|
 At the park center weigh station. The signs on the right were samples of trail and campground markers we would see along the way. |
| Before
starting on the Bowron circuit, paddlers must attend a park ranger
briefing which covers safety, navigation, bear awareness and other
special conditions along the way. Once paddlers start down the
track, it quickly becomes a one way trek for 72 miles, with only a few
radio's along the way for communication. The gear for each boat
is weighed and any gear exceeding 60 pounds must be carried on one's
back during portages. Maintaining good trails for wheeling the
boats is very labor intensive, so the boat weight is limited to prevent
the wheels from chewing up the trails in the frequently wet
conditions.
In our case, the kayaks had small enough storage compartments that our
gear just met the 60 pound limit. Canoers have more space and
hence tend to exceed the limit. |
 Don, loading the kayak after weigh-in. |
 Our first portage. |
| From the the park headquarters, our
journey started with a 1.4 mile portage to Kibbee Lake. We had
each purchassed a set of kayak wheels from Wheeleez Inc. (Kayak Cart
with Tuff Tires, Model # WZ1-KCC-TT) and these rolled well on the
trail. While the trail wasn't steep, it was a steady uphill
pull. We did not realize that in our first three portages we
would gain 1,000 feet. There were pullouts about every fifteen
minutes which were useful for catching our breath. We found that
by using the car tie down straps to rig harnesses for our chest or
waist, we could take the pull off of our arms and make for easier
going. The first three portages were each about 1.4 miles, and these were the longest. We did each of them in just under an hour. The remaining portages on the trip were much shorter. |
 On Kibbee Lake, taking our first strokes of the trip. A water trail in the high grass lead us to the open lake. |
 Don, in his eight year old Eddyline Raven. |
 Surrounded by mountains, we were seldom far from waterfalls. |
 As we head east towards the end of Kibbee Lake, we are enthralled by the view of the Canadian Rockies. |
 Our bath, at 4,000 feet, in crystal clear gacial melt, gives new meaning to the word, "envigorating." |
 Rem and Dan relaxing in our first campsite of the circut. |
| There were frequent campsites along the way and they were well marked. These were primitive in that they had no electriciy or running water, however, they had clean septic outhouses, big steel bear lockers, and prepared tent locations of well drained gravel and sand. We had rain every night but one, and it was a pleasure to not have to deal with puddles flowing into our tents. Near the campsites were usually located areas where wood had been felled. These areas were marked, and it was up to the paddlers to use their axe to chop the wood into usable size and transport it to the campsite. Campers were astonishingly thoughtful, and usually left a few pieces of dry wood to allow the next group to get a fire started before they had to go gather wood. In 72 miles of paddling, I did not see a single piece of trash. Virtually everything not used was packed out. |
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| Links: Bowron Lake Park Map Bowron Lake Provincial Park Website Don's Home Page: http://www.jali.net/ Don's email: websterdr@yahoo.com |