A friend invited me on a flight Sunday morning. I thought it was a short flight to Courtney, BC, but we flew to Chilliwack, had breakfast, then to 108 Mile House and then to Chilko Lake. I took video of the trip up to Chilko Lake but here are the stills from Chilko Lake, BC to near home. The lodge is closed now, has been for two years. Not enough people wanting to fly in to these places for a holiday, would be expensive for the average Joe, no not pointing at you MrCCTV. You could drive there but it would probably take about eleven hours from Vancouver, B.C. Enjoy the pics.

B

http://picasaweb.google.ca/ThuQMin/ChilkoLake#

Nice Lodge you went to there BVJ.
Cool pictures as well. looks like it was a good day for flying. Must have been a day well spent

Beautiful flying conditions. Wonderful countryside. BIG mountains. Poor kitties, they look absolutely stuffed.

Very nice place and beautiful indeed BVJ. I hope to make it somewhere like that one day to live. It will be my older years if at all.


(Hey Rosco!)

So does the lodge just sit there with the doors closed? How did you guys get in? Seems such a shame it goes unused. I wonder if it's just a matter of marketing. Here in Oregon tourism is down probably 30% the last couple of years, but some of the more exotic places seem to still get the visitors, even from far off. I must admit, though, most of the places getting lots of action are places people can drive to ... not nearly so much fly-in-from-Timbuktu tourism.

The airstrip is in use and there is a campground not far away. With all the grizzlies around I wouldn't tent there. We did see a few campers and trailers in the designated area though. You have to make money in a short period of time to survive. Elevation is 4000 feet, fall comes early. I guess the present owners could turn it into a strata complex and sell off each individual units.

B

I'd love to live in such a place for 6-9 months of the year. Getting Mrs. P to join in such Wilderness Fun, however, now that might prove more difficult than getting along with the grizzlies.

That's too bad because when you get to places like this the pressures of civilization lift and it is a great feeling.

I heard that when this place shut down it was because it was being run by an individual (probably under contract) who just up and left without paying the staff. They decided that for compensation they would take things like the generator, outboard motors, boats etc. you get the picture. When it was discovered by the owners that something was wrong, the place was unlocked, horses running loose.

B

Slum landlord, eh? Properly run, it probably could have made some nice money, at least enough to pay for itself and support a resident owner who has commitment to the concept. Contract management rarely works.
A fly-in resort with boating, riding and vehicle access would be very attractive I would think.