Kelly lake / Pavillion day trip

[DaleC]

Did another day trip up into the interior on Saturday, this time investigating Kelly lake and the southern recreational zone of Pavillion lake. I had heard that there were microbialites in Kelly Lk. and wanted to see for myself.

Getting there: Drive up Hwy #1 past Cache Creek north onto Hwy #97 about 35km's to a small town called Clinton. In Clinton turn left on Kelly lake Rd. and drive for about 15 minutes to Downing Provincial Park (on the lake). The drive is about the same as going to Pavillion Lk. (it took 4 hr's driving sanely).

The dive: The gates to the Downing picnic area were closed but just past there was a large pullout with direct access to the lake. I spoke to some fishermen who claimed the lake was "1000' ft deep". They also told me the morning air temp was -4degrees F.
I dove deep first (102' adjusted depth) in a southern direction and then worked my way shallower and back north but now I can say there is no need to go so deep (at that location) if one is looking for microbiolites. The larger colonies are in the <60' range. There are plenty of them too, though they are more intermixed with plant life than in Pavillion. The shallow vis was incredible but it got a little less at depth.

After the dive I spent my SI in Clinton rummaging around in a huge secondhand shop located just before the Kelly lake Rd turnoff. After that it was down to Pavillion for my second dive. I drove back along Hwy #97 but the Kelly Lake Rd turns into gravel and also connects directly just west of Pavillion (next time I will try that route).

Pavillion lake, southern recreation zone: The pull off for this zone is small and unmarked but if you consult the Parks map you can orient yourself with the lay of the land and roadway to find it easy enough. I dropped directly down here and found microbialites right away at the usual depths of 80' and up. It seems the colonies do better on slope sides and get larger in more shallow water. This site had all the usual suspects though here I also saw super colonies growing in long solid lines (like hedge rows).

Here's a link to a poor quality video of my dive in Kelly Lake. I developed a condensation spot on the left side of the lense and the white balance when crazy for most of the footage, but still, it gives a rough idea of the conditions I encountered.


YouTube - coldwatervintage's Channel

Here are the links to my dives at the Pavillion middle and northern recreational zones:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/western-canada/351168-pavillion-lake-day-trip.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/western-canada/295973-road-trip-report-pavillion-minnewanka-lakes.html

 

[TheWetRookie]

ya, I am going to have to get up there and check it out one of these days.

 

[DaleC]

I get a kick out it One thing for me is that each time I explore another region I keep finding things that interest me. For instance:

On this trip I took some water samples of both Pavillion and Kelly to see the calcium levels they hold. I found Sphagnum moss in both lakes which challenged my understanding of that plant as it is usually associated with extremely acidic waters. Now I want to determine if that is a causal relationship or not.

Both lakes are part of a Karst system (Paleokarst to be more precise) and a discussion with someone who did reserach in the region leads me to think there are some caves to be found. He said he found one blowing hole that needed to be dug out. A look at google earth of the area north of Pavillion lake shows some small circular bodies of water that are a little too dark to be ponds (suggesting potholes perhaps).

Those fishermen I talked to on Saturday said there was a train submerged in the SE area of Kelly lake, under the rail lines that run along the eastern shore. Urban legend?

Just before Clinton there are a series of small lakes/ponds, most of which are alkali but a RV sight sign states "Willow springs". Are some of them spring fed and if so is there something more to them?

Lot's of questions to research. And now you know what I do when I'm not actually diving...

 

[Slamfire]

For someone, who hasn't done either Pavillion or Kelly, would you recommend any one over the other?

 

[DaleC]

You can't go wrong either way.
Pavillion did seem to have more quality specimens and variety but I only looked at one site in Kelly so I can't tell for sure. Kelly is not restricted though (but the rec zones provide enough in Pavillion anyways.

I would say a dive I thought would be great would be a circumnavigation of the island in the central rec zone at Pavillion. Going west to east you would go in one direction and wind up in the bay right where you started. I almost did that instead of diving the south zone this last time.

I'm in for that one if you're goin btw, just sayin...

 

[bygolly]

Dale,

Thanks for the great report.

During my last visit to Pavilion I had a chance to talk to someone connected to BC Parks and he mentioned Kelly Lake and that NASA had started to explore it as well. I suspect that there may be some future restrictions much like Pavilion. But they will probably be as generous with the public zone as they were with Pavilion. Another local told me that NASA has an open house day where the public get a chance to look at the Nuytco subs and hear interesting talks from the scientists. I am going to watch their website and hopefully get down there that day next year.

Cheers,
Bill

 

[sschlesi]

Hi Dale,

Thanks for the report, it's nice to know there are microbialites outside of Pavillion lake. I'm curious how you heard Kelly Lake also had specimens?

About 9 or 10 years ago I drove the road between Pavillion and Clinton. The road was in good shape and it was an easy drive in my Jetta. The road climbs up into the hills and cuts across cattle ranching country, I suspect the ranches are the reason the road is well maintained. There are some great vistas, and it's a worthwhile drive. I'd recommend doing the drive before diving though as that road runs quite a bit higher than Hwy. 97.

 

[MarkH]

Interesting stuff. -And nice regulator!

 

[Slamfire]

Dale, are you up for a 2nd weekend in a row? We could comfortably fit your gear in my car.

 

[DaleC]

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