ryan and christine on clearwater and azure lake. day 1-3

it was time for christine and my annual epic canoe trip.  this year we chose clearwater and azure lake in wells grey park.  not exceptionally far from murtle lake, which we hit up last year and also this year with my dad, bro and kris.

Day 1... in which christine and ryan paddle up clearwater lake.

on the way to pick up our canoe, we couldn't resist the hike to helmcken falls.  its big.  like real big.

helmcken falls.  real big

then it was off to get our canoe.  a sweet clipper.  we loaded it up at the dock and were off in record time.  everything we need for 7 days in waterproof packs.  we got our packing down pretty good.  not much stuff we didn't use.

all packed up and ready to go.

 then it was time to start paddling.  couldn't have asked for better weather.  sunny hot and a lake like glass.  we definitely saw some swimming in out future.

going north on a lake of glass.  both smoothness and clearness

we stopped for lunch at a sweet sandy area near the diver's bluff campsite.  the shallow banks and cool stream and the sweet views just begged us to stop for snacks.

pulled up for snack time.

 then back on the lake.  still some of the most glorious paddling conditions ever.

huntley col in the distance.  by tomorrow we'd be in its shadow.

 we reached our first stop for camping.  more sandy beaches and everything awesome.  time to get things set up and get comfy.

the canoe resting for the evening.

 we unpacked, got the tent set up and started some dinner.  got to break in some new equipment and enjoy some of the older stuff.

lets make this place our own.

 one of the major bonuses was that the fire ban was off, so we could have a sweet fire.  saved us some stove gas and really turned up the ambiance.  a sweet evening and end for a sweet 1st day.

 

Day 2... when christine and ryan proceed into azure lake via the portage.

 In the mornign we found the same sweet paddling conditions we had the day before.  after pancakes for breakfast we continued up clearwater lake and into the clearwater river.  this would be the spot for the one and only portage of the trip.

coming into the clearwater river

and it's portage time...

 we unpacked everything and managed to get everything over in 2 trips.  like i said before, after 2 big trips before we got this thing dialed.

canoe rest?  no thanks, don't need it.

putting in at the end.  hello azure lake.

 we got to azure lake without much problem.  the portage isn't bad, but don't bother with a canoe cart.  then it was east into azure lake.  big mountains on both sides were pretty awesome. 

looking up azure lake.  warm and flat.  yum yum.

it was getting well into the afternoon and time to think about camping.  not many spots on this lake, but we ended up on one of the best.  another sandy beach site all to our selves.

cool art that was waiting on the beach

 we got a sweet fire going and finished our 2nd books of the trip.  we each brough 5 and finished them all.  thats what relaxing is all about.

old cedar.  smelled awesome.

our own private slice of sandy beach heaven.

what a view

 the sun went down on a very sweet day 2.  tomorrow, on to rainbow falls!

 p.s., we snagged our 3rd geocache of the trip at this site.  icing on the delicious cake.

Day 3... christine and ryan go to rainbow falls

 as we started the 18km paddle up azure lake towards rainbow falls it was immediately apparent that azure lake was very different from clearwater lake.  way more rugged.   less beaches, but the ones that were there were were awesome.

a hazy morning heading east up azure lake

 there were lots of waterfalls.  all very cool.  once the sun was out, it became really obvious why it's called azure lake.

mmmm azurey.

rooster tail falls.  the rocks on the left look like penguins

 the shore was full of rocky cliffs and, like i said, tons of waterfalls.  we could hear them long before and after we saw them.  lots of bright green and yellow moss on a lot of the cliffs really made it cool.

some of the green moss.

hazy lake valley mountain

 we stopped at one of the only beaches on the south side for lunchy snack.  it was obvious that some big winds come down this lake, and this 200ft cedar tree was left as proof.

chilling after lunch

 then one of the weirdest things happened... a 68 plymouth barracuda came ripping down along the fallen tree.  it had a hemi, so it wasn't around long, but i got this picture.

mysterious 68 barracuda

the fallen tree took the role of host for a few new shrouts

 after banana chips, it was on to rainbow falls.  a magical place with a beach a kilometer long.  we got a sweet camp spot, set up and then proceeded to relax.

the view from the tent

our tent in among the blueberries.

mmmmmmm breakfast

after diner we took a hike to the falls.  pretty awesome.

getting close to rainbow falls.

and the river down from the falls.  emptying into azure lake

What a great day.  snagged another geocache and finished another book each.  we gotta start rationing our reading.

look up from a book and this is what you see.

stay tuned for days 4-7, in which christine and ryan have more awesome times.