Coordinator: Bob Toronchuk
From a total of 14 individuals who initially signed up for the Bowron Circuit, 11 of us departed Edmonton in various carpools and on either Saturday or Sunday. Those of us who left Saturday May 31 camped overnight at the Mount Robson campground and rather enjoyed having the trip broken into 2 travel segments. The Sunday departures faced a long day of driving, but eventually we all landed at Becker’s Lodges, where Captain Bob had rented us some very basic cabins to spend the night in, so we could all start the trip with dry tents.
Monday June 2 we were due at the weigh station and orientation at 9:00 am. They do a good job with the orientation, and after getting all our canoes weighed, we headed off down that first (long) portage. We were 11 in 7 boats, Bob, Willy and Donna in kayaks and Alan and Jim B, Peter and Jim F, Jeannette and Nigel, and Gary and Isobel in tandem canoes.
A few of us were definitely wondering what we had gotten ourselves into during that first portage!! The weather was perfect though, about 17 degrees and cloudy but no wind and no rain. The portage is hilly and doing the whole 2.4 km in one trip does cause you to curse all the extras you packed. We survived though, and the group was good to help those who were struggling. Kibbee Lake is 2.4 km of paddling, and then we had to face portage number 2, but only 2.0 km in length. Ouch. But again, the group helped each other out, and Indianpoint Lake was our destination for the day. A group as large as ours has designated group campsites each night, and we were early enough in the year that the circuit was not very busy. We stayed at campsite number 7, and it was lovely.
Tuesday June 3, we got up and at it fairly early, and were on the water by 8:40. We had only about 3 km to paddle and then faced the last portage (1.6 km) onto Isaac Lake. It seemed to go a bit better, maybe we will get the hang of these portages! We paddled to the corner of Isaac Lake and stopped at campsite 15 (which has a big shelter) for lunch. We were supposed to stay at 14 this night, but we had permission from the registration desk to skip ahead if we wanted, and rather than have a really short day, we decided to push on to campsite 21.
Isaac Lake is known for winds, and it was a beautiful calm day, surrounded by snow capped mountains, and we just kept paddling. The high areas were still melting, and numerous waterfalls were joining Isaac Lake and the 24 km of paddling flew by. 21 turned out to be a very nice group site as well, but they put the outhouse way up a hill!
Wednesday June 4 , and today we paddle the rest of Isaac Lake, 17 km to go! It was another blessedly calm day. More amazing waterfalls, and a couple of stops to stretch our legs made the paddling fly by. There is yellow pollen EVERYWHERE, the lake surface is coated in it and it’s a bit weird.
But no mosquitoes to speak of, as it seems to be a bit early in the season for them. We hit the beginning of the Isaac River around 2:30, and stopped for the day as this site with its nice shelter was our destination (29). We had suspected that water levels were high, but the Isaac River is pounding beside this campsite, and the whole portage is looking necessary. At lower water levels you can run the first 400 m of the Isaac River (the Chute), but not this time. After supper we all hiked the portage to assess the water levels. Wow. The thing called the Cascades is looking very deadly. Its unnavigable at the best of times, but just wow.
Thursday June 5 thus started with the 1.6 km portage of the Isaac River. This portage isn’t too bad for the first 400 m, but the last 1.2 km are pretty chewed up and full of roots and rocks. The day was lovely with blue skies and sunshine, so that helped. As did the fact that by now we’ve eaten nearly half our food and the packs are lighter. Once you finish that portage you only paddle about 700 m and then you must portage Isaac Falls. We stopped for lunch at the campsite at the Falls and hiked up to a viewpoint to see them. Wow. There was an amazing amount of water plunging over. Then you are onto McLeary Lake which is clear and lovely, until you meet the Cariboo river. McLeary is only 1.2 km long, and then you wind through the Cariboo River for 5.2 km. It was very high and muddy, into all the trees along the shore, and moving at a pretty good pace. We found about one third of a canoe, a reminder that not all who come to this circuit leave unscathed.
When we left the river onto Lanezi Lake we hit the only real wind of our trip. Lanezi is 14.8 km long and the wind uses the whole fetch to push up some pretty good waves. We had only 3 km to go to our campsite (33) but it was a bit of a slog. It was another lovely campsite, and we were pretty much through supper when the rain began. We had been watching it move towards us. Still, an early night into the tents wasn’t such a bad thing!
Friday June 6 we awoke to grey skies but no wind and no rain. Most of our tents are soaked, but everything else seems to be dry. Lanezi was glassy calm as we paddled the remaining 12 ish km and then back onto the Cariboo River.
Sandy Lake was also calm and has lots of sand beaches, but we didn’t stop. The sun came out and we headed for Unna Lake, and then behind it to Rum Lake where group campsite number 42 is located.
It has lots of space and sand and we got all our tents dried and equipment sorted. After a leisurely dinner we got back in the boats and paddled back down Rum and Unna Lakes and did the hike to Cariboo Falls. These falls are 24 m in height and were thundering with all the water in the system. Very impressive!!
Saturday June 7, we paddled past the sand shores and back up the Cariboo River for 400m. We saw a cow moose and her calf on our exit of Unna Lake! Babcock Creek has a Ranger station, but we didn’t see anyone, and then a 1.2 km portage that was in pretty good condition took us to Babcock Lake. This is where we ran into people who were only doing the west side of the Circuit. I hadn’t even known that was a thing! Babcock Lake is pretty small but had some wind, and then we were into a 400 m portage to Skoi Lake. Skoi Lake is even smaller at 800 m long, and then you hit the last portage of the circuit, 120 m up and down into Spectacle Lake. We ate lunch along this portage, cooking in the sun! On Spectacle Lake we stopped at campsites 47-48 and hiked into a small lake full of lily-pads and tadpoles. It’s a huge campsite and a nice shelter, but we were slated to stay at 50, so on we paddled. 50 has both an A and B side, so we took over both sides and really spread out.
It was Jim F’s birthday, so we had a bit of a celebration for him – cheesecake that wouldn’t set and so we fortified it with granola containing cranberries and pumpkin seeds. It was delicious! And a really nice last night on the water. A few even went swimming!
Sunday June 8 we actually got to sleep in!! Nigel did not open the bear caches (which are LOUD) at 5:30 am, he actually waited until 6:30! There was not a cloud in the sky and no wind, for our final push down the Bowron River and along Bowron Lake. There are lots of fish visible in the river through here, and its fascinating paddling. We stopped for a quick lunch along the lakeshore, and were back to the provincial park docks by about 12 noon. That final portage up the hill to the parking lot is a challenge! After we got our boats washed and the carts returned to Beckers, we all headed into Wells for burgers. Some are headed to camp, some are headed for beds and hot showers in Prince George. What a fantastic trip! We were entertained by Osprey and Bald Eagles, beautiful sunsets and readings of Robert Service poems.
Thank you to everyone for being such great paddling companions, and especially to Captain Bob who is a wonderful leader and a great and patient paddler!