Five club members took part in a three day paddle, camp, hike in our beautiful, “backyard” playground, Main Lake Provincial Park. The flawless weather – sunny and hot – set the scene for a tremendous outing.

On day one we got organized at the Mine Lake boat launch and set off for the 45 minute paddle across Mine and Main Lakes in a fairly stiff breeze, to “Howard’s Site” on the north shore. After setting up our campsite we did a short walk/scramble to two nearby viewpoints. The hot afternoon sun tempted us back to the shade of our campsite and a first swim in 2023, for some of us. R and R, conversation and supper followed by a good night’s sleep rounded out the day.  (Paddle 3.5 km, 1 hour; hike 1.4 km, 1 hour)

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Day two started with a leisurely breakfast and the decision to paddle two lakes. Variable winds – speed and direction – and lots of sun, as we headed west to the end of Main Lake and into Shadowbrook leading to Little Main Lake. We did some fancy paddling to navigate the stream and stepped out of the kayaks to get past a shallow spot and a downed tree. Signs of beaver were evident and the air was filled with birdsong and activity. We circled Little Main Lake and then retraced our route back into Main Lake where we finally took a break after about three hours on our butts. After our lunch stop at the campsite northwest of Howard’s, we paddled on to the eastern end of the lake. BTW, we had seen only a few other people on the water and no other campers. After beaching our kayaks we set off on the Yeatman Bay hike, keeping cooler in the shade of the forest. At Yeatman Bay, due to a very low tide, we were able to add some distance to our hike by going out to the now accessible island and the reward of a much wider view of Okisollo Channel. Not a boat on the water here either!! Turning back, we made the return hike and short paddle back to our base camp – very hot, happy with the day, and pretty well played out. A swim, a beverage and snacks were well earned.  (Paddle 12.2 km, 4 hours, hike 3.8 km, 1¾  hours, paddle 1 km, 19  min)

A very quiet, moonlit night ended early with the first birdsong in the wee hours of our third day. We managed to break camp and get on the water by 0830 and paddled to the lake’s eastern beach/campsite once again. This early start provided the opportunity to hike the Surge Narrows Road trail in the cool of the morning with the forest beautifully illuminated…. highlighting the big trees, lush moss, ferns, creeks, lakes. Evidence of wolves feasting on a deer in a past season was scattered on a section of the trail; evidence of timber harvests by Quadra’s pioneers were scattered throughout the forest. While resting briefly at Surge Narrows Road someone commented on the fine view of a well-maintained Quadra thoroughfare! Sometimes the journey is more rewarding than the destination. On the return hike we investigated the old squatter’s campsite on the shore of “Roscoe Lake”, opined that the “artifacts” were likely never to be removed, and then headed to the kayaks. The 50 minute paddle to the takeout on Mine Lake, with a slight headwind, completed a very successful mid-week weekend.  (paddle 1 km, ¼ hour, hike 5.8 km, 2½ hours, paddle 4 km)

Vic

Multi-day kayaking, camping – Main Lake Provincial Park – 6-8 June 2023

This was supposed to be an easy start to the camping season, spending a few days at the Main Lake Provincial Park.  But the weather forecasters didn’t cooperate.  Instead of early summer, we were given early spring.  Looking on the bright side, there were no crowds.  Actually the weather turned out better than expected.  No rain at all, warm enough during the day.  We did postpone the trip by two days to avoid the atmospheric river.

Saturday – First surprise – the lake level was far higher than expected, higher than we had seen it during the winter.  It’s been a rainy spring.  We paddled 40 minutes (3.4 km) to Howard’s campsite and set up the camp.  We then paddled another 10 minutes (0.5 km) to the Bay campsite and changed into hiking boots.  We followed the stream up from the campsite to a small lake and back (3.6 km; 3¾ hours).  There are some very nice waterfalls along the way and some impressive trees.  We now know that the best route on the upper section is between the stream and the canyon wall on the east.  For the lower section it’s not clear what the best route through a flat boggy area is.  Then a 10 minute paddle back to camp for a relaxing evening.

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Sunday – The wind shifted to northwest.  We were joined by Les for the day.  We paddled over to the channel between Main Lake and Little Main Lake and through the willows.  Where Stramberg Creek joins Shadow Brook Creek, we decided to land, have lunch and stretch our legs since it was windy on Little Main Lake and there were few places to get out of the kayaks.  We explored where there used to be squatters..  The very high water levels made it easy to get through to Little Main after lunch.  In the lake we saw a beaver swimming .  We paddled back to Main Lake, parted with Les and returned to Howard.  (10.5 km; 3 hours)  Later in the afternoon we hiked up the ridge north of the campsite, which has steep cliffs on the east and west.  This was a pleasant hike through open forest with some big trees and views.  (2.0 km; 1½ hours)  It was still windy through the night with a super almost-full moon.

Monday –  We packed up the camp and paddled to East Beach campsite.  (1.3 km; 20 min)  We changed to hiking boots for a hike to Yeatman Bay on Okisollo Channel.  The stream was a problem to cross, so we used an old logging bridge a bit up from the campsite.  At the Bay, it was a very low tide, so took the opportunity to we walk out to what is often an island and back to the campsite for lunch (3.6 km; 1½ hours), and then paddled back to the Mine Lake boat launch.  (4.0 km; 1 hour).  As we began to drive home, the rain started.

Norris

Multi-day paddling, hiking, camping – Main Lake Prov Park – 11-13 June 2022