We’ve been looking into multi-days canoeing options in Alberta and British Columbia for some time already and stumbled across a couple of websites suggesting the Bowron Lakes Circuit as world-famous among canoers. Bowron Lake Provincial Park is a large wilderness area situated on the western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range. The Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit encompasses a 116 km chain of lakes and waterways, including 10km of connecting portages. A unique wonderland for canoeists and kayakers alike as it enables a 6- to 9-day journey through a remote wildlife refuge with an astonishing topographic diversity. The eastern side of the Bowron Lakes is actually part of the world’s only inland temperate rainforest (with Western Red Cedar trees over 1.000 years old and undisturbed forest stands much older than that) while the west features the rounded hilltops of the Quesnel Highlands. And the best of it all: You’ll end the circuit where you’ve started it! It is a perfect parallelogram of lakes, rivers and portages surrounded by temperate rainforest and imposing mountains. Truly a geographical wonder.
Our journey didn’t begin paddling, but with a 2.4 kilometer portage from the Park Registration Center to Kibbee Lake. Fortunately we had a decent canoe cart and handle system for an easy pull and once we reached Kibbee Lake we were quite optimistic about the other portages still to come. Kibbee Lake was a short but beautiful paddle through calm waters and forested areas surrounded by mountains. Only the the eerie sound of loons calling to each other perfectly complemented the silence. We instantly could feel we were in the middle of nowhere, isolated, no sounds or signs of any civilization, just the sounds of the kayaks making their way through the water and the dipping of the paddles in a steady rhythm.
Before we were able to master all the different strokes, maneuvers and techniques to properly paddle a canoe, the second 2.0 kilometer portage had begun. It was steep, rocky and muddy, but we still managed to get to Indianpoint Lake on the same day, having our lunch break in an old wooden cabin close to the lake and finding a beautiful spot we would set up camp for our first night. We ended the day with a swim during blue hour, where we able to enjoy the beautiful moon from the water. We fell asleep to the comforting sound of raindrops on our tent, and waking up to look outside our tent to see a calm lake, a beautiful lush green forest of alpine fir and white spruce around us, encompassed by high serrated and partly cloud-covered mountain peaks. But there was no sense in waiting around to wait for better weather, we had a long way to go.
After packing up a wet camp we loaded the canoes and after a short paddle and another portage, we set off across Isaac Lake. At 38km, it was the biggest lake on the circuit and prone to wind and rain. It took us three days to paddle it and although the weather was generally getting better, the winds picked up with waves soon beginning to form during our second day. We paddled on, aware that whitecaps were now present across the lake, and every wave was breaking around the boat. A tailwind pushed us and the canoes started surfing on the waves. For a few minutes this was alright, but with even darker clouds and a thundery shower approaching from the North we eventually decided to seek shelter at a sandbank on the shore, waiting for the bad weather to pass. Hiding under a rain tarp the waves eventually died off and the situation eased.
For our last night at Isaac Lake we set up camp at its end where it transforms into the Isaac river. Even though we experienced fairly wet and unstable weather conditions during our first days, we enjoyed the simplicity of our schedule and turned our focus to those elements which drew us into such an excursion: Mountains, camp life, preparing our meals, sleeping for at least a full eight hours each night and viewing everything from water-level.
Our journey continued at the end Isaac Lake where it transforms into the Isaac river and the famous “chute” and “rollercoaster”. The chute is a narrow part of the river with rapids that quickly turn 90 degrees downstream. At the end of the chute the currents swirl together to form strong eddies that try to have their way with the canoe. After the chute the river straightens out and the rollercoaster begins. More rapids but at least these are of the straight variety and all you have to do is keep the canoe straight (in theory). Before entering the chute we once again felt very lucky to be on this trip with such an experienced group. Receiving clear instructions on how to approach the rapids and playing around in them, learning different maneuvers and techniques, we felt ready to face the white waters. And as the rapids began to seem bigger and bigger we cruised right through them with no struggle. We kept the canoes straight and as it spit us out we sweeped hard on the outside of the canoe to turn us right.
Below Isaac Falls the green, clean water of the Isaac River met the opaque silty water of the Cariboo River, which is glacier-fed. At the confluence the waters merged like stripes, and views of the caribou Glacier opened behind us. The scenery here was truly awe inspiring as we cruised down Cariboo River, but navigating it presented a new challenge. Littered throughout the river and on the banks were many deadheads and sweepers (so basically dead trees sticking in and out of the water). As the river is also very windy and silt-laden it can be a bit of a challenge to navigate around the corners and any obstacles we could see. That’s at least the excuse I’d like to use for why I haven’t taken too many pictures of the journey down the river :-) In the end, river canoeing was quite enjoyable and we eventually sneaked our way out of the river and into Lanezi Lake.
Lanezi Lake is the second largest lake on the circuit, and the scenery changed from silty waters with deadheads to majestic mountains and pine forests. By that time the weather improved a lot and we enjoyed a sunny (and almost too hot) 12 kilometer paddle across the lake, before passing through the narrows to Sandy Lake and ending a very long day on a beautiful, secluded, but also very buggy beach-side camp. West of here, the vegetation started to change a lot, from the darker cedar and hemlock forests in the wet, western slopes of the Cariboo Mountains, to the lodgepole pine and Douglas fir prominent in the circuit's western lakes. The mountains were gradually left behind, replaced by low marshland. At the same time, the skies have been blanketed by a smoky haze from forest fires burning across the southern British Columbia.
Below Sandy Lake we followed the Cariboo River and watched carefully on the left for the narrow entrance to Unna Lake, from where a trail leads to the roaring, 24 meter high Cariboo Falls. Another group of paddlers warned us that they’ve seen a bear on the trail, so we made sure to be very noisy and had our bear spray at the ready. A quick couple kilometers and we were at a raging wall of rushing water, luckily without running into any bears. And although there was so much raging water we could barely see past the mist, the water pumping through the canyon is something special to behold. From Unna Lake, we backtracked stream-upwards the Cariboo River to get to the mouth of Babcock Creek for another 1.2 kilometer portage. It was flat and easy, and we quickly made our way to Babcock Lake. We made short work of it and hit our second portage of the day. 400m later, we were onto Skoi Lake. The terrain was marshy and reedy. Another short jaunt and we were onto our final portage of the day, 400m to Spectacle Lake, where we would set up camp again for our last night on the circuit.
On our last day we made our way through Swan Lake and the Bowron River, where the shores became sandier and were lined with swamps and marshes. Knowing that our best chances for spotting a moose are in these kinds of settings we held our eyes wide open and as we traversed the flat waters we happened to see a moose cow and her newborn calf. We stopped in a reasonable distance and then drifted past, feeling lucky to have seen this, and not wanting to disturb her.
Eventually we emerged onto Bowron Lake, the final lake of our seven-day journey. Another hour and we would be back to civilization. We paddled hard as the head wind picked up, happy on our way with smiles on our faces, knowing we’ve just completed one of the world’s most renowned canoe trips.
A big thank you to Joyce, Bruce, Alyssa and Garth for letting us use their equipment and being the best canoeing companions we could have asked for. What a splendid time we had!