2011/05 Family letter - Silver Lake |
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Silver Lake |
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We had the best weather of the year for our couple of days of camping, but it turned to rain on our second afternoon, just as the
hordes started arrivingfor the long BC holiday weekend, and we were heading home. Silver Lake was formed by an avalanche that fell off Silver Peak, blocking Silverhope creek.
It’s a scenic spot, close to Hope, so it’s good for a quick camper test. We hiked the trail along the valley floor, soggy in places, but beautiful with green mossy cliffs, carpets of bleeding hearts, and some gigantic skunk cabbage, waist high and filling the spaces between the trees.
We also took along the folding kayak for its first trip out since before we built the house. We were pleased we 
managed to assemble it correctly after four years. I can’t say that the muscle power was as good though. We made sedate progress around the lake,annoying the ducks and geese and otters, and then made an unsuccessful attempt to paddle up the creek, against the current. At the other end of the lake, Sandie wouldn’t let me get close to 
the creek’s downstream exit, something to do with the roaring noise around the bend.
The last evening we followed the logging road through the Skagit Valley and down to Ross Lake, a reservoir onthe USA border. 
The Canadian end of the lake is always shallow, but at this time of year it has no water at all. In fact all we could see was a lakebed full of stumps and logs, no water at all. The location of the border on the mountains is very visible, as a snow-covered cleared line through the forest.
The border is still unguarded, so we were able to walk into the American part of the lake, also dry. There’s a large and free national park campground just across the border, full of Canadians, as there’s no connection to the US road network, and 
no boat access either until the water comes up. The mountains were striking with their snow covered peaks, with Hozomeen Peak 
towering over the piles of tree debris. A little further down the lake is Desolation Peak, and the fire tower made famous as Jack Kerouac’s workplace back in the 50s.
Back at home now, we’re busy getting ready for the trip. We’ll be making a short stop in Okotoks before moving on to Minnesota for a couple of weeks and then making a longer stop there on the way back.