Beaverdell to Idabel Lake

Day 2 - June 10, 2008

Weather: Grey and cool all day but only a few speckles of rain; clearing a bit at sunset

Trail description: To regain the KVR we back-tracked across the river and up the hill, then veered onto a gravel road on the right following it a short way until it merged back into the original KVR railbed. Yesterday on our Midway to Beaverdell ride the scenery changed every ten minutes. Today from Beaverdell to Idabel Lake the scenery is mostly the same: a trail through two walls of trees, with little variation. It also feels more remote, with no farms and a highway that is only occasionally in view or earshot on the right, sometimes hundreds of feet below the trail. The trail surface is well compacted but mostly rocky with several slides that may be walked or ridden through and one short section where the trail was destroyed by a slide but is easily bypassed on a parallel dirt road. The grade is noticeably steeper for the entire day but is consistent except at Cooksen Creek where the missing trestle replaced by dirt fill actually forces you to change gears. Any break in the sameness of the trail―the bridge at Wilkinson Creek, The Arlington Lakes, the red shed at Cooksen Station―we treated as a rest stop to enjoy the slight variation in our day. Once we turned off onto the Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road we realized just how much the rocky surface of the KVR was pounding us, as the gravel road seemed smooth by comparison, although a steep climb and descent to Idabel Lake.

Special concerns: The lack of contact with civilization means water is only available from natural sources, so purification is prudent. On our grey and cool day it was not a problem as we each survived on two water bottles.

Wildlife: None.

Distance and elevation: Distance cycled was 53 kilometers, from Beaverdell to our B&B at Idabel Lake. The elevation at Beaverdell is just under 800 m.a.s.l. At the point where we turned off the KVR onto the Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road at kilometer 117.4 the elevation is 1265 m.a.s.l. for an vertical gain of about 475 meters over 48 kilometers, more than double the elevation gain of yesterday's ride. On our four kilometer detour to Idabel Lake we climbed an additional 50 vertical meters, then descended 90 meters to our B&B by the lake, all of which had to be done in reverse the next day. Our elapsed time on the trail was about six hours.

Average speed and time on the trail: We left Beaverdell at 8:30 AM and reached Idabel Lake at 2:30 PM. Our average speed including all stops was 8.8 kilometers per hour.

GPS tracking: We used a Garmin Forerunner 305 to record our distance and elevation changes.

Don't panic! The scale of the graph exaggerates the steepness of the KVR's grade

The next morning I go out to check the weather. The optimist in me is calling this, watery sunshine

A Western Tanager hangs out in front of our cabin

The Highland Cabins look alike but each was different in amenities and layout: cabin 1 had no heat so some of us spent a chilly night; cabin 2 had plenty of heat and extra blankets (which cabin 1 did not have). Go figure

We back-tracked across the river and climbed the slight hill, veering onto a gravel road that reconnected with the KVR. The trail surface is much rockier than yesterday

The only wildlife we spotted today was here at Carmi

They named a whole KVR subdivision after this place. There must be more to it than this?

Maybe it's the remote feeling of the terrain today but we seemed to travel as a single group more than yesterday

Taking a break at the Wilkinson Creek bridge. Our first dozen kilometers of riding had a noticeably steeper grade

It's a grey, overcast day but these clumps of lavender-coloured Penstemon really brighten up the trail

The Okanagan highlands show us clumps of pine grass, yellow Arrowleaf Balsamroot and Ponderosa Pine

Many small slides cross the KVR along this stretch, but a passage has been cleared through each of them

One break in the unchanging scenery today is the Arlington Lakes chain

Lakevale campground is our lunch stop today

The fill that replaces a missing trestle at Cooksen Creek creates an actual hill on the KVR. We are so used to a constant grade that it takes some by surprise as we scramble to change gears

Some weren't successful in changing gears, and choose to walk the hill

Bob does his Superman pose outside Cooksen Station

To reach Idabel Lake we turn off the KVR onto the Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road

Our four kilometer detour on the Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road has a steep climb, topping out at 1317 m.a.s.l. (Our highest elevation of the whole trip). But at least the relatively smooth surface of the road makes for an easy ride after a bumpy day on the KVR

Yay! One kilometer to go, and downhill (but that means, of course, that it will be uphill when we leave tomorrow morning). Boo!

Our overnight stop: the Raven's B&B at Idabel Lake

After dinner we take a stroll down to the lake

Next page: Idabel Lake to Chute Lake