A noticeably warmer night, and we awoke to more warm sunshine. We had a fairly leisurely start and took time to soak up the sun. Leaving the campground, we soon encountered a deep washout channel which ran down from a gorge in the cliffs above. It was as if a huge plough had come through … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse: Day 6, 4 Sep 2008
We crawled out of the tent around 7.30 and trudged all the way back to the food cache to use the facilities and collect our food. We ate breakfast down by the river and were greeted by patches of blue sky and warm sunshine. It was so soothing and peaceful by the river, the perfect … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse: Day 5, 3 Sep 2008
Another peaceful night. We stirred a little before 8 am and enjoyed breakfast at our spot by the food cache. We washed up and headed up Cottonwood Creek to check out the cable car and Cottonwood Falls. It took us less than 10 minutes, and although we had no need to cross the creek, we … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse: Day 4, 2 Sep 2008
If I remember correctly, I had a very pleasant night's sleep. The ground was soft and the river a perfectly soothing background. We woke around 8 am to sunshine in the tree tops, and set about a leisurely breakfast. The air was pleasant and we were all in good humour. The campground didn't feel anything … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse: Day 3, 1 Sep 2008
Now the trip really starts! Last night was pretty damn cold, though that was largely my own fault as I should have worn more layers. We crawled out around 7.45 am to a bright but cloudy day. Patches of blue sky came and went, and the surrounding mountain tops were shrouded in dark, ominous-looking clouds. … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse: Day 2, 31 Aug 2008
The weather forecast looked, well, interesting. But when you're backpacking you have to deal with whatever gets thrown at you, and there was no way we were going to back out now. We picked up Merewyn at 8.15 am and got under way. We stopped at the Galileo Coffee shop in Britannia Beach for dinner … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse: Day 1, 30 Aug 2008
There are some trips that you know are going to be spectacular before you go. You've done your homework, seen other people's photos and are ready to soak in the views yourself. And it lives up to all expectations. Then there are other trips that you also expect to be spectacular but turn out to … Continue reading Stein Valley Mini Traverse, 30 Aug to 5 Sep 2008
Another hike without Maria – that makes a few this year, a most unusual situation. She was down in Seattle with the rest of her rapper sword dancing team learning some new moves. The original concept of this hike was a pre-Stein `get to know your fellow hikers' trip, though it didn't work out that … Continue reading The Lions, 16 Aug 2008
Another weekend... Another weekend, another Wanderung trip. On our Joffre Lakes trip the week before we had discussed what other hikes we would like to do, and Mt Frosty came up again. Maria and I had done Mt Frosty on Canada Day 2007 with Merewyn and Anne (although I didn't make it to the summit), … Continue reading Manning Park, 25–27 Jul 2008
Two/three days by Joffre Lakes Joffre Lakes is one of the must-visit places in south-western BC. Maria visited it a couple of years ago, and we'd returned with Wanderung in 2007 as part of a weekend in the area. We'd vowed to return again but this time to camp overnight, and so we arranged it … Continue reading Joffre Lakes, 18–20 Jul 2008
Being. Outdoors. 