Two Minutes on Tsayta Lake

This short You Tube montage shows the raw beauty of Tsayta Lake, a long and narrow body of water which fills the bottom of a broad valley in the Omineca Mountains.

Click here for video

Above the crest of a low ridge on the south shore of the lake, the peaks of the Mitchell Range reward visitors with stunning views. To the east, alpine meadows grace the slopes of the Kwanika Range. Large forest fires consumed the area in 1867 and 1892. Today, 120 years after the last blaze, the sub-boreal spruce forest has completely regenerated.

Click on this link to open a Google Map. You will see  how the Nation River links Tsayta to a chain of three other large lakes (more videos to come). Together, they form the Nation Lakes Canoe Route, which is located 170 kilometres northwest of Fort St. James, BC, Canada.

The Nation Lakes Canoe Route finally in print!

It took two winters of writing, editing, reviewing, and proofing, but my book on the Nation Lakes Canoe Route is finally in print. I was so excited when I pulled the first copy out of the box, that I pressed Blanche into becoming an official photographer. We drove to Seal Bay Regional Park where she snapped this shot. I was hoping for ducks swimming on the pond behind me, but as you can clearly see, they have no regard for the wishes of a mere mortal.

The book is now for sale on Dogwood Avenue Books’ website.  Feel free to share this post on Facebook or Twitter, and help spread the word to the paddling community.

PS: That’s not grey hair on my head. It’s just a reflection. Really … Hmm … I wonder if Photoshop can change spots of grey into black? … Maybe next time.

Book Cover - Nation Lakes Canoe Route

Choosing the right picture for the cover of my second book was easy once the design of the title bar was set. In my opinion, the dark beach, canoe, and paddler match the black band behind the title to perfection. Of course, I m totally biased!
The official release date is April 12, but I expect the book to be available before the end of March, 2012. I will provide more info as it becomes available.

Going Back to Gosling Lake

I took this photo two years ago at the north end of Gosling Lake on the Sayward Forest Canoe Route. I remember that the log you see in the water sank several inches when I stepped onto it from my canoe. I skeddadled to shore just in to time to avoid wet socks.

Aside from the memory of the less-than-graceful exit, I like this picture. The way the branches of the highbush cranberry point toward the blue spaces always brings my attention to the flashes of light on the small waves. The haze in front of the mountain and (when I zoom in) the berries among the reddening leaves remind me of a warm fall afternoon.

At the time I took the shot, I had a hunch the mountain in the background was Mount Albert Edward, but I wasn’t sure. A quick flyby on Google Earth confirms I was right (see this link).

What the internet cannot tell me, though, is whether the old log has finally become so waterlogged that it has sunk to the bottom since I last saw it, and if I will ever be there again just when the sun heats the cranberries to the point where I can smell them on the breeze.

I guess I have to go back to Gosling Lake this fall.