Birkenhead Lake: The Winds of Change
During the summer Canada was slowly opening up, for the first time since COVID started. We hadn’t seen our family in over two years, so it was about time to change that. Gili’s dad came on a very last minute visit, and the boys were very excited to have their grandpa around. Usually we don’t plan car camping trips, but we did book this one to Birkenhead Lake as we thought it would be a good destination to explore with our canoe. We also heard it was beautiful there and quite remote, and although we were both sure we’ve been there before we couldn’t quite picture it. So it was definitely time to go again. In the end it worked out great because Gili’s dad could easily join us. We didn’t end up using the canoe much though due to strong winds and a bit of rain, but it was also a nice place to fly our kite.
It had been a hot summer up until then and everyone was complaining about the heat. We stopped in Pemberton and the temperature gauge in the car showed 34C and the air felt very hot and dry. A quick swim in One Mile Lake was very refreshing and the kids loved running on the dock. We had burgers and fries for dinner at Mile One Eating House, where we haven’t been in a long time. We sat outside, enjoying the views of Mt. Curry and drank local cider. Not bad for a Wednesday evening. Then we started driving towards Birkenhead Lake, and shortly after we left Pemberton we lost our cell reception for the next four days. In a way it was divine.
We reached our site around 8pm with still about an hour of sunlight to set up camp. Kai was already sleeping in the car and we had a successful transfer to the tent. The next day was still hot and we enjoyed the lake which was quite cold. It was quite windy though, so no canoe. The kids enjoyed the kite, and the new excitement – our fishing rod! Ever since our trip to Callaghan Lake when Neil’s friend caught a Rainbow Trout, Neil’s been talking about trying to fish. He spent a long time trying to fish from various locations, but no success so far.
Then the winds really changed, and the weather turned from very hot to rainy and chilly. We did a few short hikes, one up to a viewpoint and one along the lake. Then when there was a bit of a break in the weather, all the guys went out in the canoe. In the end I didn’t manage to go out in the canoe at all, because by the time they returned it was rainy and windy again. I enjoyed my quiet time though and reading my book. There was something really mystical and very calming about Birkenhead Lake. Maybe it was just being far away from civilization, and being surrounded by trees, mountains and one big lake.
On the drive back we stopped at a yummy Mexican place in Whistler, made a visit to Brandywine Falls (always impressive), and a quick visit to the bike park in North Van while waiting for the traffic to open up.
