Premier Lake to Canuck Lake Loop

The hike begins about 67 kilometres south of our home in Fairmont Hot Springs. We added a short detour to Cat's Eye Lake just south of Premier Lake that can be seen at the bottom of the map. The walk took about 20 minutes and was definitely worth the effort. The lake does look like a cat's eye. It's kinda oval shaped with a shallow area at one end of the oval. I figured it would be a great spot for skinny dipping later on in the summer although Nicola says the nearby campsite is very full at that time. On our return, we met an older guy with an all black cocker spaniel on a leash. Ours, of course, were not. He said his wasn't either until he heard us coming. We told him about our old cocker whom we loved and the black cocker our daughter had recently purchased. He said that when his first cocker had died, he wasn't getting another but then his second wife convinced him otherwise.

Although the lake was nice, the highlight of our little detour was the waterfall that required a bit of bush whacking down a steep pitch. A blanket of moss covers the rocks beneath beside the cascading water like an illustration from a children's fairytale book. We took many photos from many angles. Nicola even showed me the silky water feature on my phone. Now, I can look professional without having to adjust the aperture and shutter speed like I would on a regular camera. 

How'd you get over there?

Back on the Canuck Lake Loop, the trail rises steeply before flattening out into an odd assortment of larch, spruce and ponderosa pine, with young sprouts interspersed among large mature trees. It's like a fire came through leaving some trees untouched with areas where young growth could flourish. 

A short walk brought us to Turtle Lake where I may relieve you of expectation and say that we didn't see any of its namesake. We did watch large group of white ducks, (I'm guessing a gossander), both young and old swimming in the lake. We watched as one of the adults rounded up a youth who'd decided to venture outside the flock, I had one of the "stillness" moments just sitting out a rock looking out at the lake with the ducks and a chorus of birds singing the background. 

Finian with ducks in background                                     Trees

Turtle Lake with mountains in distance                         Gossander Duck (Not my pic.) 

About a half hour walk took us to Canuck lake where very fit, older looking guy greeted from the shore. The backpack leaning against a nearby tree made me think that he had was overnighting when Nicola commented on fishing. I asked him if it was good especially from a boat. Beside the backpack, I noticed diving fins and from further conversation realised that he'd carried a small inflatable boat that he'd propel by kicking. He held up one of the four, two pound trout, he'd caught and much to my concern,  our dogs were investigating. As if to read my mind, he said they stocked the lakes so the fish tended to be about the same age. I asked him what he used for bait. He replied leeches and some unrecognisable K word with a lot of syllables that Nicola thought was a kind of grasshopper. 

                    Canuck Lake                                                        Yankee Lake 

Most appropriately, Yankee Lake was smaller than Canuck and of a rich green colour that Nicola couldn't decide was its normal or colour or a reflection of the unsettled sky. After seating ourselves  on a board to enjoy our granola snack for the trail, I asked Nicola if the sound I heard was water or wind in the trees. A couple of minutes later we drew our conclusion. It was the wind and the sprinkle falling our heads during our break had opened into a downpour. 

An hour later, we arrived at Premier Lake and one last swim to wash the dogs of all the grit stuck to their fur after rolling in the dirt following their many previous swims in the five different lakes we'd visited. Not a spectacular hike but one with some views, lots of variety and may beautiful lakes to admire and enjoy.