I'll try not to make a long trip report, but there are a few things I can say that I don't think I've seen covered here.
I convinced a friend to do the trip with me, so many of my photos will show the back of his head.
After 18 hours of driving, we decided to stay in one of the small cabins at Beckers Lodge so we could start fresh in the morning. The lodge has been under the current ownership since 2019, and the family has the place in good order.
My partner also had reserved a Clipper Caribou S from them. I brought the Solitude. Prior to the trip, we both had carefully planned our loads to stay under the 60 lbs in the canoe limit while on the portaging carts. Upon registration at the park office, we were surprised to learn that they don't weigh loads for solo canoes. They assume that loads won't be heavy enough to be excessive in solo canoes. I could've put everything in drybags and left the backpack at home.
Anyway, that gave us a little head start on the crowd waiting to weigh. Oh, the crowd.....we were not expecting to see so many people.
Getting started.
The end of the third portage has a new dock that was built so people can avoid the mud bog.
View from our first camp, at the beginning of Isaac Lake. 9 miles in.
Starting out on Isaac Lake.
Onto the long leg of Isaac. We had some rain, and then a stiff tailwind with 2' swells. Our only bad weather day.
Third day weather was perfect. While most paddlers were hugging the left shore of Isaac, we ventured over to the right. It's prettier there, and we saw a family of otters. There is only one campsite on that side, however - which is why people are advised to skirt the left.
Yours truly.
You've all seen this before.
Since the Solitude isn't especially deep or turny, I chose to line around the chute.
This isn't the worst part of the portage to McLeary Lake. I was too busy there for photos. Not a good place to let go of a canoe on a cart.
The Caribou River stretch is fairly easy, but also not a place to be fiddling with a camera. Lake Lanezi is more photogenic anyway.
Rain passed us by at camp on Lanezi, and blessed us with this.
Oops. I got this photo out of order. This was our camp on Sand Lake.
From Lake Lanezi on, these guys were everywhere. They seemed to like anything smooth, like barrels and drybags.
This bench is by the last camp on Sand Lake. It does have a great view...
... But who is Dinty Moore? The beef stew guy?
Leaving Sand Lake on day 5.
Took the side trip to Unna Lake and hiked to Caribou Falls.
Onward to our next to last camp at Spectacle Lake.
And the last portage...
...Where we camped at the end of the portage. The nicest sandy beach is there.
We camped for the last night just short of the entrance to Bowron River. This old trapper's cabin had a great view.
Last camp. The North Face Stormbreak II stayed totally dry inside through every rainshower. The Helinox chair is great, but I coulda brought my high back version.
Last morning, taking the Bowron River to Bowron Lake. What's that sound?? Trumpeting swans! Unfortunately, my camera isn't up to a photo at that distance.
And the end of a perfect seven days.
After the first 9 miles on day one, we figured that we could easily be done in 7 days by averaging 12 miles per day. On day 3, we were surprised to see when we camped that we had gone 18 miles. The Caribou River apparently helped more than I expected. We had a fairly leisurely pace for the rest of the trip. Our average moving speed for the whole trip was 2.8 mph.
We were prepared for foul weather, but it was mostly pleasant and mid-seventies during the day. We never had any significant headwind. Although there were more people than expected, for the most part, everyone we met were happy and pleasant to be around. By getting up with the sun and moving as quick as we could pack, there was usually no one else anywhere near us while we were paddling.
I convinced a friend to do the trip with me, so many of my photos will show the back of his head.
After 18 hours of driving, we decided to stay in one of the small cabins at Beckers Lodge so we could start fresh in the morning. The lodge has been under the current ownership since 2019, and the family has the place in good order.
My partner also had reserved a Clipper Caribou S from them. I brought the Solitude. Prior to the trip, we both had carefully planned our loads to stay under the 60 lbs in the canoe limit while on the portaging carts. Upon registration at the park office, we were surprised to learn that they don't weigh loads for solo canoes. They assume that loads won't be heavy enough to be excessive in solo canoes. I could've put everything in drybags and left the backpack at home.
Anyway, that gave us a little head start on the crowd waiting to weigh. Oh, the crowd.....we were not expecting to see so many people.
Getting started.
The end of the third portage has a new dock that was built so people can avoid the mud bog.
View from our first camp, at the beginning of Isaac Lake. 9 miles in.
Starting out on Isaac Lake.
Onto the long leg of Isaac. We had some rain, and then a stiff tailwind with 2' swells. Our only bad weather day.
Third day weather was perfect. While most paddlers were hugging the left shore of Isaac, we ventured over to the right. It's prettier there, and we saw a family of otters. There is only one campsite on that side, however - which is why people are advised to skirt the left.
Yours truly.
You've all seen this before.
Since the Solitude isn't especially deep or turny, I chose to line around the chute.
This isn't the worst part of the portage to McLeary Lake. I was too busy there for photos. Not a good place to let go of a canoe on a cart.
The Caribou River stretch is fairly easy, but also not a place to be fiddling with a camera. Lake Lanezi is more photogenic anyway.
Rain passed us by at camp on Lanezi, and blessed us with this.
Oops. I got this photo out of order. This was our camp on Sand Lake.
From Lake Lanezi on, these guys were everywhere. They seemed to like anything smooth, like barrels and drybags.
This bench is by the last camp on Sand Lake. It does have a great view...
... But who is Dinty Moore? The beef stew guy?
Leaving Sand Lake on day 5.
Took the side trip to Unna Lake and hiked to Caribou Falls.
Onward to our next to last camp at Spectacle Lake.
And the last portage...
...Where we camped at the end of the portage. The nicest sandy beach is there.
We camped for the last night just short of the entrance to Bowron River. This old trapper's cabin had a great view.
Last camp. The North Face Stormbreak II stayed totally dry inside through every rainshower. The Helinox chair is great, but I coulda brought my high back version.
Last morning, taking the Bowron River to Bowron Lake. What's that sound?? Trumpeting swans! Unfortunately, my camera isn't up to a photo at that distance.
And the end of a perfect seven days.
After the first 9 miles on day one, we figured that we could easily be done in 7 days by averaging 12 miles per day. On day 3, we were surprised to see when we camped that we had gone 18 miles. The Caribou River apparently helped more than I expected. We had a fairly leisurely pace for the rest of the trip. Our average moving speed for the whole trip was 2.8 mph.
We were prepared for foul weather, but it was mostly pleasant and mid-seventies during the day. We never had any significant headwind. Although there were more people than expected, for the most part, everyone we met were happy and pleasant to be around. By getting up with the sun and moving as quick as we could pack, there was usually no one else anywhere near us while we were paddling.
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