Overlooking LLJ · #3 · The Metal Pier
⚠️ IMPORTANT ⚠️
There are TWO wharfs at the day use area. This cache is at the end of the METAL one. (It's wheelchair accessible unlike the wooden one.)
Not the wooden one! (The coordinates WILL guide you to the right one.)
About this Series
Welcome to the Overlooking LLJ series! This collection of low-difficulty caches with varying terrains is designed to highlight the unique geological features and beautiful views of Lac Le Jeune. Whether you are exploring by land or water, each stop offers a lesson on how this beautiful lake was shaped.
This is Cache 3 out of 4 in the series.
Take in the views, complete the simple geological observation tasks, and enjoy the sights!
This series was hidden for international Earthcache Day 2026.
A Brief History of Lac Le Jeune
Long before it became a park, this high-elevation plateau lake was a hunting and fishing ground for the Secwépemc (Shuswap) and Nicola First Nations, who originally named it Chuhwels (meaning trout). Early colonial settlers simply called it Fish Lake due to its abundance of famously fighting rainbow trout.
In 1928, the lake was officially renamed Lac Le Jeune to honor Father Jean-Marie-Raphaël Le Jeune, a French missionary who arrived in Kamloops in 1879. He was deeply respected by local Indigenous communities for learning their dialects and creating a shorthand writing system so they could publish newspapers in their own languages.
Tourism boomed here in 1905 with the opening of the historic Fish Lake Hotel. To protect the surrounding wilderness from overcrowding, British Columbia built Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park in 1956. The park was expanded to 213 hectares in 1996 to permanently protect its shoreline and wetlands.
The Earth Science Lesson
This 76-metre public wharf extends far out over the water, giving you a perfect vantage point to study the lake.
When you look down from the deck, you are looking straight into the lake's water column. The clear or cloudy appearance of this water column changes daily. It is determined by tiny particles of organic matter and dissolved minerals that wash down into the basin from the surrounding Thompson Plateau hills.
At the same time, wind blowing across the wide, open surface transfers mechanical energy into the lake. This energy creates surface friction, which shapes the top layer of water into visible ripples and waves. Docks and wharfs like this one are perfect scientific platforms because they let us easily observe both water column clarity and wind energy at the exact same time.
How to log this earthcache:
To log this cache as a find, please walk out to the end of the wharf, make two simple observations and snap one quick photo. Please send your two answers to the cache owner (flag_master) and post your photo in your log. I don't need to respond for you to log this as a find. Please send your answers before, at the same time, or right after you post your log. You don't need to send me your photo. Full requirements are listed below. During the winter the lake freezes over and some observations are not possible. I have included an alternative question that should ONLY be used when the ENTIRE lake is frozen over. Do I need to repeat myself? Also, the wharf moves away in the off season. I have added a waypoint for people logging this cache then.
Observations:
1. The Water Column Check: Look straight down into the water next to the wharf. Describe the clarity of the water column today. Based on the lesson above, do you see evidence of organic matter or dissolved minerals clouding the water, or is it mostly clear down to the lakebed? (Can you see the bottom? If cloudy, why can't you see the bottom?)
- Winter Alternative: If the lake is completely frozen over, look at the top layer of ice. Is it clear like glass, allowing you to see down into the water column below, or is it completely frozen solid, white, and opaque?
2. Wave Friction Connection: Look at the wide-open surface of the lake. Describe the amount of mechanical energy the wind is transferring into the water right now based on the surface friction you see (e.g., is it perfectly still and glassy, showing low energy, or are there active ripples and waves?).
- Winter Alternative: If the lake is completely frozen solid, simply state that it's frozen!
Photo:
3. Post a photo in your online log showing part of yourself, your GPS, your geocaching stamp, or a personal item if you want to with the wide-open view of Lac Le Jeune behind you at the posted coordinates. Photos of just the lake are good as well. Examples are provided in the gallery.
TIP: I won't reject your log if your picture follows all other rules, but I would highly recommend trying to get the wharf in your photo aswell. It makes me easier to tell if you actually visited the wharf.
Other Information:
- This park is NOT open year round. It's usual dates open is May 10 to September 30. You can still go inside however you will have to walk from the gate as it is closed.
- This cache is on the part of the day use area that is dog friendly.
- Absolutely NO SHORTAGE of parking here!
- All visitors must be out of the park by 11pm. The gate for vehicles locks from 11pm to 7am. Quiet hours are also 11pm to 7am.
- The gallery is full of nice photos of Lac Le Jeune. Post a nice photo in your log alongside your photo requirement and it might be featured!
Congratulations on pupsNus for the FTF!
