This trip used the road-accessible Rec Site on Amor Lake for greatest flexibility.  Of the six people who participated, some stayed three nights, two nights, one night or just one day.  It certainly isn’t the best campsite on Amor Lake, but it has some conveniences. We were incredibly lucky with the beautiful autumn weather, since the trip was planned long in advance.

Friday:  Two came out on Thursday and set up camp.  Three others arrived on Friday morning and all launched as soon as possible.  We headed out to the south end of Amor and hauled out at the Mr. Canoehead campsite.  We navigated the short portage to Surprise Lake with the assistance of borrowed wheels for the kayaks and paddled across Surprise Lake as if we were doing the canoe circuit.  We left the boats at the south end of Surprise Lake and walked the 2.2 km portage to Brewster Lake through a lovely forest.  We had lunch at the launch site into Brewster Lake before retracing our steps and paddled back to the campsite by mid-afternoon.  We walked down the Blackwater Main logging road to visit the Rec Site on Blackwater Lake, which was sunny and scenic.  After relaxing on the shore, we headed back for dinner and enjoyed a great campfire, as the ban had just been lifted during the week and the evenings were cool.  The full moon was a bonus. (paddling 5.2 km, 1¼ hr; walking 8.3 km, 2½ hr)

(click to enlarge photos)

Saturday: We were joined by one more person on Saturday morning and were quickly away, heading north and across Amor Lake to the portage to Twin Lakes.  The launch site was quite muddy, but we managed awkwardly to get to the trail and walk up the undulating path to Twin Lake.  The campsite there, which is accessible by road, was very busy on this long weekend with great weather.  We briefly followed a trail up the north side of Twin Lake to a swim rock before heading back.  After returning to Amor Lake, we stopped for lunch at the first campsite we passed, which was on the north shore and had a beautiful sandy beach and lots of sunshine.  Continuing on, we came out of the east arm of the Lake and headed to the campsite at the north end, which has significant infrastructure.  We admired the dock with the picnic table as well as the covered shelter, but especially the sandy beach, sun-facing direction and great view.  We headed south along the western shore exploring the many campsites and sandy beaches along the way.  On our return to the campsite, two of the group packed up and left, leaving four others to enjoy another relaxed evening around the campfire.  (paddling 13.1 km, 3¼ hr; walking 2.5 km, ¾ hr)

We saw four of the Sayward canoe circuit lakes on this brief two-day paddle.  It was an easy and relaxed exploration.  We only encountered four other boats on Amor.  This was a fitting end to the season, having begun in May with an outing to Morton Lake Provincial Park and paddling on two other Sayward canoe circuit lakes – Mohun and Goose.  We had beautiful weather for both trips and enjoyed the relative quiet of the shoulder season.

Debbie

Multi-day kayaking and camping – Amor Lake – 29-30 Sept. 2023

Tuesday:  There were seven of us on this camping, kayaking and hiking trip, with flexible arrival and departure times.  Les went out early and stayed Monday night at Morton Lake Provincial Park.  The rest of us arrived on Tuesday morning and set up our campsites right away.  After a picnic lunch at the Mohun Lake boat launch in the sun, we launched and paddled south into Mohun Lake with a light northwest breeze following us and fabulous views of Strathcona Park ahead.  We checked out two campsites on the way and then got out at the Pacific Yew Rec Site to stretch our legs before heading back.  The Lake and campgrounds were very quiet and we only saw two canoes all day.  The water levels were high everywhere, sometimes making it tricky to get ashore.  After returning to the Provincial Park, most of us took a short walk along Morton Lake to a rocky outcropping along the shore where people had made many, many cairns.  We enjoyed a great happy hour at Les’ campsite with much too much yummy food, before a restful evening at our campsites.

(click to enlarge photos)

Wednesday: We were on the water shortly after 9:30 on a clear day with a light northwest breeze.  We headed north through the old trestles into Goose Lake, with the Menzies Massif high above the Lake.  We made leisurely progress checking out the campsites on the shore and getting out at G6 and G7 for closer inspection.  We continued north to Seagull Bay and hauled out there.  After lunch on the dock, most of us walked the portage trail connecting to Twin Lakes.   The forest walk was lovely with dappled light in a good forest and the trail often following a creek.  There was a guided group of students at the north end with four canoes, just about to launch.  We returned to the boats and headed south, enjoying the many islands and islets, before turning into the lagoon to explore.  We paddled the very shallow waters over to the campsite at Loon Bay, which had a great location and set-up.  We headed back to the campsite and again had great appies at Stephen and Carrie’s campsite before another quiet evening.

Thursday: Terry had to head home and Les departed at check-out time.  The remaining five of us first walked the loop trail north of the campground leading to Andrew Lake and then back.  Next, we walked the old railroad line out to the trestles at the narrows between Mohun and Goose Lakes.  There were flowers and lake views along the way.  We went a bit further through the forest to open shore by an islet, with a spectacular view of Mohun and the mountains beyond it.  After returning to the campground, Bonnie, Norris and Debbie departed, with Stephen and Carrie remaining another night. They explored Morton Lake by kayak and poked into Mohun Creek.

Friday:  Stephen and Carrie took a trail south of Morton Lake to a lovely lake perhaps named Oglarama, if you can believe the sign on the tree.

This is a beautiful area book-ended by Menzies on the north and Strathcona Park on the south.  This was the perfect time to visit with excellent weather and very few people on the Lakes and in the campsites.

Debbie

Thanks to Carrie, Bonnie and Norris for the photos

Multi-day kayaking and camping – Morton Lake Provincial Park – 23-25 May 2023