Trip Reports

Following the Coquitlam - Squamish bikeraft trip, I was looking at maps figuring out possibilities for the next packrafting challenge, and Alouette Lake caught my eye.  Alouette Lake is a BC Hydro controlled lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park that has a very popular public beach and campsite at the south end.  Near the north end of the lake, there is a tunnel that channels water east to the adjacent Stave Lake where power is generated.  The beginning of the tunnel at Alouette Lake has an intake valve, and there is a BC Hydro service road at lake level beside the intake.  I devised a plan to ride to the public campsite at the south end of Alouette Lake, and paddle 10km up the lake to the tunnel intake service road, and ride the gravel road system between Alouette Lake and Stave Lake south before riding back west to Coquitlam to complete the loop.  

After my previous adventure that involved hiking, cycling, and a 5km paddle with the packraft, I was much more confident about paddling long distances on the raft with lots of gear, and was excited for another ambitious route.  A trip I have been wanting to do for quite some time is to raft up to the north end of Indian Arm with my bike, and ride up Indian River FSR to Squamish.  The Indian Arm is an ocean fjord that stretches 20km north from Vancouver to the Indian River estuary.  I would start my paddle about halfway up Indian Arm at the end of the BC Hydro Road at the Hydro Powerhouse, as this would make for the shortest paddling distance (10km) and save a lot of time.  The Indian River FSR is all gravel and has some rough patches, so I would be taking my cyclocross bike which has wide tires that can take on rough roads while still being efficient on the pavement. I plotted the track on a map, and added the bike ride from Squamish to Coquitlam along the Sea to S...