Some say that a little adversity will often bond a group of people
together, but this year for the Cariboo Rowing Tour, a little sunshine
and calm weather seemed to work just as well!

We gathered on Friday evening August 28th for an introductory and safety
session, over tea, coffee and cake outside the huge tent at Moondance
Bay Resort on Bridge Lake. The camaraderie and easy-going friendship
seemed to be immediate as we introduced ourselves and joked and laughed
together. Thus, the spirit of the 2009 Tour was born.

Eighteen rowers (19 including our faithful safety boat operator, Billy!)
participated from around BC: from Panorama (near Invermere), Nelson,
Kamloops, Victoria, Vancouver and 108 Mile Ranch. The gods seemed to be
smiling on us this year as each day we had smooth water, little wind,
fair skies and warm temperatures. And this year, we used only touring
quads for the event, making whatever water and wind we had so much more
workable.

On Saturday morning we gathered at 6:30 a.m. on the
driveway leaving Moondance Bay Resort and drove 20 minutes east to Lac
Des Roches. For two previous years the “lady of the lake” did not look
kindly at us rowing her waters—we had cold high winds and whitecaps
when we approached the very same launch site one year earlier. But on
this day, the lake looked glassy and peaceful, and stayed calm for the
whole day.

We rowed the full length of this large wilderness lake—forested right to
the shore in most places--taking our breaks on a skinny spit of land
outlining a shallow calm bay. A space to have 19 people get out on land
is rare on this lake, so we enjoyed milling around and having some food
(and trying to find a private place for a quick pee in the woods!),
while tethering our rowing shells to a branch on the shore and letting
them float out in the bay. A highlight for many on that day was an
impromptu row through a narrow channel, and through some bayou-like
shallows into Little Lac Des Roches—the goal: to go for a cold
refreshment at Lac Des Roches Resort! Duly refreshed, and suitably
tired, we clambered back into our touring boats and rowed back through
the channel and returned to our launch site to de-rig and load the
trailer to return to our home base.

On Sunday our rowing adventure began early again, but this day we had an adventurous “commute” through the backroads from Bridge Lake to Roserim Beach on Canim Lake. Our unique caravan, including the truck pulling the boat trailer, the Tracker carrying our safety boat, and four more vehicles, snaked along the dirt/gravel road past a number of scenic lakes in the early hours of Sunday. Before most people were awake in the campsite on Drewry Lake, midway to Canim Lake, we stopped for a break alongside the road. No doubt they were awake by the time we left! Roserim Beach was a site to behold that morning, silver blue flat water as far as they eye could see. We rigged and launched as the lake lapped gently on the pebbly shoreline. I have never seen Canim Lake so calm and so gentle as that day. Rowing for close to 35 km that day was a treat, with the breeze gently disturbing the surface of the lake once in a while, only causing wrinkles in the water’s surface. Our morning break was on a vast expanse of sandy beach where Canim Creek flows into the lake. It was an easy spot to bring the touring boats in, and dig out our snacks from our dry sacks in the hulls. Life could not be better on any given Sunday morning in August...!

Part of the row on Canim Lake felt like being on another planet. There was a haze of smoke in the air from forest fires burning in the area, which turned the water and air to a silvery blue. The hills on Canim’s shore faded from forest green to misty blue/green, and the mountains from Wells Grey Park looked more like the gradations of silver blue you find on the west coast. And the water--like silver frosting on a very large cake--stayed so smooth and surreal, completely unlike the Canim Lake I have known for 30 years! We were gifted with another amazing day. It was truly sublime to be there with great people, great water, and doing great things. Yes, bums got a little sore in the seats over those many kilometres, but we discovered the solution to that problem.....with a little ingenuity! Touring boats are the best!

Each day our return to home base at Bridge Lake always allowed time for a cold drink, a much-needed shower, or a nap, before gathering together again in the evening. Some of us shared dinner time together at our “canopy site” lit by Christmas lights suspended from above(created because of the total campfire ban in place in the Cariboo)! More participants would continue to gather after dinner and we talked and visited, and laughed about the day. These times are the best parts of a rowing tour: time for us to expand our friendships, and enrich each of our experiences. What an amazing group of people!

Monday morning we had a more leisurely start to the day and rowed about 16 km on Bridge Lake—rowing to the Provincial Park and back to the resort—with time to de-rig and clean the boats before loading them on the trailer to return home. A few goodbyes took place beside the loaded trailer, just before the first two people who had the longest drive ahead pulled out of the driveway at the resort. The rest of us completed our packing, and shared our lunch together at our canopy site once again. There were more farewells after lunch, and many more words of gratitude for our remarkable rowing tour experience.

Some of our pictures capture the essence of the Cariboo Rowing Tour more than any words possibly could. Have a look at the faces—this is the kind of journey we had, while rowing nearly 80 km in 3 days!

--Brenda Jenkins, South Cariboo Rowing Club