Kidney Failure Lake

Nanaimo is lucky enough to have two Kidney Lakes.  Don't ask me how that happened!  Perhaps it was some cartographer's bad joke at attempting an anatomically correct map, or perhaps it was the more likely result of general confusion on the part of loggers and other visitors.  Anyway, we have two--and one has remained  a mystery to me for all this time since the local logging company closed off the main entrance to this region some time ago.  (Why they ever did this raises a few questions too.  Kidney Lk. II is such a buggered-up mess of dead logs, I have to wonder if they're saving the embarrassment of people actually finding it.  Maybe not, they have gone to the effort of leaving a scabby, thin boundary around it to maintain its pristine healthy look.  FfffPbwaaahahaha).   

I've attempted to find Kidney Lk. II a few times using trails from the east side that run through the university's excrement infested trails, but I've had little luck until very recently.  One riding friend, Sebastian, located the hidden trails a few weeks ago and his success was followed up recently by Paul who discovered Sebastian's route in from the Doumont Trail shortly before the "tank traps."  I came crawling along in third place to claim my own victory, although I did need Paul's poxy GPS track to actually get in there.

Here's the route:

The Route  (Click Image to Enlarge).

1.  Beginning of Dumont Trail at the shot up "No Dumping" sign 
2.  Turned right shortly before the tank traps  (This is at the first big pool in the road during the wet season.  It's the road pool that most bikes avoid by taking the shortcut to the left to eliminate the pond and the entire wet corner).  Actually, there's another right you can take 100m before you get to this one.
3.  You have some choices here.  It is possible to avoid the steep hill and the awkward trenches.  I like to go right at the wreck (to avoid the hill), next left to the bottom of the hill and then just follow the serpentine along to your right until you reach the logging roads.  
4.  Rode through the logging roads using the old maze solution: always turn left until you're out.  This brought me close to Kidney Failure Lake really quickly, so I rummaged through the undergrowth to get a photo, (see below).
5.  This road passes above Round Lake.  I'm not sure it's worth the hike down, since you can get there easily from the Sundew Main road on the other side.  There's fish in there, but it's not one of the better local lakes.
6.  I took a good look at the road block that I often pass from the other side.  It's a complete mystery why they went to the bother of blocking this route through.  I'm sure it was well planned and extremely necessary to ensure good environmental logging practice though.  ;)
7.  Stopped off to view the "lake" from this side too, (see photo below).
8.  Did this loop for absolutely no reason at all.
9.  Turned left at an entrance into the uni lands near the concrete pad (truck loading point) to follow a known trail that exits near the Biggs/Dumont intersection. 

10.  If you turn right here, on what looks like the main trail, it comes to a dead end.  Go left when travelling east.  (It's weird riding this trail in this direction.  I always come up it the other way). 
11.  Found myself at the backside of a well-secured yellow gate. 
12.  The white bridge and exit gate to Dumont.

Some Photos:

Paul's earlier track in red and my earlier (failed) attempt to get here a week ago in pink.  (There's a nasty hill where the red and pink join that made it impossible for me to get through from that direction.  I walked it).

The wreck mentioned at #3.  Left for the hill and right to avoid it.

(Animated gif) A 4x4 truck on his fourth attempt to make the steep hill.  He did well considering his tires weren't that chunky.

Panoramic view of Kidney Lk II

Beginning of the asinine road block between Sundew Main and the Kidney Lk II area.

Peeking at the north-east end of the lake at location #7.  Sorry... crap shot!

 

Returning at point #3.  I went left.

Returning at #3.  I went left again...  Right is okay until you wipe out into the trench.  :)

Nice to finally get in there and check the place out!

Kidney Lake Bonanza!

Took a nice ride out to Kidney Lake after work today.  When I arrived the lake was calm and full of rising fish.  I couldn't get the line in the water fast enough.  Caught a trout on my third cast!  Five in all today, six if you include the one Paul caught when he showed up late and stole my spot.

Tried bait fishing for a short spell, but no dice.  They were going for gold spinners today.

Wee bit o' rain, but generally pretty dry.  Great day at the lake.

Friday Workday... then FISHING! ڷ

I zoomed out of work really quickly today so that I could get a few hours of fishing in at our local lakes and by 4:00 I had a line in the water at Kidney Lake.

It was a great ride down there:  1Km before the lake I heard a thunderous clatter to my left and made a mad scramble for a camera as a herd of 8 to 10 elk crossed the road right in front of me.  They were pretty spooked by my bike and so they moved really quickly to conceal themselves in the trees to my right.  I managed to get one shot off with my Garmin which was close at hand, but got nothing of the herd.  So, off I went with my heart pumping about twice its normal rate only to meet a single female still looking for the herd.  She gave me a bit more time and loped well ahead of my position so she could cross over to the other side.  I captured her with the Garmin...  Not a quality shot, but at least I got it!  Totally thrilling watching them motor by like that!

Purple route from "Intersection A" (bottom right) to NE end of Kidney Lake.

Get out your magnifying glass!  She's that clump of pixels near the centre!

 
So, I got down to the lake and fished with some bait for a change.  I set up "Andy's Handy Dandy Lake Trout Rig" which consists of an egg sinker (1/8lb lead weight that slides freely on the line), a swivel clip (which doubles as a stopper to keep the weight on) and an 18" leader attached to the swivel for floating bait.  For bait I used yellow and orange scented Glo Mallows.

The beauty of this rig is that it allows the line to slide freely through the weight.  That means that when the trout hits, it travels away with the line unimpeded by the weight and sets the hook when the slack is taken up.  It's perfect for stocked trout that have a tendency to hit aggressively in this way.  A small treble hook can be used also, providing it's small enough to be lifted by the bait (#14).  Great for molding bait around with Power Bait.  Also, leader length can be changed to match the weed height in any particular lake to keep the bait floating right at typical feeding height, (slightly above the weeds), for bottom swimming trout.

I fished that setup for about two hours without so much as a nibble today.  There was lots of action on the surface by 6:00 and so I switched to spin casting my "Super Duper" favourite spinner.  I caught the youngest and smallest trout in the lake with this.  IT WAS DELICIOUS!!

YUM

Finally, No Rain and Snow! Great Day to Ride to the Back of Kidney Lake

It has rained here for days and when it's raining down here the local mountains are getting a fresh dump of snow.  Well, the rain stopped today for the whole day and the temperature went up too.  I tried getting up through the Doumont Trail last week but there was so much snow it was impossible.  I thought it would be worth a try today.

I planned out a quick route on Google Earth...  Too snowy to pick a "must do" ride like the climb to Okay Mt. summit or Mt. DeCosmos.  I'm still busting to do them both, but right now I figured I should pick a much safer, lower and warmer spot!  I decided to try heading to the back of Kidney Lake using the trail I've seen quite a few times now as I ride from Sundew towards home.  I mapped it out, socked the route into the Garmin and off I went.

Route begins at "Start Doumont Trail" on the orange section.  Yes, there is a quicker way to this lake, but this is the only way to the SW side.  The return trip followed the same route reversed.

A close-up of the south heading red trail that leads to Kidney Lake.  (Line travels left to right).  Lower portion is an elevation profile, also reading from left to right.  The red arrow marks the high point in the trail.

A close-up of the lake.  We usually fish off the northern bank where the small photo icon is placed.  The lake is extremely difficult to reach where the road passes close by on its SE side;  That's a pretty steep hill.  

I met with a bit of snow and lots of slush going through the Tank Traps and the surrounding area, but generally the logging roads were clear of snow and ice.  The road in has been chewed up quite badly here and there, mostly by 4x4 trucks and quads.  Some spots are actually a bit hard to recognize.

180° Panoramic of the Bog leading to the Tank Traps.  I've been through this section enough now to pick a clean path through every time.  People get fooled by the easy looking dry section on this side of the bog.  It's a guaranteed "get stuck" route!  Stick to the wettest, boggiest looking section...  Easy as pie and not nearly as bad as it looks! 

Some snow patches are lingering in shadowed sections of the roads, but this is as bad as it got today.  Much better!  The darkened area just below the middle is a splotch of mud on my GPS.  :)

Beautiful clear day to view the Winchelsea Islands from the logging roads.

The new unexplored section of road (red trail) was in great shape.  It gets pretty craggy towards the lake and I needed to slow down for some sharp chunky rock sections, but on the whole I was able to ride quite fast on most parts.  There are a few turns here and there that are calling for a return trip.  The lake was easy to find!  As far as fishing goes, the north entrance to the lake is far better...  There are few, if any,  good locations for shore fishing on this side of Kidney Lake.

220° panoramic shot of the lake side.  Some kind individual had prepared a nice fire for me.  I needed a bit of warming up too!

170° Panoramic

Returning through the Tank Traps.  Actually past the traps here and about to enter the bog that goes off to the left side.  Gives me something to wash off when I get home.

Altogether a great ride.  It was terrific to get back out and ride properly without having to pick my way between chunks of ice and snowdrifts.  Here's a timelapse video of the red road section.  Looks way better if you up the Youtube settings to 720p.  Bit shakey... it was pretty bumpy at the end.  :)
 

Second Visit to Kidney Lake, WITH A ROD THIS TIME!

Another good ride today!  I met Paul at our usual Starbucks starting place and we set off through Doumont Road to Weigles Road and onto the trails.  We were off to Kidney Lake today... with rods. 

Click Photo for a better view

An elevation profile of the green section from "Intersection A" to Kidney Lake.  The last third of the green is the sharp rock section. 

The "Tank Traps" were wetter than I have seen them before and most of them were filled quite deeply with water.  It's fine when you're in gear, but I discovered today that it creates a problem if you accidentally put the bike into neutral half way through one and lose your momentum.  I made it without a fall... Whew!

The Tank Traps.  I had my hip waders today, (for fishing, not for going through the Tank Traps).   Didn't even use them.  :(

A right turn at "Intersection A" took us past Round Lake and a left turn shortly after that took us up to Kidney Lake.  I'm not a big fan of the trail that leads up to Kidney; large chunks of sharp rock make for a slower ride, but the destination is really worth it.  We parked the bikes and headed for Paul's favourite spot.  (He's actually beginning to believe that he owns this spot.  It's a bit worrying to say the least). 

Not a lot of fish action for the first while.  Paul was getting many more hits than I was.

There were plenty of trout swirling on the surface of the lake and some jumping, but generally things were going quite slowly and we both went through the process of trying every lure in our possession.  When "the bite is off," it's really off and nothing can persuade those little critters to grab your chunk of wiggling metal.

 

Paul caught the first fish.  The bite was ON!!!!  It lasted for about 37 seconds and then we both slipped back into our lure changing routine.  Twenty minutes later another suicidal fish saw Paul's poor lure action as a good way to end it all and soon found it's end on the "Killing Stump."

Please note that this tiny fish is out of focus because it needed the macro setting for a shot this close.

That was it today I'm afraid.  NO FISH FOR YOU!  I looked at my watch and remembered my dinner date.  I got a quick set of directions to get me back onto the main trail and zoomed off towards the growing smell of Chinese food.

Rumour has it that Paul caught another fish after I had left.  It will remain a rumour until I see the unaltered photograph.  I want that sucker date stamped too.

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Now for the "ruin your eyesight" 3D anaglyph photos: 

View These Full Size - Red/Cyan Glasses Needed

This one's a bit hard to focus  (Could be the subject matter)

Easily the best one!  I wish I'd taken another one with a different POV.

 

Behind Mount Benson

I finally did it.  Paul led the ride today and showed me the route from Doumont Rd to the main logging road that runs around the back of Mt. Benson for its entire length, ending on Nanaimo Lakes Road.  What a fantastic ride!  We stopped first at Boomerang Lake and then made our way down the main logging road heading south.  We met up with Ryan and Adrian coming from the opposite direction.  They had just taken their bikes up to the aerial towers on one of Benson's summits.  There's no way in hell I'd get up there!  They're very skillful riders, both of them.  I've a long way to go to get to that level of riding.  :)

Onward we plodded.  Paul was in the front for the whole day today and being as dry as it was, I sucked in several pounds of trail dust into my lungs.  I gave up watching my tach after thirty minutes; the dust had completely covered me and the entire bike and none of my controls were visible.  A dust mask of some kind is a must next time!  A bandana would work well.  Next we turned right off the main trail in search of  Lucid Lake.

Google Earth View of Benson and Lucid Lake

  We took a wrong left turn not far up this trail which ended abruptly after a reasonably steep climb over some nasty logs and uneven terrain.  We did get a great view of Ryan and Adrian's aerial towers though, right before we turned around and headed back to the Y.

Dead end on first attempt to Lucid Lake.  That's Mt. Benson's aerials in the distance which you might be able to see if you click on the photo and zoom in on that high rock in the background.

 Down we went, rejoined the trail at the Y and took the other Lucid Lake choice.  This led us to a large clearcut area where we dismounted and walked off in search of the lake.  After trudging through deep dry tinder for 100 yds or so, we saw a logging road off in the distance and a smaller trail leading off to our left.  We followed it and within five minutes we were at the beautiful Lucid Lake.

Looking for Lucid Lake.

The Clearcut.  I have no understanding of logging and replanting practices, but this sure looked like the area had been stripped and not replanted at all.  Maybe there's a timely plan underway.  Sure looked like a tinderbox wasteland.

We found it!

Absolutely beautiful... elusive Lucid Lake

Lucid Lake...  Fly fisherman on the far side.

We had planned to go fishing today.  We weren't ready to stop yet... we decided to press on to the gate at the far south end of the main logging road where I had been skunked on my solo ride a week ago.

A quick stop further along the main logging road to catch the views of Ladysmith Harbour

The same view zoomed in (Ladysmith Harbour)

And... just a little further down the road, the elusive back view of the nasty yellow gate that stopped me the first time.  It was so much nicer to be on this side of it.  Paul took me up the road a short distance and showed me the "work around" that he had learned about a week before.

THE INSIDE OF THE GATE

Mission accomplished... now for some fish.  We decided to try Round Lake since it had been stocked with trout this year.  Round Lake looked fantastic except there was nowhere to cast a line in the water without standing on moving logs.  Is wasn't working, so we moved on to "Dragonfly Lake," or "Bladder Lake" as it has been more recently dubbed because of it's proximity to "Kidney Lake."  (It actually has no name according to local maps).  *NOTE:  On Oct 11th, 2011 this lake was named by the Triumph Thruxton Committee and shall be officially known as "Triumph Lake" from this moment on.  No fish there today.

Dragonfly/Bladder/Noname Lake

Setting up the rods at the only easily accessible spot on the lake

A view straight across the lake.  Note the very thin line of trees the logging company has left to obscure the nearby forest massacre.  I wonder if it's replanted???  Silly question.  

This was taken from the same "easy" location.  The far left of the picture shows another location that Paul tried, but it was difficult to get to.  These were the only two hard bank fishing spots we could see. 

Mt. Benson from the Black Bear Pub!

There, what a spot to finish our ride.  It was a perfect way to wash all the dust out of my throat!  What a terrific ride that was.  This is another one I want to do by myself more slowly so I can get my bearings.  I think I'll re-travel some of the routes we took and map them out with my GPS.

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Just for fun, here are two 3D red/cyan anaglyph images that you can view if you have any red/cyan glasses kicking around.  (click pics to enlarge).

The "clearcut" near Lucid Lake

Rock formations near "Dragonfly/Bladder/NoName Lake"