Chapter 2; The first four...

With the excitement of a new beginning upon me, I was up before the sun. The clear dark sky made for a crisp, chilly morning but nothing a fire and coffee couldn't handle. I made a quick fire in the stove and then sat with Smudge as I enjoyed my coffee. It wasn't long before the sun joined us and once it did, I grabbed my boat and headed for the water. What a day it was turning out to be, I couldn't wait to get out there!

I was the only one on the water down on this end of the lake and if it wasn't for me and all the fish jumping around, the surface would have been perfectly still. Even with our interruptions, the lake mimicked the sky nearly perfectly for me. Over the tree tops I could see the peaks of the distant mountains all around. I was so excited to explore it all!

I paddled just over a third of the 15 kilometer long lake right to where it elbows before turning back. I could paddle the rest anytime, now it was time for breakfast.

Unfortunately I wasn't going to be able to paddle all the time. My summer was completely self supported so in order for it to work, I had to work. I spent the first part of the day cutting the lawn at Nimpo Lake Resort and after lunch I headed to Eagle's Nest Resort located on the west side of Anahim lake.

Eagle's Nest Resort although constructed in the same Chilcotin fashion as Nimpo Lake Resort, had a much different theme. Rustic Cabins with 80's themed furnishings and a gorgeous dining room with fine dishes and a plywood floor.

Until recently the place had been run by a woman who called herself Lady Enubi, a large eccentric woman who believed that god provided energy through a hill on the property and had a following of a number of people that lived on the property as staff. At that point the local rumors had started to swirl about the place and continued until Lady Enubi passed away abruptly and the commune dispatched. The resort was sold but a number of the staff from the commune still ran the place for the current owner. This was all great news for me as this meant that they required a landscaper to tend to the property now and without this job I couldn't be there for the summer.

This was where I would spend most of my work days over the next few months. Cutting the grass and chopping firewood looking out over Anahim Lake as the different mountain ranges of the Anahim Volcanic belt reflected in the water. There are worse places I could have been...

Anahim Lake

Work consumed most of my first week. Both resorts needed a lot of love to get caught up for the coming season. I was paddling out on Nimpo Lake in the mornings but it was still the only lake I had paddled to that point. So Friday night after a hard week of work and a great dinner I jumped in the Ford and headed out to add a couple more to the list.

I had spent any free time I did have during the week going over maps and picking areas that I wanted to look into and had a few places to choose from but tonight I didn't have much time.The sun was only going to be up for a couple more hours. I decided to start by following the Dean River.

With it's headwaters just east of Towdystan , The Dean River meanders lazily in and out of a series of shallow lakes along the Chilcotin Plateau before it plummets 5000ft to the ocean at Kimsquit and flows into the Dean Channel. I was hoping to reach all these lakes it flowed through on the Plateau and tonight I was going to start with two, Poison and Medicine Lakes. Twin Lakes that are about 5 kms each in length and approximately half a kilometer wide. I'm not sure of the history of the names, when you ask people about lakes in this area they just tell you how big the fish are, that's all they are concerned about.

As the river heads north out of Anahim Lake, I followed it along the appropriately named Dean River Road. A beautiful road that leads you to the original Ranch and homestead that was responsible for populating that part of the region. As you drive along the road the different mountain ranges of the area present themselves in the distance over the vast farmland. Even the impressive Coastal Range makes an appearance colored beautifully by the slowly setting sun.

The Rainbow Range from the Dean River Rd

I arrived at Poison lake and wasted no time getting set up. I put my boat in the water at the campsite/boat launch on the marshy side of the lake and paddled a few kilometers down towards the other end. To the north and the east the peaks of the Itcha-Ilgatchuz ranges danced just above the tree tops as I paddled parallel to them up and down the lake.

The sun was out of view as I got back to the boat launch but that wasn't going to stop me. I threw my boat on the car and was and was barrelling down the road in minutes. As I crested the hill that divided the two lakes , I was rewarded with an absolutely stunning view of Anahim Peak , A lone Volcano that rises a few thousand feet above the plateau. As quickly as it appeared it was gone as the road ducked back down into the trees.

Medicine lake had no campsite but did have a boat launch of sorts which was more than good enough for me. As I put my boat in the water I was relieved to see that the scenery here wasn't really much different than what it was on Poison lake. I could paddle happily as the sun disappeared entirely knowing that I wasn't missing out on anything I hadn't already seen.

The darkness did make it a little interesting finding the boat launch I started from but eventually I was back in my car with the heater blasted and looking at the map. Although it was too dark to paddle any more lakes, I figured I may as well drive down the road a bit and locate the turn offs for a couple other lakes located further down the road, Abundlet and Lessard Lakes. I continued down the road until I was confident I had found the turn offs for both of them. Satisfied with my accomplishments for the evening, I headed back towards home.

The rest of the weekend was much like the week work wise. I spent it at Nimpo Lake resort plugging away at the 5.5 acre property for a couple of days before heading back to Eagle's Nest for the rest of the week. It was after work on one of these days that I paddled Anahim Lake.

Foolishly I had already assumed I had seen what the lake had to offer while admiring it from the shore for the last week but I was mistaken. As I paddled toward the center of the lake, Kappan and Trumpeter Mountains appeared to the south and as I went further the Coast mountains to the west. A truly spectacular view that I wasn't expecting. I took that in for a little while before heading to where the Dean River left the lake. I got to the river as the sun was directly above and it

made all the reeds glow around me as the silhouette of the Rainbow Range consumed the horizon. This lake was way

more scenic than I had given it credit for.

Having only paddled 4 different lakes in almost two weeks I was starting to question my goal but I knew I would have more time soon starting with the coming weekend. I powered through the next couple days of work making sure both resorts were in great shape because when Friday came, I was gone.