Wells Gray

This is what I have learned:
glamping aka glamour camping is awesome
  AND by that I mean camping in a tent trailer, needing no air mattress and having so much more space, in an actual site and making real food on a coleman stove is fantastic!

 

day hiking is fun but not quite as exhilarating as doing a big km quest in a day.
  HOWEVER one can still see most fantastic things like waterfalls, big beautiful trees and raging waters











kayaking is fun wherever you go and it can still be enjoyable in the rain!







stopping in a town on the way home, like Jasper, has huge perks AND by that you can bulk up on more chocolate and fudge than you would normally never buy and you can take a lovely dip in the hot springs

even if your vacation is a short one you can still have loads of fun with your partner. AND by that I mean playing games, reading, talking, chatting and enjoying each others company







AND it is still nice to come home to our lovely pets!

love

Beautiful Berg Lake

A wonderful hike that I had on my bucket list is complete. Mark did it last year before our wedding and I remember feeling a tinge of jealousy as I had really wanted to do it. Well it came for me this weekend!

I was lucky enough to have some time off so we packed the car for an undetermined destination. Mark checked online the night before and it looked like the majority of hikes that we wanted were booked up (Berg Lake included). We got to Mt Robson and on a whim decided to check out if there were any cancellations. There weren't but they had spots reserved for walk ons! Yippee!

Camped in Mt Robson one night. Had a hot dog roast, drank a bit and snacked on sweets, saw critters. Loveliness.

 

The next day we were off. Not before my hiking boots started to fall apart. Luckily they could make one more round, but I think they have found their end on this trip. Any who, we saw gorgeous lakes. A stop at McKinney for a washroom break and under the shelter at Whitehorn for coldmeat sandwhiches. The only thing that annoyed me was the massive amount of bugs that seemed to be only attracted to us. Horseflies, deer flies and mosquitoes. Yuck! 

 
Once we left Whitehorn we made the ascent up to Emperor falls. Probably the hardest but there was a beautiful reward up top. Reason? Did I mention that it was 28 degrees and it was hot hot. At the top was an unbelievable waterfall. No bugs. And an amazing cold spray. Mark and I would just stand as close as we could and get sprayed (drenched) when the wind hit the fall in the right way. It was by far the biggest highlight I have ever had on a hike. Everything for me in that moment was perfect.

Next we trekked up to our campsite named after the waterfall, Emperor falls. We had a nice site with a bench and table. Right by the lake. We ate, played cards and read.

The next morning was a short trek to Berg lake where we had the view of the multiple glaciers. Took a day hike to Robson pass, and tobbaggon falls. Had a bit of a nap and played multiple games of crib where there was an undeniable winner. But she is ever so gracious and doesn't like to gloat. He he. Talked with quite a few hikers in the heated shelter (lovely when it started to rain).

We were potentially going to stay another night but because we aren't really the day hiker kind of people and it was a little rainy we took the 22km trip down. Left at 8 and got to the bottom at 3. Not going to lie. The last three km I was not in a happy place and contemplated the possibility of getting helicoptered out. A little ridiculous I know but the feet and hips were feeling quite a powerful burn. Good thing I have a good partner to cheer me on and keep me happy. When we saw the end I may have tempted a foot race but clearly Mark was the winner as I had nothing.

 

Then home again. Not before a stop in Jasper for famosa pizza. Yum. 

Fun times. 

Love

if you happen to go...

so if you decide to ever do the west coast trail can you do me a favor? if you decide to go on day 5 or possibly day 2 and you get to tsusiat falls, (one of the more beautiful sights i have ever seen) can you look for our buoy? its by the toilets (where i figured it will not blow away). it is our little landmark that we did the trail and i would like to know if it is still standing. cheers!

love

let's talk about food

one thing i forgot to mention about the west coast trail was something that is very near and dear to myself. what is it, you ask?

FOOD

yes this trail is so fantastic-ly unique that not only does it have one...but TWO restaurants set up along the trail. now when i say restaurants it was not a chateau louis or for that matter a denny's. BUT for a backpacker who has been eating dehydrated food for 4 days, it was heaven.

the first one was chez monique's serving fresh fruit, juice, chocolate and chips, not to mention hamburgers with lettuce, tomatoes, relish, ketchup, mustard AND cheese. located just off the beach on our day 4 adventure. one lady, monique, taking the orders and three cooks/servers. it was awesome!

day 5 we got spoiled too. this was the ferry crossing (or boat crossing) from one side of a salt water lake to another. along with the boat ride, the guys running it will serve fresh salmon and crab caught on that day (obviously for an extra price!). no matter the cost, it was delicious. i may have been accused of whacking my poles at a certain blond hiker within our crowd (aka anita). but in my defense, i was starving and saving all my hunger for the food at the boat crossing. really, people should no better than to let me starve. ;) BUT there might be an unhappy picture of me prior to the food. 

probably one more post coming of the trip...so stay tuned...or avoid! :)
love

a week on the west coast trail

it has been about a week and i am starting to get back in the grind of things. the camp stuff is FINALLY packed away for another year so i thought i would work on some posts as i do have plenty to say about this trip. first up (because my mother is dying to see some pics) is a little slideshow of what we saw (and if you are going) what to expect on the west coast trail. enjoy!

ladders: there were tons of these. one section with 200 rungs alone. let's just say i probably have buns of steel right now, he he he. our friend anita, knew extensively about the ladders as they were her nemesi. BUT she conquered them even with her fear of heights! even though she may have (a couple) war wounds here and there...regardless, GOOD JOB ANITA, YOU DID IT!

mud: yes, like the north coast trail this one was full of mud. luckily for mark and i we were quite used to it, and the trail seemed FAR better maintained as there was extensive boardwalk. i was extremely thankful for my gators as they kept me clean during the majority of the trip (a christmas present) well used. some of us did not fare so well as anita's boyfriend, fraser soon gave up and just trounced through the mud pits.
other mud things: also amongst the mud was the slugs. everywhere. one was roughly 9 inches. i was lucky enough to hold one as it was smack dab in the middle of a ladder as i was coming down. he, sadly, didn't make out as well (i have a tight grip, what can i say??)

bridges: another conquered fear of anita's. yes the log bridges and suspension bridges. i personally loved them as i felt i was at circus camp and i was a trapeze artist. she, didn't take to them as fondly. but she did do a far majority (when mark and her had the chance they would go down and back up, hence the upward shots of me on them). i did enjoy the suspension bridge as well as me and fraser may have swung on it....

wildlife: probably one of the more magnificent hikes for mark and i when it came to seeing things. at one point there were two bald eagles in the air to the right and grey whales bobbing up and down in the water to the left. where does one even look? plus many anemones, starfish, a black bear (forgot to put that picture in) sea lions, birds of all shapes, crabs, and fish...it was amazing. our own private wildlife zoo! :) my favourite part (similar to the north coast) was running through the seagull flock and watching them fly...until they started defecating....he he he

beauty: again, in terms of beauty it was amazing (although i probably would still pick hawaii for the warmth and tropical atmosphere). but where do you go when you get not only one but two gorgeous waterfalls that you can swim under? i hadn't found that place until now. not only that but the ocean was gorgeous during fog, sun, and rain. we saw all sides of it with tide going out (up we went on the sand beds or reef) or in (walking on the sand). oh water how i love thee! :)

love and friends: going on this hike gave me quite a new perspective on hiking. i thought back to some of my hikes and some have been less than joyous compared to others due to injuries or difficult terrain. this time around i was approaching the hike with a certain amount of apprehension as i wasn't fully willing to trust what we were about to do (last year's hike was so difficult). having friends around, watching them as they truly appreciate what we were doing, giving the area a vast amount respect, and greeting it with new excitement helped me get more excited and be more appreciative of what me and mark have been doing for 4.5 years. for that i am grateful as my friends have given me a gift! :) AND to watch mark, glow with happiness at everything around him from the wildlife, to the gigantic trees, to even the mud on the ground made me realize how much he really does love this and have such a deep passion for it. so this hike gave me so much more and to my love and friends THANK YOU! :)

love

let's talk about food

and now onto one of my favourite topics. food. really its what my family lineage is all about so i must take the opportunity to discuss it. while in tofino we got our fill of wonderful seafood delights: fish and chips, mussels, smoked salmon, etc. NOTHING and i mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING compares to the greatness of this place.

Tacofino Cantina located at the back of a parking lot is a large orange bus that serves the most delicious mexican delights. mark, when researching tofino, caught an article similar to this that mentioned their delicacy of the fish taco. although the mere idea of a fish taco sounded revolting (to say the least) we went to it knowing there would be little opportunity to have it back home. well, as you can tell by this post, i am glad we made the trip. along with the fish taco, we had the beef taco, the chili cookie, and the beef burrito (we were really hungry!). overall my vote goes to the beef taco. not only do they use just sliced avocado (so fresh) directly into the dish but they make a wonderful homemade salsa that contains mango. now how can you really go wrong with that?? this is the one thing that i seriously could go back to have again (especially during the northcoast trail as i really couldn't stop thinking about it). so if you make the trip to tofino...don't forget to trek to the back of the gravel parking and seek out the orange bus. it would be unfortunate if you missed out! :)

love

beachlife

what i love about the beach:

surfing

running

finding some warm water to soak in

and my absolute favourite thing about beaches is:

the sunset

love

north coast trail

since i have exhausted myself talking to various people about this place i thought i would do a little collage in pictures of our hike (click on the actual image if you would like a better visual...MOM) AND if you would like to learn about this hike click on the title of this blog as the link gives a fairly detailed version of what we did (minus the lighthouse portion as we skipped it)

okay here it goes...hopefully this can be followed. starting in the upper left corner of small pictures: 1. sand on the beach 2. mud (we got up close and personal with lots of this) 3. bear prints on the sand (and back to the left again) 4. seagulls 5. writing 6. myself on a happier day...must not have been the first two ;) going to the right is 7. me...looking happy but i am pretty sure that i wasn't: having just finished bushwhacking through a fake trail and no where near the end point with bogs and mud galore! 8. crabs...one of the many tiny sea life we saw. 9. back to the left is myself reeling in the cable car to get us across the river. 10. a view from our starting point. 11. mark using one of the many ropes on this trail to get us to our destination. this one was by far the steepest we had to climb down having just finished climbing up. 12. the tide is in leaving us "beached" 13. three hours later we can finally cross 14. a happy couple 15. a little bit of nature 16. on the beach for a nice pose. this was some of my favourite hiking. 17. just look at all that mud 18. walking through the seagull swarm...that was quite fun! 19. ahh see you can even see how much i love the beach walking 20. mark doing his share (or maybe more) of the cable car pulling.

hope you enjoyed our hiking vacation! :)
love

memorable moment in vancouver

so on our trip we went to visit my cousin jon in vancouver. with extremely short notice he set us up on his futon and we set off for a thai restaurant. shortly after he showed us the sights of the city in his own "jon" way with each statement having little comical throw-ins. my personal favourite moment was when a biker came up to jon's unrolled, driving, car window and asked to be pulled up a hill as he was in the middle of a race and was quite tired. jon laughed, pondered for a second (asking if any trouble would be had...the biker assured us it was okay) and proceeded to drive him up the hill. i had to take a picture, as this would never happen to me...only a godbout (or a jimi).

love

vacation part deux

well i am back. it was an absolute fabulous vacation but it is always good to be home.

this sums up my trip:

-long drives
-saw two carnivals (one small, one big)
-passed by numerous fruit stands, then actually decided to go to one!
-saw a cousin
-visited a large city for a bit
-went to two very small cities (much more my pace)
-lived on the beach, surfed on the beach, walked on the beach, ran on the beach, goofed around taking pictures on the beach
-went to a naturally occuring hotsprings, saw humpbacks, grey whales, seals, and otters
-had seriously the best beef and fish tacos in the whole world (no exaggeration from me *wink, but more on that later)
-saw a really big forest and noted how little has changed since visiting it 15 years earlier
-went on a fairly challenging hike where two poles were broken, pulled a ligament in the shoulder, bruised the shin bone and came out with far too many mosquito bites
-saw bear footprints, heard a bear, saw a bear itself, saw some ducks, snails, crab, starfish, wolf prints and countless other wildlife creatures and creations
-camped out in some fairly funny places
-attempted to hitchhike for 5 hours on a desserted logging road
-met some fabulous hikers who saved us in our hitchhiking disaster
-travelled a long way back to get to our home

great memories to last a lifetime...it really was a great vacation.
love