Fields of Gold : Beyond Elko to Koocanusa

Last night was wonderfully dark and quiet, except for the fact that we clearly chose to camp in a wildlife corridor. Just after midnight the very rough and loud shrieks of a fast moving bird, which I assume must have been an owl, tore through the forest.  Perhaps an hour later a pack of coyotes moved through, their barking and yipping echoing through the hills behind us as they flowed through the pines around the tent.  The quiet rear guard was close enough where I could hear them swishing through the tall grasses around us. Sometime later I could hear the deeper calls of wolves in the distance, while closer by there were unidentified ungulates grazing and huffing.  Needless to say, between my interest in the wildlife outside the tent and being nervous of the wildlife outside the tent I did not sleep much.  Whereas (unjustly I think) Sean slept soundly never giving notice to the hordes of creatures a few feet away. 

When we stepped out of the tent, the sky was already a beautiful, pale, yellow colour.  Traffic had already begun to pick up on the Kootenay Highway (93), which leads down to Montana, but otherwise it was wonderfully quiet.  As we were making breakfast and packing up a small group of cows wandered through, their rich, reddish brown coats almost glowing among the light blond grasses and the dark green pines.  Although it was a cool night, the landscape was completely dry, and no dew had settled.

We followed the Trans Canada Trail along the curving, light brown line of the sandy track through the tall, pale grasses. We were once amazed by the reddish bark of the ponderosa pines, which gave this area such a distinctive colour palette.  The trees which had been visited by Three-toed Woodpeckers and lost their outer coating of bark, wee particularly bright.  Above us a clear blue sky was streaked with white clouds, and the sun was just beginning to warm the land.

We crossed the paved highway and found a trail kiosk welcoming us to Koocanusa, and outlining the recreational guidelines for the land we were about to cross.  We were walking through the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa First Nation, which have inhabited this area for nearly 10,000 years.  Apparently there is now a new land management agreement in place which outlines where different recreational activities can be undertaken throughout the region.

As we continued down the sandy track the ponderosa pines around us were filled with a flock of Red-breasted Nuthatches.  Although these tiny birds are year-around residents of this area, about a dozen of them had banded together and they were hopping through the treetops at unusually high speed.  They seemed highly excited, their toy horn beeps filling the cool morning air.

A short distance down the trail we came to a red squirrel that was also frantically making preparations for winter.  It was harvesting cones from the top of a lodgepole pine, running back and forth across the road to bury them in a specially selected location.  Instead of climbing the tree for each individual cone, it would climb up, pull several of them off, toss them to the ground below, and then climb down to collect the bounty.  Pretty efficient!

As we continued through the quiet treed conservation area, we soon came to Fusee Lake.  A group of four Ring-necked Ducks was paddling on its smooth surface, looking like they were suspended in a glossy sea of liquid green and gold created by the reflections of rich yellow grasses, cattails, and fall foliage.  At the far end of the pond a group of cattle were wading in the shallow waters.

The Rocky Mountains created a spectacular backdrop to the grassy meadows as we made our forward.  We were just thinking that this was more how we imagined Alberta would look than BC, when an ATV came quietly and slowly up behind us and stopped.  It was a couple dressed head to toe in camouflage gear, riding a camouflaged ATV, and the woman had on full body armour.   When we asked about all the gear they both stoically and seriously responded that “they had to protect themselves from the wildlife”.   I don't know anything about hunting, but I couldn't help wondering what they needed so much protection from when they were the ones with several rifles.  In any case, we had a short friendly chat, during which we learned that hunting season officially began on September 10th, about a week ago. 

After this encounter we were passed by several pickup trucks and a few more ATVs, all of them out hunting early on a Sunday morning. Slightly more interestingly, we were also passed by another herd of about a dozen cows, many of whom stopped on the road to check us out uncertainly before continuing on.  As a series of shots rang out in the otherwise quiet woods around us, we wondered how well it worked to mix cattle ranching, hiking paths, and hunting on the same piece of land. 

Eventually our pleasant sandy track became a more established gravel road, and we passed the PR Campground, which reported having no vacancies.  We had been thinking of pushing on to it last night, so it seems we avoided disappointment by staying in our woodland campsite.

A short distance along a paved road bordered by tall trees and small homes brought us to the crossroads in Baynes Lake.  The tiny village includes a community hall, church, volunteer fire hall, general store, community park, and around 160 dwellings, many of which are only occupied seasonally.  The community had its origins in 1902, when the Great Northern Railway came through, and it became a station with a water tank for refilling the steam engines.

We took a break at a picnic table outside the community hall, which advertised a pancake breakfast every Saturday morning and a Farmer's Market.  We were delighted to see a row of bat boxes standing on posts in front of the white clapboard building, and upon further inspection they looked occupied!

Beside the community hall sat the Historic Waldo Church.  It turns out that this church, along with several families, was relocated to Baynes Lake in the early 1970s.  At this time the Libby Dam was constructed on the Kootenai River in Montana, creating Koocanusa Lake.  This reservoir flooded the valley, extending 140 km northwards and coming into British Columbia.  Several towns, including Rexford in Montana and Waldo in British Columbia were flooded out and had to be relocated. 

The Kootenai River is the fourth largest tributary of the Columbia River, contributing almost 20% of the water in the lower Colombia. Lake Koocanusa now holds 13% of the water in that river system, and 68 km of the reservoir are in British Columbia. The lake was named after the treaty that was developed between the Kootenai First Nation, the government of Canada, and the USA.  Taking the first letters of each party, the name became koo-can-usa.

As we continued through the small, quiet, cottage community, we came to Baynes Lake itself.  A mix of small homes, older cottages, and very modern, custom designed and built houses lined the streets and bordered the lake.  Most of the properties surrounding the lake had docks, boats, beaches, and developed shorelines.  As we circled that lake we passed several notices and petitions to help save the endangered Western Painted Turtle, which nests on the shorelines around Baynes Lake.  Although we kept a close lookout, we didn't spot any of these colourful turtles basking the logs.

We followed another dirt track out of Baynes Lake and climbed up onto a ridge with a lovely view over Surveyor's Lake.  There were several people out canoeing on its calm, bright blue waters, quietly slipping past its forested shores.

A bench and a trail sign indicated that we had entered Kikomun Provincial Park.  This 685 ha park is located on the shores of Lake Koocanusa, and encompasses large open grasslands, ponderosa pine forests, and many small lakes.  The Ktunaxa People historically used the grasslands to graze their horses, and early settlers used them to graze cattle.  Today they support a very high abundance of the endangered Western Painted Turtle, as well as five campgrounds, a trail system for hiking and mountain biking, several sandy beaches, and access to the water.

We followed the hiking trail through the park and into the campground, stopping at a water tap to fill up our bottles.  There was a very bold Red-breasted Nuthatch at the water tap too, trying to land for a drink, but not quite daring to do so with us standing there.

We wove our way through the campsites, which sat under a canopy of tall pines and looked very nice.  Only a few sites were occupied, and one of the park staff stopped to ask if we were planning to stay.  It was very tempting, but we decided after only 10 k of trekking that we'd better press on.

A short stretch of highway walking followed.  Although the scenery was beautiful, there wasn't much of a shoulder on the road, there was a large drop into the ditch, and there was a lot of traffic.  Thankfully the drivers were very kind, and most of them pulled over, but the sight of a mangled bicycle hanging from a tree down the slope beside us did little to boost our confidence.

The highway descended in a long curve, and suddenly we caught our first views of Lake Koocanusa.  It's blue waters seemed to stretch out forever.  We crossed the reservoir on a 1.3 km long causeway that was narrow, had no shoulders or sidewalks, and was protected on both sides by concrete crash barriers that created a chute.  The mountain views down the valley as we crossed were stunning, but we didn't feel too safe hanging around to photograph them.  Instead, we made the crossing as fast as we could, pausing only briefly to watch as two Great Blue Herons took off from the edge of the long, narrow bridge.

When we got to the far side we stopped at the Koocanusa Campsite and Marina.  To our delight the store was still open, but this was its last day for the season, and the contents were already being packed away.  We enjoyed two iced teas and an ice cream, and bought a bag of nachos to compliment dinner later on. The owner was incredibly kind and friendly, and she came from the Sunshine Coast, very close to where my parents live and where I have spent more than 20 years.  She also mentioned that the campground has two tent sites that are open to Trans Canada Trail hikers and cyclists.   

At first we didn't intend to stay, but finding potential spots to camp that have access to water and aren't in developed areas is going to be awkward for the next couple of days.  We spent some time sitting on the covered veranda outside the store debating, and then decided we may as well spend the night here. It is a gorgeous campground on the shores of the lake, it has running water (until tomorrow), and showers.  As we soon discovered, it also has a thriving population of very large domestic rabbits that come to visit the campsites, and a small family of kittens.

It has been a relaxing afternoon in a spot with gorgeous views and friendly people.  Nonetheless, as we listen to several large flocks of Canada Geese flying over, and more landing on the water for a rest tonight, we are left with the feeling it is time to quicken our steps.  The season is turning, and we must go.  If all goes well, tomorrow will be another long day on the trail.

See you on the trail!

Remember to follow our entire adventure here : www.comewalkwithus.online