Island Camp
Canoe Trek with Kids – Day 3 and 4

Day 3 – Back to Anzac

We still had three days of our trip available, so we planned to spend one more night in the park on Anzac lake. This way, we could tackle the longer portage back to Lamprey Lake after a rest and get to the truck with enough time to drive back to Vanderhoof in the afternoon.

Leroy got up early to portage the canoe back to Stepp Lake before breakfast, then carried the dry bags with the sleeping gear over before I was done packing up the tent. He’d already done 8 km and I hadn’t left camp – good thing he had all those Scrambled Eggs to keep him going. Not having so much to pack in our hands made the walk a lot easier, though Alice needed some encouragement in the form of huckleberries to keep her on the move. I was pretty proud of both kids, it is a long haul for short legs and this was the third day of adventure.

We ran into a couple and their dogs about halfway along the trail, without canoe. They had to be back out by noon the next day and had decided to just get the view of Kidprice lake I guess, though I’m not sure if they were hoping to walk to the falls. They passed us the next morning when we were packing up, but we saw no one else in the four days in the park. Got to love the solitude you can get in Northern BC.

Stepp lake was, again, beautiful. The breeze at our backs picked up enough to speed us along, but not enough to make things rough. Both the girls fell asleep in the canoe and we pulled into some shade along the shore for a bit of a break from the sun and a granola bar. After all, we were in no rush. Once we got to the east end, I set up the stove and made some lunch – homemade Scotch Broth soup I had made over a year ago while we were perfecting our first four recipes and had a freeze dryer at home. Leroy portaged the canoe the half kilometre to Anzac and got back just as it was hot and ready to eat. Tasted like fresh, and certainly hit the spot.

There are several campsites on Anzac lake – one along the portage to Stepp, another at the trailhead to Lamprey, and one on a small island half way between. We had decided on the last, and circled around until we found the white triangle marking the canoe pullout. We’d gone right past the spot on our way out and not noticed it. It is a fantastic little spot. BC parks has put in a picnic table and a proper metal locker bear cache, though the old style with pulleys and ropes to keep your food high is also still available. We walked down to the end to check those out and also found the pit toilet – an open air version that I’d never seen before with a view (through the trees) of the lake. There was also loads of huckleberries. We set the kids free to run around as they couldn’t really go further than we could see them, and they sat in the bushes picking and eating while we set up camp and heated water for dinner. Leroy wanted to get some video of the set-up process and food preparation so we took our time as it was still early in the evening. The kids had the last Mac and Cheese, Leroy had some Lasagne, and I had Chicken Stew. We walked out to the eastern point after dinner and watched the waves that had come up for a bit, then turned in for the night.

Day 4 – Out and Home

The last day was pretty uneventful. We had a leisurely start, Leroy had some fun flying the drone around the island with the last of his battery packs and got some really cool photos. Its amazing how much a bit of altitude can change the perspective of an area. If you look closely at the shot of the island you can just make out our canoe on the shore.

We had breakfast and packed up. It was only a short paddle to the portage pull out, and Leroy departed with the canoe. The girls wanted to splash in the shallows, that is, until Anna emerged with a leech on her leg. Thankfully, I had packed some salt – I’m not sure why, we didn’t use it on any of the food – and we got it off without too much fuss. We gave Leroy a breather when he got back, then coaxed the kids back up over the hill and down to Lamprey Lake. Another brief paddle and we were back where we started. After packing all the gear for 30 km, Leroy backed the truck down to the boat and we had the luxury of just picking things up to load them before heading out. Another successful adventure complete.