Echo Lake: It’s a Kind of Magic
This hiking trip started with a canoe trip across the Squamish River. At least, for most of us – one of us chose to swim across, braving the frigid water. This was a rare weekend on which Neil and I had the opportunity of doing a more strenuous trip. I had been eyeing a hike to Echo Lake for a while, but wasn’t sure of the logistics. Going with friends who know the way made this easy. Either way, hiking trips that start with a canoe trip have always captivated me. The canoe trip adds an element of excitement and adventure, and drives the crowds away. Crossing the Squamish River…
Harrison River: Eagles, Seals, and Sturgeon!
When I bought our inflatable canoe a couple of years ago I had visions of us floating down a rushing river. In the meantime, most of our trips have been on lakes, theoretically more mellow, but in reality at least one was scary too. Finally, on this trip, we got a chance to experience some real “moving water”. The trip down the Harrison River is apparently a classic fall trip in the canoe community, due to the many eagles that can be seen at this time of year, and the fall colours – and it sure delivered! Mid October swim… We left home a bit late, and made a quick…
Monck Provincial Park: Last Minute Surprise
We were looking for a last minute camping destination. Popular wisdom here says that you must book everything months in advance. I hate it… How am I supposed to know what I’m going to want to do in a few months time?! In this case, my dad was visiting on a last minute trip, and we wanted to do a few nights of car camping within a few hours drive of Vancouver. BC Parks’ new website allows one to see vacancies in all the parks in the province easily. I checked it a few times for our dates, but there were no reservable sites available. There are actually many first…
- Camping, Hiking & Scrambling, Kayaking and Canoeing, Metro Vancouver & North Shore, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids
Widgeon Creek: The Opening Trip of Canoe Season
It was canoe season once again. Last year we did our first ever overnight canoe trip to Widgeon Creek and decided it would be good as a first time this year as well. The evening before the trip we decided to check some information online and we discovered that the campground was actually marked as closed. Oops. We decided to still go and hope for the best. On the way – photo by Nick M. It was a cool June morning and we met up with friends in the parking lot. Like last year they still hadn’t installed a bathroom in the parking lot which I found very odd (and disgusting).…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Kayaking and Canoeing, Overseas, Random Thoughts, Travel, Trips with Kids
2021: Looking at the Glass Half Full
I woke up with a rare blast of optimism on the 31st. I was so focused in the last few days on saying good riddance to 2021 and I had no idea how to summarize this year. Then I thought why not focus on the glass half full. I came up with a mission to think of at least five good things that happened this year. It wasn’t actually too difficult and I asked Gili to do the same. We both wrote our list of five things before comparing notes. Neil showed some interest but only wrote two things. Our lists had some overlaps and similarities, but also differences. So here is our list of good…
- Camping, Cycling & Cycle Touring, Kayaking and Canoeing, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids, Vancouver Island
Alice Lake Loop: The Bear Spray Explosion
This was one of those trips where things did not go exactly as planned… It started with total sleep deprivation and being overly occupied mostly with work prior to the trip. So only a day after we left Vancouver and already on the drive to Port McNeill we realized that Kai’s bike seat was not with us in the car. It was a major problem, because Kai is not yet old enough or mature enough to sit on the cargo bike without one. So instead of carrying on with the drive to Port McNeill and starting our ride on the Alice Lake Loop, we found ourselves on a logging road maze by Campbell River looking…
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…
Callaghan Lake: The Broken Sandal
I was looking for neat places to go with our canoe. We decided on Callaghan Lake, intending to camp at the supposedly nice camping spot on the opposite end of the lake. I even recruited a friend and his two kids. However, when we arrived to Callaghan Lake, and looked at the park map, we discovered that camping at the other end isn’t allowed. It turned out I had looked at some blog posts and a guidebook, but hadn’t thought to check the park website… We were also warned about it being grizzly territory. Luckily there is a free campground right where we were going to put in, and there…
Stave Lake: An Adventurous Canoe Trip
Gili wanted an adventure. For me the week prior to the trip was exciting enough. Heat Dome. A school closure before the last day of school because of the extreme heat. A toddler whose idea of a heat wave was to hug me as much as possible. I guess he was feeling overwhelmed, and it was his way of dealing with it, but it definitely made things hotter. But a long weekend was coming and we needed to look for something to do. Our apartment was boiling, so staying in the city was less than desirable, but also there was no way we’d be doing a hot drive to an even hotter places. So…
- Hiking & Scrambling, Kayaking and Canoeing, Metro Vancouver & North Shore, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids
Widgeon Creek: Trying Something New
The first time I took out our new canoe, I flipped it. The two kids who were on it with me, Neil and a friend, were shrieking with excitement. Or was it the shock of the cold water? Either way, they just kept on shouting and laughing for at least a half hour afterwards. I admit to wondering previously – how would we get back into the canoe if we capsized? I might have even made a mental note to look this up and practice it. There was no time for that, I had to make some snap decisions – how to get the kids back into the canoe? After…
