High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: May 2006
Location: in the valley, BC, Canada.
Interest: Spending time with my man, paddling and photography
Posts: 1,573
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Nations Lakes – August 21 to 28, 2011
Brian and I, along with our dog Yukon, spent 8 days paddling the Nation Lakes Canoe Route. The Nation Lakes Canoe Route is a remote paddle trip located north of Fort St. James, B.C. It is 112 km from start to finish that includes 4 lakes and 3 sections of the Nation River as follows:
Tsayta Lake - 20 km
Nation River - 6.5 km
Indata Lake – 11 km
Nation River – 4.5 km
Tchentlo Lake – 45 km
Nation River – 5 km
Chuchi Lake - 28 km
Given that this is not a circuit like the Bowron Lakes, an individual needs to arrange shuttling between the put-in and take-out. We hired the services of Doug French of Nation Lakes Canoeing Camp. Doug and his wife Dolores met us in Fort St. James where we transferred all our gear to his truck for the drive to the put-in at Tsayta Lake. His wife Dolores drove our truck back to their place at the end of Chuchi Lake which is where we would end this adventure. On the drive, Doug provided us with information about the route, primarily the river sections, as well as a very detailed map.
The drive from Fort St. James to Tsayta Lake was on rough tire eating logging roads and took about 2 hours. We chose to pay the extra for his truck as we had previously been warned about these roads which proved to be true. We paid $575.00 for this shuttle. (Note: there are less expensive options available on his website but I would highly recommend not using your own vehicle.)
DAY 1: Once at Tsayta Lake we quickly unloaded our gear from the truck and said goodbye to Doug. After loading our canoe and eating our lunch we set off around 1 pm, happy to get on the water and away from the bugs. Especially the black flies as the bug juice only seem to work for the mosquitoes.
Today we would paddle for only 2 ½ hours to our first camp at Big Island which is located about half way down the lake. Along the way saw a float plane that landed at Tsayta Lake Lodge, the only fishing lodge on Tsayta Lake. There are many points and beaches you could camp at along all the lakes but we chose to stick to the forestry/provincial sites for the convenience and luxury of tables and outhouses. The weather was a mixed bag of cloud, showers and sunshine as would be the rest of our trip. Yukon proved to be a wonderful canoeing dog, just chilling out in his space on the canoe. Once at the island, he thoroughly enjoyed his time swimming and playing in the water. It was hard to get him dry!
DAY 2: We woke to sunny skies and quickly broke camp, but not before Yukon had his morning play time in the water. Along the way we stopped at the next camp called Kwanika Beach which has a beautiful beach. This camp is about 1 ½ hours further up the lake.
Shortly after this second camp you come to the first and most time consuming section of the Nation River. The Nation River is class 1 with sweepers and log jams. As per the map and directions Doug provided us we kept a look out for flagging tape that would mark log jams. For this section of river we were advised to stay to the left of the river for the log jams. A couple of log jams we were able to line our canoe over and two very large ones that we felt was best to portage around (one log jam would potentially be possible to paddle but we did not want to risk damaging the canoe). It took us approximately 4 hours to complete this first section of river – most of the time was spent portaging our gear and canoe. It proved to be one of our harder days.
We made it to Indata Lake just as a headwind developed and had a hard paddle to our next camp about half way down the lake to the Indata Lake camp. Just as we were about to start setting up camp we had a thunderstorm bear down on us with wind, rain and hail. Luckily it was short lived but by the time it was over we were thoroughly soaked.
DAY 3: As would prove to be the norm for most of our trip we woke to some sunshine and no wind. We broke camp and paddled to the next section of the Nation River, hoping this section would prove to be better than the previous. For this section we were told to paddle on river right and that we may be able to paddle around the log jams which proved to be correct. Along this stretch of river we went under a bridge for one the Tchentlo logging road, a potential take-out or put-in.
We arrived at Tchentlo Lake to another headwind. We stopped at an outfitters cabin shortly after coming off the river for lunch (unfortunately no one was home). Starting at this lake we started seeing more cabins and lodges but still had not encountered another person. Our next camp was at Tchentlo Hot Springs (the hot springs are actually lukewarm springs and a short paddle across from the camp). We set up camp to more rain showers. Further down the bay we could see Tchentlo Fishing Lodge.
DAY 4: We started our day with a visit to the hot springs which are actually lukewarm. As the water was warmer than the air it felt good to get in and soak a bit to get cleaned up. Brian started fishing shortly after setting off for the day and quickly caught the first of many trout – yum!
It didn't take long until the wind started but for the first time it was a tail wind (finally!) But unfortunately the wind continually increased in strength and the waves became too large to safely paddle in. We pulled over at a rocky beach to wait out the wind which took just over 5 hours to die down. At least is gave us an opportunity to dry out all our very wet gear!
We finally made it to our next camp (Pine Point) which was located on a point and had a beautiful sandy beach around 8 pm. Someone had recently built a lean to here. We quickly set up our tent, had a very quick bite to eat and fell into bed shortly afterwards.
DAY 5 and 6: We finally woke to a day that looked like the sunshine may stay! We had considered spending a rest day at this camp but the blue skies and warm temperature was just too enticing so we packed up camp and set off. We quickly crossed the lake in case the wind came up and met a group of 4 camped at the point opposite. They had set off the day prior to us. After chatting for a bit, we said goodbye and headed out. They we staying put for a rest day.
The last section of the Nation River was a wonderful paddle free from log jams. After quickly getting through we arrived on Chuchi Lake, the last lake of the route. On this lake we would see two motorboats. We took our time paddling to the Jean Marie Creek camp which is on an island that has a shelter in addition to the table and outhouse. The warmth and the lack of wind was wonderful after so many days of wind and rain.
We arrived at the island about mid-day so we took advantage of the warm day to take a freezing cold dip in the lake to wash our hair and bodies. Doug and Dolores came by in their motorboat after having caught a large Arctic Char. They informed us that a few park rangers were headed our way to do some work on the camp. The 3 park rangers came and replaced one of the picnic tables, put in a new fire pit, cleaned up the outhouse and cut a dead tree down for firewood. (So there are still a few rangers out there!)
Given this was such a nice location we decided we would stay at this camp for 2 nights so we could have a rest day. I woke to very swollen eyes from bug bites - pretty nasty and sore! Luckily they would start going down after a couple days with the help of Benadryl. Brian spent some time fishing in the bay behind the island while I practiced paddling in the stern. Yukon also spent a lot of time swimming in the lake and digging in the sand (he likes to bury his toys!). In the evening while we were having our roast beef and mashed potatoe supper we saw something dark out in the water that was not moving We thought it may be a moose cow so we headed out in our canoe to investigate. Turns out it was a black bear swimming across the lake which is about a mile wide. Keeping our distance we followed the bear to the shore where it shook like a dog then headed into the bush. We're guessing the bear was about 4 or 5 years old.
DAY 7: Another day dawning with blue skies and sunshine, we set off for a relatively short paddle down the lake to the next campsite called Indian Point which also offers a shelter. This campsite also has a wonderful sandy beach for Yukon. But like most of our days we had a rain shower in the afternoon. But this time we had a wonderful little shelter to hide out in. We could see the rangers had also been to this camp as there is a new table on the point and the outhouse had been cleaned. We spent our time exploring the point, gathering firewood and playing in the water with Yukon. I had forgotten that I had a small personal shower with us which I found so we both had showers on the beach to get a little better smelling before we re-joined civilization.
DAY 8: After a leisurely start to the day we paddled the remainder of Chuchi Lake under grey skies and light rain to our take-out at Doug and Dolores' home at the end of Chuchi Lake. We had previously arranged to stay in their little lakeside cabin which we were so very happy with, especially once the rain started coming down hard shortly after our arrival. The cabin is very rustic and they have rigged up an outdoor shower which we totally enjoyed.
I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone wanting to paddle a much less crowded and more remote route than the Bowron's. We saw a total of 1 float plane (on Tsayta Lake), 2 other canoe groups (on Tchentlo Lake) and 2 motor boats (on Chuchi Lake).
Cheers!
Here is a map of the route:
Tsayta Lake - 20 km
Nation River - 6.5 km
Indata Lake – 11 km
Nation River – 4.5 km
Tchentlo Lake – 45 km
Nation River – 5 km
Chuchi Lake - 28 km
Given that this is not a circuit like the Bowron Lakes, an individual needs to arrange shuttling between the put-in and take-out. We hired the services of Doug French of Nation Lakes Canoeing Camp. Doug and his wife Dolores met us in Fort St. James where we transferred all our gear to his truck for the drive to the put-in at Tsayta Lake. His wife Dolores drove our truck back to their place at the end of Chuchi Lake which is where we would end this adventure. On the drive, Doug provided us with information about the route, primarily the river sections, as well as a very detailed map.
The drive from Fort St. James to Tsayta Lake was on rough tire eating logging roads and took about 2 hours. We chose to pay the extra for his truck as we had previously been warned about these roads which proved to be true. We paid $575.00 for this shuttle. (Note: there are less expensive options available on his website but I would highly recommend not using your own vehicle.)
DAY 1: Once at Tsayta Lake we quickly unloaded our gear from the truck and said goodbye to Doug. After loading our canoe and eating our lunch we set off around 1 pm, happy to get on the water and away from the bugs. Especially the black flies as the bug juice only seem to work for the mosquitoes.
Today we would paddle for only 2 ½ hours to our first camp at Big Island which is located about half way down the lake. Along the way saw a float plane that landed at Tsayta Lake Lodge, the only fishing lodge on Tsayta Lake. There are many points and beaches you could camp at along all the lakes but we chose to stick to the forestry/provincial sites for the convenience and luxury of tables and outhouses. The weather was a mixed bag of cloud, showers and sunshine as would be the rest of our trip. Yukon proved to be a wonderful canoeing dog, just chilling out in his space on the canoe. Once at the island, he thoroughly enjoyed his time swimming and playing in the water. It was hard to get him dry!
DAY 2: We woke to sunny skies and quickly broke camp, but not before Yukon had his morning play time in the water. Along the way we stopped at the next camp called Kwanika Beach which has a beautiful beach. This camp is about 1 ½ hours further up the lake.
Shortly after this second camp you come to the first and most time consuming section of the Nation River. The Nation River is class 1 with sweepers and log jams. As per the map and directions Doug provided us we kept a look out for flagging tape that would mark log jams. For this section of river we were advised to stay to the left of the river for the log jams. A couple of log jams we were able to line our canoe over and two very large ones that we felt was best to portage around (one log jam would potentially be possible to paddle but we did not want to risk damaging the canoe). It took us approximately 4 hours to complete this first section of river – most of the time was spent portaging our gear and canoe. It proved to be one of our harder days.
We made it to Indata Lake just as a headwind developed and had a hard paddle to our next camp about half way down the lake to the Indata Lake camp. Just as we were about to start setting up camp we had a thunderstorm bear down on us with wind, rain and hail. Luckily it was short lived but by the time it was over we were thoroughly soaked.
DAY 3: As would prove to be the norm for most of our trip we woke to some sunshine and no wind. We broke camp and paddled to the next section of the Nation River, hoping this section would prove to be better than the previous. For this section we were told to paddle on river right and that we may be able to paddle around the log jams which proved to be correct. Along this stretch of river we went under a bridge for one the Tchentlo logging road, a potential take-out or put-in.
We arrived at Tchentlo Lake to another headwind. We stopped at an outfitters cabin shortly after coming off the river for lunch (unfortunately no one was home). Starting at this lake we started seeing more cabins and lodges but still had not encountered another person. Our next camp was at Tchentlo Hot Springs (the hot springs are actually lukewarm springs and a short paddle across from the camp). We set up camp to more rain showers. Further down the bay we could see Tchentlo Fishing Lodge.
DAY 4: We started our day with a visit to the hot springs which are actually lukewarm. As the water was warmer than the air it felt good to get in and soak a bit to get cleaned up. Brian started fishing shortly after setting off for the day and quickly caught the first of many trout – yum!
It didn't take long until the wind started but for the first time it was a tail wind (finally!) But unfortunately the wind continually increased in strength and the waves became too large to safely paddle in. We pulled over at a rocky beach to wait out the wind which took just over 5 hours to die down. At least is gave us an opportunity to dry out all our very wet gear!
We finally made it to our next camp (Pine Point) which was located on a point and had a beautiful sandy beach around 8 pm. Someone had recently built a lean to here. We quickly set up our tent, had a very quick bite to eat and fell into bed shortly afterwards.
DAY 5 and 6: We finally woke to a day that looked like the sunshine may stay! We had considered spending a rest day at this camp but the blue skies and warm temperature was just too enticing so we packed up camp and set off. We quickly crossed the lake in case the wind came up and met a group of 4 camped at the point opposite. They had set off the day prior to us. After chatting for a bit, we said goodbye and headed out. They we staying put for a rest day.
The last section of the Nation River was a wonderful paddle free from log jams. After quickly getting through we arrived on Chuchi Lake, the last lake of the route. On this lake we would see two motorboats. We took our time paddling to the Jean Marie Creek camp which is on an island that has a shelter in addition to the table and outhouse. The warmth and the lack of wind was wonderful after so many days of wind and rain.
We arrived at the island about mid-day so we took advantage of the warm day to take a freezing cold dip in the lake to wash our hair and bodies. Doug and Dolores came by in their motorboat after having caught a large Arctic Char. They informed us that a few park rangers were headed our way to do some work on the camp. The 3 park rangers came and replaced one of the picnic tables, put in a new fire pit, cleaned up the outhouse and cut a dead tree down for firewood. (So there are still a few rangers out there!)
Given this was such a nice location we decided we would stay at this camp for 2 nights so we could have a rest day. I woke to very swollen eyes from bug bites - pretty nasty and sore! Luckily they would start going down after a couple days with the help of Benadryl. Brian spent some time fishing in the bay behind the island while I practiced paddling in the stern. Yukon also spent a lot of time swimming in the lake and digging in the sand (he likes to bury his toys!). In the evening while we were having our roast beef and mashed potatoe supper we saw something dark out in the water that was not moving We thought it may be a moose cow so we headed out in our canoe to investigate. Turns out it was a black bear swimming across the lake which is about a mile wide. Keeping our distance we followed the bear to the shore where it shook like a dog then headed into the bush. We're guessing the bear was about 4 or 5 years old.
DAY 7: Another day dawning with blue skies and sunshine, we set off for a relatively short paddle down the lake to the next campsite called Indian Point which also offers a shelter. This campsite also has a wonderful sandy beach for Yukon. But like most of our days we had a rain shower in the afternoon. But this time we had a wonderful little shelter to hide out in. We could see the rangers had also been to this camp as there is a new table on the point and the outhouse had been cleaned. We spent our time exploring the point, gathering firewood and playing in the water with Yukon. I had forgotten that I had a small personal shower with us which I found so we both had showers on the beach to get a little better smelling before we re-joined civilization.
DAY 8: After a leisurely start to the day we paddled the remainder of Chuchi Lake under grey skies and light rain to our take-out at Doug and Dolores' home at the end of Chuchi Lake. We had previously arranged to stay in their little lakeside cabin which we were so very happy with, especially once the rain started coming down hard shortly after our arrival. The cabin is very rustic and they have rigged up an outdoor shower which we totally enjoyed.
I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone wanting to paddle a much less crowded and more remote route than the Bowron's. We saw a total of 1 float plane (on Tsayta Lake), 2 other canoe groups (on Tchentlo Lake) and 2 motor boats (on Chuchi Lake).
Cheers!
Here is a map of the route:
Cheers!
"Smile, it is the key that fits the lock to everybody's heart."
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Summit Master
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Victoria, BC
Interest: Love the outdoors. Hiking, backpacking, geocaching, camping, canoeing, and kayaking. Did I say camp
Posts: 2,826
Great TR Sue! Sounds like you guys had a great trip!
A picture of Brian with his rake, way too funny.
A picture of Brian with his rake, way too funny.
High on the Mountain Top
That looks like a great trip. Thanks for the informative TR. I like the bear picture.
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Summit Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Forest Gnome Cabin, , Canada.
Interest: Outdoor stuff...especially scrambling,trailrunning,mountain biking,kayaking,and hiking, and of course photography
Posts: 13,876
Wow, great adventure, one you'll remember for a long time I'll bet
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: West Coast, B.C., .
Interest: travel/ hike/camp/ backpack/canoe/ photography/ snowshoeing/x-country ski
Posts: 1,416
I've been waiting for your report and it really looks like a great trip. Dave was trying to find a way to get out of doing the Stein so he could do this paddle 
I have been on a few paddles with Yukon and he is a very well behaved canoe dog .Your pictures are very inviting...we look forward to joining you ona future adventure.
I also agree with Marc ....the rake bring backs some good memories and laughter!
I have been on a few paddles with Yukon and he is a very well behaved canoe dog .Your pictures are very inviting...we look forward to joining you ona future adventure.
I also agree with Marc ....the rake bring backs some good memories and laughter!
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Squamish!, BC, .
Posts: 118
thanks for the great report and lots of photos! really enjoy revisiting this area through your story!Whiskeyjack
Summit Master
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Popkum, BC, Canada.
Interest: Hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, tai chi, meditation.
Posts: 6,097
Great report Sue! The bugs certainly were pesky this year. Yay for Benadryl! Cool bear shot
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: May 2009
Location: , , Canada.
Posts: 1,193
Very nice!
Question: How much current was in the river sections, and are there reasonable portages around any stronger current areas? (I realize this will change with water levels.)
Do you feel that a reverse trip is reasonable? It would potentially be nice to arrange a key exchange with another group and avoid the need for a shuttle, but not if the river sections are too fast of a current. I haven't found anything online re this issue.
I've had my eye on this route for a while now.
Question: How much current was in the river sections, and are there reasonable portages around any stronger current areas? (I realize this will change with water levels.)
Do you feel that a reverse trip is reasonable? It would potentially be nice to arrange a key exchange with another group and avoid the need for a shuttle, but not if the river sections are too fast of a current. I haven't found anything online re this issue.
I've had my eye on this route for a while now.
Summit Master
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Da\'Wack, BC, Canada.
Interest: Hiking, flyfishing, camping, photography, kayaking, swimming, x-country skiing wana get my open water dive certification... scrabble, mean yatzee player.........
Posts: 5,392
Nice Rainbow Brian!
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,911
A TR with tons of cute dog pictures....I like! : ) Yukon must have been in his glory with so much water and sand at his doorstep. : )
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
Posts: 1,957
Enjoyed the trip report and your photos of the trip. Beautiful destination!
Off the Beaten Path
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Posts: 829
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Blucruisin
Fantastic trip and report, Sue.
Yikes- you weren't kidding about the bug bites. [B)]
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: May 2006
Location: in the valley, BC, Canada.
Interest: Spending time with my man, paddling and photography
Posts: 1,573
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by alexcanuck
Very nice!
Question: How much current was in the river sections, and are there reasonable portages around any stronger current areas? (I realize this will change with water levels.)
Do you feel that a reverse trip is reasonable? It would potentially be nice to arrange a key exchange with another group and avoid the need for a shuttle, but not if the river sections are too fast of a current. I haven't found anything online re this issue.
I've had my eye on this route for a while now.
Very nice!
Question: How much current was in the river sections, and are there reasonable portages around any stronger current areas? (I realize this will change with water levels.)
Do you feel that a reverse trip is reasonable? It would potentially be nice to arrange a key exchange with another group and avoid the need for a shuttle, but not if the river sections are too fast of a current. I haven't found anything online re this issue.
I've had my eye on this route for a while now.
Cheers!
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: May 2009
Location: , , Canada.
Posts: 1,193
Thanks!
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Somewhere between pomp & circumstance, British Columbia, Canada.
Interest: Hmmmm?
Posts: 1,417
Nice adventure there Leki gal. Looks like a great place to check out. Nice trout also. Next time have Brian extend his arm to make the fish appear bigger.
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