Bowron Lakes 1999 Scrapbook
Day Six - Camp 37A to Camp 41
Today was a beautiful day - probably the best one we had. We only had about five km to the next camp, so most of us decided to switch boats...just to try something different. I took John's single kayak. I tell you, they sure get going a lot faster than the tandems!

Michelle, John and Cassie decided to go check out Hunter Lake. The rest of us made our way to the next camp at Rum Lake.

Rum Lake was quite nice. It's kinda sheltered as you have to go through a narrow channel to get there. After we all arrived, we made our way to Cariboo Falls. It was a quick paddle to the trailhead and a bit of a hike.

CRAAASH!

I guess a tree does make a sound if it falls in the forest (mind you we were there to hear it). As we got closer to the falls, we could see the mist rise up above the trees. Cariboo falls were spectacular. I couldn't get a picture that captured the grandness of it all, so Michelle and I kept following the trail until be ended up at the base of the falls. Now that's more like it.

Since it was such a nice day, most of us did some laundry or a bit of bathing (or both). The weather was so nice, most of our clothes dried before we went to bed.

Before we go to to bed, we make an unfortunate discovery - we left Jay's stove behind at the last camp. It had to be there. We checked and double checked our bags and it was nowhere to be found. As it was getting pretty dark, it was decided that Cassie, John and Jay would take one of the tandems in the morning (a triple kayak!). They would aim for a 7:00 am start. Good thing the last camp was only five km away.

What I learned today: it is possible to give yourself a facial in the woods.
Day Seven - Camp 41 to Becker's Lodge
I made two realizations as I woke up this morning. First, it was raining and I forgot to bring in one of my shirts last night. And two, it was Hollie's birthday today. Actually, I had a little help with the second one as the entire camp was treated to Hollie's rendition of the "I'm turnin' 30 blues." I must say, that girl's got a nice voice.

I grabbed my rain gear and headed out. We set up a tarp. By now, we were bona fide tarp-setting experts. John, Jay and Cassie should be returning from their recovery mission soon. We should probably get some breakfast together.

Mission accoplished! Over breakfast we talk about heading all the way back today. We were supposed to be heading to Camp 46, but it was raining and discussed the merits of pushing a little harder so we wouldn't have to spend another night in the rain. It was going to be a long day (about 30 km). We decided to play it by ear and see how we felt by the time we got to around Camp 50.

Off we go. We cross Rum and Unna Lake. A quick portage around Babcock Creek. A quick paddle across Babcock Lake. Portage, Skoi Lake, portage (no more portages!) and on to Spectacle Lakes and on to Swan Lake.

Decision time. After a bit of rest, and some discussion, we decide to push for home. The canoes went out first. The rest of us stayed ashore for a while and warmed up inside one of the shelters.

All of the kayaks stayed together for the last bit. It was quite the display of formation paddling. In the distance we could see the canoes try to erect a sail...that didn't last long. And before we knew it, we were done.

As we stood on the shore and unloaded the boats, we congratulated each other on our accomplishment. It was odd though. I couldn't believe it was over.

What I learned today: it's really nice to have a sit down meal in a restaurant after a week of eating in the woods.