After decades of desire, we finally made the nearly four-hour drive up to Tumtum Lake to camp, canoe and explore the area. Upon first sight of the lake its beauty astounded us, as its deep turquoise colour and alpine mountain backdrop reminded us of Lake Louise.
In some ways it was better to have waited this long to make the journey, as for years I have heard how the area had been devastated by clearcut logging and now, at least, the logged-over landscape is filled with mostly healthy, fast-growing plantations. However, we did drive by two areas that had been planted with lodgepole pine that appeared anemic, as this species is not native to this Interior wetland ecosystem.
In the 1990s, I participated in the Kamloops Land and Resource Management Planning process, which was the first one for the province. Through intense negotiations with the forest industry, we were able to create the 5,733 hectare Upper Adams River Provincial Park that includes Tumtum Lake, along with a strip of land along the entire stretch of the river between the two lakes.
Despite its park status, not a dime has been spent to improve the two former forestry recreation campsites, and we could not even find a park sign. We chose to camp at the lower site, where there are some trees and one old, worn picnic table, as the other site is a large open area with no amenities. It took us only three hours to canoe around the lake, keeping close to the shore to avoid any sudden dangerous, rough water from the frequent winds. At the far end, where the upper, Upper Adams River enters the lake, there is an enormous sand bar that forms a perfect beach.
Although the lake is very picturesque, it is far from pristine and there are actually two cabins. One, a very small log building, is next to the campsite and belongs to a trapper who still uses it every winter. A hunting guide built the other log cabin and the lease was grandfathered when the park was created and now a family uses it as a summer cottage. We learned from the cottage owner how the small glaciers that can be seen from the lake, and are the source of the glacier silt that colours the water turquoise, have melted significantly over the last 10 years.
Back at the campsite, we were intrigued by the constant roaring sound of rushing water. The next day, we paddled to the east side of the bay and found a short trail that leads to the approximately 12-foot high waterfall at the outlet of the lake. It is this roaring sound that likely gave the lake its name, which is a Chinook jargon word for “the pulsing of the heart.”
Prior to the logging, there was once an extensive ancient old growth cedar/hemlock rainforest surrounding Tumtum Lake and extending up the valley and along the tributaries. The provincial park now protects small remnants of this more than 1,000-year-old forest, although these trees are not as large as old growth found elsewhere due to the lack of soil richness. A few kilometres to the north of the lake is another small, 286-hectare park.Oregana Creek was named by famed B.C. lichenologist, Trevor Goward for a rare type of oceanic lichen found there. Goward has developed the term “antique” to describe B.C.’s rare old growth Interior rainforests, that indicate these forests are far older than the oldest trees in them.
Since Tumtum Lake does not have a Secwepemc name, it is possible the Shuswap people did not have settlements there. However, the 1904 diary of English settler, Spencer Tuck, who spent two winters trapping and gold panning along the Adams River 20 miles north of Adams Lake, describes the remnants of a settlement, “there is every indication of this having been a large Indian camp at sometime, as there are remains of old sweat houses and wigwams all around.”
