Labour Day Weekend 2010 Sooke Potholes

The end of summer 2010 and camping seemed to have come this last weekend at the Sooke Potholes Regional Park. Not only was Labour Day weekend the closing date for camping at the Sooke Potholes it also seemed like the end of the summer weather as well.

Saturday started off with sunshine, but as we made the Seventeen Mile Pub on Hwy 14 the weather was starting to cloud over. Still in good spirits the campground was alive and well with campers and only 6 or so campsites left available around 2pm.

The night was very enjoyable especially with the company of two members of Club Mud coming over and sharing a fire along with a hot dog and refreshments complete with the tranquil sounds of the Sooke River flowing in the background.

During the next morning though things started to change with a number of campsites being vacated for that night and the temperature cooling off. This was very peculiar as in order to stay for the Labour Day long weekend payment for Saturday and Sunday night is required. So much for the recession.

Sunday was very enjoyable but starting to get quite cold especially felt during a swim in the local swimming hole. That night the campground seemed to be vacated with only a third full and yet everything was pleasant, especially with fires allowed.

That all changed this morning, with rain starting about 2 am and poring continuously all morning. The Sooke Potholes transformed instantly now looking like a typical fall day, dark, wet and miserable . As the scene changed dramatically the look on a number campers packing up was where did the summer of 2010 go.

Muchalat Lake Recreation Site

Going back to work after a summer vacation is always interesting especially if you experienced a number of discoveries along the way. For the people where I work a topic of camping came up and it seems like a number of other people found a few good spots to stay as well.

For one person he experienced the west side of Slocan Lake and found a hidden gem with a spot right on the lake and very little people. Another fellow still swears by Nanaimo Lakes with it's large slightly treed camping sites with a lot of privacy and close to the lake. Then during a large power outage at the corner of Blanshard Street and Bay Street the foreman talked about some Recreation Sites in the Okanagan where he could relax and take his dog for a walk.

For me the top spot on the list had to be at Muchalat Lake Recreation Site just 13 km (8 miles) north of Gold River It is located on the Nimpkish Main a forestry road that continues north eventually coming out at the Mount Cain turnoff on Hwy 19 just south of Woss.

Located in a large valley that runs north and south Muchalat Lake has the hot sun that you can experience in Gold River making for some great swimming in the lake, fishing for a good size fish has nice large semi private campsites in a quite atmosphere and very little bugs because of a slight breeze that comes up in the night.

If you do go here expect to see very large logging trucks taking up most of the road and a road that is made up some of the largest crush rocks seen in British Columbia.