May 3, 2014 Recreation Site Tour SE of Vernon

[lrp374]

As a precursor to the camping and fishing season I have talked Trialsmaster2 into leading the way to King Edward Lake as the beginning of a backroad adventure to check out 11 Recreation sites southeast of Vernon. The trip will begin @ Hwy #6 and King Edward FSR @ 10:15 AM May 3. The plan is to visit the Tower Site south of King Edward Lake overlooking Vernon then on to the recreation sites and complete the trip @ the Lake Country Visitor Center. The distance between the two end points is about 95 km and could take 5 to 6 hours which would allow time for a lunch break if we don't get stuck anywhere. I have a pdf of the entire route for those that may be interested in joining us. The rec sites appear to be quite varied with some having easy access for RV's and others classed as rough.

Trialsmaster2 has driven some of the roads and it will be my first time. In general, it appears most are good FSR roads and the only areas of concern would be snow or running water left over from winter. The elevation change will be from about 1600' @ Hwy. #6 to 4700' @ the Tower with most of the day spent between 4500 and 4600' once we are one the plateau. It will likely be cool but hopefully and day of bright sun!!

We are happy to welcome one and all but we are reluctant to call it a Delica Meet as in the past it seems to limit participation to 4 members!! This will be a Delica Tour with room for all.

Larry

[trialsmaster2]

We are looking forward to it! It will likely be the first offroad trip for our little guy too.

[lrp374]

To drum up a little interest here is a picture I 'borrowed' from Google Earth showing the view toward Vernon from the Tower. Vernon is about 12 km as the crow flys. Trialsmaster2's pictures from here will be unbelievable if pictures from the last meets are any indication.

Larry

[lrp374]

I took a trip today up Seymour Arm on the Big Shuswap. I wanted to check out a few Rec sites before camping season. I think maybe I was @ least a month early for this area. Hopefully the area we intend to visit in May is not in a snow belt like this!! ( Elevation 350-600 M )

[lrp374]

Below is one of the sites we will visit. The lake will likely still be frozen May 3 but all of the snow should be gone. Gum boots will likely be advised and hopefully sunscreen!!

[trialsmaster2]

Here are a few photos from some of my past trips up to that area, if anyone is interested

HDR image of King Edward Lake


King Edward Lake in March 2010


King Edward Lake in September 2013


Oyama Lake Forestry Road in March 2010



The view from just off of Oyama Lake Forestry Road, looking over Oyama

[lrp374]

Just over a week until " The Tour ". I've talked to a couple of loggers in the area and it appears the snow is mostly gone. Only a little mud left. If Trialsmaster2 can go alone in March ( 2010 which was a very mild winter and I was fishing local lakes by mid March) we should easily complete the route over a month later. Streak lake Rec site will be the second 'change table' if necessary Aaron!

[thelazygreenfox]

Irp
Let me know if you see any wild turkeys on your travels that wknd. I like the lake pics for planning a fishn trip up that way.
thx
TLGF
Wayne

[almac]

are you guys camping over the weekend or just spending the day?
would be a great trout fishing weekend. :)

[FalcoColumbarius]

Man would I love to go on this sortie with you guys... just can't justify the time or funds (as I ain't got none). You guys are going to have a wonderful time, I look forward to the pictures!

Falco.

[lrp374]

The purpose of the trip,as stated in the introduction, is to check out the 11 Recreation Sites in one day so we could decide which are good for camping and/or fishing. I would think the lakes are still frozen or if not would certainly not be turned over yet so we don't plan on fishing. The tour as it is will likely take 5 to 6 hours depending on time spent for lunch and stopping for reference pictures.

If someone only wants to do part of the tour we could likely arrange meeting coordinates and approximate times. We usually take GMRS radios on Channel 15 to keep in touch. I have one extra if someone would like to borrow it.

If anyone wants more info let us know - next Saturday will come quickly!! A pdf of the trip with approximate mileages is available if anyone would like a copy. I can also provide a list of Recreation Sites.

Larry

[trialsmaster2]

I had a little help from mini me, while changing the oil on the Delica yesterday (in preparation for this trip)...

[thelazygreenfox]

That's sweet.
TLGF

[lrp374]

Please find attached the meet location ( Green Dot ). It looks like the day will be rainy and cool but that could make the travel even more interesting. We leave the meet location @ 10:15 and head for the Tower.

[lrp374]

Well our 2 van tour started in the rain on schedule at 10:15 AM on Saturday. The weather could have been way better but who doesn't like to play on the mud a little. Arron wasn't kidding when he said it was quite a climb from Hwy#6 to King Edward Lake. The number of switchbacks was crazy and the grade was close to 20% in several places. The climb lead us from the green grass of the valley to the snow of the plateau. This was a bit disappointing as we could only drive on roads that were ploughed so our plans quickly went from A to B to C. We were only able to visit 4 of the 11 sites planned and we still didn't get back to Winfield till nearly 5 o'clock.

All in all it still was a great day and now we are ready to complete the tour once the snow disappears. The sites we saw looked very inviting, one is even fly fishing only. I know Aaron has lots of pictures and maybe some video to share. It was great to have another interior Delica event even if our ranks shrank from the usual 4 down to 2. Maybe meets are better than tours?

Larry