Provincial park a wonderland
The closure of numerous Kelowna and regional district parks due to dry conditions and the wildfire danger has put a damper on many hiking opportunities.
So the Sheriff and Constant Companion Carmen started exploring places we haven't visited in a number of years. One of our favourite places is the natural wonderland at Bear Creek Provincial Park.
For out-of-towners reading this column, this 178-hectare park is located on Westside Road nine kilometres north of Highway 97 in West Kelowna so it is a short drive whether you live in West Kelowna or Kelowna. The park entrance is just past the bridge over Lambly (aka Bear) Creek.
The park features 122 camping sites on a cottonwood-lined delta, more than 400 metres of sandy beaches and five kilometres of spectacular, well-marked hiking trails.
There are numerous lookouts to peer down into the narrow chasm and churning water at the bottom of its picturesque canyon that was carved into the bedrock by Bear Creek.
A warning that this park is extremely busy during the summer season and camping reservations are required. If you are thinking about camping, though, you are probably looking at September, which means kids are back in school and it's likely a lot quieter.
Reservable dates end on Sept. 3 or Sept 16 depending on the campsite loop. The park is open until Oct. 9, then the gates are locked for the off-season. For more information, go to the B.C. Parks’ website; for reservations, the Discover Camping website.
History: Bear Creek Canyon Trail is dedicated to Dave Brewer, a B.C. Parks ranger who designed and constructed it in 1981, the year the park opened. Unfortunately, years later, he lost his life in the line of duty while working in Wells Gray Provincial Park.
Although the B.C.. Parks’ website describes it as one trail, there are actually three loops accessed from a small parking lot on the west side of Westside Road.
The shorter, cooler, shaded Loop Trail offers a short 15-minute walk starting right next to the parking lot. You can also do a loop by combining the Mid Canyon Trail with a section of the Canyon Rim Trail.
However, the most popular loop is the complete Canyon Rim Trail: 2.5 kilometres with an elevation gain of 90 metres. The average time to complete this trail is about two hours.
A word of caution: there are dangerous cliffs and drop-offs so stick to the trails and behind the fences of the numerous lookouts.
You should wear sturdy footwear and a hat, use sunscreen, carry water and bring your camera. All dogs must be on a leash, and please be responsible for their behavior and waste.
We like to start with the southern edge of Canyon Rim Trail since your reward for climbing the first steep hill is a bench with a panoramic view of Okanagan Lake and Kelowna to the southeast.
Then, there is a series of lookouts (the first isn’t an indication of the others’ quality). The wide, hard-packed trail includes sturdy staircases of milled lumber to make the climb or descent a little easier, and to reduce the impact on plant life and soil structure.
The view of the creek, as it meanders through the steep-walled canyon forming various ripples and small waterfalls, is fantastic whether you are looking down on it from the lookouts or right next to it. A pit toilet is located at the halfway point. Pausing on the bridges or even dipping your hands in the creek will stretch the hike, but keep you cool.
The canyon forms a microclimate with noticeably different vegetation on the two sides of the creek. The slope on the north is dry with Ponderosa pine and bunches of grass while the cooler south side has Douglas fir and carpets of moss, evidence of more moisture and shade.
Balsam root and prickly-pear cactus compete for the area's meager rainfall. The canyon floor — cooler and shaded — is home to maple and birch, Saskatoon and buffalo berry, wild rose, horsetail and mosses.
Years ago, the park had a resident interpreter who would point out the different kinds of plants, many of them used by First Nation peoples. Wildlife abounds from the swallows and hawks that swoop through the canyon to the owls and coyotes that enliven the night. Noisy tree-frogs can be heard in the spring; crickets are active in the summer.
The Canyon Rim Trail was affected by a wildfire in 2011 and produced many hazards including unstable trees, holes and loose rock. These hazards have been reduced along the main trail system but travel off the main trail system has an increased level of risk and you can get black all over your clothes.
That risk reminds the Sheriff of a favourite (and possibly hair-razing) story.
The Sheriff saw his life flash before his eyes while snorkelling there in 1980 before it became a fully-operational provincial park.
He was just offshore swimming underwater checking out the Eurasian aquatic milfoil and the occasional fish on the bottom when he heard the sound of a powerboat. Turning his head, he saw the flash of a silver propeller and heard a “thunk” against the side of his scuba mask.
The Sheriff stood up in that waist-deep water and yelled “Hey” at the four young people lounging in the boat. They didn't hear him since they were busy chatting, not watching to see if there was anything in the water ahead, and the boat continued down the waterfront close to shore.
The scuba mask had a cut in the temple area indicating how close the propeller came to causing serious injury and possibly ending his life. Every time he's been to the Bear Creek beach since then, the Sheriff has thought of that day and how much living he's done in the following almost-five decades. B.C. Parks now has a log boom in front of that beach to prevent powerboats from getting that close to the swimming area.
Bear Creek Provincial Park is also popular with members of the Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club who regularly schedule a summer campout and day trips there. The ideal scenario is paddling north one day and south the other.
Keep in mind the wind: whether you want to paddle against it and coast back or fight it on the way back. Or hope it dies down (or often reverses) by the time you decide to head back.
The northern route offers numerous rock cliffs, million-dollar lakefront mansions, the picturesque Traders Cove and an abandoned log sorting area. Traders Cove, by the way, has a protected bay that gets much warmer than the rest of the lake so it’s perfect for a swim and picnic lunch.
Heading south, there are the log booms that you saw off Westside Road on the way to the park, then more of those million-dollar mansions.
The boom regularly has numerous waterfowl and even an occasional heron resting on a log when we have silently glided by. The ideal part about kayaking is how close you can get to the boom and private property and slowly take it all in.
*** The Sheriff just learned about a special ceremony in Ottawa regarding a hiking buddy, Paul Landry.
While he was competing at the Canadian Deaf Golf Championships in Mont Tremblant, PQ, Landry popped into Hunt Club, a community in River Ward in the south end of Ottawa, for the rededication and renewal of Paul Landry Park (named after him in 1993).
From his quiet demeanor, you would never know that Landry is an elite, record-setting Canadian runner and was Canada’s first deaf letter carrier for Canada Post.
Landry, who now lives in West Kelowna with his wife, Pauline, and their two sons, set the bar high in competitive running in Canada.
He competed in the Deaflympics six times earning six medals and participated twice as head coach of Canadaís athletic team. In 1985, he became the first deaf athlete to win a gold medal in running.
He still holds the Canadian records for fastest times in several distances: 800 metres, the 1,500, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000. He continues to coach at the international level and recently completed a national coaching program.
Landry credits his wife, Pauline, and Bill Arnold, who was his running club coach for 20 years.
“If I didn’t show up for training, Bill would call my wife,” Landry told Erin McCracken, a reporter/photographer with Metroland Media’s Ottawa South News.
“Sometimes, I didn’t feel like going out and running. I didn’t feel like training,” he said via sign-language interpreter Karen Hennig.
“Well, my wife would kick me out. And I thank her for it. Afterwards, I felt good.”
Running offered another type of challenge — loneliness — since he also competed against hearing athletes. He was regularly the only deaf person in a running club.
“So I was lucky to have support from the Canadian Deaf Sports Association,” he said. “I had access to encouragement, for motivation and for support. Some people quit competing because of a lack of those things.”
The ceremony included a tree-planting and ground-breaking ceremony at Paul Landry Park which is going through numerous changes, including a new children’s playground later this year. As well, the park has been cleaned up and trees planted to replace a large swath of ash trees that had to come out.
It marks a significant turnaround from five years ago when garbage was a common sight in the park which is often used as a shortcut from Uplands Drive to the Hunt Club Centre plaza.
The green space became a pet project of the Hunt Club Community Organization and a group of “park angels” has regularly gathered to clean up the city-owned park.
*** The Kelowna Canoe and Kayak Club will hold a Family Picnic at 2:30 p.m. today (Aug. 19) at Beasley Park on Wood Lake in Lake Country.
Members should bring their own picnic meal, chairs and games such as bocce ball. There will be an unorganized paddle on Wood Lake and members can stay for a separate 6:40 p.m. tribute concert to ABBA and Fleetwood Mac, courtesy of Lake Country Parks.
The club’s Fall Social Paddling (no instruction) Campout has now been confirmed for Sugar Lake on Sept. 8-10.
The only cost is $12 per night per site (in cash, no credit/debit cards), which must be paid to the camp attendants on arrival. Reservations are not accepted for the 50 sites; they are first come, first served.
The Sugar Lake 2 Mile Campground is 1:45 hours from Kelowna, northeast of Vernon/Cherryville. The link to the website is: sugarlakecamping.com.
There is no cell or internet service and no garbage collection but a take-out-what-youbring system. There are no RV hookups. Bring your own drinking water.
A full day of paddling is planned for Saturday, going up the length of the 10K lake, possibly visiting the islands, with lots of sunken tree stumps to view.
There is the option of a short Sunday morning paddle, possibly across the lake (1.5K wide) and along the eastern shore until members decide to turn around for a planned departure for home in the afternoon.
For further information and to confirm an intention to participate, email paddle leader Paul Stephenson at kckcpresident@gmail.com.
J.P. Squire, aka the Hiking, Biking, Kayaking and Horseback Riding Sheriff, is an Okanagan Saturday/Sunday reporter and an avid outdoors enthusiast. His column appears every weekend. You can contact him with your outdoor news at his new email address: jp.squire@telus.net.