West Country–Lakes, cabins, kayaking!

After a week at home working on a few things, visiting the neighbours, and trying to remove the skunk from under the front deck, it was time to move on again and get in another adventure before heading south for the winter.

A big, noisy thunderstorm came through in the evening, and covered the ground with hail, but the morning dawned clear and bright.  That was all the incentive I needed to load up the camper again, and start making tracks.

Hailey reluctantly agreed to leave her perch in front of the window and come along as well. We headed west towards the mountains …

Banff National Park – East Gate

We headed west on the Trans-Canada #1 through Lake Louise, and on into British Columbia.  We knew we were there when this truck with a BIG log was spotted on the highway.

A few days later the sight of a moose in the back of a truck at a Tim’s was another confirmation of where we were.

After a night in Revelstoke spent catching up with friends, we were westbound again, through numerous construction zones.  After a fill and a bite in Kamloops we decided to head north and check out some of the numerous lakes and remote forestry campsites.

I could never go on these roads pulling the big fifth wheel, but with just the truck camper on, we can go almost anywhere!

Beautiful fall colours were on display, and the weather was nice.

West of Barriere we headed up in to the high country, and found an abundance of free forestry camp sites – all on the lakeshores, just waiting for us to camp.  At over 4000’ elevation though, it was bound to get a bit chilly at night. 

Amazon had sent me a nice, small, light (and cheap!) inflatable kayak and I was dying to test it out.  I had inflated it at home on the living room floor, and found that the quality of materials and workmanship was above what I had been expecting for the price.  But until I tried it out in the water, I would not know if it would really be a bargain.  Well, these little lakes provided the perfect opportunity.

I found it to be very stable, very easy to paddle, and it was more like ‘wearing’ the craft than sitting in it.  Once in, it was warm, dry and comfortable, with great back support – something clearly absent in my whitewater kayak.

It is small enough that I don’t necessarily have to deflate it each time, as I can simply throw it inside the camper while driving to the next lake.  It sat outside for the night on a picnic table though and had a nice coating of frost on it in the morning.

I started to scrape off some of the frost, but then decided it would be easier to melt it off by paddling for a while.  It was a perfectly calm morning, and as the fog burned off, it became a very warm and comfortable paddle.

I discovered several cabins at some of these lakes.  Some were unlocked, and this one had this sign outside. (Details removed to protect the owners!)

Now that’s what I call North-western hospitality!

Next – heading for the coast!