Sunday, August 25, 2013

Buchan Bay (Okanagan Mountain Park)

Crappy weather in Rogers Pass kept us closer to home this weekend. Eager to get some exercise we made a short overnight trip to Okanagan Mountain Park. We did a similar trip last June except that this time we stayed at Buchan Bay rather than Commando Bay.

Wild Horse Canyon aka The Fire Swamp was much drier and less buggy than last year. There's some great potential for rock climbing along the canyon walls although the approach would be a little gruelling.



We must have seen about 20 grouse. They would explode out of the undergrowth and scare the life out of us every time. If they just stayed still we would never see them. It took about 4 hours to get through the canyon and onto the open plateau above the lake.



Alpine umbrellas were occasionally called into action.



Dinner was enjoyed under the tarp as we watched the sun go down on the opposite side of the lake. The next morning dawned clear and warm.



We had a nice swim, chatted with the neighbours, packed up, and returned home by late afternoon.

4 comments:

  1. How long did it take you to get to Buchan?

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    1. Guessing...3 to 4 hours? Btw you could mountain bike a large portion of the trail.

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  2. Thanks for the post! I'd love to know where you left to reach Buchan bay. Hoping to canoe to Buchan bay, and wondering where to best departure point would be. Do you know how far Buchan Bay is from Peachland approximately? Claire (clairemc@live.ca)

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    1. The straight line distance across the lake from Okanagan Lake Provincial Park is about 3km. Closer to 7km from Peachland depending where you put in. We hiked across the north end of the park starting from the south end of Lakeshore Rd in Kelowna.

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