DaleC
Contributor
Did a day trip up to Pavillion lake this weekend with a couple of goals in mind. These were:
Determine the feasibility of doing Pavillion as a day trip
Dive the North recreation zone
Check out neighboring Crown lake.
Last years dive trip to the central recreation zone can be viewed here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/western-canada/295973-road-trip-report-pavillion-minnewanka-lakes.html
This time I departed Abbotsford at 6am and arrived at Pavillion lake at 10am. I returned to Abbotsford by 7pm. This included a 20 minute stop in Lytton on the way up and a late lunch in Cache Creek. Although this is a long day it is comparable (timewise) to going to Nanaimo to dive the wrecks for me. The Fraser Canyon also has a lot of nice scenery to see along the way.
Ten Km's north of Cache Creek you will see this sign. Turn to the left :
About 20 minutes later I arrived at the Marble Canyon Provincial campsite which is actually on Crown lake. This is a clean spartan campsite with outhouses and I did my second dive right below the campsite:
I wanted to explore Crown lake as I figured it might also have microbiolites (as the lakes are side by side) but I was wrong. While it promised a lot above the surface (good vis and cliffs that hinted at a wall) below it was a disappointment. Deteriorating vis at depth, no walls and only about 24' deep, Crown lake has a sterile bottom with a covering of patchy cyanobacteria. Oh well, you never know unless you look.
Looking across Crown lake at the cliffs:
At the central recreational zone, the Sky Blue Resort was closed but it didn't matter as there is a large info sign just west of it where vehicles can pull in and divers can descend a short path to the island below. The zone encircles this island and the region east of it.
To get to the Northern rec zone drive a bit further west and take a road to the left for Felix creek. There is a small development of properties there. Drive to the end of the main road and you will hit Brummel Rd:
About 4 vehicles can park right by the water:
After waiting awhile to offgas (or whatever it's called) I suited up. Pavillion lake lies at 2300' and according to the PADI manual an adjustment of 2 PG's/1000' is called for. This leaves one as a F group diver. Just my 2CW but I think that's a bit much. The table doesn't take into account the gradual ascent from sea level (4 hours) and penalizes the diver 2 PG's for 300' elevation gain (rounding up rule). There is also an adjustment of about 10' in depth so that 100' actual depth is about 110 EAD. For safety sake I looked around for about 2 hr's and also did extended SS's on 40%. But the real question is...
Does this drysuit make me look fat?
The dive in the northern rec zone is fairly straight forward. Enter, drop down and dive to the right. A large littoral zone gave way to a sterile slope that I followed down to 100' or so. After a bit I was losing heart (having found no microbiolites) and started thinking the north zone was a bust when at about 80' I began to see small colonies. These developed into larger and larger colonies as I gradually ascended. I also saw a group of logs that were being calcified. But hey, why listen to me tell you about it when you can watch the 6:52 minute dive video here: YouTube - Pavillion 2 0001
In conclusion I was happy with the trip and didn't feel too bagged at the end of it. Pavillion can be done as a long day trip with 2 dives and I will probably go up again in late September/early October to dive the southern recreation zone. I'll post the date to see if anyone else wants to go.
Determine the feasibility of doing Pavillion as a day trip
Dive the North recreation zone
Check out neighboring Crown lake.
Last years dive trip to the central recreation zone can be viewed here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/western-canada/295973-road-trip-report-pavillion-minnewanka-lakes.html
This time I departed Abbotsford at 6am and arrived at Pavillion lake at 10am. I returned to Abbotsford by 7pm. This included a 20 minute stop in Lytton on the way up and a late lunch in Cache Creek. Although this is a long day it is comparable (timewise) to going to Nanaimo to dive the wrecks for me. The Fraser Canyon also has a lot of nice scenery to see along the way.
Ten Km's north of Cache Creek you will see this sign. Turn to the left :
About 20 minutes later I arrived at the Marble Canyon Provincial campsite which is actually on Crown lake. This is a clean spartan campsite with outhouses and I did my second dive right below the campsite:
I wanted to explore Crown lake as I figured it might also have microbiolites (as the lakes are side by side) but I was wrong. While it promised a lot above the surface (good vis and cliffs that hinted at a wall) below it was a disappointment. Deteriorating vis at depth, no walls and only about 24' deep, Crown lake has a sterile bottom with a covering of patchy cyanobacteria. Oh well, you never know unless you look.
Looking across Crown lake at the cliffs:
At the central recreational zone, the Sky Blue Resort was closed but it didn't matter as there is a large info sign just west of it where vehicles can pull in and divers can descend a short path to the island below. The zone encircles this island and the region east of it.
To get to the Northern rec zone drive a bit further west and take a road to the left for Felix creek. There is a small development of properties there. Drive to the end of the main road and you will hit Brummel Rd:
About 4 vehicles can park right by the water:
After waiting awhile to offgas (or whatever it's called) I suited up. Pavillion lake lies at 2300' and according to the PADI manual an adjustment of 2 PG's/1000' is called for. This leaves one as a F group diver. Just my 2CW but I think that's a bit much. The table doesn't take into account the gradual ascent from sea level (4 hours) and penalizes the diver 2 PG's for 300' elevation gain (rounding up rule). There is also an adjustment of about 10' in depth so that 100' actual depth is about 110 EAD. For safety sake I looked around for about 2 hr's and also did extended SS's on 40%. But the real question is...
Does this drysuit make me look fat?
The dive in the northern rec zone is fairly straight forward. Enter, drop down and dive to the right. A large littoral zone gave way to a sterile slope that I followed down to 100' or so. After a bit I was losing heart (having found no microbiolites) and started thinking the north zone was a bust when at about 80' I began to see small colonies. These developed into larger and larger colonies as I gradually ascended. I also saw a group of logs that were being calcified. But hey, why listen to me tell you about it when you can watch the 6:52 minute dive video here: YouTube - Pavillion 2 0001
In conclusion I was happy with the trip and didn't feel too bagged at the end of it. Pavillion can be done as a long day trip with 2 dives and I will probably go up again in late September/early October to dive the southern recreation zone. I'll post the date to see if anyone else wants to go.
Last edited:
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