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!
We just returned from a three day tour of local logging roads in the Cowichan Lake Valley, Nitinat Region and Alberni-Clayoquot region. Fantastic trip!
Brief Summary:
1. Entered at Doumont Rd
2. Followed Blackjack Ridge
3. Turned away at First Lake Gate
4. Took alternate (boring) highway route to enter logging roads at Youbou
5. Right turn towards Cowichan Lake
6. Gassed up in Youbou
7. Turn for Marcus Lake
8. Explored Spur and enjoyed watching Paul extract a week old, rotten banana from his pack
9. Camp (Marcus)
10. Day 2: Hike up to find B24 Liberator wreckage
11. Camp (Flora Lake)
12. Franklin Camp (Leveled Town)
13. Major Logging Road into Port Alberni
14. Civilized lunch!
15. Explored roads looking for a route through to Lk Arrowsmith
16. Qualicum Beach
17. Entered trails at Sundew Gate
18. End at Doumont
We planned to enter at Doumont and make our way past Fourth Lake, following a common route to Cowichan Lake. It didn't go as planned: We got as far as the Second Lake gate where the usual gate controller stopped us. Camping at the nearby lake site was open, (for $20), but access to the logging roads beyond the lakes was not. Apparently there is no access during working days, although access to the area beyond the lakes was to be available tomorrow, (Saturday), for all weekend traffic. This was a huge disappointment for us, because our only alternative was to take the highway south to Cowichan Lake and enter the same logging road network via Youbou. This is what we did.
We gassed up in Youbou and continued on our way to our first major destination, Marcus Lake, with a plan to set up camp and do some trout fishing. We were both impressed with the condition of logging roads throughout this region. The main busier gravel roads are dusty and potholed, but they're in good enough shape to make some pretty rapid headway. It was a Friday, and working logging trucks were using the road. We were both impressed how they make a real attempt to pull over to give oncoming non-working vehicles a wide berth. They kick up a tremendous amount of dust when they pass!
We turned right along the Marcus Lake logging road and continued an increasing climb towards our destination. We were both impressed by the quality of this road and how a mountain spur should differ so much from the rocky roads found in the Nanaimo region. This road became quite steep as we got closer to the lake, and the ride remained very easy throughout.
Waterfall Enroute to Marcus Lake
We stopped at the steepest section where a back hoe operator was conditioning the road surface. It looked difficult to climb in it's current state and we chose to continue on foot to get a look of the lake. The worker, who had waved us on before we parked, shut off his equipment and assured us that the road would be rideable within the next half hour. (Friendliest logging worker I've met yet). :) Outstanding views towards Nitnat Lake here.
160 Degree Pano facing Nitnat Lake
Paul extracting a rotting banana that was seeping through his pack after weeks of careful storage
Excellent Mountain and Valley Views
We continued along a spur road that offered some tremendous mountain views. It eventually came to a dead end as did the second spur we found along that route. We returned NW towards Marcus Lake and began our hunt for a good camping spot. There are few on this lake and we eventually settled for the best one we could find; a little boggy and mosquito infested, but it would have to do. Not a great first night for me. I guess it's a poor idea to begin a three day camping trip with no breakfast except for a SBuck's dark, black coffee. I had severe acid indigestion that kept me up the whole night. Poor fishing here... a trout breakfast might have fixed me up! :)
We were packed and loaded by 9:00 and ready to begin leg two of the trip. We headed south, back the way we had entered and followed the Nitnat Main towards the B24 (Liberator) bomber crash site, (Crashed Nov 10th, 1944), that we had seen on "Don's Blog." [edit: Sept 7th, '14, removed Don's Blog link due to malware warning]. This was a great ride up to the crash site. The road is steep, but the surface is in good condition and riding is easy. There are a few drainage ditches towards the end of the road that take some concentration, but generally speaking this is an easy-intermediate ride. I'm surprised we didn't bump into any bears since the road is littered in places with bear crap. We parked at Don's spot and began our climb up the mountain to find the bomber.
Some background on this plane:
B-24J Liberator Serial Number KH-108 Code AT, was on a cross-country training exercise with crew of 11 RAF in Operational Training for RAF Squadrons in S.E. Asia and Burma:
I'm so out of shape! That was the toughest climb I have undertaken in quite a few years. We made our way through large, dry stumps and low undergrowth on steep terrain for about 180m and then began a climb up steeper ground using small bushes as "ropes." :) My recovery time was doubling each time I stopped and the distance traveled between each rest was being cut in half. The site was well worth the climb though: We found many of the locations shared by Don on his blog and some others he had not listed, including the main part of the fuselage that sits on the summit reachable by following debris up the mountain from the prop location.
Here's a quick movie of Google Earth views of the surrounding area to give a better idea of the plane's location. The B24 is at the end of the orange trail of course and not right where it says "B24 Bomber."
The amount of damage to this aircraft is astonishing. There are parts spread across the entire mountain top, particularly along one side where the prop can be found. Those aboard surely died very quickly judging from the carnage.
It's time for a bit of a rant here: [on soap box] War sites like this fill most of us with a feeling of great respect for the individuals who lost their lives serving their country. Why people find it necessary to scrape their names into the last remaining signs that these people ever existed absolutely boggles my mind. One name scraper bothered to say "rest in peace," while others made inane comments about guns or just left a name. In my mind, we visit these places to remember those who perished, rather than giving ANY significance to our own name. WTF, I don't care that Tom Smith was there and nor should he. It's self-flattery to think that anyone should give a shit that you ever visited there! See it... Acknowledge them kindly... Leave with nothing. [off soap box]
After descending the great trail leading to the bomber, we took a right turn towards Flora Lake and set up our tents for the second night. This was a great camp site: a free provincial site with a good collection of firewood. We should have spent our first night here I think; much more comfortable and we got the trout breakfast we had missed at Marcus Lake.
Flora Lake Camping
Flora Lake Looking North
The following morning we continued towards Francis Lake and Franklin Camp. The lake was right beside the logging road... well used, with a large wide boat ramp. I guess it's far enough away from any big towns to keep from being too busy, but it didn't look that appealing to me anyway. Franklin Camp is nothing more than a levelled 1960s small logging town. All that remains is what looks like a water/fuel oil storage tank and the collapsed wreckage of one house at the far corner of town, (just junk left). The alders are quickly reclaiming the roads and deer are already moved in. Satisfying to say that we made it to Franklin Camp, but really nothing to see there. It would make a great go-cart course! :)
A Better Street in Franklin Camp
Works Area: Franklin Camp
Looking Towards the Residences (Streets)
From Franklin Camp we continued north on the main logging road that passes through China Beach camping area towards Port Alberni. We stopped in Port Alberni for a civilized lunch before moving on north west towards Cameron Lake. Paul had hatched an idea to follow a network of logging roads that begin travelling south shortly after passing Cameron Lake. The plan was to connect with the Englishman River Main, a logging road we know, by passing Arrowsmith Lake.
Looking Back Towards Cameron Lake
Too bad it didn't pan out: We tried a few roads that either became impassable or were dead-end spur roads. We returned the way we had come and used the main roads towards Nanaimo instead. Paul headed straight home to tend to an emergency and I sauntered through Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Nanoose and eventually passed through Sundew Gate and rode to Doumont Rd using much more familiar roads. What a great trip. Time for a shower!
Paul and I took a street bike ride earlier this past summer to find a 1945 Canso wreck near Tofino B.C. Such an interesting find needs to be shared on my blog!
A historical reference to the incident is shown below. (It came from this Google community web page).
"Forty-two years ago, 12 RCAF members survived and airplane crash back of
Radar Hill near Tofino, Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.
Canso 11007 left Coal Harbour about noon on 10 February 1945 and flew to
Tofino. The weather was quite blustery by the time the amphibian landed
at Tofino. Several crew members drove to Ucluelet to pick up some
engine parts and then spent the early evening hours in the Tofino mess.
They were finally cleared for takeoff at 2300 hours on runway 25 and had
just cleared the end of the runway when the port engine quit cold. At
this time the Canso was carrying 12 people, four 250 pound depth
charges, normal emergency gear and about 750 gallons of fuel.Pilot
Ronnie Scholes later said they were too low to turn and couldn’t gain
altitude so he decided to land straight ahead. He actually flew the
Canso into a full-stall landing at impact point. He personally felt the
majority of the crew on board owed their lives to his sheer guts. Mr.
Knechtel was in the port blister, facing aft, when he realized the plane
was in a stall attitude. He looked out to his right and saw that the
Canso was down between the trees.
The plane hit, the tail went up and up
until he was looking at the stars past the tail – then it crashed down
and all the lights in the Canso went out. He could hear a crackling
noise, looked out forward and saw, through a waterfall of gasoline from
the ruptured left wing tank, the port engine on fire. There was no sound
from anyone – he thought they were all dead until he heard someone start
swearing. He yelled for a fire extinguisher and one of the engineers
handed one out to him and he climbed up over the wing by kicking a
foothold to get started. When he got over the top, the nose was ripped
completely away forward of the pilot’s seats – the seats were just
sitting in the open. The nose was laying off to the right on its side.
He can still recall seeing the florescent instruments and hearing the
gyros humming.
Three of the crew were unhurt, one pilot had a fractured
forehead and a broken nose and another crew member had a sprained ankle
while the others had numerous scrapes, cuts and bruises – all
fortunately minor. The crew moved downhill about 150 feet, set up a
parachute for a tent and the three uninjured made trips back to the
Canso for the emergency gear (sleeping bags, emergency rations etc.) They
bedded down the more seriously injured in the tent and established a
watch, trying the 'Gibson Girl' without an aerial as the pilot wouldn’t
let any of the fellows climb a tree in the dark. At about 0300 hours,
they could hear shouting from the Tofino airport and then an aircraft
being cranked up. A few minutes later the crew could see the plane’s
port running light, so one of the men fired a red flare with a Very
pistol but the aircraft flew straight ahead.About the time the men
stopped cussing him for his blindness, the plane came around the hill
from the other side, circling left and dropped a parachute flare. It
scared the hell out of the men since they didn’t know whether the flare
would drop on them or the Canso, with its load of spilled gasoline and
bombs. Fortunately, the flare missed everything. The next morning the
rescue aircraft took off again and flew in a straight line from the
airport to the crash site, homing the ground party in on the downed
plane. The rescue party packed out the injured while the less injured
walked and they all ended up in the base hospital for treatment and
observation. The Canso was left where it crashed."
The end of the route at the Tofino side. The track for the hike, from the highway to the wreck itself, can be found on the Aug 24th edit message at the bottom of this blog post.
And here are some shots of the wreckage:
Bomb crater created from exploding the canso's payload near the crash site. If you look carefully into the bush, you can see part of the tail section through the trees.
Approaching the plane.
Tail Section
Tail and rear fuselage
Starboard side from the rear
Tail from starboard side
Wing struts and undercarriage linkage
Paul looking to clobber that guy in front if he so much as looked at a spray paint can. (There were frequent mumblings from him on this subject).
Starboard Engine
Both engine mounts and forward gunner port
Looking into forward fuselage. The log on the right is sitting on what looks to be original crash damage, which means its lasted since 1945!
Paul stepping onto the wings. It was a bit creaky walking on the torn aluminum fuselage!
Parasol-mounted "mushroom" wing. Pity about the graffiti... too bad some visitors failed to see the significance of this site.
You'd think he'd climbed Everest by the look on his face wouldn't you? As it happened, he couldn't get down and had to set up base camp right where he's standing.
The tail from the wings
Engine mount
Click Me! A Stitched photo of the wreck.
Some photos from the beautiful town of Tofino, (taken from the pub window):
A fishing tour returns to clean their catch
House boats
Dry-docked houseboat
A beer... a particularly good beer! Super hoppy... Nice. What was it again?
A Shite Hawk waiting for me to throw another chip out the window.
Tofino Marina
Great ride! [Edit: Aug 24th, 2014] I see a great deal of traffic on here from people who have entered this blog from an Internet search. I guess many are looking for a track to the plane wreck itself! I had no GPS with me on the day of this trip, and I've discovered since that the only track currently available is on the site trailpeak.com. What a useless site! They want you to acquire upload points before they will even share their tracks, which you have to earn with uploads or BUY from them direct! I attempted uploading a few bogus tracks; things like a quick Google Earth hand-plotted trip around the entire outskirts of the UK and the track around the lip of a small crater in Central Africa. :) Then I discovered that they actually intend to check the tracks before giving you your upload points! I knew I had been beaten and would have to change to another plan: I took a screen snag of their map of the trail and overlayed that picture as accurately as possible in Google Earth and then I traced over their track to make my own. So, be warned, it's slightly off, but not by much. I also can't guarantee the accuracy of the track from the original uploader. If you use this track, I would really like some feedback about whether or not you found the plane!HERE'S MY TRACK. ;) Also, if you manage to get your hands on the original track from trailpeak, (after you've sent them some SENSIBLE files), I'd like to post it here for people to download easily. Please mail it to me at the email address on the welcome panel at the top right of this page. Thanks, Andy.
