2022: Back On the TransCanada Trail - Chute Lake

 

Audrey with the Cruise America Rental RV

Saturday, 9/10/22:

Three years ago in 2019 my  annual Trans Canada bike journey abruptly ended when I spotted a bear sauntering down the trail perhaps 100 meters ahead of me.  Traveling without bear spray, it seemed like a logical place to end my 2019 journey.  So I returned home to my job at American Family, and began to dream about my return to the Trans Canada bike trail. My stopping point was a parking area along the trail up above the small community of Naramata on the east side of Lake Okanagan in British Columbia.

Then in March 2020, Covid happened.  The pandemic closed the border between the US and Canada until late summer, 2021.  Two years without making progress on my cross country ride along the TransCanada Trail.  A lot happened in the three years since leaving the trail near Naramata on the eastern side of Lake Okanagan.   Firstly, I retired in May, 2020.  One of my retirement plans was to purchase an RV, with the thought of using it for my TCT vacations.  With retirement, I hoped to make longer duration vacations, to make better progress each year.  We lost Mom on Thanksgiving, 2021.  This curtailed plans of joining Mom and Mike on weekend camping trips, so that I could learn the basics of RV travel. When it came to planning the vacation for 2022, I had not used the RV, and we didn't think we should try such a long vacation, we being veritable RV newbies.  Also at a rate of 9 mpg when pulling the trailer behind my truck, gasoline cost was going to be astronomical, and probably wipe out most of the savings we would generate by not using motels.  So we made the decision to rent an RV from Cruise America, and get some camping experience that way.  The dog in the window of the door on the RV was a very lifelike picture. 

Audrey and I flew in to Spokane, where we picked up the CruiseAmerica RV.  It was scary driving it out of the parking lot, because the dealer was situated in the middle of Spokane, and we immediately were traveling in city traffic.  But Audrey and I soon became comfortable driving the RV.  Then it was off to Osoyoos, where I had pre-arranged to purchase a bike for the ride this year.  Then we drove up to Penticton, for our first night in the RV: then on Saturday I got on the bike at Naramata bench, where I had stopped, three years earlier.  No bears to be seen this year, thankfully, and I began the climb up to Chute Lake.  The TCT seemed to be in a remote area without seeing any crossroads.  However there was a road for Audrey to travel to the lake, and we met up at the Chute Lake Lodge.  The TCT must have revitalized the business for the Chute Lake Lodge, as now the guidebook says that 90% of their business now is connected to travelers on the TCT.

We quickly learned our first lesson of RV vacations.  Plan ahead to reserve a spot at the campground, as most of the campgrounds fill up at this time of the year, especially on Fridays and Saturdays!  We finally camped out in the Kelowna WalMart parking lot with about 15 other rigs!

Distance on TCT  28.8 km






Trail Map of Chute Lake Segment


Chute Lake




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