Wilderness Adventures in Nimpo Lake and Anahim Lake for the last week of April 2005

This is about a remote area in west central British Columbia, Canada called the West Chilcotin. Surrounded by numerous glacial mountain ranges, alpine lakes teeming with wild Rainbow Trout, and full of wildlife. Living here goes from no running water or electricity to spacious log homes with all the conveniences and without the smog!

4/27/05 9:16 PM

Showcasing Anahim Lake Resort

Located on Anahim Lake, this resort and RV park promotes itself as a family destination. Jack and Anita Madsen are just going into their 25th year with the resort and as they state, they don't have clients, they have friends. They are located on the shores of Anahim Lake just a few miles from the community itself where you can get pretty much anything you might need for the enjoyment of your vacation. They offer beautiful RV or tenting sites right on the lakeshore, as well as some very nice cabins and one spectacular cabin just newly built that we call the 'executive' suite. This is what they have to say in their listing at Resorts and Lodges "Gateway to the Bella Coola Valley .... Rustic Simplicity encompassing cozy cabins overlooking Anahim Lake, lakeshore camping and RV sites with panoramic veiws of Tweedsmuir, Ilgachus and Itcha Provincial Parks. We offer renowned 'wild trout' fishing, guided river salmon fishing, trail riding, flight seeing, fly in fishing, hiking, bird watching, wildlife, exceptional star gazing and so much more that makes this a must see fishing destination! We are a family fishing resort and we are pet friendly." If you would like to know more about the resort and these great people go to their site at: Anahim Lake Resort . Drop by and check it out!

4/26/05 8:36 PM

High Summer-like Temperatures Heating Things Up

Temperature readings the last few days have been breaking records all over the province. That was evident when the ice went off Nimpo Lake in record time. The frost has been coming out of the ground so rapidly that some roads are breaking up pretty badly. The highways crew has been running around for the last week trying to get fill into monster holes that have opened up recently such as the one on Highway 20 west to Bella Coola. Even the big trucks have been getting stuck in it, and one night a lady with her child was stuck in the mudhole all night with her little car until one of the highways crew found her on his morning patrol and pulled her out. The Dean River road had to be dug up and culverts put in on an emergency basis, because water was flooding the road and washing part of it away. Spots on Dorsey road are trying to sink out of sight, taking the pavement with it. No one has seen a spring like this in 30 to 40 years. Fortunately, we were supposed to see substantial road building and repair this summer anyway, and now we could really use it! Temperatures have been around 24 C, or 70 F in the shade and everything is really starting to grow. The loons have started their mating dance already and we even have hummingbirds. At least we aren't as hot as Osoyoos was today. 90F or 30C in April! Amazing.

4/25/05 4:25 PM

Showcasing Wilderness Rim Resort

Wilderness Rim Resort, owned by Bryan and Tabby Reid is located in its own bay with a magnificent view, privacy, protected docks for boats and floatplanes and a variety of cabins from lux to rustic. As their ad in the resorts listing states: "Wilderness Rim is located on the east shore of Nimpo Lake in some of the most spectacular country in north central BC. Trout, Salmon, stream and lake flyfishing and Steelhead trips can be arranged with advance notice as well as fly-out trips to remote mountain lakes. Nimpo Lake is considered the Floatplane Capital of BC and we offer Aviation Gas and a sheltered bay and docks for planes." Their newer cabins built by Pioneer Log Homes are sweet, offering all the amenities and a little luxury besides. Their lodge, also built by Pioneer Log Homes is spectacular, and offers a very fancy kitchen area for capuccino production and ovens for cooking for your family and friends if you prefer not to do that in your own cabin. It also offers three bathroom/showers and laundry facilities for the cabins that don't have that. They also have a centrally located shower house for the cabins that don't have running water. These are the more rustic cabins, fun but less expensive for the family on a budget. Sit out on your deck and enjoy the view and camaraderie this resort offers and trade great fishing stories. For more information, you can go to their listing on Resorts and Lodges or go to their very extensive web site at Wilderness Rim Resort where you'll see lots of pictures and even hear music while listening to the loon calls!

4/24/05 4:09 PM

RCMP Investigates Rollover Collision

"Anahim Lake RCMP have begun an initiative of informing local community members of collisions for awareness program. On April 21, 2005 at approx. 10:00 p.m., members of the Anahim Lake RCMP responded to a single motor vehicle collision one km east of Anahim Lake on Highway 20. 1989 GMC was travelling eastbound when the driver lost control of the vehicle which ended up rolling several times.
The driver, Clayton Jimmie of Anahim Lake was removed from the vehicle and the Jaws of Life was used to remove Terry Squinas, also of Anahim Lake, both with serious injuries that resulted in them being transported by Ambulance to Williams Lake. Both men were wearing their seatbelts at the time and their injuries were lessened as a result. Alcohol is a suspected factor in the collision and the collision is still under investigation by the Anahim Lake RCMP." What the RCMP neglected to mention was that the driver has received two 24 hour suspensions in the last two weeks for drinking and driving. Had he been charged with drinking and driving as several Caucasians have been recently, and his license removed, the accident probably would not have occurred. A statement at the scene by one member was that the natives are stopped so often for drinking and driving that they just wait until they issue a 24 hour for the third time, then remove their license. But what if Clayton Jimmie had killed an innocent tourist or local that night? Why is it ok to let the natives off with 24 hour suspensions, but the same courtesy is not extended to non-natives and they are instead nailed with impaired charges and all that that entails? Go ahead and charge non-natives with impaired, because that's as it should be. But do the same with everyone, regardless of their ancestory! We tire of hearing about discrimination against the natives. All I have seen in the past years is discrimination against the non natives of our community and all of BC.

4/23/05 8:15 PM

RCMP to Issue "Positive Tickets" to Local Youth

A new initiative has been created to issue deserving young persons for good riding behavior on their bicycles. The Anahim Lake RCMP members with support from several local businesses and Community members will be issuing tickets to community youth up to the age of 16 that will be redeemable for an item from the supporting business partner named on the ticket issued. To promote Bicycle Safety and Education the Police hope that those youth caught wearing their bicycle helmet and riding their bicycle in a safe manner will be more apt to continue practicing good riding behavior that will last long after all the "Positive Tickets" are issued. Bicycle helmets became mandatory for all cyclists in British Columbia in 1996. Not wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle can result in a fine.
On another note, most of the ice went out on Nimpo Lake last night, and very little was left in the back bay this morning. Went fishing for an hour, but only caught and lost one. The fish aren't really active yet, but hopefully...soon. Then again, only had some very puny warms that overwintered in a fish tank. They didn't grow big and fat, that's for sure!
The BC Government unveiled the Olympic 2010 emblem for BC. Absolutely disgusting. I can't imagine anything that represents BC less. Using a stylized Inukshuk might have been a great idea, had it been a nice design. But this is so bad...out of 1600 contestants, you would have thought they could have chosen something a lot nicer and representative of the province.

4/22/05 1:40 PM

Going Fishing!

Enough ice is off Nimpo Lake to see the fish jumping. Loons are all over the lake divided by lines of ice, cruising the edges of the ice to mark their territory I guess. They're diving periodically for fish and the fish are starting to jump. Time to get a fishing license and go fishing tomorrow, because fishing is excellent just after ice off. Fascinating to watch the lake this morning. There were seven Trumpeter Swans cruising like an Spanish Armada off the point of the big island, a Bald Eagle was floating overhead, loons here and there and flocks of Buffleheads and other ducks dotted the water here and there. A couple of gulls arrived as well. The tree swallows arrived yesterday, and the steady cacophany of red winged blackbirds overlaid even the loon calls. Floyd Vaughan flew over in his plane this morning checking the lake out. He'll be putting floats on his plane right away! I think this is the earliest ice off yet, although last year was about the same time for this bay. The temperatures are quite high, although down to freezing last night, and with the sun beating down on that ice, the lake should be clear in the next day or so, with the exception of the back bay where the sun doesn't get to it as much. Goin' Fishin'!

The purpose of this web site is to draw attention to a remote area of west central British Columbia. It is a beautiful area that relies heavily on tourism. The search engines don't know much about the West Chilcotin, Anahim Lake, Nimpo Lake or any of the other small communities in the region and I hope to change that! Even as large as this site will eventually be, there just isn't enough room or time in the day to fully describe this incredible country but I am going to try scraping away at the tip of the iceberg, so join me!

Follow the links, and see what the West Chilcotin is really like!

Breathtaking Wilderness Rim Lodge on Nimpo Lake

Loon cruising the edge of the ice on Nimpo Lake

Might be a little early to fish, still breaking ice with the boat!