Arctic Lake June 2009

The first part of this trip can really not be counted because I and my passenger (Brent's daughter) were being towed up the parsnip river.

The trip started on June 5, 2009 at what we called the first bridge on the Parsnip River. N54 21' 45.7" W121 49' 48.0".
2 hours and 45 min to get to the confluence of Arctic Creek and the Parsnip River. 16 km. Then another 55 min to go 4.7 km up Arctic Creek to the Rocky Point campsite.

June 6, all five of us went for a walk around a small lake near the campsite. There was no trail so the walk involved bush whacking, Devil's Club, rocky slopes and a bit of snow. I have only visited this area in the late summer so I very much enjoyed the area at this time of year. The smell of the emerging ferns was pleasant.

1.44 km, 2 hours total.

In the evening Jim and I paddled to the other side of the lake to check out other possible campsites.

1.67 km about 45 min.

June 7. Took 3 canoes to the end of Arctic Lake. Brent, and the girls in one, towed Jim and I in the second canoe and I towed the third behind us.

We carried two canoes the, more or less, 600m to Portage Lake. Then we paddled down Portage Lake, we picked our way through the log jam and down the short creek to Pacific Lake. The fishing was good. Snow banks are still along the south side of the lake and there were snow bergs in the lake.

The distance canoed down to Pacific Lake and back was 6.66 km. Moving time was about 2 hours 20 minutes.

June 8.
Brent and I went to explore the water fall at the end of Pacific Lake. Again we motored to the end of Arctic Lake and then walked the portage to Portage Lake. As Brent and I canoed toward a snow berg it slowly rolled over. I assume this is very much how an iceberg rolls over but on a much smaller scale. At the end of Portage Lake there is an active Eagles nest. We made our way through the log jam and down the creek into Pacific Lake. At the end of Pacific Lake a Common Loon swam by us under the water. This is something I do not recall ever seeing before. There is a beaver dam between the lake and James Creek. There are lots of rainbow trout visible in this area. When we went around to the southeast shore of Pacific Lake we saw a Black Bear on the shore. The bear soon moved off once it saw us. We put ashore not far from where the bear had been. We then hiked up to the waterfall. The hike took about a hour and a half even though it was only 1.5 KM. These are spectacular falls and they are even better up close so it was worth the steep climb. Canoeing to the end of Pacific Lake and back was a total of about 10 km over a time of a couple of hours.

June 9, 2009
We returned the way we came. The motor was available to tow us but we paddled quite a bit of the way, which I enjoyed.

The most excitement on this paddle was when all three canoes encountered a cow moose coming up the river with her calf. When the mother moose saw us she exited the river. The calf had considerable more difficulty and was not able to exit the river. The mother moose became very agitated which concerned Jim and Brent and me. We were concerned that the cow moose might charge into the river. If she were to charge a canoe there is no telling how much damage she would do. As it turned out she disappeared into the brush and stayed there as we slipped by in the canoes.

Of the 20 odd km traveled I estimate that we paddled 10km.