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.

Scarlet Iris Pub

Just got back from a short motorcycle trip into Winter Harbour. Along the way got a chance to stop for a short visit in Holberg outside the Scarlet Iris Pub.

The Scarlet Iris brought back great memories from a few years ago as a place to celebrate with Club Mud on a recent hike that was completed into Cape Scott Provincial Park. The thoughts of hamburgers, french fries and a cold berverage made my mouth water for a quick fix from campground food.

Once leaving Holberg and the Scarlet Iris the travel into Winter Harbour seemed a bit sluggish and little on the unnerving side with large gravel rocks making up a lot of the road base. The 21 km (13 miles) or so distance took around an hour to complete with a total of four sightings of Black Bears, either climbing a tree or scrambling into the bush.

Winter Harbour was a pleasant sight after driving in. We were able to find the local store called the Outpost for a quick chocolate bar, unfortunately the thought of the Scarlet Iris and the celebration kept coming back in my mind.

Yalakom River Fire

On the way from Gold Bridge to Lillooet today we had a chance to watch to witness the fire suppression helicopters load and transport fire retardant to help stop the large wildfire ragging on the mountain side up the Yalakom Valley.

The wildfire which has been going for a number of days now had made the sky around Gold Bridge and Bralorne very hazy making the mountains barely visible.

On the north side of Carpenter Lake along Hwy 40 the sky was full of air traffic noise in the background. Once pass the bridge over the Yalakom River the road winds up to the where the Yalakom Road starts. This was the staging area for the tanker trucks loading Phos-Chek Fire Retardant, Class A Foam & Gel for the helicopters.

From this vantage point the 7 square km fire could now be scene ragging on the side of the mountains towards the north-west. The loading site was amazing with helicopters landing and taking off in a matter of minutes and other crews arriving and getting mobilized to head in and fights it head on with 31 degrees Celsius temperatures present.

Spinnakers Brew Pub

Had a great lunch the other day and if you happen to looking for a place to have refreshments and/or something to eat also and you’re near Downtown Victoria try going to Spinnakers Brew Pub & Guesthouse situated along the Westson Walkway in Vic-West .

With a reputation as Canada’s oldest brewpub Spinnakers offers hand-crafted beers and an up-market cuisine served in a beautiful setting next to Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The facility which is housed in a waterfront location at 308 Catherine Street has beautiful easterly and southerly views of Victoria’s coastline towards Ogden Point.

Everything is fresh and unique from Spinnakers Brew Pub including the different types of ales, in season menu from local ingredients, in-house bakery and a bounty of seafood. The facility is very convenient and all within a stones throw of the walkway from the hotels next to Johnson Street Bridge, the Galloping Goose Trail and the regional transit system of Victoria.

Any time in the year is a good time at Spinnakers Brew Pub as the chefs tend to capitalize on local products that the CRD and the rest of Vancouver Islands harvest throughout the four seasons. If you have children Spinnakers also has a restaurant located on the main entrance way into the facility.

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Toquart Bay

Although the weather in May has been really wet lately an opportunity for a motorcycle ride up Vancouver Island turned out great, with the discovery of Toquart Bay.

To get here you have to go west of Port Alberni on Hwy 4 towards Ucluelet. Just before Ucluelet about the halfway point along Kennedy Lake is the turnoff for Maggie Lake Forest Service Road, turn here. From this junction there is another 16 km of gravel road to the Toquart Bay Forest Service Recreation Site.

The recreation site is now managed by the local Toquart Bay First Nations and included in the facilities is a concrete boat launch, marina and a campground next to a sandy beach.

If you enjoy kayaking this makes an excellent base camp for exploring Barkley Sound and the Broken Group Island Chain. There is overnight vehicle parking and long term storage if required.

See Toquart Bay for more information, photos and visiting here.

Gun Lake

We just got back from a May long-weekend trip up to Lillooet, through the Bridge River Valley to Gold Bridge and Bralorne with the highlight being an overnight stay on Gun Lake at a Forest Service Recreation Site (FSRS).

Coming in from Lillooet was about 2.5 hours long travelling on Hwy 40 at first through the lands of the Bridge River First Nation, , through the canyons west of the Yalakom River, past the Mission Dam and the turnoff to Seton Portage, then along the lakeshore of Carpenter Lake to Gold Bridge. Once at Gold Bridge Gun Lake is only 10 km away.

The road in to Gun Lake from Gold Bridge travels up and has views of Lajoie Dam, the intake tubes of the dam, Downton Lake and the surrounding snow-capped mountains above Bralorne. Once at the lake there is a perimeter road that goes around Gun Lake. Take the left or west route to the FSRS.

The small user maintained FSRS campground has about 8 tables and two very crude not so clean pit toilets. There is no water available except for scooping it out of the very clean lake. The campsites are in a row set amongst mostly pine trees, with views of Gun Lake. The lake is located steeply below the campground with a few rocks to sit on and no beach. At the lake there is a beautiful view back towards Gold Bridge.

There were some power boats operating on Gun Lake. If you need a launch there is FSRS public boat launch one back on Gun Lake towards Gold Bridge. You pretty well need a 4x4 as the road in to the boat launch is carved out of the bush and looks like it could be muddy.

If the FSRS is full there is other camping back at the Tyax Resort on Tyaughton Lake, the BC Hydro site at Gun Creek on Carpenter Lake or the rough site south found on the Hurley River FSRS at Gwyneth Lake.

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For more information and links see Gold Bridge or for a map.