fish cache pits  known as ‘k’unsai’ located on the shores of Swan Lake. These are located close to the obvious spot where First Nations fishers would have harvested thousands of migrating salmon from the Upper Bowron River.

European settlers began moving into this area just about at the turn of the 20^thcentury, roughly coinciding with the disappearance of First Nations.  Originally a few hunters and trappers moved into the Bowron, Neil (Swampy) Wilson and Kenneth McLeod seem to have been among the very first trappers in the Bowron.  Wilson gave his nickname to the Swamp River which is now known as the Cariboo River.  Then came several established big game hunters/outfitters with names like Kibbee, Wendle, Cochran, Thompson, deWitte Reed along with  a few other hunting lodge developers.  These men guided wealthy (predominantly American) hunters, both by boat and on foot throughout this area where moose, bears, caribou and goats were plentiful. These outfitters established remote camps with cabins as well as rugged trail networks throughout what is now the Bowron Chain.  The Bowron became well known as a big game hunter’s valhalla.  Paddling to or from Pat’s Point,  paddlers pass the 93 year old Joe Wendle fishing cabin on the Upper Bowron River.  Wendle also had another hunting/fishing cabin at a spot on Spectacle Lakes referred to as the narrows.  This spot is visible from Pat’s Point when looking down the Lake towards Skoi Lake. These cabins were an extension of Joe Wendle’s  Lodge (now the Bowron Lake Resort) which was established in 1912 on Bowron Lake.

A short distance through the bushes from the cook shelter at Pat’s Point is a restored trapper’s cabin.  It’s small size gives some idea of just how basic a trapper’s needs really were.  Shelter, warmth, a place to spread a bed roll and  to make a mug of tea.  The children loved exploring this little structure, almost as much as they enjoyed exploring the many well defined trails that meander through the Pat’s Point area, playing games like hide and seek and making all sorts of ‘discoveries’.  The area resonated with the happy sound of the children’s voices.

Sunday at 5:00 p.m. precisely

Sunday was a wet, drizzly, autumn day although with the roomy cook shelter, the rain was hardly a factor. This was a day for visiting as well as preparing for the evening’s Thanksgiving supper.  The children didn’t seem to mind the rain at all with the help of the right clothing.  They spent much of their time outside of the shelter, planning special events for this evening’s entertainment.  The children commandeered an evergreen bush growing directly beside the cook shelter.  They placed their turkey hats along with St. Gobble throughout the branches and this bush became the turkey tree.  Then in a gesture that was totally of their own volition, the children distributed pieces of birch bark and asked everyone to take one of the felt pens and to write a short statement about something for which they were thankful, and to place it in the branches of the turkey tree.  This was very moving….the turkey tree became the thanksgiving tree.

After lunch the cook shelter started to take on the appearance of  an upscale eating establishment.  The heavy picnic tables were arranged in a semi-circle around the wood heater, with enough seating room for 31.  The tables were festooned with an odd assortment of ‘camping’ table cloths with elaborate table centres made by the children using natural flora. Candles completed the décor.

The turkey had been butchered only two days previously and he had been carefully transported in a white pail bearing the Canadian Tire logo.   The Big Easy oven was fired up and Butch was placed in  at the correct time.  Roasting required 10 minutes per pound, and Butch was a 16 pounder.  Everyone was involved in the  meal preparations, each person had brought some contribution and in turn they were responsible for  the preparation and serving of that item. A varied selection of appetizers appeared on the tables about an hour before supper was served.  There was an air of excitement as everyone focussed on their preparations.  Soon the smell of roasting turkey permeated the cook shelter.  At five p.m. preciselywe all sat down to an incredible meal of roast turkey with gravy and dressing, fresh-from-the-garden carrots, peas, home grown mashed potatoes, dinner buns and butter, homemade cranberry sauce and a choice of three desserts, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, pumpkin cake with sauce and whipped cream and two delicious melt in your mouth homemade apple pies.  (in case you were wondering, the time of  five p.m. preciselywas agreed upon because it gets dark by 6 p.m. and we wanted to be able to see each other and what we were eating).  The meal was wonderful.  When everyone was satiated there followed a group clean-up and dishes and pot washing extravaganza by headlight.

Oh yes, one more interesting note about Sunday afternoon.  As we were finalizing supper plans, two canoes appeared around the point as you are looking down the lake towards Skoi Lake.  They were moving quite slowly and stayed close to the far shore.  They would have had no difficulty seeing that there was a large group at the shelter and they kept going, we saw no sign of them the next day.  When the ‘group of four’ had started their attempt to paddle the whole circuit on Wednesday, they were aware that there was at least one canoe ahead of them.  They had never seen a canoe, only  a truck in the parking lot and evidence on the trail that someone was ahead of them at Indianpoint as the lake was freezing. These canoes must have been them, as they passed Pat’s Point they had most likely been on the water for six days.

Monday

The worst part about a weekend adventure like this one is that it comes to an end.  Everyone started breaking camp as soon as they were up and the last of our group was on the water by 9:30.  Four canoes put in  a bit earlier, we  reconnected at noon and everyone reached their take-out by 3:00 in the afternoon.

It was a bright day with ideal paddling conditions. There was a steady, light wind at our backs the whole way.  The wind didn’t create any breakers on Bowron Lake, it was a  nice, leisurely paddle.  As we were driving out to Wells there was fresh snow on the road at all of the high points,  there had been  a pretty good snowfall during the night.  We were home by 6:00 p.m.

On a trip like this one there is lots of time to be with your own thoughts.  I couldn’t help but think about just how fortunate we are to live so close to such a spectacular paddling destination.  To think that we were all home by 6:00 p.m. after having such a wonderful wilderness adventure.   Bowron Lake Provincial Park was created in 1961 specifically to be a place to do what we had just done, to have a wilderness canoeing adventure.  What are the chances?  Are we lucky or what?

Jeffrey Dinsdale,   October 22, 2019

Bro’s on Bowron….2019

The third portage on the Bowron Chain, starts from a quiet sheltered lagoon at the end of Indianpoint Lake, and rises  over a rough rocky trail to the height of land, then levels out about  half a kilometre from Isaac Lake.  This is the point where all the water from the Chain starts running into the Quesnel River watershed.   We know that once we complete this trail there will be no more portages for about 24 hours.

Once on Isaac Lake, the amazing Inland Temperate Rainforest stretches before us, running north and south the length of this large, remote, cold and very beautiful 45 kilometre long lake, then well beyond into the northern parts of the States of Washington, Idaho and Montana.  Mount Cochrane and Wolverine Mountain loom in front of us.  To our left at Wolverine Bay are signs of the creek that links with the Goat River Trail which runs to the Fraser River.   There once was an actual foot trail running beside the creek, built by Youth Crews in the 1960’s during the Bowron’s early days as a Provincial Park.  When the Park boundaries were extended into this area in 1970, a firm decision was made to prevent all access to the Park other than through the main Park entrance. Now this trail is grown over, but there is a revival of interest in the  Goat River trail, which now does have a trailhead not far from the main entrance to the Park.

I had been anxious to see, feel and to just be absorbed by the Inland Temperate Rainforest once again, especially since recently reading the beautifully illustrated book Caribou Rainforest—From Heartbreak to Hope, by David Moskowitz. He writes about  “The Caribou Rainforest: A Forest Like No Other” of which the Inland Temperate Rainforest running through this part of the  Cariboo Mountains and the area known as the  Quesnel Highlands, is but a small part.   This book clearly shows how all of B.C.’s Mountain Caribou  including the very small local Quesnel Highlands population, are threatened with extirpation.

I have never seen a caribou inside the Chain, only footprints on a sandy beach right at Isaac Lake’s ‘elbow’.  Only one member of our 2019 group, which collectively have  paddled the Circuit  just over 200 times has ever seen caribou inside the Park, two animals once swam across Isaac Lake in front of his canoe.  It is hard to believe that this area, which was named (but misspelled by the early hunters, trappers and gold miners)  the Cariboo because of the preponderance of these animals, is now almost devoid of them.

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Twenty four.  That’s how many consecutive years this group of men has paddled the Bowron Canoe Chain, and always on this same May long weekend.   Over the years we have adopted the moniker ‘Bro’s’, as in ‘Bro’s on Bowron’.   Of the group who will paddle the Chain in 2019, some have  made it on every trip, some are newbies.  For the very first time there are three generations of the same family taking part. Members of the group range in age from 28 to 82,  Since the start, over a hundred different men have been part of this group, this year there are 17 of us.  Every man genuinely wants to be here, together.  This is an exceptional group of experienced wilderness paddlers .

Each year we have been among the first to complete the Circuit, some years we are the first. It’s always like launching off into a new and wild frontier, the whole place is ours to explore and enjoy, and finding campsites isn’t a problem.  In actual fact the Park Contractors had been around before us and had cut out those winter blowdowns that were blocking  portage trails or which may have come down in some campsites.  But they are only a few days ahead of us, and there has not been  time for them to cut firewood in the woodlots.  We have learned to pick up any dry firewood  as we approach planned camping spots.  This year there were nine canoes, we generally travelled together, there was usually enough room for a night’s worth of  firewood spread among the canoes.

The conditions were great, thankfully not the almost continual rain that had been in the forecast.   This is no-doubt one of the reasons why we made exceptional time during this year’s trip. We were on the water for part of five days, set up camp for four nights and were on the road home by mid afternoon on the fifth day.  Day four was a wet one, we wore rain gear almost  all day, but that day we had the benefit of both the Turner Creek (in the morning) and the Pats Point (in the evening) cooking shelters.  There were virtually no winds, certainly no headwinds. The conditions on Lanezi Lake were excellent, the proverbial ‘as smooth as glass’.

We had all arrived in good time for the check-in at the Park Registration Centre.  The Park contractor knew we were coming and actually had most of the paperwork ready for us to complete.  We all watched the orientation video at 9:00 a.m. precisely (only one fellow had not seen it before, some of us had seen it in its various incarnations 24 times, and yes the video still shows that if you get into trouble you should put your orange garbage bag over the end of  your paddle and wave it in the air).

The portage trails were generally in good condition.  There was a bit of snow and water to deal with, but it didn’t slow us down.  Trail #2 from Kibbee to Indianpoint was significantly upgraded last fall and it is in very good shape.  All but one fellow were paddling tandem, and the guy  paddling solo had a heavy load in a 16 foot canoe so others gave him a bit of a boost by occasionally  paddling tandem with him in his canoe or offering to paddle his canoe solo while  he paddled tandem with someone else.

Without exception we were on the water by 7:30 each morning.  As suggested previously, everyone had good canoe tripping skills and things like meal preparation and making and breaking camp went without a hitch. Fellows tended to cook in groups of two or four, meals were generally of the ‘two pot’ variety, easy to cook or heat up on a single burner stove.  That’s not to say however that the meals weren’t full of  flavour and the smell of curry containing spices like coriander, ginger and especially cumin wafted through the cooking shelters.  One father and son readily shared their Hungry Man’s Chicken Pie and light fluffy bannock with all takers.  There was also lots of sharing of the goodies that had been prepared by the wife back home (did I just write that?).

We found that we had time to do some extra things like paddle into Unna Lake for lunch and a relaxing time to take some photos.  From the late 1930’s to the early 1960’s, Unna Lake was the centre of the action on the Bowron during what I call the ‘Wells Era’ of the Bowron.  Gold miners from Wells, during the haydays of both the Cariboo Gold Quartz and the Island Mountain mines would travel out to Unna Lake after work, a place where they had established a small community of what they called ‘shake shelters’, and here they would spend days off and weekends when weather permitted.  There is another very small lake connected to Unna Lake by a small waterway.  One of those Wells miners, George Gilbert, got the idea to build a shelter on this lake. It was a ‘guys only’ hangout, these places were known in the day as ‘ram’s pastures’.  This little lake is now known as Rum Lake.  You can guess what these fellows were doing when they were ‘hanging out’ there.

In those days travel on the Bowron was by motor boat, the Bowron did not become a Park until 1961. The Wells Rod and Reel Club was a dominant force in the ‘shaping’ of the Bowron during this period, building cabins throughout the Chain, placing motorboats at the portage headwaters, maintaining a small wooden-tracked ‘railroad’ consisting of one ore car, on the portages between Spectacle, Skoi and Babcock Lakes and even (at the request of the government for fire safety purposes), dynamiting a canal that ran between Spectacle and Skoi Lakes.  All of these amenities for the use of the Rod and Reel Club members.

Most of our group also took the time to hike into the site of the McCabe homestead that overlooks Indianpoint Creek.  Thomas and Elinor McCabe were Americans although interestingly, Thomas, who was a biology professor had a very close affinity with both Canada and the Bowron.  He fought as a member of the Canadian army during WWI, he experienced tragedy on Canada’s Peace River when his first wife drowned on their honeymoon.  His second wife Elinor laid claim to land at Indianpoint Lake as a homestead, eventually obtaining title, she did the same thing regarding 100 acres on the south shore of Bowron Lake.  The McCabes built homes in both locations.  The Indianpoint home was a two storey log structure with a massive stone fireplace and french doors overlooking  Indianpoint Creek.  It is said that the walls were lined with books and that the logs were so large, McCabe had drawers built into them, a place where Thomas kept his ornithology  supplies. The ballusters supporting the stair railing leading to the second level were said to have the heads of the large Bowron Lake mammals carved into them.

Both Thomas and Elinor were keenly interested in the wildlife and natural beauty of the Bowron. They were instrumental in lobbying (along with others) to create what was initially termed the Barkerville Game Reserve in 1925.  Thomas completed the first detailed map of  the Chain that same year.   At some point their visits to the Bowron became less frequent (their primary residence was in Berkley California where Thomas was teaching at the university) and in 1934 they stopped coming all together.  Today only that stone fireplace remains, along with some scattered debris.  I have often thought that this would be an excellent practicum site for a group of archaeological students to come and rediscover just what life was like on the Bowron during the 1920’s and 30’s.

It is amazing how being out with a group on the Bowron always triggers almost endless talk about what else……?  Other trips on the Bowron.   All of the old experiences from journeys past are rehashed. There is talk regarding Bowron history including debates about whether it is McLeary or McLary Lake, and whether or not the Park should make a special effort to stabilize and safeguard the 1926 Joe Wendle Cabin that is in danger of sliding into the Upper Bowron River.  Talk of Bowron geography…. are Thompson and Kibbee really two separate lakes or just one? Just where does Spectacle Lakes end and Swan Lake begin?  We also talk about contemporary issues like….did they build the new Ranger cabins as duplexes to segregate men and women or Park Rangers and Park Contractors, or are they really planning on renting out cabin space for wealthy would-be voyageurs who don’t like camping?

We were encouraged to see significantly more bird and animal life this trip than we did last year.  We saw lots and lots of moose sign. At every stop the  red osier dogwood bushes (which one forester in the group informed us is like ‘moose ice cream’) had been well chewed and there were moose droppings everywhere.  We saw three moose, including one obliging cow along the Upper Bowron River who provided lots of head-on as well as side profile views for all of the photographers. The beavers were there, as well as the eagles.  The harlequin ducks in the  Isaac River Chute were gorgeous.  We learned that they actually migrate from the coast to the fast moving waters of this part of the Isaac River to nest and raise their young.  We saw one swan and several geese, while last year we had seen none. There were ducks (too distant to identify) rafting up on the lakes, possibly resting and in transit further north. We saw grebes, mergansers and loons (all diving birds), there were buffleheads and mallards.

Perhaps the most encouraging sighting was of the swallows at Pat’s Point.  Up until recently they had always been plentiful at that spot but  in recent years their numbers have plummeted, last year there were none.  Song birds seemed to be everywhere, there were definitely warblers, it would have been great to have some more knowledgeable birders along to help identify the ‘little birds’ that were in all of the bushes at our campsites.  While we didn’t see or hear them, we did hear from others about a grizzly bear as well as howling wolves.

It was distressing to see many if not most of the cedar trees with brown rather than green foliage (needles?).  Recent news releases from the Coast have talked about dying yellow cedar trees due to summer drought along with extreme cold winter weather episodes which has damaged the shallow root systems that are typical of cedar trees.  The cedars in the Inland Temperate Rainforest however are red cedars.  The foresters in our group (and there were four of them) felt that this discolouration was not a serious problem and that these trees would regain their green foliage with the help of some good rainfall.

Maybe it was because we paddled together, and because we tended to follow the shorelines of the lakes,  this trip seemed to be more relaxing than most.  There is something almost hypnotic about watching the shoreline pass by as your canoe moves swiftly and silently through the calm water.  This also gave lots of opportunity to ‘visit’  and to swap stories with each other as we moved along together; the time seemed to go by quickly.

We are always in awe of the beauty of this place.  The deeper that we travel ‘into’ the heart of the Chain, the more spectacular it becomes. It is difficult for those of us who live in Quesnel, just a 1.5 hour drive away, to fully appreciate that this spectacular world renowned beauty is right on our doorstep.  This year the water levels were reasonably high, but definitely not as high as last year.  The campsites were not flooded, there was very little ice and snow in the chutes along both Isaac and Lanezi Lakes.  There was however lots of snow higher in the mountains and perhaps the melt and the runoff was just starting,  high water in the Cariboo/Quesnel Rivers is usually at the end of June.

We came to the chute at the end of Isaac Lake.  We did stop to grab a snack, to admire the Harlequin Ducks and to scout the water, but relatively quickly we were all in our boats ready to paddle.  This is the first time that every canoe in our group chose to paddle through the chute rather than to use the portage trail.  Ours was the first canoe and we eddied out just below the chute, taking the position as one of the safety boats.  We were in excellent position to watch as each canoe passed through the chute without hesitation.  It was thrilling to look downstream as all nine boats were navigating the Roller Coaster section of the river as if in formation, en route to the take-out for the next portage.

Two members of our group had been at this very spot just two months earlier.  During a brutal cold snap in March, they had decided that they were going to walk around the Chain using  winter boots and snowshoes rather than skis, and pulling two small pulkas with their gear.  The extreme cold meant that there would be little chance of having to deal with the dreaded overflow that  can often sabotage winter trips on the Chain.   When they cleared the Isaac River portage trails and got to  McLeary/McLary Lake however, they found the Cariboo River wide open. While it would be possible for them to bushwack along the  river shore having to contend with deep snow in the process, they came up with another plan. It should be mentioned that these fellows were not strangers to the Bowron in the winter, they had completed this trip before and on that occasion they had pulled a canoe on a small sled, a canoe that they used when there was any open water.

So, in March of this year, one of them remembered that on a trip around the Chain the previous fall he had seen a damaged canoe beside the Isaac River portage trail.  Despite five feet of snow they found the canoe, ‘shovelled’ it out with their snowshoes, and while the canoe was definitely damaged, it looked like it just might float; amazingly there was even a paddle in the canoe. They found a second usable paddle and were successful in paddling down the Cariboo River to a point just before Lanezi Lake where they  cached the canoe and were able to once again resume their trek on snowshoes.  As we went zooming down the Cariboo River on this trip, they stopped to look for the canoe they had cached in March.  Without the snow, the lay of the land had changed significantly and after a quick but unsuccessful hunt, they decided to carry on with the rest of us.  We made a bee-line for Turner Creek campsite on Lanezi Lake and for once there was no headwind.

The final four hour paddle from Pat’s Point to the takeout is never boring  On this trip the conditions were exceptional and the paddling was generally quite relaxing, with one exception.  As we approached Swan Lake (which no-doubt received its name because Trumpeter Swans overwinter here due to the fact that there is moving water passing through this area on a year-round basis) we decided to exit the lakes by what I call the ‘back door’.  We stopped at the campsite known as the Birches and then paddled around the back side of Pavich Island and through a narrow channel that connects the lakes with the Upper Bowron River.  As we approached the river we had to fight  a very strong current as high water from the river was not only flowing into the Bowron Slough and eventually into Bowron Lake, but also flowing into the narrow channel in which we found ourselves.

Once again we had a ‘ring side’ seat as we pulled into an eddy on ‘channel left’ to sit and wait and watch.  The experienced paddlers hugged the eddies on the right side of the channel, inching their way forward in the quiet water, using all of the  ‘black water’ in the eddy before quickly cutting across the current to the quiet water on the other side of the channel.  They made it look effortless.  Once into the swiftly running waters of the Upper Bowron river it was a float as we relaxed and took in the scenery, including that very photogenic moose.

This is a very, very special area.  The longest sockeye salmon run in North America passes right through these waters every fall.  This would have been a logical place for First Nations to establish a fishery. No-doubt drying racks were erected along the shore line and clear evidence of ‘cache pits’ have also been found in this area.  These holes were dug into the river bank, lined with birch bark and then filled with fish before being covered with more bark and soil.  They would keep the   fish from spoiling for up to a year.  The Upper Bowron River might also be called a ‘mystery river’ with stories of mysterious caves and grizzly bears.  It is officially off-limits to Bowron travellers because of the fact that the salmon do travel to the headwaters of the river to spawn and to die, and this does attract grizzly bears.  With the recent moratorium on grizzly bear sport hunting, there may be reason to believe that grizzly numbers will only increase.  As for the caves, they also exist and have been the site of some of the very few archaeological assessments that have ever taken place in the Bowron. The findings of these assessments were not significant.

Because of the high water we abandoned the posted markers of the river channel itself and paddled into the heart of the large Bowron Slough, something that is only possible at this time of year.  We had entered a very special world, waterfowl were everywhere and it was clear sailing into Bowron Lake itself.

We hugged the right hand shore, stopping at one of the very few sandy spots on this side of the lake where a few of the fellows took one last swim.  It was a short paddle to the take-out at the end of the lake, then up the steep hill to our waiting vehicles. Men don’t often hug each other, unless they happen to be on a Stanley Cup winning hockey team or when they make that impossible golf shot.   Now the secret is out…..they also hug one another at the end of a canoe trip like this one.

Pat’s Point Thanksgiving….2018

At the put-in there was no question that we should wear rain gear,  the forecast had been for “overcast with some rain” and  I guess it was right, for a fine mist was looking more and more like real rain.  Looking east down the expanse of Bowron Lake, there was a clear line on the mountains, marking the elevation where precipitation was falling as snow.

We were the last to put in for the annual Thanksgiving rendezvous at Pat’s Point, it was 9:30 a.m. If all went well, we knew that the trip out to Spectacle Lakes would take just under 4 hours. We had earlier made the journey in mid-June along with two other couples and were familiar with the route and just what to expect.  We were anticipating meeting  up with about 11 other folks, who during the week had been making their way to Pat’s Point via various routes and at various times.  Most had left yesterday (Saturday), one person had left on Thursday and was going to paddle the whole Bowron Lake Circuit.  The plans were to sit down together for turkey dinner tonight at 5:00 p.m. precisely.

Almost alone,  smoke was rising from the chimneys of two or three of the cabins that line the first part of Bowron Lake’s southern shore,  we were staying close  just to be safe.  Three canoes came into focus heading for the take-out and hugging the northern shore, we learned later that they had spent the night in the old Pavich cabin on the Bowron River.

On entering the Upper Bowron River we were surprised by the number of waterfowl.  When I had paddled this way in May as part of  the annual Bro’s on Bowron trip I was alarmed by the complete lack of most ducks and geese, but they were there today.  The geese were rafting up in the Bowron Slough, probably in family groupings and getting ready to migrate south.  We saw quite a few mallards which we hadn’t  seen at all in May.  The highlight was three Trumpeter Swans, but no doubt they were planning on spending the winter, possibly at nearby Swan Lake.  As we paddled the meandering Upper Bowron River, I was thinking that just three weeks earlier Sockeye Salmon were making their way up to the headwaters of this very stream, to lay their eggs and to die, completing both their life cycle and the longest Sockeye migratory journey in North America.

When I had paddled the Chain in May, the water level was the highest that I had ever seen.  I felt then that this was the reason that the ducks and geese were avoiding this place, that they weren’t ready to build their nests, only to have them flooded and destroyed.  Now the water level was quite low, quite a contrast.  Still, we were able to find the deeper channels and made good progress without getting grounded.

I love paddling, it’s something about the resistance as I pull the paddle through the water.  I am always amazed that a slight twist of the wrist, a sweeping stroke or a pry can completely and almost instantly alter the direction in which we are paddling.  I love the hypnotic, relaxing quality of the cadence, starting with arms and then back and shoulders and soon the whole body.  The start of each stroke is an opportunity for yet another unique experience, sometimes dictated by the wind or a bend in the river, but most often simply an attempt to make the perfect  splash-free silent entry followed by the powerful pull to the hip with the slight correction if needed and then the feathered aerodynamic return for yet another knife sharp entry.  The bow paddler sets the cadence, in our case about 40 strokes a minute.  My wife and I have paddled thousands of kilometres together and when all goes well, it is very special.

I guess you could call it typical fall weather, it certainly looked like late fall.  We were past the bright orange and yellow backdrop of  changing leaves, they were now almost all on the ground. The sun was not able to make it through the clouds so it was ‘grey’, but still relatively warm.  The light rain came and went, I was glad  to be wearing rain gear, especially  my warm rubber boots with the felt liners.  Let it rain if it wants to, I’m ready for it.

A group of three boats approached us, we recognized the smiling faces and stopped for a 5 minute chat. We got caught up on the ‘who’s where and when did they arrive’ chat.  Our friends  were like us, they had just wanted to experience this place in all of its moods and seasons.  Also like us, this past summer their paddling had been curtailed by the forest fires and heavy smoke, and they were anxious to simply get out on the water.  They had camped out for a couple of nights further down Spectacle Lakes and now were heading home to enjoy a family Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

There’s a big sandspit reaching well out into the middle of the lake, located right at the ‘bridge’ of Spectacle Lakes, and seeming to get larger and longer with each passing year. This year the children in our group had placed a ‘decorated’ tree branch right at the end of the spit, telling us to keep well into the centre of the lake before making the turn to the sheltered and very hospitable port of  Pat’s Point. It did take us about four hours to make the trip and when we arrived, there were smiling faces, seven other adults and four children, our group totalled 13 as the 14^thpaddler, the one who was paddling the whole Circuit had arrived a day earlier than planned and had decided to head on home, rather than spending a whole day just waiting for others to arrive.  When I heard this, I remembered that just before entering the Bowron Slough I had seen what I thought was a kayak making for the take-out, paddling far to my left.

Everyone was settled in and they had been busy.  There was a good supply of firewood, it had been gathered from near and far, I added our meagre contribution, about 8 pieces of premium birch brought from home.   Everyone else had already spent at least one night at the campsite, we quickly set up our tent, anxious to outsmart any pending rainfall.  It was thrilling to hear the sound of the children’s voices as they happily played Hide & Seek and other games together.  The adults welcomed the opportunity to visit. Almost always in these situations the talk turns to paddling, of previous trips or experiences at this place and other important canoeing topics like the relative merits of kevlar vs. carbon fibre.  Today we spoke of this year’s summer travels, adventures and misadventures.

Around three o’clock the talk turned to turkey roasting and other meal preparation matters.  Once again we had the Big Easy turkey roaster with us.  Propane fired, infra-red heat (not oil bath),  five minutes per pound (and we had a 16 pounder).  Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, so too did our turkey dinner start taking shape.  The children had made up some colourful table centrepieces, there was even a table cloth and at 5:00 p.m. precisely, (while there was still daylight) and standing together, we took a moment to acknowledge that we truly did have lots to be thankful for, then we all sat down in the Pat’s Point shelter to a Thanksgiving feast.

There was a delicious bean and back bacon soup entrée, made from scratch.  Once the turkey was done, juices and fat were used to complete the delicious gravy.  There was stuffing, carrots, mashed potatoes, yams, green salad, dinner buns.  Dessert offered a choice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream or pumpkin cheesecake….or both.

The socializing continued into the post meal cleanup and the darkness.  It’s amazing just how good the conversation gets while you are doing the dishes by headlamp.  It was getting cooler and a favoured spot became the campfire at the front of the shelter.  The children quite spontaneously shared a play that they had been rehearsing throughout the day for an appreciative audience, and then they disappeared.  They had been running and hiding continually since our arrival, they seemed to fall asleep without a hint of protest.

I had been looking forward to going to bed.  I love my sleeping bag, it has always kept me warm, it is extra long and roomy and the combination of this bag and my thermarest sleeping pad always make for a great night’s sleep.  It was literally ‘lights out’ as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I think that my wife wasn’t too far behind me in falling asleep.  I slept soundly for almost 9 hours and felt refreshed when it seemed like time to get up.

The hardest part of my morning routine in a tent is putting on boots or shoes without getting my socks wet. I think we should practice at home putting on  and doing up our boots while sitting flat on the floor.  Once that task is accomplished and I am able to move around outside the tent in a more-or-less upright position, everything gets easier.  It was time for coffee and porridge, along with some fruit and yogurt and of course some leftover cheesecake from last night’s feast.   One by one the gas stoves started hissing, coffee was ready, adults and children with sleepy eyes made their appearance, soon there was lots of chatter and the day was under way.  But there was no rush and in a relaxed manner and over the next couple of hours camp was broken, everything and everyone found its place in a canoe in preparation for the trip to the take out.

We put as much of the firewood as possible under cover, swept out the cooking shelter,  returned the heavy picnic table that someone had moved  from the shelter back under the shelter roof, checked and double checked for any forgotten items, and by about 10:00 o’clock we were under way.

The paddle back along the Spectacle Lake shoreline always seems relaxing.  Today we visited back and forth, there was lots to talk about.  We paddled past  the spot that Bowron pioneers referred to as the Rock Bluff, a beautiful limestone rock face on our right.  We questioned yet again whether the island in the middle of the lake was called Maternity Island, or was it Deadman’s Island….and why?  At what point does Spectacle Lakes become Swan Lake? For that matter, why is it Spectacle Lakes when there is really only one lake? Why do the Park maps have Pavich Island labelled incorrectly?  Is the Joe Wendle cabin located high on the shore of  the Upper Bowron River worth saving, and if so who is going to keep it from sliding into the river?

As soon as we left the sheltered calm of the Upper Bowron River and entered Bowron Lake, the wind from the southwest hit us along with large swells.  The sensible thing to do was to head for the relative calm of the shadow of the northern shore.  It was a task to keep from being hit broadside by the waves and I relied on my favourite,beautiful, cherry wood, ottertail, feels like a natural extension of my body, Lolk paddle, to accomplish the task. This is the paddle that hangs in the place of honour in the living room, it was the first precious item that I placed in my vehicle  after being placed on Evacuation Alert during this year’s forest fires.  This is the paddle, that after one last powerful stroke snapped in half and fell out of my hands. I let out a short mournful cry, I was stunned, yet instinctively reached for  the spare paddle, a lumbering, heavy, broad-bladed, synthetic club  that was strategically located by my feet. The journey,  like life itself must go on.

Everyone handled the wind on the lake with no problem.  The big voyageur canoe, which carried 8 people along with the Big Easy moved along beautifully, the paddlers clearly had a system.  The children in the canoe were laughing and playing and were having a wonderful time, and I hope a great adventure that they will take with them through life.  When we reached the point where we had to cross over to the southern shore and our take-out, it was like we had an on-off switch.  The wind almost disappeared and the canoes paddled the last 15 minutes smoothly and safely.

I enjoy the take-out as the place where everyone struggles to ‘reset’ their brain from holiday/camping/paddling mode to getting back to the real world mode.  Before long all of the gear was packed into vehicles, canoes were on roof racks or trailers, good-byes and hugs were shared and it was homeward journey time, just as it really started to rain.  We would be home for supper, for at least two of our group it would be another turkey dinner.

THREE COUPLES AND THE BOWON…A TRIP ON THE WEST SIDE

How many ways are there to paddle into and to enjoy the Bowron?  We thought we would try something a little different.

Three couples who hadn’t been together for a while, just wanted to go canoeing and to spend some time together.  Our main interest was to set up a camp in a comfortable spot, to eat lots of good food, and to spend some time reading, talking and visiting with each other and maybe with any other paddlers that we might meet along the way. We chose a trip on the Bowron’s West Side, destination Pat’s Point, we lucked out.

Planning for this trip had been ongoing for a couple of months.  As departure day drew closer, we started watching the weather forecasts closely.  Red ‘ADVISORY’ warnings started appearing on Weather Network postings, all mentioning the possibility of “thunderstorms” during the three days planned for our trip.  Thunderstorms bring lightning and everyone was silently aware of the fact that the anniversary of the start of last summer’s devastating forest fires was approaching.   It was no accident that we were planning a (short) paddling trip that would only take us about 75 kilometres from our home.

We were the only ones to watch the noon showing of the Park orientation video, the information was helpful for everyone.  We also learned that there were a lot of paddlers out on the Circuit and  that there was a dead moose somewhere on Spectacle Lakes that wolves had been seen feeding.

The Wannabe is our 26 ft. voyageur canoe.  Despite its size and weight, six paddlers makes for smooth going on water like the West Side of the Chain to Pat’s Point where there are no portages and especially this year with extra high water levels.  It made sense to put-in at the public access located between Becker’s and Bowron Lake lodges.  It didn’t take long and we were ready to go.  It’s always so good to get on the water, which despite the thunderstorm warnings was actually as smooth as silk.

“Preparez – En Avant!”   I’m always amazed by the fact that something as small as a wooden canoe paddle can propel a large canoe so easily.  I love the feeling of the paddle pulling against the water,  and once up to full speed, paddling seems effortless. Watching the bow cutting through the still water and judging our speed as we move along the shoreline or quickly pass by debris on the water can be mesmerizing.  I like to see how quietly I can make each stroke, guiding my paddle into and out of the water without making either a ripple or a sound, entering the water at a perfect right angle with my top hand at the same level as my eyes, pulling the paddle back  to the hip using strong back and stomach muscles to do all the work, and silently pulling the blade back out of the water before feathering it forward for another stroke.

When I’m the gouvernail in the stern I may use a ‘J’ stroke to keep the canoe on course or possibly a draw, which is a power stroke to accomplish the same thing.  The pry stokes are reserved for difficult situations because while they are great for tight turns, they tend to slow the canoe down. I sometimes switch to a longer paddle which offers more leverage and power when the wind, the current or the waves make the going just a little more difficult.  Of course all of this is done in concert with the avant paddling in the bow.

Bowron Lake is 7 kilometres long.  We stayed to the right, wondering if our friend might happen to be at her cabin about half way down the lake.  If there were signs that she was at home we would stop for a visit.  The conversation turned to the history of this part of the Chain, how Elinor McCabe had obtained title to 60 acres along this south shore, that this title had been passed on to Roy McKitrick who subdivided this parcel into 20 lots and that many of these lots now had cabins on them. This all happened well before the Bowron became a Park in 1961 and no attempt was made by the Park to expropriate this private property and so it remains today that there are privately owned parcels of land within the Park on Bowron Lake itself.

The dark thunderclouds seemed to come from nowhere.  They appeared over the south shore hills, at first it was difficult to tell just what direction they were moving but the significant wind was building and it was clearly blowing from behind, those clouds were heading our way.  The sky grew darker and darker, as we looked around, sheets of rain could be seen pouring down some distance ahead of us over the Bowron Slough or Wetlands.  While the sky was growing darker, the wind at our backs was actually getting stronger like a good friend and pushing us along against the current as we entered the upper Bowron River.  Still there was no rain; then we heard the rumbling thunder. My thoughts turned to lightning and forest fires, I then felt just a very light rainfall amidst the building wind, the darkening sky, and the now continuous thunder.

We decided to take cover and doubled our efforts to get to the Pavich shelter cabin that is located on the Upper Bowron River.  It was a welcome site, no one else was there; we knew that at the very least it would keep us dry, which it did.  It was a good spot to have our prepared lunch.

While this cabin is most certainly located on the upper Bowron River, it is actually located on an island named Pavich Island.   Paul Pavich purchased the property on which the cabin was built in the late 50’s from Joe Wendle. It is interesting to note that this Pavich cabin is located just a short distance upstream from the Wendle cabin which was built by Joe and Betty Wendle as part of an outpost fishing camp in 1926 making it the oldest extant structure on the Bowron Chain.

Paul Pavich and Eugene Krause were partners in the purchase of the property on which the Pavich cabin now stands; original plans were to build two cabins however the Pavich cabin was the only one that was finished.    A Barkerville-based log builder, Eric Rask, was responsible for most of the log work however the whole family was involved in the construction and everyone actually stayed in the little Wendle cabin while construction was taking place. Others involved in the construction were Mike Mahon, George Gilbert and whoever could be coerced to help out with falling trees, peeling logs or splitting cedar shakes (which were made from the huge cedar trees that were to be found north of Spectacle Lakes, across from Pat’s Point).  The shakes were transported on a barge that had been built in Wells, this same barge was used to haul building materials up from Wells to the property.  Bowron pioneers still talk about the memorable party that took place to celebrate the completion of this cabin.

This cabin is now almost 60 years old.    Bowron Lake Provincial Park was established in 1961.  After the Park purchased the Pavich property in 1963, the cabin was used by Park staff as the new Park infrastructure was being developed.  Eventually this cabin became part of the network of shelter cabins that exist around the Chain and shelter is exactly what it was providing for us. Maintenance and upgrades have taken place over the years with the goal being to ensure that the roof doesn’t leak and that it is possible to keep the cabin warm with the help of a safe wood heater and chimney. Essentially a port in a storm.  Upkeep must be ongoing and as we looked around we saw where a few upgrades were definitely necessary if this cabin is to remain weather proof.

Speaking of upkeep, as we were paddling upstream on the Upper Bowron River past the 1926 Wendle cabin we noticed that earlier attempts to stabilize the high sandy riverbank upon which this cabin sits are starting to fail and this cabin is precariously close to sliding into the river.  This cabin is 92 years old and is very ‘frail’.  Any attempts to move and to stabilize this cabin would require the advice and possibly the hands-on help of an expert.   The Bowron/Barkerville/Wells region is definitely an area where this expertise does exist and there is certainly room to move this cabin away from the eroding riverbank.  It is important that this very significant part of Bowron history be preserved, not just physically but also by documenting this building’s provenance through the preparation of a Statement of Significance.

The journey into the Bowron Wetlands along the meandering upper Bowron River is a challenge for a  voyageur canoe.  The bow and stern paddler must work together, especially when travelling against the noticeable current.  We were careful to follow the fluorescent orange markers, it would be easy to become dead-ended as the very high water made short cuts look appealing.  Normally this is the part of the trip where songbirds are everywhere, but something has happened this year.  There were very few warblers, no blackbirds and virtually none of the usual geese and ducks.  Our theory was that the high water had kept the geese and ducks away as it would be very difficult for them to build nests that would not be susceptible to flooding, but where were the songbirds?  We wondered if it might not be time to ask the Park to have biologists look at the status of both birds and large mammals in the Park, for there were absolutely no sightings of moose or any other large mammals during our trip as well.

We were measuring the history of this area in decades but it is impossible to spend time at this spot without thinking in terms of centuries when contemplating what this area looked like when First Nations fishers were present along this riverbank.  It seems pretty clear that the First Nation that inhabited the Bowron was the Dakelh  (also known by the names Carrier and  Takuli).  The first contact with these people was documented by Alexander Mackenzie in 1793.  Mackenzie was quickly followed by Northwest Company fur traders, and after 1821 by HBC traders.  In their early reports they speak of these people and refer to them as the Ndazko or Nazkotin.

It was a late summer day in August 1826.  Chief Factor William Connolly, HBC trader, was travelling north on the Fraser River, his destination was Fort St. James on Stuart Lake.  Connolly was completing the annual five month round trip resupply journey from Fort St. James located in the heart of New Caledonia to Fort George, located  at Pacific Ocean tidewater at the mouth of the Columbia River (not to be confused with Fort George/Prince George in New Caledonia).

Connolly had stopped to speak with a group of First Nations camped at the spot where the present day Cottonwood River flows into the Fraser, this spot is located on the Fraser River about fifteen kilometres upstream from the location of the present day City of Quesnel and the mouth of the Quesnel River.

Connolly notes in his journal that “the natives confirm that the numerous body of Indians who usually inhabit (the Fraser River) had retreated from the banks of the river towards Bear (Bowron) Lake and the sources of Quesnel’s River, but (spoken like a true fur trader) whether they have done anything in the fur way is not known. To both those places (the Quesnel River and Bear Lake) salmon ascends and they will I hope be able to provide the means of subsistence for the ensuing winter.”

Connolly obviously knew about the Bear (Bowron) River, which flows out of Bear (Bowron) Lake into the Fraser River.  It isn’t clear if he also knew about the Upper Bowron River that flows into Bowron Lake from the northeast.  The Upper Bowron River is the longest migration run for Sockeye salmon in North America.  This would be a logical spot for First Nations fishers to net their winter’s food supply.  I picture drying racks along the shore right where the Pavich cabin now stands, large fish-catching weirs  and conical fish traps in the river and fishers along the shore line with their long handled dip nets.  The presence of  fish cache pits has been documented in this area.  Called k’unsai in Carrier,  these pits are described by author Elizabeth Furniss in the book Dakelh Keyoh: The Southern Carrier in Earlier Times. “ They were about a metre wide and were lined with spruce bark.  Once the pit was filled with fish, it was covered with bark and earth.  A fire was built on top of the pit in order to dry the ground out, which helped prevent the fish from becoming mouldy.  The fish could be stored in this way for months”.

There is no documented history regarding whether or not First Nations overwintered in this exact area, there is a need for archaeological assessments.  However, the First Nations presence in the Bowron most likely goes back thousands of years.   Why wouldn’t it?  This area has everything that a migratory, subsistence, hunter gathering people would need.  What is known is that First Nations presence ended in the 1860’s with the smallpox epidemic that decimated First Nations throughout the whole region.

There are at least three ways of moving by water from the Upper Bowron River and the Bowron Wetlands into Swan Lake.  When we were ready to move on we decided to paddle upstream from the cabin on the Upper Bowron, knowing that in a few hundred metres there was a stream entering the river from river left.  Paddling up this stream enabled us to circumnavigate Pavich Island, taking us into Swan Lake.  The little stream had quite a current, but fairly quickly this current dissipated as the stream widened to become the lake.  We passed Birch Bay on our left and then made the turn out of Swan Lake into Spectacle Lakes.

We were three hours into our trip, had waited out the rain in the shelter of the Pavich cabin and the conditions were now looking good to move on, we were about an hour from our destination. This last part of our trip took us left of Maternity Island, past the imposing Rock Bluff and before we knew it we were making the wide turn around the ever-growing sand bar to our take out in front of the Pat’s Point cook shelter.  To our surprise, we were all alone…we had the place to ourselves.

Our first task was to set up tents while the weather was clear.  We hoped that there would be no rain, but getting the tents up now would ensure that we would have a warm, dry night’s sleep. We also moved into the cook shelter to set up our ‘kitchen’, which was no mean feat.  Travelling in a voyageur canoe means that you don’t really have to worry too much if you end up bringing along the kitchen sink.  We were cognizant that others would no-doubt be arriving and we limited our ‘footprint’ to one corner of the shelter.  Because we would be staying at this spot for the better part of two days, we scanned the area for firewood and were reasonably successful.  Eventually we paddled over to the woodlot located at the group campsite across the bay and came back with all the wood we needed.  Our desire was to keep the wood stove going and to always have a big pot of hot water available for anyone and everyone to use.

I lied when I said we were all alone.  We very quickly realized that we were sharing this spot with millions of buzzing, annoying, intruding, biting, relentless mosquitoes.  Long pants and long sleeves with shoes and socks were the norm, along with lots of ‘bug dope’, neck scarves and hats.  Why so many bugs?  Was it the high water?  Was it the weather during the month of June?  The bugs had not been noticeable when we were on the water, but getting away from them when on land was impossible.

There is also a present-day shelter cabin at Pat’s Point.  This cabin was constructed around 1959 by Vince Halverson and his brother-in-law Sid Dannhauer.  Sid had acquired the property just before construction started and Vince provided all of the building materials.  Vince was the owner of the Wells-Barkerville Sawmill and while both families had moved out to Pat’s Point and lived in tents during construction of the cabin, Vince commuted back and forth to his mill each working day, bringing the building materials to Pat’s Point in the evening, dragging all the lumber from Bowron Lake behind his 14 foot boat which was powered by a 35 horsepower Evinrude motor.  Sid travelled out to Pat’s Point on weekends, his job in Wells kept him in town during the week.  The property was taken over by the Park around 1964 the cabin was used by government workers for years while the Park infrastructure was being developed.

One other couple joined us on that first day and night at Pat’s Point,. They were from Shawnigan Lake, she had paddled the Chain 30 years earlier and had always thought that she would like to do it once again, stating that she wasn’t disappointed.  This couple had lots of time and we visited over the two days they remained at Pat’s Point, they weren’t in a hurry to get home. They chose to camp right on the point in front of the 59 year old Halverson/Dannhauer cabin.  Like the Pavich cabin, it is now maintained to provide a roof and a source of heat in the event of extreme weather.  It is also home to a number of mice.  This couple came to the cook shelter to prepare their meals.

Every meal was special. We had lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh milk, literally all the trimmings.  No Starbucks Via-instant coffee-like substance for us….we had a big bag of freshly ground dark roast along with the French Press, and it got lots of use.  Having room for ‘stuff’ is one benefit of travelling with 6 people in a canoe that has seating for 10.  In fact we took one of the bench seats out of the canoe to make more room for all of our gear and supplies.

That first night we were all in bed by 9:00 p.m.  Entering our large roomy tents with their exquisite nylon screens was like entering a hidden paradise.   Try as they may, the mosquitoes could not get in and could only noisily express their frustration from the outside of the screens.  It was a great sleep, 10 hours of really good rest.  I did hear the Barred Owl’s ‘Who Cooks For You” during the night, and others heard the wolves howling from down the lake, no-doubt circling around the moose carcass we had learned about when registering.

The place is beautiful and has often been referred to as the ‘Riviera of the Bowron’ with its sandy beaches and opportunities for excellent swimming. In 1925, Thomas McCabe completed the first known map of what became known as the Bowron Game Reserve. He hiked around the Chain in the winter pulling a bicycle wheel that served as an odometer.  En route he documented the presence of cabins along with the names of both past and present occupants, trap lines and other natural geological as well as man-made features around the Chain.  McCabe made no special notations about the site of present day Pat’s Point.

About 30 metres from the cook shelter, hidden deep in the forest is an old (but recently stabilized) trap line cabin.  This small flat-roofed log building is only about 7 feet square, just a simple overnight structure with a pole sleeping platform along with the remains of an airtight heater. Who was the trapper that built this cabin?  Who was the Pat of Pat’s Point fame?  When enquiring about the history of this spot, the name Pat McKenna comes up…there is a need for some more research.

Pat’s Point is a popular and logical destination for West Side paddlers like us.  It is quite doable to establish a base camp and then to make a very interesting unburdened trip over three portages to Unna Lake.   A short hiking trail leads to a viewpoint overlooking the breathtaking Cariboo River falls, all of this with lots of time to return to Pat’s Point on the same day.  This is also a logical point for full circuit paddlers to stop and regroup before their final four or five hour push to the take-out at the end of Bowron Lake.  As well as the main campsite, which boasts the cook shelter, shelter cabin along with several outhouses, bear caches and at least ten tent pads; there are also two separate self-contained group campsites at this location.  One of these is directly across the water from the cook shelter area while the other is located down the beach at the end of the bay in a wonderfully secluded spot.

Day two started off with real porridge, not that gruelly instant stuff that comes in a brown envelope and that you mix with tepid water.  Our porridge was a mixture of steel cut oats, rolled oats, hemp hearts and Red River Cereal.  As it was brought to a rolling boil in a real pot, dried cranberries and cherries were added and it was served with fresh milk, brown sugar, maple syrup and yogurt.  This was man food, camping food; real sustenance!  There was also toast with butter and wild huckleberry jam, all washed down with a few mugs of dark roast (“Intense & Smokey”) freshly squeezed in the French Press.  Oh, and the oranges, I can’t forget the oranges.

It was now time to start our day’s activities.  We sat and swatted mosquitoes, read, chatted, went for walks along the sandy shoreline, checked out the wildflowers with the help of a guidebook, identified the birds that we did see and speculated about the birds that should have been there but weren’t.  The six of us have been very close friends for over 40 years so there was talk about children and grandchildren and jobs and retirement and moves and health and deaths and adventures, of future plans and past experiences together.  We didn’t talk about politics except in a joking manner.  We all share a deep love of the outdoors and talked about gardens and good food and stewardship and  husbandry. Some of us napped, others kept the wood fire going, we all were doing exactly what we had been looking forward to doing.

As the day unfolded so did the weather and the landscape.  Every time I look down Spectacle Lakes from the doorway of the cook shelter, the lyrics (albeit heavily abridged) of Jane Morgan’s With Open Arms start running through my mind, …..

               “And when (the) boat comes in, I run to (him/her/them) with open arms”  

And the canoes and kayaks did start coming.  We had spoken with one of the Park contractors that morning and he said that he had tried to find the moose carcass but hadn’t had any luck. He also told us that there were lots and lots of people camped at Sandy Lake and beyond and that we should expect company.

The bulk of the paddlers arrived close to noon, just as the heavy rain started.  Eight young women from the Island, all good friends (two of them sisters) were on their third annual adventure trip together…a different spot every year. They knew what they were doing and very quickly got all of their needed gear up into the shelter.  They were organized in cooking groups of two and were determined to have a hot lunch.  Their timing had been perfect; the shelter was alive with activity.  Then another young couple arrived, as well as our friends from the day before who had camped  down at the point last night.  The sound of single burner gas stoves filled the air, there were at least seven different meals being prepared all at the same time.  Other canoes and kayaks simply paddled through; still others went to the group site across the water from the cook shelter.  All this while the rain was pouring down.

We were preparing our own lunch (wraps with lemon squares for dessert) and visiting with everyone, all at the same time.  The rest of the paddlers were at least 35 years younger than we were and we loved their energy, it was infectious, this is exactly what we had hoped would happen.

The rain started to let up, just as everyone was getting ready to move on. The group of 8 had to finish that day and we were able to give them some tips on the quickest way to get through to Bowron Lake.  They were heading for Becker’s Lodge and we told them to look for the “red roofs on the left” for their take-out and that  would save them a lot of time. When this group was about to leave, the three women in our group went up to them and gave them a special gift of Whitewater granola bars.   They graciously accepted and were heard to say as they were getting underway…”what nice old people”.  One couple were in no hurry, they had a few more days and wanted to paddle to somewhere on the Chain that night.  We looked at the map and suggested that they try the campsite at Birch Bay.  The next morning as we were on our way out we stopped at Birch Bay and saw that their campfire fire ring was still warm.

The canoes and kayaks continued to pass by all afternoon; the Chain was busy.  No one else stopped, a few boats did pull in at the group campsite across the way. The rain had stopped and we resumed our same old hectic schedule of mosquito slapping.  Supper was shepherd’s pie cooked in the Dutch oven over charcoal briquettes, with more delicious squares for dessert.  We were appreciating June’s extended hours of daylight, but were ready for bed by about 9:00 p.m.

It was another great sleep.  We all seemed to get moving at about the same time and took it easy breaking camp, making sure that we stopped for breakfast.  This time it was fantastic enhanced Rotary pancakes, cooked by an experienced pro.  They came complete with fresh strawberries (from the garden), butter, maple syrup and yogurt, all washed down with some of that real coffee.

We were on the water by 10:30, I was the avant, the paddler in the bow.  My job was to set the pace for the mangeurs de lard behind me.  Real voyageurs would be paddling at least 50 strokes a minute, we were probably paddling just under 30, but we were moving.  The gouvernail paddling in the stern was my long time paddling buddy and he handled the canoe perfectly, we have been down many long rivers together.  We were making great time and could easily have overtaken the canoes and kayaks that had left ahead of us.  We chose to break up the trip with a special stop at Birch Bay, a campsite that we refer to as the Birches.  This is the spot where approximately 10 years earlier, a group of family and friends gathered and planted a dwarf weeping birch memorial tree.

We moved on and once again the wind was at our back.  We got caught in the strong current that drains from Swan Lake into the Bowron River and we were really moving.  Our gouvernail told us when to lean left or right as we negotiated the tight corners on the Upper Bowron River, this time moving with the current.  This technique, which exposes more of the canoe’s rounded hull to the current, made steering strokes almost unnecessary.  Soon we entered Bowron Lake itself, still with the wind at our backs. We chose to have lunch, something that is quite easy to do in a voyageur canoe, especially when the wind is pushing you in the right direction.  We ate and rested for at least a half hour, visiting and laughing and secretly feeling quite proud of our accomplishments during this trip.  We too were heading for the red roofs and when we got there the wind was blowing strongly, making the loading of the canoe onto the trailer, the hardest part of the whole trip.

The Bowron is about 30 kilometres from Wells and we had 5:00 p.m. reservations at the Pooley Street Café, where they make what they call “Scratch Food”.  The meal was truly special; we will be going back.   We were home by 8:00 p.m. and in bed at our usual 9:00 p.m., this time sans mosquitoes.

Jeffrey Dinsdale

June 2018

Bro’s On Bowron May 2018

It came right down to the wire.  First there was the report that two fellows who had hoped to make an early May trip around the Chain got stopped by big ice on Isaac Lake and had to back track to their put-in.  Then there were the encouraging aerial photos showing  completely open  and ice free Kibbee and Indianpoint Lakes, followed by another pilot’s personal report that he had flown over ice on Isaac Lake.  Our trip was slated to start on May 17^th.   On the 14^thwe got word that the Park maintenance crew had made their way on the East Side of the Chain as far as Wolverine Bay on Isaac Lake and that the West Side was also completely open.   We also learned that the Park maintenance crew was going to work their way north  from McLeary Lake to Isaac Lake using the old portage trail on the east side of the Isaac River, to get a look at the ice situation at the south end of Isaac Lake. On the 15^thwe got the word and it was almost incomprehensibe.  “The end of the lake and the Isaac River are solid, jumbled ice from shore to shore”. How could this be?

My partner and I agreed that we were going to show up at the put-in on the 17^thand if  Isaac was still blocked we would content ourselves with paddling on the West Side, possibly as far as Turner Creek on Lanezi Lake.  Others in our group were determined to make it all the way around the Chain and were simply going to take a chance that by the time they reached the bottom of Isaac Lake it would be open.  If they were successful we could all meet up at Turner Creek and finish the Circuit together.   A very experienced alumnus of  the Bro’s who has spent a fair bit of time paddling amidst the glacial ice of  Alsek Lake in the Yukon and Alaska pointed out that  the ice on Isaac Lake had probably broken up, was melting and that the wind had simply blown it all down to the south end of the lake and it was now slowly making its way out of the lake and down the Isaac River,  That is  why both the end of the lake and the river were “solid ice from shore to shore”.

The Bowron Chain is in Quesnel’s back yard, it is only a historic 90 minute drive from our homes to the put-in.  On the 17^thwe all arrived at the Registration Centre early enough to catch the 9:00 a.m. premiere screening of the new orientation video.  Many of us had seen the old one at least 20 times, this new one was informative, entertaining and it came in stereo too as Park worker Corrine’s friendly big black dog Vita joined us for the showing and barked loudly every time a bear appeared on the screen. Unfortunately, this ‘new’ video (which is actually dated 2015) contains no mention at all of  the First Nations history associated with the Bowron.  Along with the video came the welcome news  from Corrine that “you are good to go,  the end of Isaac Lake, the Chute and the river are all clear of ice”. My partner and I changed our plans on the spot, we were going to paddle the Circuit.

There we were, 19 men about to start on the 23^rdAnnual Bro’s on Bowron trip around the Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit.  We have always made this trip over the Victoria Day long weekend.  In all those years we have certainly seen varied conditions but on only two occasions were we stopped by the ice, and in retrospect, if we hadn’t been such wimps,  on one of those occasions we could have made it around the Chain.

Our larger group was actually comprised of a number of smaller groups.  There was one bunch of five who cooked and camped together and seven pairs,  each paddling together in a tandem canoe.  Being the very first of the season to go out on the Chain means that there is no congestion and that finding campsites is not a problem, we can essentially camp wherever it works.  But we were not alone, leaving at the same time were one other group of four and at least four other couples in tandem canoes.  This didn’t include those that were choosing to travel on the West Side of the Chain.  Our experience tells us that there are an ever-increasing number of paddlers choosing to make this trip in the shoulder seasons, in both early May and late October.

A father, mother and their adult daughter visiting from the Netherlands had been camping at Bowron Lake Lodge and we invited them to come and watch the orientation video with us.  They loved everything about the experience,  there was lots of action as 30+ paddlers were busily packing and getting ready for  their trip. They enjoyed the video which instilled dreams of maybe paddling the Chain themselves one day. My partner and I played the old age card and enlisted their help on the first portage to Kibbee Lake.   It didn’t take much to convince them that they could hike that first portage to Kibbee Lake with us, and  “why not carry some of our gear while you are at it.”

As soon as we put in on Kibbee Lake we knew that the water level was higher than we had ever experienced it in the past.  That heavier than normal snowpack was definitely melting; high water would prove to be the hallmark of our whole trip.  Whenever I am sitting in my canoe on Kibbee Lake and taking those first few paddle strokes of the journey I always have the same feeling, this is my happy place!   I can feel the pleasure that comes with entering into this special world called the Bowron.  Occasionally I  use visualization as a form of relaxation, and it is the vista that  was there present before me at the start of this trip, that I always visualize.

The trip across Kibbee doesn’t take too long, but already our group was spread out and we were essentially on our own.  We knew where we were heading, to a string of three separate but connected campsites on Indianpoint Lake just past Kruger Bay.  There would be lots of room for our group at that spot.  but first we had to conquer the second portage running from Kibbee Lake to Indianpoint.  Where were those Dutch helpers when we needed them?

There is a knack to packing correctly for a trip like this one, and that knack seemed to have eluded us.  Let’s just say that we had lots of ‘stuff‘ with us, stuff that we didn’t really need.  A lot of the extra weight  was actually food, but there was also the 10 pound three man/four season tent that was probably a bit of overkill.  Throw in the two nylon tarps complete with ropes and extra heavy spikes for staking them down, and the extra clothing that I now know was superfluous.  Our repair kit was probably suitable for repairing the Queen Mary, and why did we need two first aid kits?  We did the Indianpoint portage in stages, leaving our loaded canoe (on wheels) at the halfway point and going back to Kibbee Lake for our extra gear and to have lunch.

As we were eating a delicious lunch of wraps with a filling made in situ comprised of tomato, black beans and avocado, the Park maintenance crew arrived and began raking the campsite where we were sitting.  Bowron Lake Provincial Park has to be the best raked park in all of B.C.  They raked everything, the tent pads, the area around the fire pit, the trail to the outhouse, even parts of the portage trail. All too soon we donned the heavy packs (actually one of them was the food barrel from hell) and we were on our way over the (raked) trail.  We got to the spot where we had left the canoe and it was gone.  Oh no, I had been hoping to dump the lead infused food barrel into the canoe and to exchange it for something just a tad lighter.  When we staggered into the little clearing at the end of this portage, many of our group members were having their lunch and we were able to thank the two youngest members of our group,  two young pups in their mid 20’s, for their help with the canoe.

Now that I mention our group, just who were we?  All of the group either lives in Quesnel or has  a pretty close Quesnel connection.  The eldest was 81, the youngest was 28.  There was one father and son who knew the Chain very well however each chose to paddle with friends who were first timers.  Four were paddling the Chain for the very first time, three of the group had paddled the Chain over 30 times, the rest had many trips around the Circuit under their belts.  There were nine canoes and one ocean kayak, some of the canoes were brand new beauties, there were no klunkers.  Needless to say there was a lot of paddling experience represented by the members of this group.  Decisions were generally made by consensus, but we all knew who the best and most knowledgeable paddlers were if we needed to make a difficult decision.

We all put in on Indianpoint Lake within about 5 -10 minutes of each other, into a pretty strong cross  wind blowing over our left shoulder.  We kept fairly close together until we were in the shadow of the left shoreline, where the wind was not a factor.  It was just under an hour’s paddle to that night’s campsite, we arrived around 3:00 p.m. The campsites were on a fairly high ridge so the high water level didn’t really have an impact on the landing or the campsites themselves.  There was plenty of time to just relax before setting up camp and making supper. The weather had been great, pretty warm for this time of year but it was still most comfortable wearing a polar fleece or nylon jacket.

Everyone was a pretty experienced camper.  Soon all the tents were up, the bedding was spread out, canoes were brought up to the campsites and stowed for the night, everything that needed to stay dry found a place under cover.  A fire was started in the fire ring, the rich guys brought out their $150.00 collapsible chairs and the rest of us sat on stumps.  Each little group did their own cooking and most of the efforts were pretty impressive.  We warmed up pre-cooked chicken with roasted vegetables along with dessert, easy to prepare and it tasted great; best of all, eating it should lighten our food barrel by at least two pounds.

Visiting and talking around the campfire always seems to be one of the best times of the day.  We were a pretty diverse group with backgrounds ranging from medicine to forestry, social work, nursing, engineering, mill work, small business ownership, administration, auto mechanics, electronics, we even had a poor man’s financial advisor in the group.  His advice to everyone, no matter the topic was to “send them a bill”, and then he wanted to send the rest of us a bill for this advice.  Over half of our group were actually retired, which meant that we were having trouble remembering just  what day of the week it was.  We had to establish some parameters for our discussion topics. It soon became quite evident that if this was going to be a relaxing and enjoyable trip, politics had to be completely off limits.

After a good night with no rain, we were on the water early, before 8:00 o’clock.  We paddled into the lagoon at the end of Indianpoint Lake and took out in the mud that always seems to be at that spot.  This was rubber boot country.  Soon the canoes were up on the wheels and  on the trail and this third and very rough ankle breaker portage that would take us to Isaac Lake was commenced.  It was shorter than the first two which was a relief.  We were also able to complete the portage in one trip but were somewhat shocked when we arrived at Isaac Lake.

The first three portages on the Circuit are all uphill, but somewhere near the end of this third portage we reached the height of land.  Up to that point, all of the water is flowing northwest, eventually emptying into Bowron Lake which is drained by the Bowron River which in turn flows north east into the Fraser River about 40 kilometres east of Prince George.  Once we cross that height of land, all of the water is flowing west and southwest into Isaac Lake, down the Isaac River which flows into the Cariboo River which joins the Quesnel River at Quesnel Forks which in turn flows into the Fraser River at Quesnel.  There was a huge amount of water flowing into Isaac Lake, the usual put-in at the end of the portage was under deep water, we put in well before the usual spot and once on the lake we could see the impact of the high water.   Campsites were compromised, with no beaches or shorelines and  water right up to the tent pads.  Some of the low-lying ones were completely under water.  Usual sandbars and beaches were well submerged. We were getting into the magnificent Cariaboo Mountain country and all of the mountains were snow covered and melting.  But it was a beautiful day, with spectacular reflections of the panoramic mountains filling the lake all around us.

There are two arms to Isaac Lake that are roughly at a 90 degree angle.  Our immediate destination was to get to the ‘elbow’ where we would make a  few decisions. Just where would we have lunch and what side of the lake would we paddle on when making the turn to travel down the longest arm that would take us to the end of the lake?  As we headed towards the elbow, both snow covered Wolverine Mountain and Mount Cochrane were spectacular in the bright sunshine.  There was no wind, the water was like glass, we paddled together with lots of bantering back and forth.

When we got to the ‘elbow’ we could see the Ranger cabin and the cooking shelter in the campsite at Wolverine Bay to our left.  At this point we rafted up for a talk before we started to paddle down Isaac Lake’s longer arm.  Part of our group wanted to stop on the right hand shore of the long arm to hike in and see an impressive waterfall that is virtually hidden in the bushes, they would also have lunch at that spot.  The same group wanted to spend the night in the group campsite that is on the right hand side about 2/3 of the way down this arm.  The rest of  us wanted to stay to the left and to camp at campsite #24 which is  just past  the spot where Betty Wendle Valley  enters Isaac Lake and which is almost directly across from the spot where the others would be camping at the group campsite.   For those of us who were part of this latter group, our first desire was to get across the arm and to have lunch at a campsite that was directly in front of us.

After lunch we paddled down the east side of the lake, we could see the other canoes across the arm from us.  We got to Lynx Creek campsite and took a break.  A huge tree had blown down in the campsite and had come close to destroying the bridge that crosses the creek and which makes this campsite usable.  This was the site of the famous bear mauling, that took place almost 24 years ago, when a young German medical student  who had been studying in Seattle, was attacked by a black bear while sleeping in his tent along with his girlfriend.   At this point in the narrative the facts become a bit hazy, because this story has been told so many times by so many people who didn’t know what they were talking about.  The bare facts of  the outcome are:  the fellow survived, a team from the hospital where he was working in Seattle flew  to Quesnel to escort him back to their hospital, Jerry MacDonald, the then editor of the Quesnel Cariboo Observer wrote up the story which was actually published in the Canadian issue of Reader’s Digest.

Our group  had a discussion about the fact that  campsite #24, which was the next campsite we would be coming to was probably at least partially under water.  It was decided that two canoes (four fellows) would stay and camp here  at Lynx Creek.  They would meet us in the morning and we would paddle to the end of the lake together. We made it to campsite #24 and indeed the water was lapping at the rims of the tent pads, there was no foreshore, but there was room for all of us with a bit of creative tent placement.  About two hours after we arrived, a father and son from Victoria paddled up to the campsite and we were able to invite them to join us, there was one good spot left and they ended up having a comfortable night.  We could see the rest of our group right across the lake from us as they had reached their destination at the group campsite.  From then on, the three different campsites kept in communication using smoke signals.

We had a good night, I always seem to sleep better on a thermarest.  Our tent had a few advantages over the smaller (and much lighter) 1 man versions that many of the others were using.  Being a four season tent, by closing  the zippers judiciously, the tent remained really warm at night with good ventilation, and the temperatures did drop after the sun went down.  Another advantage was the tremendous amount of storage space that we had at our disposal. Virtually everything we owned was kept safely under cover and it was easily accessible.  Sleeping on this trip was not a problem.

George Gilbert grew up in Wells, he worked for the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine and he was a key figure during what I call the ‘Wells Era’ of Bowron Lake, a period that started in the 1940’s and lasted until the Bowron was made a Park in 1961.  George, who passed away in 2008 wrote a book called Kicked By A Dead Moose in which he documents many of his Bowron Lake exploits.  In the late 1950’s, George wanted to build a cabin between Betty Wendle Creek and the lower end of  Isaac lake. He picked out a spot “about four miles from Betty Wendle” that he called Silvertip Point and arranged for Erik Rask to build him a log cabin at that spot.  I have often wondered if campsite #24 wasn’t actually the site of Silvertip Point.  Two years ago I rooted around the campsite and found a large old aluminum kettle, which suggested to me that someone had set up house there.  George’s cabin was “burned by the Parks pyromaniacs” after the Bowron Chain became an integral part of Bowron Lake Provincial Park, which was created in 1961.  When the cabin was standing, for some reason George buried a large glass jar filled with coins at Silvertip Point.  In  August, 1997, George’s large extended family made a pilgrimage journey around the Chain.  They called  this trip of a lifetime the Gilbert Odyssey.  When they reached Silvertip Point, George took out a metal detector and searched diligently for the large jar of coins…..without success.  The lost treasure of Silvertip Point is still buried there, waiting to be found.

The two canoes from Lynx Creek  joined us early after breakfast and led the way as we journeyed towards the mouth of the Isaac River at the end of the lake.  We could see that the rest of our group (across the lake) were on the move as well.  When we all met up at the end of the lake, we had an informative discussion.  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but when there are tall mountains involved, it isn’t always easy to state just where  the early morning sun’s warming rays are going to land.  We learned that they don’t land on the group campsite that is located across the lake from campsite #24.  We also learned that in that shady spot, the snow doesn’t melt as quickly as it does in more open areas and that not every tent pad becomes snow free this early in the season.  But the group of five intrepid paddlers that had camped at the group campsite remained stoic when we were finally able to talk with them about their night.  They simply said it was “alright”.

The next part of the journey down to the end of the lake had to be one of the most peaceful and beautiful parts of the whole trip, especially early in the morning with no wind to speak of and water as smooth as silk.  Yesterday we had been paddling by old avalanche chutes that were filled with snow and ice., and there were more of these today.  There clearly had been avalanches this year, something that we have not seen for a few years.  This is also the part of the Chain where  thundering waterfalls are tumbling down the western shore of the lake.   All of the boats were on the water working their way to the mouth of the Isaac River.  This is the area that only 6 days earlier had been “solid ice from shore to shore”.

There were reminders that all was not totally idyllic.  As we approached the end of the lake, up high on the mountains to our right was evidence of recent forest fires.  These had burned the previous summer, amidst the unprecedented  number of fires that had overwhelmed and devastated much of central British Columbia.  All of us were impacted emotionally  and some physically by these fires.  Our community of Quesnel was  at the heart of the massive attempts to fight  them, our airport had been converted into a major fire fighting hub, our community hosted hundreds of evacuees, friends that lived to the west of our community were all ordered to evacuate their properties.  When the fires also broke out at this point on the Chain, an emergency evacuation of paddlers then on the Chain was successfully initiated by Parks staff and the whole Chain (indeed all access to the B.C. backcountry) was shut down for weeks.

The Chute on Isaac River is always a topic of discussion.  This year, with the very high water, it was a flush and all but one of the canoes chose to paddle through the chute.  Before paddling through however we took time to rest and eat and to watch the Harlequin Ducks that were swimming in the chute’s fast water. Seeing these ducks was a pleasant surprise,  partly because they are so beautiful but also because we had seen very little birdlife of any type on this trip.  There had been a few diving ducks (grebes and mergansers), very few geese,  a couple of loons, only one or two raptors and virtually no song birds.  We saw no mallards or buffleheads or any of the ducks that usually ‘flock’ to this area. There were no ducks of any kind resting in large schools on the lakes.  We speculated about high water being the reason for so few waterfowl, possibly they were unable to build nests until they knew that the water was retreating from the nesting sites.  Nothing is as upsetting as viewing a nest full of eggs that has been inundated by flood water.

The portage trails below Isaac Lake were snow covered in spots.  This tends to be the part of the Chain that is both cooler and very shaded.  This is the result of the dense forest cover provided by the Interior Rainforest that runs through the heart of Bowron Lake Provincial Park.  There were no real problems getting the canoes over or through the snow.  After paddling through the Chute and the Roller Coaster, there is a mandatory take-out on river left,  at the start of the terrifying part of the Isaac River known as the Cascades.  This year it was absolutely raging and it was comforting to be able to portage around the Cascades section of  the river.  At the end of this portage the canoes re-enter the river for a short paddle before another take-out and portage on river right, just above the Isaac River falls.  There are actually two portage trail routes on this section of the Isaac River, the one on river right that we were going to take and one on river left.  The river left trail is seldom used and runs right from McLeary Lake to  the spot where the canoes re-enter the water after the Cascades.

Like a well oiled machine our group, which was now travelling all together made it over the last portage to McLeary Lake where we regrouped and then zipped along a Cariboo River that was really humming.  This was the highest that I have ever seen this river, it was wide and there didn’t seem to be many obstacles.  Still, we all followed the lead boat’s route carefully, and there was a designated sweep boat.  The only potential problem would be getting caught on a snag sticking out from shore, especially on a corner, so we stayed towards the centre of the river.  The views along this section of river offer spectacular panoramas of snow covered mountains on both sides of the river. Before long  we were deposited by the river into Lanezi Lake, which also offers spectacular viewscapes.  There was no wind and I must say I did not miss the usual headwind that is a feature of this lake.  We pointed the bows of our boats toward Turner Creek, my most favourite spot on the whole Chain.  Lanezi Lake, which is a Carrier or Dakelh word that means long, was formerly called simply Long Lake.  It is long and narrow and the water is silty with a green tinge.  You can hear the glacial  silt scraping on the bottom of your canoe.

Turner Creek features a fully enclosed shelter with a few tent pads, but we were not the first to arrive and so our  group chose to set up house in the adjacent group campsite.  There was lots of room and we were very comfortable.  The water level was high, but the campsites on this lake were even higher, so flooding was not an  issue.  It was fun watching our encampment take shape.  We had put the tents away a little wet that morning so the first order of service was to dry out the tent fly and the footprint.  We had lots of time and there was a jovial atmosphere throughout the camp.  It was almost as though this campsite had been tailor made for us.

After supper we did something that as a group we have never done before.  It was suggested that  we gather around the campfire and simply talk about a job or jobs that we used to have. There was a bit of risk associated with this suggestion because men have a way of communicating with each other in a way that is often very different than the way that women communicate when they sit together.  Men tend to be a bit confrontational.  A typical lead-off comment for men might be “your’e still not driving that piece of s— are you?”  A typical lead-off comment for women might be ”do you have any children” or possibly “your hair looks great.”  This time around it was a bit different for the guys. First off we were actually sitting in a circle around the campfire as a group, we weren’t squaring off or glaring.  The discussion was actually lots of fun as we all poked fun at ourselves.  We heard about serving nine years in the army fixing tanks, a mindless job loading and delivering cases of Coca Cola,  a job teaching English to a group of Finnish and Francophone loggers in a Northern Ontario logging camp, installing communications devices at the top of oil rigs, all the while being petrified of heights….it was a great time, and we ended wanting to repeat this experience.

Lanezi was smooth, if there was any wind it was a tail wind.  There was ice in the avalanche chutes and there was a sombre moment as we passed the spot where some falling ice capsized one of our group’s canoes in 2014. We talked once again about the great rescue that had probably saved lives at that time.  The two responsible for that successful rescue were paddling just ahead of us, we wondered what was going through their minds.  (Many of us on this trip had been practising canoe-over-canoe rescues in the local swimming pool for a couple of weeks leading up to this trip).

North Vancouver has its famous lions ‘guarding’ the North Shore Mountains.  The Bowron has Mount Ishpa  (formerly Pyramid Mountain) and Mount Kaza (formerly Needlepoint Mountain) guarding the western entrance to the interior of the Bowron Chain.  We passed these mountains as we left Lanezi Lake and began the  transition from the Cariboo Mountains to the  Quesnel Highlands topography.

It is sometimes difficult to appreciate that as we paddle Lanezi and then Sandy Lakes that the Cariboo River is actually flowing through these lakes and helping us along.  This was particularly true this year with the high water.  The Cariboo River was originally called Swamp River and there are  Bowron pioneers alive today who still use that name when referring to this river.  The name came from Neil ‘Swampy’ Wilson who was probably the first full time white trapper resident in the Bowron, going back to the late 1800’s.  He tended to focus his trapping efforts along this river.

We entered Sandy Lake which is  very shallow and a lake that becomes quite dangerous if there is a heavy wind. Today there was little or no wind but it looked like a large open sea, we weren’t going to get grounded on any shallow spots this time around.  We did stop for a break at one of the campsites.  The campers this year will all have waterfront properties with a great view.  The water was lapping at the tent pads in each of the three campgrounds on this lake, the beautiful sandy beaches that give this lake its name were nowhere to be seen.

At the end of Sandy Lake we once again entered the river and before we knew it we took a right hand turn and were making our way upstream on Babcock Creek to the start of  what is clearly the best portage on the whole Chain. Four members of our group chose to take a channel that leaves the river on river left and which enters Unna Lake. From this lake it is possible to hike a beautiful trail (especially in the fall when the blueberries are ripe) that leads to a viewpoint overlooking the Cariboo Falls.  Those who took this side trip reported that it was spectacular. The massive amount of water going over the falls caused the spray to splash  right up to the viewpoint where everyone was standing.

While no-one went to them this year, on a short trail that branches off from the trail  leading to the falls are two small lakes known as Rete and Jean Lakes.  These lakes were named by George Gilbert in the 1940’s.  This was a time when the miners from Wells would head out to Unna Lake on the weekend in their motorboats where they had established a small summer community consisting of dwellings that they referred to as shake shelters.  George named the two little lakes after Rete (Rita) McKelvie and Jean (Grady) Speare, these names appear on the older maps and once again, there are Bowron pioneers still alive that refer to these lakes by these names.  At this point in time the British Columbia Geographical Names office is considering an application to have these lakes officiallynamed Rete Lake and Jean Lake.  Jean Speare, who wrote the invaluable guidebook Bowron Chain of Lakes  Place Names and Peopleis still very much alive at age 97 and remains a wonderful source of information about Bowron history.

This part of the Chain has been heavily impacted by the Mountain Pine Beetle, but one of the foresters in our group noted that looking around today, it would be difficult to know it. Not that the new growth has taken over, it is that  the dead trees  are no longer noticeable and anyone looking at the view scape would not know what it looked like 20 years ago.

We crossed Babcock Lake, another shallow body of water that can be dangerous if there is a big wind, but we had no wind to contend with.  We then took one of the two ‘deactivated’ portages that run from Babcock to Skoi and then from Skoi to Spectacle Lakes.  I say deactivated because these short portages used to be like little railways, with (originally) logs and then squared timbers for rails and modified ore carts with steel wheels running on these little tramways.  This infrastructure pre-dates the Park which was established in 1961 and it was a boon for the Wells miners who would leave work on a Friday afternoon, hop into their motorized canoes and boats on their way to Unna (they called it Grizzly) Lake.  When they got to the portage they would simply lift the loaded canoe, motor and all onto the ore cart and wheel it to the next lake.

We got to Spectacle Lakes with a big sigh of relief, this marked the end of the portaging for this trip. One of Bowron’s anomalies is the fact that Spectacle Lakes is plural, but there is really only one lake.  The wind had found us as we were putting in. My partner and I took a safe line but the five adventurers who were  portaging with us were going  to put up a sail and sail to that night’s campsite at Pat’s Point.  They had quite a construction project under way when we left but as we looked back we saw a huge blue sail along with a much smaller one that was being used by the kayak.  We all made it to Pat’s Point safely, the sailors were ecstatic, they had a lot of fun.   Some of our group decided to camp at the main campsite where the shelter is available. The rest of  the  group  which was travelling just a bit behind us headed to the group campsite further down the shore and decided to camp there.  They explained later that they were just too tired to fight the wind in order to get to the main campsite.

We had all assumed that the main campsite would be quite full.  It is a prime destination for those paddling on the West Side of the Chain, and the number of paddlers leaving for the West Side when we were starting seemed to suggest that there would be quite a few takers for this place. What we found was a deserted but extremely well raked campsite,  we had the place to ourselves.  One other couple joined us about two hours later.  The strong wind continued to blow, we dried out our tent and then put up the blue sail as a wind block in the doorway of the cook shelter.  It worked very well.  We set up camp and then laid claim to a spot on one of the tables in the shelter and started cooking supper.  Soon there were eight different meals underway.  The fellow who had arrived later was from Victoria and we all were captivated by the smells coming from his stir fry.  The guy was a gourmet cook and he made it all look quite effortless. Our supper on the other hand did not rank in the gourmet category but was tasty never the less.

We were all quite tired and hit the sack without another round of sharing stories like we had the night before.  We had a bit of rain overnight but as we knew we would be home by late afternoon to dry things out, we really didn’t worry too much about a wet tent.  We put in nice and early next morning after a big bowl of fortifying oatmeal (actually a combination of steel cut oats, oatmeal flakes, Red River Cereal and Hemp Hearts) served with yogurt and coffee and we were underway, the second canoe to put in.

It is a four hour paddle to the take out, the conditions were great.  I love this paddle, we go past the spot known to the pioneers as ‘Rock Bluff’ on Spectacle Lakes, past Deadman’s or Maternity Island on our left and into Swan Lake.  We stopped at the campsite known as the Birches to visit Kayla’s tree.  It was heart warming to find that even with the high water it was safe and the leaves had opened.  It was an emotional grandfather who reached  out to touch it and a just-as-emotional paddling partner who was privileged to share in this moment.  We stayed to the extreme left as we left Swan Lake and entered the Bowron Slough.  We didn’t realize that had we visited  Pavich Island and the Bowron River we would have met with two other members of the Bro’s Alumni who had travelled out the night before to meet up with us as we were finishing our journey.  They had camped at the cabin on the Upper Bowron River.

The Bowron Slough was almost surreal.  I had never seen it with such high water.  We could paddle almost anywhere but we tried to follow the orange markers to avoid getting dead ended.  There was a whole new forest we had never seen before but this time all of the trees were black and dead and sticking up out of the new lake that had been formed by the high water.  Of course these dead trees had always been there, but it took this new backdrop for us to see them as a forest.  There was a bit of a wind blowing  from our left and we took a conservative line, heading for the right hand shore of Bowron Lake.  Before long we were at the take-out, it was about noon, we were the second canoe from our group to arrive and we made a point of getting all of our gear up the short hill to the parking area and out of the way of everyone else.  Before long everyone was there, the fifteen of us who four and a half days earlier had taken off just a few hundred metres from this point where we were now standing.

It was another good one with a great bunch of companions.  Thank you everyone for making it possible.