TGIF!  After putting in a full week’s work, we decided to paddle in, do a hike in the park, see some waterfalls and get a motel in town in order to regroup and SHOWER!  We packed up our stuff into the fishhunter and set out across the lake.  Hmmm….dark clouds, and is that thunder I hear?  Ohhh, and lightning??  Jess paddled like heck and got us to the dock just as the rain was setting in.  Phew.  But then we had to deflate the boat in the rain.  Dirty dirty wet times.  Thank goodness we were planning the in town day!  We threw all the gear in the van (which was already pretty messy due to the quick departure two evenings ago) and set off down the road.  Hectic.  We tried to relax with a mid-morning beer and headed toward the falls and some sort of trail. 

After consulting the Wells Gray pamphlet, we decided to do the Bailey’s Chute/West Lake Loop trail, and then drive to the Helmcken Falls viewing platform.  I was driving fairly slowly, so I let a couple cars pass.  Turns out they were going to the same place, so I pulled into the empty Bailey’s Chute parking lot and parked right next to them.  We were fiddling around and a gal from one of the cars approached us and asked if we were there for the hike.  Yeah?, we said, not knowing exactly what she meant.  She explained that she was leading a 2 hour guided hike along the West Lake Loop in five minutes.  Perfect!  We joined another couple and set out on the trail.  At the first waterfall two young guys and their (10 year old?) sons joined up with us.  A BC parks employee, Becky was a young, very cool and informative guide.  She pointed out lots of different flora along the path, plus many edibles including oval leaf blueberries, salmon berries, huckleberries and thimbleberries.  It was a lovely hike with five different waterfalls and varying terrain.

Next we stopped at Helmcken Falls, a waterfall twice as high as Niagara.  Amazing canyon and just simply breathtaking.

After a few stops we found a reasonably priced motel.  We dried out the boat, did some laundry in town and headed out for a bite and to see a band.  We met some locals and a man from Luxembourg.  Quite a fun night in town. We love Clearwater!