Kayaking Alouette Lake 2008
- Details
- Duncan
- Editor's Column
- Hits: 14338
As members of the Port Moody Canoe & Kayak club, we organized a kayaking trip on Alouette Lake, here in British Columbia. Last year we launched at the boat ramp and went up through the narrows to the northern part of the lake. This trip we decided to start from Gold Creek, and camp at the northern end of the lake. We all arrived around 10 am.
Satuday was a hot day, and it took some effort to get the loaded kayaks down to the water to launch. I am hoping on future trips we can reduce the weight of our gear, or find a better place to start off. On some of the peaks you can still see a little snow on the peaks.
After launching at Gold Creek, we went North East, up the lake, towards the narrows. There was not much wind, and little waves to make our travel difficult. You can see in these next three photos, the water was smooth like glass almost.
We stopped for lunch just before the narrows at a place called Moyer Creek. And while we were there, I took the opportunity to visit a nearby geocache. I had recently got a new GPS, and I have started the fun activity of geocaching.
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.
Next, we went further North East and through the narrows to the north part of Alouette lake. There were plenty of speedboats towing waterskiers around, so we kept mostly to the West side of the lake and they kept to the East side. To the left here you can see Julie had her kayak fully loaded with gear. At first I was concerned about what would happen if any of us were to tip over with so much gear on board, but in the end my fears were not realized.
We passed the site where we camped last year, and arrived at the top of the lake after 3 pm. Then we spent the next few hours in the water, keeping cool. It was a lovely afternoon for just floating around in the water. I kept my hat on, since I sunburn easy.
Later that evening we had a large campfire and roasted marshmallows. The next morning, we had a huge breakfast before packing up.
We paddled down the lake, which is quite huge. I think it is about 18km long. My GPS said we travelled a round trip of about 30km in two days. We stopped for lunch, at the same place as the day before. It was fortunate, since Pat found her glasses that she had left there. Then we went south again, briefly stopping to see another geocache.
Rocky Point Canoe and Kayak Club has a new mascot - a large, gleaming tea kettle that Julie (who is going for a Guinness world record of how much you can stash in and on a kayak and still float) perched proudly on the bow of her boat. For first-time kayak-campers Beth and Ian, there was something reassuring about that kettle, glinting in the sunlight, all the way up the Alouette.
Sure enough, Julie produced a gourmet feast from her travelling kitchen pantry. In fact all the experienced club members: Julie, Duncan, Pat and Brent, helped to make this a brilliant initiation for the neophytes. Brent good humouredly pitched his young muscles wherever they were needed. Duncan and Pat, organization supremos, deserve their own Olympic gold medal, first for taking us to a beach with a bathroom, and then for rolling up their sleeves to make it the cleanest and sweetest biffy in BC.
We cant wait to go kayak-camping with you guys again. Our slogan: Have kettle will kayak!
(Beth)
We decided, because of the steep hill at the start, to go all the way to the end of the lake on our return-- which meant manouvering around the many boats at the boat ramp, while lightning and thunder were threatening in the distance (happily, we beat the weather change!). Many thanks to Marlo for shuttling us to our cars back in
A great weekend, and many thanks to all for the great conversations and good humour throughout. And a special thank you to Duncan and Pat for their superior organizational and (in
Here is a map showing the route we took.
View Larger Map
Hope you liked this, if so please leave a comment below.