Viewpoint Beach: The Same Trip Again?

After doing a trip to a certain place, how do you feel about doing that same trip again? On the one hand, there are so many other places to go, that it might seem like a waste to revisit a spot you’ve been to. On the other hand, as Heraclitus apparently once put it, so beautifully: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” So, it’s not really the same trip again, is it? and the debate goes on…

We don’t usually plan much in advance, but nevertheless we had planned a camping trip to the Okanagan around the May long weekend. As the trip got closer, the travel restrictions kept getting extended, and finally we were forced to cancel our trip. So on a sunny and warm week in May, we were looking for a two-night hiking trip for the May long weekend.

As usual, we took into account multiple criteria to choose a destination. First, we’ve got a not-so-light 2.5 year old who often has to be carried. Clearly we’d be looking for a short trip. Secondly, due to our last minute change of plans, it would have to be a place where we could camp without a reservation. Thirdly, with two young kids, our appetite for a long drive is quite limited, and anyway the travel restrictions limited our ability to go too far. Finally, it would have to be a low elevation hike, since in May the mountains are still covered in snow, and we weren’t looking to do that kind of trip. We had good memories from Viewpoint Beach at Golden Ears Provincial Park from last year, so why not do a repeat trip?

We left Vancouver late, allowing us to enjoy a nice lunch at the trailhead before setting out. We decided to hike the more scenic Lower Falls Trail first, this time, so that we’d be hiking up the steep rooty connector trail. Gold Creek Falls was spraying so hard that the kids didn’t want to stick around too long, so up the trail we went. From there we got on to the East Canyon Trail. At the junction someone had obviously abandoned a cooler with some food in it – long gone, with just the packaging remaining.

We hiked up the old road and soon enough arrived to Viewpoint Beach and great views of Edge Peak. As expected, there were quite a few people there – it was a long weekend after all. I had resolved to be at peace with the lack of solitude. As one person I spoke to there put it, it’s great to see so many people out and it’s an opportunity to make some new friends (maybe…). That didn’t quite work out for us, but we did meet some old friends. We also discovered that there is in fact a bear cache at the campground. It’s located up a short trail at the southern end of the beach.

On our second day we decided to continue hiking up the East Canyon Trail, as far as we could go. We thought we might make it to Halfmoon Beach, but we ended up at another beach we saw along the way. It was far more quiet than the campground at Halfmoon Beach based on all the people coming up and down. We did meet a couple who put up their tent there, before heading back down. It turns out that they went to the parking lot to pick up their sleeping bags which they had forgotten at the car. We spent a long time lazing and playing in the sun.

Back at the campground, Kai was walking around naked. We were trying to potty train him, and hoping he would get used to not going in his diaper. Sure enough, we noticed that he was crouching, busy with something, with that look on his face. I rushed over to clean it up. It was just as well, since 5 minutes later some campers showed up and set up their tent in exactly the same spot. They also happened to be blocking the access to the bear locker, but then again, like most people they probably didn’t realize it was there.

We debated making a loop via the West Canyon Trail, but in the end decided to head back on the East Canyon Trail to keep things simple. Soon enough we were back at the car, and on our way home. Indeed, it didn’t feel like the same trip again!