Sunday, July 17, 2011

Muncho Lake

As promised, I am going to post about Muncho Lake today. Mel posted some photographs last post if you want to get a look at it. They're good photos but I don't think they do the place justice.

Upon leaving Stone Mountain Provincial Park, we made our way Northwest through even more mountains and wilderness. As we approached, the GPS showed a large looking body of water ahead. Wanting to get a chance to at least catch a glimpse, we slowed down looked at the scenery ahead. What we saw was a large lake completely walled off by mountains, glimmering in the sun. Wanting to enjoy it for a little while, I found a large stony shore or lot between the lake and the road and stepped out of the car.

The water rushed the shore like the waves of the ocean, the sun was unobstructed and made the water shimmer. It was warm, but not too warm. At the shore, I got a closer look at the water itself. I have never seen a lake as clear as this--the bottom was lined with blue-gray pebbles that could be seen clearly even dozens of feet out. The water was cold but I wished I had kept my bathing suit in my overnight bag rather than packing it deep within the confines of the car.

Despite being right next to the Alaska highway and lined with at least one campground, the place was silent and still save for two cyclists moving up the road. Even then, the sheer size of the mountains, and the waves of the lake on the shore made the idea of human traffic irrelevant.

Mel joked, "Can we take it with us?"
"I wish we could."

She took off her socks and put her feet into the water. In the distance, we could see a boat pulling out from the shore of the campground. I wished we had brought some boat, even a raft, just so I could get into the middle of the lake, let me see mountains on all sides, surround myself in its clear water.

Of course, we still had at least 1500 miles to go.

Muncho Lake is several miles long and the Alaska highway follows right along its Eastern shore, so even after pulling away, we got to see the lake a bit longer. I was tempted to pull over again, Mel would have been all for it as well, but I knew if I kept stalling we wouldn't make any progress that day.

Later on, I filled up at a small rest-stop. The man who ran it had moved up from Calgary and that he preferred where he was to anywhere. I told him that we were headed to Alaska and spoke a little about the trip. I mentioned Muncho Lake.
"Beautiful place. The best spot of the whole trip in my opinion."

It's hard for me to mark one place as "the best" on this trip. Regardless, there is something about Northeastern British Columbia, and Muncho Lake in particular that enthralled me. If I'm lucky enough, it won't be the only time I'll have the chance to experience it.

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