Adventure: Hayward Lake

We had rain for the first time in what felt like forever on the morning we packed up to spend the day at the lake. While I was rejoicing because it was so good to have rain to combat the forest fires and drought we've been dealing with, no one likes rain on a day they want to be outdoors. We passed through a minute long torrential downpour but the rain seemed to slow and stop as we pulled over and picked some blackberries. (Have I ever mentioned that blackberries are my absolute favorite?) After checking out some cool fishing spots along the river and coming across a strange missing pet poster of an ocelot, we arrived at Hayward. It was muggy still and grey clouds were thick overhead but that didn't stop us. We fished and kayaked and even swam a little! It was nice and not crowded as it usually is when the weather is beautiful so that helped. Our friends even caught their first fish! They were so excited it was hard not to smile like an idiot as they pulled up their catch. The boys even brought up a crawdad which I have never seen in person before. He was an angry little dude and we had trouble putting him back as our attempts to free him were met with pissed off pinchy fingers. We ended up playing crib and picnicking on the boat launch until late in the evening before we decided to pack it up and head back for home. A cloudy day but a good day!

Kayak: Alouette

Sunday Nicole, Clarissa and I planned on kayaking somewhere where we could also enjoy a little swim in respite of the hot weather we've been having. After a very complicated adventure of trying to get three Kayaks, two dogs and three girls all secure and ready to go we found out our destination park closed early. Some frantic googling ensued and we decided to set out to Alouette Lake despite it most likely being crazy busy.
We arrived and after some running around in flipflops and trying to get Kayaks down from the parking lot and not the boat launch like the idiots we are, we managed to finally get us all in the boats and out onto the water. We arrived late and the sun was going down but it was perfect. Most of the partiers int their power boats were packing it up to leave so the lake was fairly quiet and very beautiful. We beached the kayaks and decided to swim. I didn't think of bringing my bathing suit but into the water I went anyway. It was amazing. The water was refreshing but still very warm and the dogs had a ball playing fetch and swimming with us.
I had the great idea of swimming giant stumps that poke out of the water and climbing on top of them. I didn't realize that they were freaking slimy so my clamber up was probably the least graceful thing I've done in a long time.
We paddled around some more and indulged in one last dip before packing up and headed home. We will have to do this a lot this summer!

Adventure: Kalamalka - Lake Of Many Colors

For Canada day weekend my friends and I planned to go camping but we've had such a drought that there was a campfire ban and a few people bailed last minute. Turns out that was a good thing though. We all packed up into Mikes truck and headed up to Kat's family cabin that is in Lake Country by Osoyoos. We went ice fishing here over New Years and it was a blast. I can say that it was even more fun in the summer. The lake is stunning and was the most vivid blue and turquoise I have ever seen.
We taught Zoey how to be a boating dog and spent most days out on the lake and exploring the beaches. It was too hot to hike out there but it was nice spending most of the time outdoors. We fished and caught pike minnow, some of the biggest I've seen.
On Canada Day we boated out at night when we saw a ton of boats zip off to the far end of the lake. We watched fireworks go off from the middle of Kalamalka. It was amazing. I can't wait to go back.
On the way along the Coquihala there is this giant granite mountain face that 's very unique looking compared to all the other snow capped or tree covered mountains in the area. I recently found out it is called Yak peak and is actually a well known hiking spot. Maybe we will have to give that a try! 

Adventure: Remembering Pender

This weekend looks like it's going to be a lazy one so to fill the gap between now and our Kayaking trip on the 27th, here's a few photos from our Pender trip last year.


We went two years in a row, renting out this HUGE log cabin with friends (And I mean huge, this place had enough room to sleep over 20 people) It was built on the peak of two inlets that face out into the ocean with views of other islands off on the horizon. Unfortunately this year didn't happen. Combined issues of the place raising its rates through the roof and the trouble of getting 12-18 people to get the same days off was a big challenge.
We had a stellar time both years. The island is stunning and we had our own private dock and inlet where we spent days kayaking and sitting in the sun with drinks in hand. We explored tidal pools and caught crab off the dock.
We also hiked up this super steep trail (We were told it was only 1k so we brought a ton of gear with us but this trail never ended!) that led us to Roe lake. There is also an amazing frisbee golf course there that makes you hike through ancient trees and scramble up the mountain. We lost quite a few disks but had a blast. It was amazing and I wish we could go back. We'll have to win the lottery first.

Hike: Ford Mountain

:: Ford Mountain ::

:: Chilliwack :: 3 Hours 14 Min :: 4k :: Elevation Gain 507m ::

June 14

Ford mountain! This was a hike in the making. We were supposed to go on the 7th but Nicole was struck out by the flu so we were eager to get this hike under our belt. The night before we attended a party and didn't drink to save ourselves from a hangover hike. That wouldn't have been enjoyable. 

Still, we were up late so we dragged our heels in the morning but finally set out just before 8.  Last week I was supposed ot have the jeep with high clearance to get up the logging road that leads to the trail head but I was stuck with my work car for the weekend. We thought we would give it a go as many people said the road up was manageable. We got to the rest stop where we normally fill up with cheap gas when Steve (from our first hike!) messaged us to ask if he could still come despite him already hiking for the majority of the week already.

Thank the stars he did. Not only was it nice to have extra friendly company, but he let us all pile in his truck after the logging road got too crazy for my car. It would have never made it up there and our hike would have probably been so much longer had we been forced to walk up the whole way. 

We made it to the trail head after navigating up the logging road, piled out and started up the steep incline. It was beautiful and the terrain was so cool to look at as we hiked up. Giant slabs of mossy rock surrounded us along the path. We were the sole people on the mountain which was really kinda nice. When the conversation slowed it was quite (Apart from laboured breathing and song birds.)

I found a really cool looking feather on the trail. plan on sending the picture to a forum that can help identify what it is from. It suffered a little damage being stuck into the mesh of my backpack but it still looks pretty neat. 

We began to see glimpses of the surrounding mountain range through the trees and we reached our first view point where we took a water break and snapped some pictures through the trees before continuing up. We had to climb over a dead tree that had fallen across the path but once we did we hopped up some boulders and made it to the summit. 

It was simply breathtaking. The peak was covered in wildflowers and butterflies of all kinds. Swallow tails (Pale Swallowtail and Tiger Swallowtail) dusty pale blue moths and a ton of these speckled orange guys. (From what I can find they are Aphrodite Fritillary). I managed to get really close for some detailed shots. It was great. We tried our hardest to get the swallowtails to land on us but they teased us by only getting so close without committing. 

The view itself was breathtaking. We could see for miles and every inch of it was amazing. We could see through the whole Valley, spotting tons of mountain peaks that I don't know the names of and Slesse Peak stood majestically amidst the mountain range across from us. Slesse is a hike that we hope to complete one day. It seems a little daunting now as its a little more rugged but it would be an excellent one to achieve. Slesse is the site of a 1956 plane crash were all 62 passengers died. A memorial trail is part of the commemorative site. 

Sweaty but pleased with our accomplishment, we packed up and turned back for home. The trek back down was a little hard on my knees but we made it down in no time at all it seemed though the drive back down the logging road felt like it took much longer than on the way up.
It was great to have this hike crossed off the list. We may do it again sometime and continue on to William's Peak with is another 6k after Ford's Summit. 

Kayak: Buntzen Lake: Round 2

:: Buntzen Lake ::

Burnaby :: Kayaking

May 31, 2015

I had such a great time kayaking with Zoey that when Corey suggested we go back to Buntzen for some kayaking, fishing and picnicking with friends, I jumped at the chance.

After we got down there we piled everything into the boats and set out for a little island in one of the lake 'inlets' where we set up camp. It was really nice and quite private compared to the craziness that consumes the popular beach front of Buntzen.

I haven't been fishing a ton but I got to try my hand at it again on Sunday. Buntzen is supposed to be home to rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, bullhead and northern pike minnow. In my first two hours there I caught four pike minnows. It was a lot of fun and I learned how to bait a hook and take out hooks after we reeled in the fish. The pike minnows seem pretty aggressive and the moment you cast out they seem to take shots at the bait so we were constantly busy reeling in these little fish. Corey caught a bullhead amongst the endless pike minnows but unfortunately no trout.

It was a perfect way to end the weekend. Kat and I tied off the boats and floated out to read while the guys fished their hearts out. Some day soon I hope we can hike the Diez Vistas (Ten Views) hike around Buntzen and Belcarra. It's a 15k hike in the intermediate category and its supposed to take between 6-7 hours to complete but the pictures look pretty awesome.

Hike: Elk Mountain

:: Elk Mountain ::

:: Chilliwack :: 4 Hours :: 7k :: Elevation Gain 800m ::
May 23, 2015

 

Elk mountain! This trip was anticipated for a while as we had a few weeks after Lindeman where we were unable to get together to hike. We kept an eye on the weather reports and continued to get dismayed the closer we got to the date of our hike. At one point the forecast called for a downpour but luckily it seemed to lighten up the day prior. We were worried about the weather putting a damper on the hike as the view from the top is supposed to be amazing.

 

This time we had a group of four plus three pups. We set out early in the morning to beat the foot traffic that is common for the popular trail. As we drove up the winding road that lead up the mountain we found ourselves ascending into a very thick fog. We crossed our fingers that the sun would burn it off by the time we reached the peak. The fog did make for a really cool atmosphere for the first part of our hike. It was really eerie and the sun that hid behind the mist lit it up in strange ways but it was really quite neat.

I had brought my dog’s back pack (yes a dog backpack) and put the dogs gear inside and we put in on Oli, one of the border collies to help slow him down a bit. The dogs had a blast the whole way up, running from the front of our group, leading the way, to the back to check on everyone before doing it all again countless times.

This trail rose up over twice the elevation gain as our previous trip and each time we felt like we crested a massive climb, another one was waiting for us just after it leveled off. Cue some interesting profanity filled exasperated comments from our group but it was good fun regardless. I probably over packed my bag. Being a girlscout back in the day I seem to only remember the “Be Prepared!” motto and not the actual methods of packing light.

Along the way we got to see crazy huge trees, stunning wildflowers that I’ve never seen before and the blooms of wild strawberries. It was really all quite beautiful especially one of the hills we passed that was littered with tons of wild flowers.

It seemed to take forever to reach the first peak. At one point the trail narrowed and we had to climb up on all fours to compensate for the slippery shale like stones that covered the path. But we did it! We reached the first peak, the one where we were supposed to see the view of a lifetime! A breathtaking view of all of Chilliwack valley, Vedder River and beyond. So excited to take in the experience, he hauled ass to the point and were  ready to feast our eyes on the bounty of our efforts.

 

Wait. This was it? Seeing nothing but cloud was a bit disappointing after hiking for hours, not to mention oddly disorienting. We sat down to take off our bags (let us not speak of the sweat revealed) and ate our lunch while squinting at the endless white that was our view. We resolved to do the hike again on a nicer day so we can bear witness to the amazing view we were promised. Refueled, we chose to hike another half an hour up to the second peak in hopes that we might see something a little more interesting.  Alas, more fog and low cloud. I did spot a neat bug.

 It’s cool, right? Yes? Ok!

As we began our journey back down, we found that the super steep trails we had laboured up, looking a bit scary when it came to descending them. We did an awkward downhill crab walk that Nicole affectionately called ‘the bum slide” as we tried not to slide off the mountain. The rest of the way was alright, we just had to keep eyes to the ground to make sure we weren’t going to bail.

As surefooted as I like to think I am, I did slip on a wet root and fell hard. My embarrassment saw to it that I was on my feet in fractions of a second with an adrenaline fueled “TA DA!” and flourish. No harm done. While we made our way back down the dogs seemed to have not let up for a second. They ran their faces off (backpack and all!) back and forth as they helped herd us down the mountain. They even had a game of chase around us. If only we had the energy those dogs did!

We made it back to the car and found the trail head packed to the brim with all the hiker’s vehicles we passed on our way down. Sitting down was glorious and the ride back home was mostly silent, all of us exhausted. But we will be back, Elk mountain! And we are going to see that viewpoint in all its glory sometime soon!

Kayak: Buntzen Lake

:: Buntzen Lake ::

Burnaby :: Kayaking

May 22, 2015

While this adventure wasn’t a hike, it was a great experience! My friend, Clarissa, and I were set on taking the dogs Kayaking. After my shift I met her and we hummed and hawed over the task of trying to fit two kayaks, two people and two dogs in one suburban after finding out her brother had borrowed her truck with the roof rack on it.

After some kayak themed tetris and a little MacGyvering, we tied the boats in securely and managed to leave room for us and the pups. We accidentally took the scenic route to Buntzen, somehow managing to go UNDER the Port Mann Bridge instead of over it. We eventually got to the boat launch and got the Kayaks in the water. Zoey, my lab, is a nervous girl and I really didn’t know how this was going to go as she had never been on a boat before. I got in and coaxed her to sit with me. She was not happy about it and looked like she was going to lose it when Clarissa launched me into the water but after a little nervous trembling she figured out, “Oh  hey, this is fun!”. I’m really glad to because I had a blast. With Zoey in my kayak and Dozer in Clarissas, we set out on the southern half of the lake. Buntzen is twenty minutes away from the city so it’s normally super busy and loaded to the tits with people but out on the lake it was nice and not to mention the surrounding area was beautiful. We paddled under the floating bridge and people seemed to really get a kick out of seeing the dogs in the boats with us and a few stopped to take our picture. So, somewhere out there, there probably is a photo of me looking very confused with a dog in my lap out on the lake. The stranger picture taking didn't stop there. When we passed the fishing docks more people seemed to find the sight too much. Do we smile? Do we keep talking and look like weirdos?

 

 Dozer decided that standing on the bow of the boat was a good idea, we managed to get him  back
seated down before we decided to head back to the dog beach. We brought our kayaks right up to the lake edge and let the dogs out to play for a good hour or so with a multitude of other very happy and very soggy dogs before getting back in the kayaks and headed back to where we started.

Hike: Lindeman Lake

:: Lindeman Lake Trail ::
 :: Chilliwack :: 2ish Hours :: 3.4k :: Elevation Gain 300m ::
May 9, 2015

Lindeman has been a place I've wanted to visit for a long time. Pictures I've previously seen were incredible and I knew I had to experience it for myself. I was glad when the girls agreed that this should be our next trip.
This hike saw the purchase of my new hiking day pack. I was so excited to get it and it even has a camel pack insert. After spending the previous day making protein energy bites, I was needless to say excited. After packing up the dogs and getting the three of us in the car we set our sights for Chilliwack.
After a long trip being serenaded by the beagle I was dog sitting, we finally found the parking lot after making a quick stop to check out the Chilliwack river. There were a few cars there already even though we got there fairly early.
As we unpack our gear and dogs there was a creepy dude by his truck that made a few comments on us girls doing the hike. We chatted back but made sure he knew that we were well equipped. He may have been a nice dude but he kind of gave us a creepy vibe. Maybe we're just paranoid?
We hiked down the lot to the trail markers. One way led to Flora Lake and the other pointed us to the 200m mark where the Lindeman trailhead started. We will probably try Flora Lake sometime in the near future!

The hike up to Lindeman was incredible! I loved every moment of it. Fresh mountain air and to be surrounded by huge cedars was exhilarating.  And this was no gravel path either. These are the kinds of hikes I really enjoy. The varied trail makes it interesting and the view at the top is so rewarding. We had to climb over boulders, across fallen trees, snaking your way up super steep sections. It was awesome! There was even a log bridge that we had to cross as well to get over the creak. I was a little wary of that part with a crazy beagle pulling me but he did well! He actually did very well the whole trail. I only had to carry him over one section of boulders that was too far for him to jump safely.
While the trail itself was all kinds of beautiful, the lake was breathtaking. From crystal blue to emerald green, I've never seen anything like it in person. Mountains reached up above us and we could see a snow capped peak from along the trail. I couldn't take my eyes away and my smile was permanently plastered onto my face.
We continued along the lake to the far point. Cue more boulder climbing and hopping across great big slabs of rock. If you continue up and over the shale rock slide for another hour or so it brings you to Green Drop lake but that will be reserved for a later adventure. Everyone we met on the trail was so nice! How could you be cranky when you are surrounded with beauty like this?  I felt so accomplished, I think we all did.
There was a rock out from shore and I wanted to wade out to it to take a picture but it was a little deeper than expected and I wasn't prepared to hike the rest of the way sopping wet. Oh well, next time with shorts!
We stopped and fueled up, took a bunch of pictures (I'm kicking myself for not bringing the DSLR!) and then made our way back down.
I am really surprised that Bandit didn't drag me face down the very steep sections. He was either very tired or was respectfully waiting for me to slowly make my way down. 
We reached the bottom and threw ourselves back into the car, tired, sweaty and feeling a little gross but amazing none the less.

Hike: Teapot Hill

:: Teapot Hill ::

:: Chilliwack :: 2 Hours :: 5k :: Elevation Gain 250m ::
April 12, 2015

Super pumped and ready to begin a summer filled with hikes, I spent much of Saturday getting things organized for our first adventure. We chose Teapot Hill as our first hike to get us warmed up and into the swing of things. We are not pro's by any definition so starting small, working our way towards more challenging trips, learning what our bodies can handle and discovering new trails with experienced hikers seems like the safe way to do it.
In anticipation of our busy summer, I had hit up Atmosphere a few weeks earlier and hunted down a good pair of hiking boots and a lighter pair of hiking shoes. I still needed a good day pack though so that was on my 'to get' list once payday rolled in. I had my eyes on a few so I'm going to grab one as soon as I can. For this hike, however, I just ended up stuffing an older fishing backpack with my first aid kit, water, granola bars and bear spray.
 Sunday I met up early with Nicole and Kelsey and we drove out to Chilliwack to meet up with Steve who led us to a trail called Teapot Hill that overlooks Cultus Lake. We've been super excited to start hiking and I was pumped and ready to go.

After snapping the necessary photos at the trail head we started up a wide but gradual incline that seemed to go forever! It didn't seem like much when you looked at it but I thought my calves were going to fall off! I'm glad I got my new hiking shoes though. They were amazingly comfy and my feet didn't ache a bit.

The trail was awesome, a good one for us to start out on. It was pretty and fairly quiet. I enjoy doing trails early in the morning when there aren't tons of people around. Along the way you are supposed to see teapots and cups hidden throughout the trees. We only saw a few when we were told there should be lots. I guess people steal dirty tea sets?

We opted not to take the dogs on this one and I'm glad because for one stretch of the trail there was a very steep drop off into the forest and only a little goat path to walk along. Needless to say I was pressed up against the inside of the trail. The idea of falling isn't my favorite.

The first viewpoint we reached was the best. It looked out over the lake and had a beautiful view of Cultus. There was also a really huge tree that had been felled by lightning there resting on the rocks with a sign that Kelsey read in a dramatic fashion for us. After that it was a short trip up to the summit which had unfortunately been fenced off so it wasn't really all too breathtaking. They could have done a wood fence that would have done the trick but maintained the beauty of the area.

Coming back down was fun. We all froze when a huge branch fell down through the trees. Steve had warned us about a female black bear in the area so we all went into high alert. Luckily the only other wild life we saw were wood peckers and squirrels. The descent was fairly easy and we met more people on the way down than we did coming up.
The drive home I also got to see a milestone. I have some weird affinity to interesting numbers on my odometer. So, yay for that?