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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1468031
V A N M A G . C O M M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 2 59 A N D R E W FIN D L AY tinges the air. A smoke haze gathers on the northern horizon. An hour's paddling brings us to a sheltered bay at the lake's west end, where we find the trailhead for the day's last portage. The kids look for frogs in the lily pads while the adults begin the tedious task of unloading the canoes for the fourth time today. The kids groan when we load their packs up, but it's a short walk on flat trail to our campsite on Widgeon Lake. If it wasn't for glacier views and conifer forests, the white sand beach might fool us into thinking we've stumbled upon a slice of the Caribbean in the B.C. interior. Give a kid a lake and a beach, then let them loose. They drop their lifejackets and paddles and race down to toss stones, wade in the water View Finder Two vignettes of what it's like to canoe on Turner Lake in South Tweedsmuir Provincial Park: stunning views, no people. Round trip: 17.5 kilometres Elevation gain: 1,090 metres Location: South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park (north of Gold Bridge) Take a hike on the High Trail to experience a corner of this backcountry paradise in the Coast Mountains. Set off from the Gun Creek logging road near Tyaughton Lake. Stick with the old mining road as it heads northwest, steadily gains elevation, and encounters clear-cuts, crosses streams and passes a park boundary marker. Going left at the signed junction, say hello to lovely single-track and the wildflower meadows and ore-stained mountains of the Pearson Creek basin. Turn right on the Taylor-Pearson Trail in the subalpine meadows. Keep an eye out for spruce grouse. Ascend northwest and up a dirt track to the otherworldly Camel Pass. The Chilcotin Ranges surround you, Harris Ridge and Taylor Peak are nearby high points and Nea Peak rises across the basin. Return the way you came. —Stephen Hui Iconic Hike CAMEL PASS Packable rain gear. Other than "canoe that floats," these are the three most important words you'll hear in the backcountry. Which is why the Trino SL ($300) from Arc'teryx is a lifesaver—it packs down to nothing, it stops the rain like no other... and it still looks cool for grabbing a beer in town three weeks after your trip. arcteryx.com and walk on logs. The adults set up camp and work on dinner. The following morning breaks blue and clear. Winds have shifted and blown the smoke haze elsewhere. We linger over multiple coffees while the kids play on the beach and practice casting with a fly rod. A breeze ripples the surface of Widgeon Lake, so we load up the canoes with day provisions and start paddling into the stiffening wind. An hour of strenuous paddling brings us to a half-sunk jetty at the lake's end. Soon, we're walking rough trail between Widgeon and Kidney Lakes. Head-high blueberry and huckleberry bushes, plump with fruit and wet with dew, crowd the path. Landmines of fresh bear scat, purple from this berry abundance, dot the trail, an acute reminder that we're in grizzly country with four little kids in tow. We stay close together, and I breathe silent relief when we reach the shore of Kidney Lake. That evening, back at our perfect campsite on Widgeon Lake, the adults sit on the beach with cups of wine, taking in a magenta sunset. The kids play some sort of imaginary ninja game that has been unfolding for the past few days, using boulders and logs as an obstacle course. These are the dying days of summer vacation, and the kids are at home in this giant outdoor classroom beneath the expansive skies of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. For a moment I'm melancholy, thinking about September and the four walls of the indoor classroom that awaits them. THE 'IT' GEAR MAY/JUNE 2022 BCBUSINESS 69 BCBUSINESS.CA