WHEELER LAKE TRAIL
The solitude of Wheeler Lake will attract some hikers to this area; others will be lured by the lake’s good fishing.
This lake is in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. The trails are not maintained. This is grizzly habitat and coming here is discouraged.
The suggested bushwhacks would be prodigious epics.
Difficulty: B2 bushwhack
Elevation gain: 381m (1250′)
Key elevations: TH 4,000′; Wheeler Lake 5250′
Distance: 6.4km
Time: 4 hours one-way
Season: July to late September
Access: Moderate
Map: 82F/14 Slocan
Drive: From Ainsworth Hot Springs, drive 2.8km north and turn left. Zero odometer.
0.0 Start on the Cody Cave Road.
6.4km Turn right (north) on a road sometimes marked “Wheeler Lake Trail”.
8.6km Park.
Trail: Take the rough trail that leads off along the washed-out road for 55m, then drop off steeply to the right to Lendrum Creek, cross it on a log and join the original Wheeler Lake trail a short distance up the creek.
Gradually ascending Lendrum Creek valley, the trail passes through a dense forest of cedar and hemlock broken by numerous wildflower-covered avalanche paths. This is bear country so make yourself known in the thick foliage.
At 4.8 km, encounter particularly thick woods with many wet areas that can make travel slow. The trail gradually climbs for another 1.6 km to Wheeler Lake. Fishing is good.
Cross the slippery logs at the mouth of the creek and continue along the southern shore of the lake for .8 km where the trail finally fades out in the forest.
Experienced hikers can bushwhack to the head of the drainage where Nalmet, Lendrum and Grey Eagle (just south of Pontiac Peak) lakes nestle in a secluded area of the park, providing a premium wilderness fishing experience.