CLICK to enlarge pictures...

DATE OF THIS TRIP: 2005-03-14

CLICK on the pictures to enlarge them.
Then use the BACK button to return to this page.

After yesterday's shake-down cruise off Ambleside, with Barbie, it was time to take the tandem Amaruk solo. I had purchased 48, 500ml bottles of water to use as dead weight, in the forward cockpit, in lieu of an actual paddler. I wanted to see how the kayak would respond to just one paddler in the aft cockpit. For this initial attempt, I wanted a location where wind, currents and tides would not be an issue. I chose Buntzen Lake just north of Port Moody for this trip. To be precise, the Buntzen Lake BC Hydro Reservoir.

The lake is 4.8 km long and covers an area of 182 hectares.

I left home at 8:15 with some light clouds in the sky and the weather forecast promising nothing but blue sky later in the morning. 

Although traveling in rush hour traffic - including along Hastings Street - I made good progress as most of the trip was against the general flow of the morning rush.

At 9:10 I arrived at the Buntzen Lake, south beach, launching place. The initial impression of the lake was favorable; calm and quiet. I was seemingly alone but for some people playing with their dog at the other end of the beach. Prior to being renamed after the first general manager of B.C. Electric Co., Johannes Buntzen, the lake was known as Lake Beautiful. The view this morning lived up to the previous appellation.  

There is temporary parking at the south beach. Once boats have been launched, owners are required to park cars in the upper parking lot, about 100 meters away. The area just back of the beach is grassy with many picnic tables. Between the beach and the parking lot, a beach volleyball court has been set up. 

Small dock in the launch area. While deserted when I got there, it was well used by anglers by the time I returned from the other end of the lake. Buntzen Lake is stocked with Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat, Kokanee and some non-salmonid species. 

By 9:25 I had unloaded the kayak and driven the van to the upper parking lot. 

Returning to the beach, I loaded the 24 liters of bottled water into the forward cockpit, donned my PFD, and, by 9:40, was on the water. 

By 9:40, I was on the water. I decided to head up the west side of the lake; it was sunny and the sun was at my back.  

By 9:40, I was on the water. I decided to head up the west side of the lake; it was sunny and the sun was at my back. 

Pointing the bow in the direction of the pass between the western shore of Buntzen Lake and the small island just off the South Beach. 

The western shoreline. 

Good morning: total silence. 

A scene typical of much of the western shore. 

The western shoreline was, to a large extent, rocky. 

I couldn't resist this rocky reflection. 

As I got further into my paddle, I was struck by the quiet all around. However, I found it strange that there were virtually no sounds of birds. For that matter, there was no sight of birds at all until, within about 1 km of the north beach, I finally spotted a heron off the western shore. 

Solitude: I was the only boater on the lake. 

At 10:35, after a very leisurely paddle, interrupted by a considerable number of photos being taken, I arrived on the beach at the north end of the lake. I had paddled approximately 3.5 km from the south beach. Like the south beach, the one at the north is surrounded by a grassy area. There are several picnic tables spread out around the grassy area and the trail that circles the lake cuts through this area.

While there had been an absence of fowl on the journey north, there was at least something to view at the north end of the lake; the ubiquitous Canada Goose (I counted three). Surprisingly, they seemed not the slightest bit interested in my granola bar and were quite content to "mow" the grass (which they were also quite content to fertilize) 

The north beach is the travel limit for paddlers and swimmers as the small stream that leads from Buntzen Lake into Trout Lake, eventually leads to the tunnel that feeds the electrical generating plant on Indian Arm. Joggers and hikers cross over this stream by a small suspension bridge.  

The trail around Buntzen Lake passes right by the North Beach picnic site. 

Just in case... 

Leaving the North Beach and commencing the return trip along the eastern shore of Btzen Lake. Ahead is the tunnel bringing water from Coquitlam Lake, higher in the mountains to the east of here. 

Tunnel bringing water from Coquitlam Lake (NE part of Buntzen Lake). 

The sign warns of the danger of encroaching into the area surrounded by the log perimeter, as the water coming down from Coquitlam Lake can cause quite a current. 

A look across Buntzen Lake to the western shoreline. 

I must take time to learn the names of all the mosses here.