Bulman Lake Hike – KamloopsTrails
Roche Lake Provincial Park is a forested area at 1163 m (3800 ft.) Access is by the Roche Lakes Road, a good gravel road. Most people enjoy Roche Lake, and some visit Bleeker Lake and Horseshoe Lake. There are a number of other likes that can be fished and explored too, like Black Lake, Ernest Lake, Frisken Lake, John Frank Lake, and Bulman Lake. There are a number of smaller lakes too, like Butterball Lake, Tulip Lake, Rose Lake, Bog Lake. All of the lakes are attractive spots to hike to or past and any route that goes on a tour of the lakes makes a good day of hiking. A favorite loop goes from Roche Lake to Black Lake, then Bog, Ernest, and back past John Frank to the start. Another favorite route goes from the south end of Roche Lake to Frisken Lake and Bulmer Lake. I have also packed into Frisken Lake, Black Lake, Rose Lake, and Tulip Lake to paddle. A route I had wanted to do for a while a loop route to Bulmer Lake.
The route started at Roche Lake and followed a rough double track to the power line, then southeast toward Ernest Lake. The farther east it goes, the more rough it becomes. It difficult it would be to drive, except with a short base 4WD or ATV (packed with a chainsaw).
The double track to Ernest Lake splits. There are no signs, but the two tracks are fairly obvious. The track bearing south is much rougher and impassable for vehicles. With some work it might be passable with ATVs using chainsaws. It is a good backcountry hike, though. Part way down to Bulmer Lake is a junction. The left fork goes over the hill and down to Butterball Lake. The right fork continues down past several ponds toward Bulman Lake.
The track comes in at the northeast end of Bulmer Lake, then winds on a ridge just above the lake. There are three backcountry informal campsites along the north side of the lake. I hope to pack a boat into the lake at some point in the future.
From Bulmer Lake to Frisken Lake and beyond to the powerline is a route I had hiked before. The track arrives at the east side of Frisken Lake and goes around the lake. This is another beautiful spot.
Instead of following the track around the lake, I chose to bushwhack for 350m through the dense forest to get out to the powerline. For this day I chose to hike up the powerline track for 1.6 km. There is another way to get back and I will be exploring that route in my next exploration of the area.
The route goes past the outflow for John Frank Lake. It has some extensive marshes around it and makes a good spot for paddling.
I continued north to join the track I had started on. The loop route was about 13 km and took 4 hours. I passed a series of lakes, ponds, and marshes. There was some wildlife, but no bear sign. I hiked through a number of old growth douglas fir forests. I neither saw, nor heard anyone else. This will be one of my favorite hikes for 2024.
There will be YouTube video on this hike published soon. Go to the link to the Channel on the menu bar above to go to the video and more than 600 more videos.
Doug Smith
Doug writes for Kamloops Trails, a not-for-profit (and ad free) website, offering information on trails, waterways, routes, featured spots, viewpoints, and explorations in the outdoors in the Kamloops area (and beyond).
Doug started exploring this area in 1976 and continues to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, he chose to share this information.
The Kamloops Trails website has a massive number of interesting posts and would be of interest to anyone in Kamloops who enjoys the outdoors. Visit the Kamloops Trails website at: http://www.kamloopstrails.ca/
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