Cultus Lake II

Though we had been to the lake only a few weeks earlier I had originally wanted to explore a number of areas we didn’t get to on the previous visit. So since the day promised much better weather we decided to revisit the lake and the missed locations and hopefully the brighter day would yield some good views.

Our first stop was along the Chilliwack River in the area just east of the small bridge that crosses over it near Sardis. The river was running quite fast and flowing over some of the lower banks. Though not a big river it was still moving quite the volume of water. There were a few people fishing but not near the numbers we have seen before. To get to this region of the river we traveled over some gravel roads and through areas that seemed to be undergoing major development. It seems that even way out here construction is reshaping things.

After exploring this area for awhile we drove to the lake and were fortunate to find a nice parking spot right on the lake next to a green spot. The residences started only a few dozen feet further along the small lane. Though there were a few people out and some families with small kids, it was still early enough in the season that the large numbers of visitors were not present. This was perfect for me as I had much more freedom to get the shots I wanted. This eastern end of the lake had a nice walkway along the edge of the lake and several piers on which one could walk out. It had a nice settled feel to it.

The many homes right on the edge of the lake seem ideal for maximizing one’s enjoyment of the water. Many of them seemed to be used seasonally and a few were being readied for the summer as we wandered by. The only negative of having one of these homes would be the large numbers of visitors that would be wandering past every day.

Our next stop was to explore the Vedder Mountain FSR again and this time to try out a few of the side roads. Our first was a narrow spur the dropped down below the main road, we traveled along it for a kilometer and had to cross one eroding stream bed that looked like it might be a real challenge in a year or two. We came up to a grassy area but it was so wet that we quickly lost traction and so we backtracked and returned to the main FSR but not before snapping off our AM antenna, fortunately our VHF antenna was not damaged!

We explored a few more side roads but didn’t get too far in as the area was still very soggy and not that passable. We did see a number of new areas but it wasn’t as extensive as I had hoped so we were soon on our way down the NW side of the mountain and on the way home. Our next visit will be later in the summer and with quads which should open a few more areas.