Brown Lake, British Columbia,
Canada
May 24, 2019
May 24, 2019
After a painfully long day in Kelowna stocking up on supplies and trying to find second hand mountain bikes we headed East out of the city in search of Brown lake, another free camping spot miles from anywhere up a forest access road. These and the wild camping spots are easily turning into our favourite places to stay. You put the effort in to get there but are rewarded with amazing locations and seclusion. Brown lake had both by the bucket full. An hours drive from Kelowna, predominantly up muddy bumpy off-road trails we finally pulled in right on the shore of Brown lake. What a stunning little place it is. We were the only people there when we arrived in the quiet bay of the lake. Spruce trees hugged us from the sides and behind and in front was a beautiful tranquil lake laid out before us.
We were soon accompanied by the local wildlife. In particular Derrick the Jack rabbit who seemed quite a sociable chap. Nibbling on his grass as we sat taking it all in. Woodpeckers hammering away in the background and best of all as I was sat there quietly something caught my eye to the left. An Osprey dropped out of a nearby tree, about 20 yards from me, plunged into the smooth glass like waters and emerged with a silver glinting fish clenched firmly in it’s talons. What a sight to see. I’ve seen Osprey’s in the Lake District before, many a time at Bassenthwaite but I’ve never been lucky enough to witness one actually catching it’s supper before my very eyes. Very good luck indeed. As the night drew in another couple of vans arrived. Two lads from Germany and a lad from Yorkshire. As is usually the case everyone was very nice and friendly and we shared out the firewood we had between us to help keep those pesky bears at bay.
The next few days were blissful. When the rain was heavy (most of our time there) we made the best of Buddy’s hideaway bed design. A portion of the bed slides back to give us a little seated area and while the heavens opened we whiled away our days reading books and chatting. Whenever the rain eased up we were outside again taking in the beauty and nature around.
Now this is where this entry gets a little strange, hence the title. On our second night there was a break in the rain in the early hours so we got out of the van to take in the stars in all their glory. I had a little bit of the local medicine thanks to a guy we met in Penticton where they don’t have any dispensary’s and despite it being very strong I was more than aware of what was going on around me. As I was in the van Dani shouted for me to come and take a look at something in the sky. When I got out and looked up I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. Directly above us was a huge long lit up rectangle moving slowly and silently overhead. It was definitely within our atmosphere and not being a daft lad I could work out that it’s altitude must have been quite low. Given how slowly it moved when directly above but how fast it dipped behind the trees and out of sight over the horizon it can’t have been too high up. It’s length was huge, maybe several hundred feet at a guess and it was perfectly straight along each side of it’s long rectangular shape. Within the long rectangle were several smaller rectangles of varying intensity of light. There was not a single noise from it and it moved smoothly and effortlessly our of sight. Dani seems to think it may have been a rocket re-entering from space or something else but what I saw is unlike any pictures or videos of a rocket re-entry or anything else man made or natural I have come across so far. I genuinely can’t explain what I saw so I’m calling it out as a UFO. I’ve since checked online and there are no other confirmed sightings which I guess leaves me a little disappointed but there you have it, our first UFO sighting during our travels. It’s had me scratching my head in disbelief ever since.
We stayed up at Brown lake for three nights in total and we loved every minute of it. We left on the Sunday, only because our drinking water supplies were getting low and also on the Sunday morning the rain had eased a little so we took our chance at making it safely back down the muddy track in Buddy. We didn’t want to leave when it was pouring down in case the van couldn’t handle the rough terrain in the wet.
From Brown lake we headed off on another forest service road to a place called Myra canyon. It was early in the morning when we packed up and headed off so the canyon trek was a nice little gap filler for a few hours. The trek around the canyon is known for its rail bridges that are dotted around the place. In the late 1800’s silver was discovered in this area and a rail link was built through the hillside to help combat the Americans who were hopping over the nearby border and taking away as much as they could, The rail line allowed the easier and quicker movement or silver ore out of the mines and across Canada. What now remains is the old route that the line once took. Tunnels dug out of the rock face and various trestle bridges that you can now walk over now that there are no longer any rail lines there. It was a pleasant little trek but once you have seen a few trestles and tunnels the novelty wears off.
As we drove back towards Kelowna we got data connection again on our phones and after a few searches we found a local guy selling a bike rack that would fit onto the back of Buddy. We really want some mountain bikes on this trip and have seen a few that would have been decent but unfortunately we couldn’t get them at the time due to no rack and a lack of space in the van. By the time we reached the city the bloke was already waiting to meet us. $50 later we had our new bike rack fitted and ready for us to buy some bikes. Hopefully we can get them soon and start doing some of the numerous trails that are dotted about all over.
With time now getting on it wasn’t worth trying to cover any more ground aiming for a new place so we checked the camping app we are using and found another free camp spot only 15km out of the city called Boulderfield’s. Boulderfield’s is possibly the scariest free spot we have driven to yet. The climb up was no steeper than anything else we have put Buddy through but some of the sections of road were just plain ridiculous. There was a section on the way up that is riddled with deep potholes but the worst side of it is that the stretch of road through the forest and a portion that cuts through rock is single narrow lane. It was getting dark and at some points there was a single track with a near vertical drop off either side. If there was a vehicle coming the opposite way one of would have to reverse about 500 metres on a single bumpy track with a drop either side. Just plain crazy. Thankfully we didn’t have anyone coming the other way and just as night fell we reached the small basic site and settled in for some food, drinks and sleep.
