Stomping in the Bush Lake Forest
We have been snowshoeing, hiking, cross country skiing and exploring the Bush Lakes areas for 40 years. Trails were established in 1977 for the first BC Winter Games. That’s when the parking lot was first established. Trails went west on double tracks and single tracks. We had a number of established trails, outhouses on the route, signage, and some grooming support for cross country skiing. When the province decided to build the Coquihalla Highway (opened in 1986), the trails were cut off and a replacement set of trails was built at Stake Lake. The Bush Lake Trails fell out of use except for a handful of cross country skiers who followed a combination of double tracks and single tracks. Windfall became a problem on single tracks so new routes came and went. Logging also wiped out a number of routes, but each time skiers and then snowshoers started new routes. The whole area has no established trails, but the double tracks are still used to penetrate the forest. Use-made single tracks change from week to week. We followed some stomped-in tracks and we made some of our own:
The low winter sun shone over snow-covered glades along our route.
Cutblocks of the area have a few trees left. Windfall is frequent at the edge of each open block.
When we strike off through the forest, we look for open forest routes with no deadfall.
The larger trees of the area are douglas firs, standing above the lodgepole pines and aspens.
We followed the drainage that connects Bush Lake to Dogwood Marshes (Anderson Creek).
The final part of our snowshoe stomp wound through aspens.
Each time we snowshoe in the Bush Lakes area we choose a different route, one we pick once we are out the forest. There are no established trails in either the Bush Lakes area nor in Dogwood Marshes and for snowshoers, this is a good thing.
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.net/
My Blog Posts