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Harrison Hot Springs, BC
Canada
2 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2010 : 11:43 PM
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Long Island is located about 10 miles north of the Village of Harrison Hot Springs and is accessible only by boat. Long Island Bay provides the best access point to the Island and there are two docks located at the Forest Recreation Site at the end of the bay.
 
As it turned out, Saturday of the Labour Day weekend was reasonably nice following a vicious wind storm the night before. It had been quite a long time since I'd hiked any of the trails on this side of the Island, so I thru a few things in my day pack and off I went. There are several access points to the trails from Long Island Bay and I decided to take the one that leads to the top of the bluffs above the bay. My hope was to get a few good photos of my boat at the docks.
The trails from the bay get a lot of use by people coming up for the day or the weekend and they are all in relatively good shape. The trail leading to the viewpoint is cut into the hillside and requires careful footing as the rock can be a litle loose.
 
The trail continues on past the bluffs and actually descends slightly as it drops into a gully about a 1/4km further north. It was about here that I noticed the area had been flagged and marked for timber cut blocks and the more I saw the more angrier I was becoming. How could this be allowed to happen I wondered? It has taken more than sixty years for this area to return to a natural state after if was logged back in the 50's.
     
The trail came to a junction and I decided to follow it further north and down to a small cove the locals refer to as Mike's Cove. It was named after a fellow who came out from Ontario in the 90's in search of the legendary Sasquatch! He camped at this small cove for most of one year and gradually became paranoid that the big hairy beast was out to get him. He rigged his campsite with trip wires and bright lights connected to a battery bank. As fate would have it, one night something tripped the alarm and all "H" broke lose. He panicked and sprayed himself with bear spray as he was running out of the tent. No sasquatch was seen, but he was convinced one had been there.
I have to tell you, that one evening back around that same year, we were just finishing dinner at the recreation site when we heard the most awful sound coming from the bush just beyond the old outhouse. It was unlike any animal I have ever heard and even the three dogs we had headed for the boats. Nobody had enough nerve to go and take a closer look!
Getting back on the trial, I ended up chatting with a large group of people camping in tents at Mike's Cove. It was there first time on the Island and they were interested in the trails and wondering about bears and cougars on the Island. I had hiked on the other side of the island the previous weekend and didn't see any signs of bear, but I did see fresh cougar scat. Plenty of deer on the island so any cougar should be quite content.
From there I followed a less used trail going further north yet and discovered the most gorgeous little water fall that sparkled like a jewel in the streaming sunlight.
  
As I had diverted off the trail slightly to view the waterfall from the top, I decided to hike further up the hillside and connected with a trail I hadn't seen before. I was pretty sure this trail would lead me to a small lake located higher up on the island. Wasn't long before I was at the lake. It was time for a little break so I sat on a couple of logs by the lakeshore and enjoyed the quiet peaceful beauty while I thought about what I could do to prevent this treasure from being ruined by logging.
Wasn't long before a couple more hikers came up the trail, so I decided to head back to the bay. All in all it was about a 3 hour excursion and well worth the time. |
Edited by - beachboy on 09/09/2010 11:48 PM
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1114 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2010 : 06:48 AM
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Was the sound half human -half beast?
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Chilliwack, BC
Canada
301 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2010 : 09:00 AM
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| Thanks for the report! I grew up in Harrison, and as a boy of course I would always look towards the islands from the shore and wondered what it would be like to explore them... |
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Victoria, BC
Canada
92 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2010 : 09:05 AM
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| yeah, according to local Sto:lo oral history, that area is prime sasquatch territory :O |
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Chilliwack, BC
Canada
301 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2010 : 6:41 PM
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Yeah, I actually seen him the other day at the corner store across from the hot pool...
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 Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13469 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2010 : 7:47 PM
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I also wondered what would be like on the island. Thanks for sharing this neat report of your exercusion there, so cool a lake on an island within a lake...
K |
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New Westminster, BC
Canada
352 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2010 : 09:58 AM
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Is that the forest recreation site on the west side of the island kind of situated in a lagoon kind of area shown in the backroad explorer mapbook. I'm planning a canoe trip across from Twenty Mile Bay some day and am wondering about that camp area and the forest rec. site at the southern tip of the island too.
Any trail from the southern site by any chance for a little exploration while camping there? |
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Chilliwack
1271 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2010 : 6:22 PM
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| sweet looking bay and really great write up. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
52 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2010 : 9:27 PM
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I camped in Mikes bay several times last summer, thanks for the heads up on the cougar. Met the guy who had the sasquatch encounter there in 1995 at John Greens house in 2007, Gabe was his name. I took him back to mikes bay on long island in 2008 as I was curious. He insisted we leave a lantern on all night. Nothing happened, but I believe his story, as did that fellow Mike.
Its a beautiful place, thanks for the tr. |
Edited by - midweekskier on 09/11/2010 9:29 PM |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7100 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2010 : 10:00 PM
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| I absolutely love that area, it is very nice, thanks for sharing. I took a boat tour out to that area before, and we walked to the falls from the beach, it sure was beautiful. |
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2 Posts |
Posted - 09/12/2010 : 5:45 PM
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| Beautiful Photos..It looks like a truly amazing view,0f the bay and back towards Harrison.Nice lake for fly fishin?Good thing you can only access it with a boat..maybe it will stay beautiful for many years..thanks for sharing. |
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canine loving, machete-toting bushwhacking lake seeker, Indiana Jones hat-wearing off-road 4x4 guru
Surrey Hole, BC
Canada
6792 Posts |
Posted - 09/12/2010 : 9:58 PM
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| looked down on that Island many times from the Slollicum bowl, That is where the beast is living now.. |
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9 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2010 : 4:36 PM
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I've heard a cougar bawling in heat there before, maybe that's what you heard. Never seen a bear or scat.
BTW if you live in a wood house, you probably shouldn't be so negative about logging. The forest in that area is beautiful but not unique and logging is as useful as forest fires. |
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Newton, bc
Canada
282 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2010 : 5:00 PM
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| I use to fish one of the lakes on Long island in the 1980s. We paddled over from 20 mile bay (before the place turned into a zoo). Woke up one night at the lake to the same thing, some couger screaming like a banshee in the middle of the night. Actually heard the same thing about 2 months ago fishing up by Canim lake. |
Edited by - troutbreath on 09/14/2010 5:01 PM |
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Chilliwack, BC
Canada
301 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2010 : 5:18 PM
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^ Screaming cougar - awesome.
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2 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2012 : 6:04 PM
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| Just got back from long island on harrison lake. We were intrigued with the thought of being able to be on an island in a lake on an island on a lake. We strapped our mountain bikes to the rear decks of our kayaks and departed from 20 mile bay. When we beached on long island we had to "hibike" (hiking with a bike) up a steep incline until we reached a clear cut. We were weaving our way through the clear cut on the active logging roads heading south when we were met by a local couple. They gave us directions and told us we could use there canoe at the lake to get to the island. We couldnt find the canoe but we found their pedalboat!! A 15min pedal and we were there.... on an island in a lake on an island in the lake. Was wondering if anyone knows what the name of the most northern lake on long island is? |
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Trail blazin', backcountry bushwackin', pine huntin', photo takin', long winded story teller
3838 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2012 : 8:59 PM
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Heard of those trails on Long Island from people at work and been waiting for the day I get a canoe or boat to visit them.
Thanx for the info. Ya, cougar sound half human half animal like. : ) |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13469 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 12:51 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Wildman
Heard of those trails on Long Island from people at work and been waiting for the day I get a canoe or boat to visit them.
Thanx for the info. Ya, cougar sound half human half animal like. : )
Most fascinating to get up there; like the sounds of an island in a lake on an island in a lake. Way cool !
K |
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Satirical photoshop junkie who frolics in the mountains of the Chilliwack River Valley
Chilliwack, BC
Canada
6908 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 1:41 PM
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| I hiked to one of those lakes once back in the late 70's. I just remember it being pretty bushy. |
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Mysterious, pop can stove stashin', gps totin', overnighter virgin, wannabe tentmaker and foul weather wuss who rides a thumper to the trailhead with wonderdog Max to hike the Chilliwack Valley
Chwk
Canada
4910 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 2:59 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by mooseman
Just got back from long island on harrison lake. We were intrigued with the thought of being able to be on an island in a lake on an island on a lake.
Would that be Island-ception or lake-ception?
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
908 Posts |
Posted - 04/30/2012 : 11:58 PM
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quote:
Most fascinating to get up there; like the sounds of an island in a lake on an island in a lake. Way cool !
K
that is just bizzar to think of but cool. |
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Long Island, Harrison Lake
