Fast forward from Revelstoke to a little village called Trout Lake, nestled in the East Kootenays.

With a population of 22 in the summer months (double in winter), Trout Lake can best be described as a refuge for those wanting to get away from civilization and under an hours drive from Nakusp for supplies. Despite its tiny size, Trout lakes has a general store, café and is home to the historic Windsor Hotel. The 1892 hotel is apparently haunted and is one of the few original buildings still standing in the old mining town. It also has a taste of Kelowna to it as Jessee and Andrea Nixon purchased the building a year ago and are making a go of it. The Nixon’s also own Kelowna’s Eldorado Hotel.

Trout Lake is also home of a little known sport called NoBoarding. It consists of a snowboard minus the bindings. You hold on to a rope for balance until you begin surfing on the powder. It’s for the snowboarder who is looking for something new. The sport was created by the late Greg Todds – a local resident who died two years ago in an avalanche. Everyone in town does it. There’s even a binding burning party. No lack of snow here in the winter. It dumped 34 feet of snow last winter.

The locals are an interesting bunch. Mostly mine workers peppered with support staff including cooks, etc. One fellow that left an impression on me was Noah. He liked to tell stories about bears. “I’m not scared of bears. In fact, they’re scared of me.” Noah claims to have fended off grizzlies with his war cry. I hope he doesn’t run into a bear that is hard of hearing.

Terry and I liked Trout Lake so much we stayed for an extra day to take a break from 20 days of riding. We spent the day off sitting on the front porch, chatting with strangers about anything under the sun. But that’s all changes as we resume our journey, concentrating on the Kootenays where another piece of paradise awaits.

Kel

Video interview with Noah Strickland of Trout Lake

Link: More on Windsor Hotel