09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
I woke up at 5am to the sound of raindrops hitting my tent. It was daylight by then so made a quick trip up the slippery slope and then crawled back in my sleeping bag for a couple hours. Woke up again at 7am and NO rain. I figured that while it wasn't raining I'd pack up as quickly as possible. To the south though, it looked very cold and rainy--socked in in the direction we would be paddling today. We will be going all the way to the end of Isaac Lake today. First we cross to the outside (eastern) shore and follow it the whole way. Isaac is notorious for strong winds kicking up in an instant but is kind to us on this day. Our plan for pleasant weather is just what we get--broken clouds and sunshine all day.
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
We start out the day with rain gear since it looks so forbidding in the direction we are traveling.
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
But the rain clouds soon give way to blue skies. We seem to be following all the bad weather--YEAH!
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
All along Isaac Lake the only sound you hear is the roaring of waterfalls. You can hear them, but often you can't see them--this one could be seen.
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
We are getting closer to the big glacier fed lake on the circuit, and you can see the glaciers on the mountaintops up ahead.
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
Some of the local flora. I don't know what this flower was called but it was quite common along the circuit--a more yellow version of it as well.
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
Barry and Patty enjoying the beauty of nature. On this day we saw a heron being chased by a hawk of some sort (maybe an osprey?) and let me tell you they have a gawdawful squawk. Patty and Barry also saw a squirrel swimming and probably headed off a predator for it so it could reach shore safely. None of us had ever seen a squirrel swim before.
And check out that water--beautiful, deep and crystal clear with that blue-green tint!
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
The Cariboo Mountains loom ahead. We are arriving at our next campsite (#28) earlier than usual in the day ~2:30pm. We will set up camp and practice the "Chute" which is a short right hand turn in some rapids from Isaac Lake into the Isaac River. Since we have only been paddling on smooth water, this is a new experience and our guides prep us well--walking us through the motions before we give it a try.
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
Late this afternoon we practiced going through the "Chute" with empty canoes. For practice, we are going through the "V" and then pulling to the left so we don't go down the river. Tomorrow we will go right and then keep going--no stopping. We all did really well and since Susan and I have been trading places in the canoe, we went twice and decided that I would "drive" tomorrow in the loaded down canoe. After the excitement and anticipation had passed (we knew we could do it now), we had a nice dinner of spaghetti.
09-AUG-2006
Day 4 - Wednesday, August 9
This was the spectacular sunset we had tonight.
This is kind of a major stopping place on the circuit as many folks practice before actually going down the "Chute" so it seems really busy to me. There are a couple campsites and a cooking shelter that I'm sure has been used to dry people, clothes and gear that have been dumped going through here. Despite the numbers of people populating this general area, and the fact that all the folks in my group have gone to bed (probably by ~9:15pm), the following happened: I was sitting by our fire's glowing embers writing in my journal, waiting for the stars to come out since the sky was relatively clear. It is very quiet but the silence is broken by the sound of sloshing water. Now it couldn't be waves washing up on the shore because there is no wind, and it's fairly dark--I'm using a flashlight to see my own writing--so it can't be anyone in a canoe coming in for the night (this site is taken!). So I scan the underbrush by the lake in the direction of the sound and see the unmistakable silhouette of a moose cow and calf pass quietly by now that they're on dry land. How cool is that? Cheryl and Merlin's tent was the closest to the lake and I let them know a moose just came through. Merlin dashes out to see if he can get a photo and hears them go through the neighboring campsite, surprising the folks there. Anyway, that was pretty cool.
