Kamloops - Can't get 'Knouff Caching!

Last May (2013) we went to Knouff Lake with our friends. We had such a great time caching and the guys
had such a great time fishing that we decided that we would go back again this year. We knew there were many more caches to find and apparently many more fish to fry!

Our cabin on Knouff Lake - perfect

Knouff Lake, aka Sullivan Lake, is situated between the North Thompson River and Sun Peaks Ski Resort. The area near Knouff Lake is simply gorgeous and perfect for the outdoor enthusiast. Whether you are into hiking or skiing, geocaching or fishing... there is something for everyone.

We decided to spend our first day finishing up the caches near Lyons Lake. There are nearly 100 caches near this picturesque lake and we just couldn't get to them all last year. This year we decided to save time and park a vehicle at both ends of the trail. We parked one truck near GC3DZBG (yellow star on map) and the other near GC42GH2 (blue star on map). I need to interject a "Note to Self" here: Remember to ALWAYS check the elevation of a trail before you start a hike! We would have saved ourselves so much pain if we would have hiked in the opposite direction...downhill! Unfortunately we figured this out as we were climbing the hill that seemed to go on forever! But I digress.

hiking beside Lyons Lake

The hike along Lyons Lake is amazing and if you're a birder then this is THE place for you. The lake and the shoreline are just teeming with birds! There are 8 caches that are hidden along the lake. They are all pretty easy finds except for the last cache which we DNFd which was too bad. We had lunch at the end of the trail and then we started the climb to our other truck. There is a cache hidden at least every 300 metres along this trail. Thanks to womantracker and T-Kam (who hid almost every cache on this mountain) we always had an excuse to stop and catch our breath!! But the views were amazing and the caches were (for the most part) pretty easy to find.

At the top! Not...

Once we got to the top it was all downhill from there. Not! We were so tired by this time but for some strange reason I got my second wind, so while Lillooet Lady and Nurse Hatchett hiked (very slowly I might add) I managed to get every cache from the fork in the trail to our truck. I was pretty proud of myself! At the end of the day we had found about 27 caches. Time to head back to the cabin for appys and a glass of wine. We sure deserved it!

On our second day we decided that we deserved a day of Park & Grab caches so we headed north west to the small town of Barriere. In 2003 one of the largest forest fires in BC history ravaged this area... lasting 75 days and in the end burning 26,420 hectares. Today, 11 years later, the devastating aftermath is still very visible. If you'd like more information on this historic event then make sure to stop at GC1EYXY - a great cache hidden in honour of all the heroes of the Maclure/Barriere forest fire.

warning... spoiler photo!

After caching around Barriere we made our way east to Heffley Louis Creek Road to finish a series called Country Road. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this series. Each of the 38 hides were unique and well thought out and the hints were very helpful. Names like Meander, John Deere and Sunday Best added to the fun and the hides often made us laugh. Kudos to canuckdog for an exceptional series in a gorgeous valley. If you're in the area make sure to put this at the top of your to-do list.

And before we knew it, it was time to go home. Why do these good days have to go by so quickly? Good friends and good times. Lots of caches and lots of fish. I'm already looking forward to next year.