The last couple days have been filled with gorgeous and sometimes surprising scenery. We left Princeton on Tuesday morning, well rested and excited to ride some trails. The trails turned out to be more difficult than expected, and we struggled with our heavy carts through soft sand and loose rocks. We juggled between the Kettle Valley Railway and a quiet highway that ran alongside making our way up to Osprey Lake, BC. The lake was still frozen although it was no surprise: We were warned by locals who curiously watched us climb the hills with our canoes in tow. Greg Tellier of Fisherman's Cove at Osprey Lakes helped us get settled into our campsite by providing firewood and water. Thanks Greg!
Wednesday saw a gorgeous descent in to Summerland on the KVR, with the welcoming Okanagan awaiting us at the end. The day was not without event! About 15km from town, Ross "tapped" a post with his canoe cart, breaking the weld on the arm. As a result, he and Whitney had to run the rest of the way to town, making it to camp just as the sun was setting! The people of Summerland were amazing! Thanks to Gail at the end of the KVR for filling our water bottles, Greg with Parks BC for the extra hydrating water and help with the van, the kind gentleman who provided us with a delicious bottle of 2009 Red Rooster chardonnay, and for the encouraging words from Katie the friendly runner.
Thursday morning, Shane and Nathalie found a welder in town to fix the broken cart as the rest of us prepared gear to get back on the water. It felt amazing to be paddling again! We switched up the crews a little working Abby in to the paddling, partnering Abby and Whitney, myself with Shane, and Ross with Nathalie. We will soon be a well-oiled machine, as we get more and more comfortable riding wash in the bigger boats. After several hours of battling a nasty headwind, we found ourselves cozily at a camp with warm showers!
Today, we paddled past Kelowna on flat, glassy water. The clear lake made it possible to see all sorts of fish, which distracted Shane a little, so I has to give him an extra hard time about his boat posture. Tonight, we are camping at Bear Creek Provincial Park, and I'm excited for Derek and Thomas, our next helpers, to come join us. We will paddle one last day on the Okanagan tomorrow to Vernon, then portage to Revelstoke! We have enough homemade eatmores to power us the whole way...across Canada! <Steph>
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