Divide Lake

Divide Lake

Fishing in the driving snow reminded me why I like to fish these high mountain lakes a little earlier in the season. Here it was the 5^th of October and my hands were nearly numb, time to think of either lighting a fire or heading home. Looking at the time I chose the latter.

I had left home at 10 AM on my first trip into Divide Lake in Okanagan Mountain Park in over 20 years. It took about 45 minutes from Penticton city centre to the parking lot. Taking the Chute Lake Road, I passed Glen Fir and then turned off to the left to the south parking lot, which was nearly vacant: only one ATV, probably someone hunting deer. The bridge over Chute Creek, the two picnic tables and outdoor loo all survived the Okanagan Mountain Fire.

I headed up the Mountain Goat Trail toward Divide Lake, the first section which is also the trail to Gemil Lake. This first section was only partially affected by the fire and I quickly (355 M)came to the split in the path and kept to the left on the Mountain Goat trail. Soon I began to climb in earnest and was surrounded by charred trunks, remnants of the Okanagan Mountain fire. Fortunately the trail has been cleared of falling snags for the most part, only two new ones had fallen since.

The lower section has an over abundance of young seedlings, and promises to be really thick in a few years. It would be a good idea to carry a folding bow saw for a few years as I imagine each year will see a few more of the snags falling over the track. The trail for the most part is easy to follow although very faint in a few sections, but by observing the florescent triangular markings and rock cairns near the trail one should have no trouble following it to the lake.

Once well into the trail it becomes apparent why it was called the Mountain Goat trail as it has some steep sections and goes over a lot of rocky terrain. At times it seems a little unfair that in order to go up, there are some down hill sections to contend with, but in the end it is all worthwhile.

At last I reached an old road(4.6Km): one direction was signposted 5 km to Baker Lake (This I hope to do next year) the other way was a short distance to Divide Lake. Arriving at the lake at 1:15 PM I was happy to see the cabin and two picnic tables as well as the outdoor loo had survived the fire. (Total for the hike 5.08 Km)

After a quick snack and drink, I spent the next hour prowling the edge looking for ways down off the high rocky banks to try my luck at fishing. Using my favourite fly for about 20 minutes I managed to land one rainbow about ten inches long. Switching to a small red and white spoon I had a little better luck for the next two minutes. I landed four more between 10 and 12 inches and had several more strikes. These were sturdy little fighters and lots of fun on my light tackle.
　
Heading up I had been in a light sweat most of the way, but as I left the lake in the snow storm I kept my heavy plaid shirt on. While going up is hard on the legs and lungs at times, going down is a bit harder on these older knees. Thankfully, years ago l learned how to walk mountain trails and terrain: one quick glance at the trail to determine the steps and then eyes scanning ahead for markers and game.

The hike out to the parking lot took just under two hours, then just the short drive home and I was able to prepare a couple of fish for a feed the next night.

Comments or suggestions always welcome

MacDonald Lake

MacDonald Lake

Another beautifully sunny September morning and the Fox’s and I met early to head off to check out MacDonald Lake. At this time of the year we could possibly run into ice at the higher elevations, so we kept our fingers crossed.

Heading north to Peachland, we then took a left at the stoplight and headed up Princeton Avenue and onto the Brenda Mines Road. I have a habit of choosing a spot to zero the odometer just in case not all the roads have distance markers. Today when I reached the end of the pavement I set it to zero.

The first major intersection was at 5.5 kilometres where the left hand fork would lead to Glen Lake, Headwaters Lake and Crescent Lake, as well as some others. Keeping to the right we were soon on pavement again, passing the Silver Lake Road on the right at 9.3 kilometres. Silver Lake has a forestry camp and is quite popular, not being too far out. We continued to climb and began noticing more and more rusty brown trees in the bush. These are likely Pine Beetle kill.

For the most part we continued to climb towards Brenda Mines and at 19.2 kilometres passed a road off to the left which would lead to Peachland Lake and circle back past Headwaters Lakes and back toward the intersection we had passed at 5.5 kilometres.

Just before the Brenda Mines gate at 21.4 kilometres, we turned left off the pavement onto a rougher dirt road, which climbed quite steeply alongside the mining property. The bush here is quite thick and because of the area on the right is closed to hunting, has a healthy supply of deer, but the thicker country is not so easy for a stranger to hunt.

At 26.1 kilometres the left hand road was sign posted Pennask Lake, but it also leads to Brenda Lake. Keeping to the right we were soon at MacDonald Lake recreation site. It has a few tables and outdoor loo and from what we saw was well maintained by the users. Hats off to them. There is one private cabin and dock on the lake, please respect it.

After a brief talk to some campers, we took a good trail for the campsite to a little point further along the lake where I took this photo looking back towards the recreation site. We repaired a fire pit for use at lunchtime and broke out the fishing rods. I’ll have to admit here that I was out fished. It seems that spinners and a very small willow leaf about 8 inches long were more effective than my flies. These rainbow trout were a nice pan fry size, but from what I was told, they do reach up to 14 or 15 inches.

The shoreline varied from shallow spots to areas where it quickly dropped off into deeper water. Here on the point it dropped off fast enough so that the action was very close to shore. Further along the shoreline I could see a few rock outcrops, so look forward to another trip into this lake next year.

This pretty little lake is easily fished from the shore and would be fun in a canoe or belly boat. The water is crystal clean and cool and we did not notice a lot of debris along the shore. MacDonald Lake has been regularly stocked with from 1,000 to 2,000 diploid Pennask rainbow fry the last few years.

Campbell and Munsen Mountain Hikes

View from Munsen Mountain

Hiking Campbell Mountain and Munsen Mountain

There is a good network of old roads and trails on Campbell Mountain that is easy to access from Penticton. Just head up past the Campbell Mountain landfill and take the first road off to the right. It is a bit rough in sections, but not too bad, and is definitely much used by mountain bikers.

Unfortunately there is a lot of garbage strewn around, by people either too lazy or to cheap too use the nearby landfill. I could not believe that even a car had just recently been dumped here. Once my back is healed I will be organizing a clean up of this area, so if you are up to it drop me your name. (There has since been some clean up done, but it is an on going problem.)

I saw ten deer on this trip, but was unable to get the pictures that I wanted because of camera problems. It is an easy climb up to the Defence Department installations near the summit. From here you can see miles of trails and roads on the back-side with great open areas to hike or bike.

The terrain varies from gentle to steep slopes and from open to semi open grassland, so there are lots of great views of Penticton and the lakes. Because of the trees and the guy wires from the towers it is not easy to grab a photo of these views.

If you are up to it, there is a steep trail that heads down to some towers down the hill towards Penticton, then heads back along another old road to get back to your car. We also have met a young lady who hiked up from the bottom to these towers, but I’m not sure where that trail takes off. You can hike these trails for hours here, but remember to leave all gates as you found them and respect no trespassing signs on private property.

Closer to town if you want something a bit shorter, but with great views, spent a little while in the Munsen Mountain Park. Most foot traffic goes to the north peak, but there are also some trails up to the south peaks. There is a gazebo and several benches to relax and enjoy the views. Of course this is the location of the “PENTICTON” sign that you see from across the lake. Munsen Mountain is an open knoll of mainly bunch grass with a few trees amidst the orchards and vineyards. The contrast between the grass, trees, orchards and lakes make a nice snap shot.

Looking down over the graveyard, there are a few people hiking along the Trans Canada Trail along the old Kettle Valley Railway, but that’s a long story.

The city regularly patrols for litter so when I visited it was nice and clean. Note that Munsen Mountain Park is a city park and has a gate at the bottom and one above the parking lot. Dogs must be kept on a leash and there is no camping or vehicle traffic allowed beyond the parking lot. Unfortunately for the romantically inclined the park itself is closed from 9 PM to 6 AM and the gate below the parking lot is closed from 9 PM to 6 AM. There are also doggie bags supplied, so pick up after you dog and future visits will continue to be enjoyable. I am pleased to notice that more and more people are doing this.

This however is a small problem compare to other trash such as bottles, tins, plastics and cigarette butts which take years to decompose. The old saying “Pack it in, pack it out” is good to keep in mind where ever you travel. Keep up hiking and stay in shape for those mountain explorations come summer.

Mustang Lake

Mustang Lake

We who enjoy the out doors live our lives in three modes; remembering past outing, enjoying and outing or planning a future outing. I suppose my bothers and cousin will likely kill me if they see this photo of our catch from Mustang Lake near Wells, B.C. It was a trip to remember, though!

It was late August and we were up before the birds picking up Jackie Surinac, before the sun even thought of cresting the hills. With my three brothers, cousin Garnet, Jackie and Dad that made seven of us crammed into the “52” Pontiac.

We headed north out of town on an old road, past the creek into Cornish Lake and up a mountain. As dawn was breaking we saw a blue grouse with its red patch, passed an old cabin, and finally parked. The trail wasn‘t much, but we made our way down a slope and finally began to wade through a creek meandering through some willow. The cold water was a bit much for Eric, so he ended up on Dad’s shoulders. Ray, my oldest brother, then carried the .303 rifle, for we were in grizzly country. Apparently, the previous summer a fisherman was attack by a couple of grizzly bears but was fortunate enough to be carrying a rifle.
I guess we trekked for about an hour, until finally we arrived at the lake. No sooner had we lit a fire and pulled out the thermos and sandwiches when the first camp robbers arrived. Soon they were landing on our hands taking bread from our fingers. How they know when to show up in these remote spots is always a mystery.

Warmed up, we turned our attention to the lake encircled by tall pines. The shoreline was somewhat weedy, but there were a couple of decent rafts with canvas pieces loosely suspended in the middle. We were soon to find out why.

Every cast resulted in two or three strikes: it didn’t really seem to matter what we used, but we mostly used our favourite a small candle-fish lures. We lost a lot of fish, but were not too concerned. As you can see we did make it home with our limit, which was a welcome change from moose meat.

We took turns using the rafts and standing by the fire warming up and grabbing another bite to eat. By early afternoon we were ready for the return trip through the cold creek and back to the car.

I tried to find this lake and Cornish Lake in the Fish Wizard but did not have any luck. Wingdam Lake (Sawmill Lake) did show up and it held some very nice fish. One day I will have the time to head back to Wells and attempt to revisit these lakes.

A few years after this trip, I made it into Cornish Lake. This was much closer to Wells and the trail was a little drier, although there were a few muddy spots. This lake had a fairly reedy shoreline those fishing from shore got wet feet, but we were easily able to carry an inflatable rubber boat into the lake. The fish here were much more selective, but also a lot bigger than at Mustang Lake.

These are just a few of the small lakes in the Wells - Barkerville area, which is better known for the historic town of Barkerville and the Boron Lake Chain which is something over a hundred miles long and requires several days and reservations. If you are headed up that way on a holiday, give yourself a little extra time to research and find a few of these smaller lakes. Perhaps you may want to consider making it a moose hunting trip as well, for they do love feeding in many of the local lakes.

Giant's Head Hike

Giants Head Hike

Sorry about missing posting on Tuesday or Wednesday, computer was down.

As I walked up the Giants Head Park road, it soon became apparent that this hike should really be an all day affair. I was greeted at every turn with a view just itching for me to reach for my camera. I was on a mission to reach the top, though, and had only a couple of hours to spare. It hike is good for those wanting to keep fit yet gentle enough for most if given enough time. Be sure to take a good supply of water and some snacks, but most of all take your camera.

Today was nearly the end of March and a few yellow buttercups were poking out of the ground. These next two months will see the progression of spring flowers slowly work their way up the hillside while across the valley bottoms orchards will be coming into bloom, sail boats will be plying the lakes and from the summit you will be able to search the ski hills with binoculars to see how the skiing is going.

The road is locked for the winter months and I believe opens around the middle of April. Seeing at these areas have to be posted and partially closed to the public is always saddening, as we all suffer for the actions of a few who do not respect the country. Once open for the season the gates are still closed from 11 PM to 8 AM daily. This is too bad for even those physically less able will miss out on some great sunrises and sunsets from the summit, not to mention it would likely be a great place to see the annual meteor showers.

Even though I am not in great shape at the moment I made the trek from the bottom gate to the summit and back in just a little over an hour and a half. The first section, which is a paved road to a parking lot and picnic facilities, is 2.5 kilometres in length with a vertical rise of 251 meters. It is fairly narrow and winds its way up the mountainside offering many great views. There are a few picnic tables along the way where hikers can sit for a rest and a snack.

The terrain is semi-open with bunch grass, wild flowers, fir and pine trees and, yes, even here some knap weed. In some areas there are nice ponderosa pine which are fairly immune to wild fires, but in other sections the trees are fairly close together with a lot of dead lower branches which would easily allow a fire to ladder up and tree. Do keep this in mind and if you must smoke use and ashtray. My wife, bless her, always used a tin when ever she was out and about, leaving no chance of fire and no unsightly butts on the ground.
The picnic and parking area is reasonably large and has some restroom facilities, although I did not check them out to see if they were left open year round.

Having reached this far, carry on to the summit for more beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains.The trail continues from the parking lot to the summit, again winding around, and although not too good for using a walker, canes or walking poles should allow your elderly relative access to the top. The trail in about 490 metres and the last bit rises 63 metres from the parking lot.

Several sections are cabled-off as the drop is fairly high and steep. Many metal tubes have been installed pointing to different points of interest. From here you can see Big White, Mount Baldy and Apex ski hills among many others. Makes one want to get out and explore some more of this beautiful country.