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Tesla Lake - Paradise By Air
by Debi Smith (Osborne)
North-central BC has so many lakes to choose from, most locals will never travel the eighty-five air miles south of Burns Lake to fish the spectacular Tesla, Wahla and Olaf lakes. Sad really, because the scenery alone in this part of the beautiful Tweedsmuir Provincial Park is worth the trip.

But people return from all over the United States and Europe to ride in a Cessna or Beaver aircraft with Lou Dubuc of Lakes District Air to be left alone at the rustic cabin on Tesla Lake, a two-way radio their only link with the world.
(L to R) Barry Smith and Lou Dubuc on the way to Tesla Lake
Nestled south of the popular Eutsuk Lake, these three lakes boast almost total seclusion, having only one cabin built amidst them and no way in except by airplane. (Years ago Tim and Sharon Smith of Houston did hike in from Eutsuk, but it took three days of hiking and portaging and to Lou's knowledge they were the first and last).

Tesla Lake is actually made up of two lakes connected by what the Dubucs refer to as "the Narrows." There is the far west end, perfectly nicknamed "glacier lake," and the east end, where access to Wahla and Olaf is possible. When the Dubucs first managed to get a permit in 1982 to build in the Park, they constructed a tent frame with a floor at the Narrows. They soon realized the best fishing was more to the eastern end and so, in 1985, they moved the camp there and built the one-room cabin still used today.
The cabin at Tesla Lake
Everything had to be brought in by plane. Three 14' aluminum boats, one row boat, three 10 hp motors, the construction materials, beds, propane stove and wood heater were all once strapped to a pontoon and sent airborne. Lou gets laughs from a picture he has of the outhouse being lashed to the plane so it could be floated to the other end of the lake. The caption beneath it jokes, "Lakes District Air - will fly anything ."

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