A three-day backpacking trip to Okanagan Mountain Park. The park was ravaged by a huge fire in the summer of 2003 and is just coming back to life. Despite the devastation, the hike was beautiful. The flowers were blooming and the forest floor was green in every direction. The downsides were the ticks (we found about 20 or so between us, fortunately only one had taken hold and it came out easily), which meant covering up, and the heat which meant that we overheated because we had to cover up. The trail was surprisingly rough and had its fair share of little (and not-so-little) ups and downs so we were working hard whichever direction we went.
Highlights were seeing and hearing coyotes howling, the abundance of wildflowers and getting a good look at a young (disbelieving) black bear. Andrew and Merewyn made good use of Okanagan Lake for their challenge (the rest of us also ventured in… mostly).
So not as easy a trip as we had perhaps expected, but a great way to start this year’s backpacking season! We finished off the hike with wine tasting in Narramata.
Day 1: the south trailhead to Commando Bay campground;
Day 2: a spectacular day hike up to the Rim of Wild Horse Canyon;
Day 3: return to the trailhead, uphill most of the way!
Distance: 35 km
Elevation gain: 1100 m
Photos on Flickr
Being. Outdoors. 