Isintol - Round IV (2011)

Louise and I spent this afternoon paddling and exploring Isintok Lake; what a cool area! The lake features a great many little nooks and notches and ‘only just passable’ sections - which open up and lead to other areas which aren’t readily apparent to one glancing down-lake. In all; it’s a highly recommended ‘small paddle’.

What really piqued my interest however was the discovery of a well-built single-track trail leading along the southeast aspect of the lake. From the kayak I spied some trails running parallel with the lakeshore but assumed that they were nothing more than well-groomed game trails. Curiosity got the best of me however, so I beached the boat and climbed up onto the trail.

There I found what you see in the images below; someone, or several people perhaps, have flagged and cut in a really beautiful little singletrack trail. Its just wide enough for bike / hike / dirt-bike, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it was created by dirt bike riders. The surface is in really great condition, so I guess that’s its remote location has led to very little use by dirt bikers, if that was its intended use: I did see one, quite old DB track on-trail.

Isintok is such a great place; clean camp sites, loads of hiking and biking as well as great paddling and fishing (spoke with a local fishermen; eight two and a half pound speckled trout in under an hour!). There is every reason to support the enhancement / expansion of a circuitous trail network around this body of water; it would make for an excellent 6k loop!

In addition, its a little known fact that there exists a trail network between Apex Resort and Isintok (The Husky Trail) as well as another between Isintok and just west of Summerland (The Bushido Trail Network) Dino’s Morel Trail is also tucked away in there to boot. In my best British Accent; “its bloody trail nirvana”! Pics' below:

Initial Scouting From The Water




It looks a lot better from the ground (note cutting, flagging and blaze on the trees)




...and this is a closeup of the trail tread




I'll go back up there in the next few weeks to GPS the trail access / egress; will keep you posted...

Andrew D.







A.