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Allouette Lake's Windy Conditions a Challenge

When you search "Allouette Lake" on the Internet, intriguing possibilities emerge.

For one, there may be an area on the north end of the lake located 13 kilometres northeast of Maple Ridge, BC where clothing-optional camping attracts nudists.

For another, the UFOBC site suggests that someone has spotted a UFO near the large lake located in Golden Ears Provincial Park.

Fishing web pages, such as one on www.bcadventure.com, indicate fish are plentiful; the lake is stocked with rainbow trout and cutthroat, but that catching them is tough because of the depth of 71 to 159 metres.

For better or worse, we didn't see nudists, UFO's or fish. But we did experience one other phenomenon that the Internet search turned up.

The wind.

We took a family canoe ride on a sunny Saturday in early June and despite very pleasant conditions otherwise, the wind was strong and sent a lot of waves our way. This was fantastic for a friend who was testing out his new canoe sail, shipped to him directly from Argentina. The device was a fabulous addition to his canoeing experience. Unfortunately, we were sail-less.

Allouette Lake is big at more than 15 km in length (about 9 miles). As well, provincial regulations allow power boats. Between the waves from the wind and the wakes from motorized boats, it was a bouncy ride. Not the calm and peaceful paddle you would hope for in an area that is so stunningly scenic and wild.

There were other downsides too. We unfortunately didn't use the regular beach and canoe launching area at the south end of the lake at the location of the day-use area. Instead, we lugged our canoe down a winding, rocky trail near the Allouette Campground to Camper's Beach. It's a nice five-minute hike to the bottom when you don't have a canoe in tow. It's a bit of a nightmare otherwise. Fortunately, we had a lot of people around to help out with the lugging. But they will tell you their muscles hurt afterward.

Our kids didn't enjoy the experience nearly as much as other canoeing we've attempted. Certainly, the wind played a role in their annoyance. But there was more.

In such a deep lake, nothing under the water grabs their attention. Plain black water is boring after a few minutes when you're five and hoping to spot a fish or a lake monster. Shallower, smaller lakes seem to offer more to tiny canoeists than the large lakes. No lily pads here and not even any waterfowl to spot. The common phrase of the afternoon became, "This is boring. Let's go home."

But let's be clear. They didn't actually want to go home. They wanted to go back to the spacious campsite where there were other kids, a puppy, squirrels and chipmunks and a general "enchanted forest" feeling. So the competition was tough, even for kids that have heard ample canoeing propaganda from their parents.

The preschoolers would probably have preferred just hanging around on the beach which offers lots of interesting rocks to throw and trails leading off into the forest.

As for the grown-ups, certainly we'd go back. But we're not in a rush. We saw such a small part of a very large lake that I refrain from casting a dark judgment on its dark and choppy waters. However, I'll try other, smaller lakes first and wait for the attention spans of the offspring to lengthen.

For additional information, see:

Trailpeak.com for information about a wide range of canoeing routes

Clubtread.ca for reviews of canoeing routes

UFOBC

Clothing Optional BC