Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Buntzen Lake

I've been trying to get to this post all week but I've just been too busy! I'll finish this and then blog the rest of the week.

Sunday, August 10th I joined Melissa and Jevon, her parents, and family friends for a hike at Buntzen Lake in Coquitlam, BC. "Buntzen Lake...is a BC Hydro reservoir. It is 4.8 km long and covers an area of 182 hectares. Formerly known as Lake Beautiful, the lake is named after the first general manager of B.C. Electric Co., Johannes Buntzen.

In 1903 the Buntzen hydroelectric project was put in service by the Vancouver Power Company to provide the first hydroelectric power to Vancouver. Previously, the city had to depend on a 1,500-kilowatt (kW) steam plant for its power supply. The project involved raising the level of the dam on Coquitlam Lake and excavating a 3.6 km tunnel to carry water from Coquitlam Lake to Buntzen Lake. The tunnel runs under Eagle Mountain, reaching a maximum depth of 1.2 km below the surface, and empties into the north end of Buntzen Lake.

We kept up a pretty brisk pace around the lake and in all it took us about 3 hours including stops. It was a grey and rainy day so the trail was very quiet. We did get a little wet but the trees provided great cover and the mist was welcome to keep us cooled down.

It's a beautiful hike. One I've wanted to do for a long time. The first picture is the suspension bridge we crossed over at the half way mark. The second picture was taken from the bridge and shows the power plant.
This is Melissa and I on the bridge.




The rain made the forest *so* green it was almost hard on the eyes. Absolutely beautiful. My favourite site is the ferns cascading down the hillside.
I love BC :)



1 comment:

shirley said...

Looks so lush, green and peaceful. Glad you shared it with us.