Janzen Campout

Every year there are a few folks in the Janzen clan who like to get away for a weekend and go camping. This year, a number of us who have not gone  chose to join them for a good time at the Gwillim Lake campground just south of Chetwynd, BC. When our scouts happened upon the scene, they realized we would have to take evasive action. It was Thursday and the campground was already full! So, they took a risk and headed north to Moberly Lake. Fortunately, the roads were open that far, and the bridge into the campground was still half there.

Did I not mention that there was massive flooding and mudslides in the area last week? There were places the water crested the highway and flooded campgrounds and roads and bridges and the like. The Pine Pass just west of Chetwynd has portions that are washed out (25 locations that are unsafe to travel), and north of Moberly the road to Hudson's Hope and the H.C. Bennett Dam was closed with four washouts (they had one lane open as of Saturday). The campground we stayed at had a recorded message stating that it was closed - they had evacuated people last week during the intense rain - 90mm of it in 24 hours, 160mm total in 48 hours. They were setting flood records and the lake was taking over the campground. When we got there, it was dropping at a rate of 1 foot per day. By the end of our time there, you could finally walk out to the dock without wading out barefoot to get to it!



Unfortunately, that meant that the lake was a rather brown colour and Uncle Bob was not allowed to take his boat out or do any fishing. Usually the lake is beautiful. The winds on Friday made some great white caps. The logs floating in the lake looked like little sea monsters at times (of course, Moberly has it's own indian dinosaur story). Little bridges that used to have creeks beneath them were useless as the small tributaries had made their way around mud and rock slides to find alternate paths to the lake. This made walking interesting. Like I said, the bridge on the way into the campground was only half there.


All in all, it just meant that we got to spend more time with each other. It was difficult keeping track of Judah at times. It's like he forgot he might get eaten by bears if he wandered off alone. He loved the little playground, as did many of the kids. There were enough bikes there to satisfy Micah as he was of with Caleb most of the time all over the campground. Aslynn loved being there, or anywhere there was people, but she stuck to playing with the boys most of the time. There were so many of the family there that it would be easier to name the people who couldn't make it. Even Grandpa and Grandma were there, though they stayed at a hotel along with another couple. It was good to get together, even if it meant cold, late nights huddled around a campfire and snuggled close in sleeping bags. Faith has been sick since we got home (probably earlier than that) and we still haven't gotten everything washed and put away. But it was good. Very good. Thanks everyone for making it a memorable experience!