I haven't had much trip report material lately. Strangely I find myself visiting stores with daft names like "The Urban Barn" (barf!) and checking out websites like hammerzone.com ("Better Living Through Handymanlyness!").
I guess buying a house will do that. Thank goodness the ski season hasn't started.
In the interim this is a post about a trip that I make every day -- my daily bicycle commute to work.
The idea for this came about because I realized that I was starting to view the ride as a major hurdle in my day -- something to be overcome and endured -- rather than appreciating the fact that I could ride to work at all. Not needing a motorized vehicle to get to work every day is really important to me. Weather, health and a host of other reasons could take that option away instantly.
Sometimes I need to make myself slow down and smell the proverbial roses.
So one day last week I brought my camera along. I rode slowly with my head up looking around at the sights rather than with my head down pedaling as fast as I could. Here's my ride and some of the sights along the way. You can click the icons to see the photos and click on the photos to see bigger versions.
View Larger Map
Backcountry skiing, climbing, and similar stuff near Kelowna from Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mission Creek
Didn't do much on the weekend. We met with the "house lawyer" late on Friday afternoon and this preempted our normal Friday night departure. It was downhill from there. Heck we even bought a washing machine on Saturday. How domestic.
We did manage a short canoe paddle on Sunday evening. We put in at one of the local beaches and then paddled part way up Mission Creek. It was really shallow and we didn't get very far. Saw a few salmon making their way upstream and a huge flock of mergansers.
Here's a map of the "expedition"...
View Larger Map
We did manage a short canoe paddle on Sunday evening. We put in at one of the local beaches and then paddled part way up Mission Creek. It was really shallow and we didn't get very far. Saw a few salmon making their way upstream and a huge flock of mergansers.
Here's a map of the "expedition"...
View Larger Map
Monday, September 03, 2007
Jade Lakes
We left town on Friday evening and drove in the rain to Revelstoke. We spent the night at a forest service campsite just outside of town. How did we ever do this before we owned a VW van? Next morning we drove the rest of the way to Revelstoke National Park and started the hike into Jade Lakes.
The odd thing about Revelstoke Park is that there was a road built in the 1930's which leads right to the very top of Mount Revelstoke. At 1900 meters just about everywhere else is downhill from there. So after 4.5 hours and 10km of hiking we arrived at upper Jade Lake a full 100 meters below the elevation that we started at.
We had the place to ourselves, took it easy for a couple of days, explored the area a bit, and generally just enjoyed being outside. Mark (bless his heart) hauled in a bottle of wine and was the only one who managed to get in for a swim. Definitely the hero of the weekend.
More photos here.
And one more thing happened this weekend that I can't resist posting...
Yesss!
The odd thing about Revelstoke Park is that there was a road built in the 1930's which leads right to the very top of Mount Revelstoke. At 1900 meters just about everywhere else is downhill from there. So after 4.5 hours and 10km of hiking we arrived at upper Jade Lake a full 100 meters below the elevation that we started at.
We had the place to ourselves, took it easy for a couple of days, explored the area a bit, and generally just enjoyed being outside. Mark (bless his heart) hauled in a bottle of wine and was the only one who managed to get in for a swim. Definitely the hero of the weekend.
More photos here.
And one more thing happened this weekend that I can't resist posting...
Yesss!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Mount Abbott
We escaped from town on Friday evening and spent the night at the Loop Brook campsite in Rogers Pass. We didn't really have any objectives in mind for the next day and the weather forecast was a bit dodgy. We decided on Mount Abbott and perhaps the traverse over to Mount Afton. I'd been up that way a few times before but Brenda had yet to climb either peak. So, a worthy objective!
Abbott is mainly a scramble but it still took us a few hours to reach the top. Combined with our usual leisurely departure time meant that it was well after midday when we ate lunch on the summit. During the week we'd been exchanging email with Bruno and Sheri, friends of ours who live in Connecticut. It was nice to think that they had been at this very spot a few years earlier on one of the Montreal Section's summer camps. Alas, we searched the cairn in vain for a register.
Abbott provided us with a great view towards Sapphire Col. We had been there two weeks earlier with Fred and Junko. In one photo I could get all three of the peaks that we had climbed.
With the weather starting to move in we decided to give up on the idea of continuing over Mount Afton. As we started down I was a bit miffed and declared "You know we probably could have made it. The clouds are still really high and it probably won't rain for at least a couple of hours -- if it even rains at all."
Of course it was bucketing down within moments.
Partway down the ridge a ski pole that was attached to my pack started buzzing. I'll leave it up to this video and photo tell the rest of the story. It was a hair-raising descent.
Abbott is mainly a scramble but it still took us a few hours to reach the top. Combined with our usual leisurely departure time meant that it was well after midday when we ate lunch on the summit. During the week we'd been exchanging email with Bruno and Sheri, friends of ours who live in Connecticut. It was nice to think that they had been at this very spot a few years earlier on one of the Montreal Section's summer camps. Alas, we searched the cairn in vain for a register.
Abbott provided us with a great view towards Sapphire Col. We had been there two weeks earlier with Fred and Junko. In one photo I could get all three of the peaks that we had climbed.
With the weather starting to move in we decided to give up on the idea of continuing over Mount Afton. As we started down I was a bit miffed and declared "You know we probably could have made it. The clouds are still really high and it probably won't rain for at least a couple of hours -- if it even rains at all."
Of course it was bucketing down within moments.
Partway down the ridge a ski pole that was attached to my pack started buzzing. I'll leave it up to this video and photo tell the rest of the story. It was a hair-raising descent.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Eagle River
A change of pace on Sunday -- we canoed the Eagle River from Malakawa to Sicamous. The Eagle runs from east to west along the Trans-Canada Highway from Revelstoke (roughly) and into Shushwap Lake. Fred and Junko used our canoe and we borrowed our neighbour's Clipper.
Click to see the GPS track
It's a nice easy paddle -- mostly flat, flowing water with the occasional small drop and the odd sweeper thrown in to keep you on your toes. The river plays hide-and-seek with both the Trans Canada and the main CP Rail line that runs through Rogers Pass. We saw several trains and each one gave us a quick couple of blows on the horn. The first time it startled me so much I almost fell out of the canoe.
The river runs through a mix of forest and agricultural land. Inevitably we came across some cattle as we got closer to Sicamous. Another good reason to be a vegetarian in my opinion -- it reduces the number of cattle crapping in our rivers.
The flow of the river kept us moving along at a consistent 6-7km/h but it still took us 7 hours to reach Sicamous (the "Houseboat Capitol of Canada"!). A good day, we had fun, but we'd had enough by the end. We saw several bald eagles along the way. No salmon yet. Perhaps in a few weeks?
Click to see the GPS track
It's a nice easy paddle -- mostly flat, flowing water with the occasional small drop and the odd sweeper thrown in to keep you on your toes. The river plays hide-and-seek with both the Trans Canada and the main CP Rail line that runs through Rogers Pass. We saw several trains and each one gave us a quick couple of blows on the horn. The first time it startled me so much I almost fell out of the canoe.
The river runs through a mix of forest and agricultural land. Inevitably we came across some cattle as we got closer to Sicamous. Another good reason to be a vegetarian in my opinion -- it reduces the number of cattle crapping in our rivers.
The flow of the river kept us moving along at a consistent 6-7km/h but it still took us 7 hours to reach Sicamous (the "Houseboat Capitol of Canada"!). A good day, we had fun, but we'd had enough by the end. We saw several bald eagles along the way. No salmon yet. Perhaps in a few weeks?
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Sapphire Col
Three peaks in three days - a new record for the "B" group!
With a whole three days available to us this weekend, we decided to make the trip up to Sapphire Col. Using the SuperBus, we camped at the pass on Friday night, and on Saturday morning, Andrew, Brenda (your guest blogger today), Fred and Junco all set off in fine weather for the long and adventurous route to the humble yet beautiful (like your guest blogger) Sapphire Col Hut.
After an hour or two on the trail, we encounter the first obstacle of the day - crossing the raging river coming off the Asulkan glacier. One misstep would lead to soggy feet! Not to be daunted, we collected nearby branches and logs to create makeshift bridges. Obstacle 1 surpassed!
The next test of mettle was a miserable bushwhack through alder and scrubby cedar, which happily did not last long (though it couldn't have been too short). This was followed by a good hour of walking through a rocky meadow between two moraines, which led us to the fourth and most pleasant obstacle - a series of bedrock steps interspersed with small (and not so small) streams. This zen-like landscape took us to the toe of the Asulkan glacier, the fifth and final obstacle!
The final leg of our journey had ups and downs. The down was, as you can see in the photo, a sprinkling of rain. The upside was the sweet anticipation brought on by a helicopter making multiple passes above us long-lining... yes it's true... FRESH BARRELS! Arriving at the Sapphire Col Hut is always a great feeling, but never so great as when we know that clean facilities await.
That evening we made the easy trip up to Mt. Castor.
The following day saw us atop the broad slushy summit of Mt Swanzy via the SE Couloir - a longish grind up a steepish snow slope, which would make a helluva ski in springtime. Along the way we met with a graupel-and-snow storm - normal August weather.
Finally, on Monday, we went up The Dome, by far the most interesting and fun climb of the trip.
The trip out was long and unremarkable - the reverse of the trip in, except that it seemed an awful lot longer. Ice cream on the way home was the perfect end to one of the best trips to be had in Rogers Pass.
More photos here.
With a whole three days available to us this weekend, we decided to make the trip up to Sapphire Col. Using the SuperBus, we camped at the pass on Friday night, and on Saturday morning, Andrew, Brenda (your guest blogger today), Fred and Junco all set off in fine weather for the long and adventurous route to the humble yet beautiful (like your guest blogger) Sapphire Col Hut.
After an hour or two on the trail, we encounter the first obstacle of the day - crossing the raging river coming off the Asulkan glacier. One misstep would lead to soggy feet! Not to be daunted, we collected nearby branches and logs to create makeshift bridges. Obstacle 1 surpassed!
The next test of mettle was a miserable bushwhack through alder and scrubby cedar, which happily did not last long (though it couldn't have been too short). This was followed by a good hour of walking through a rocky meadow between two moraines, which led us to the fourth and most pleasant obstacle - a series of bedrock steps interspersed with small (and not so small) streams. This zen-like landscape took us to the toe of the Asulkan glacier, the fifth and final obstacle!
The final leg of our journey had ups and downs. The down was, as you can see in the photo, a sprinkling of rain. The upside was the sweet anticipation brought on by a helicopter making multiple passes above us long-lining... yes it's true... FRESH BARRELS! Arriving at the Sapphire Col Hut is always a great feeling, but never so great as when we know that clean facilities await.
That evening we made the easy trip up to Mt. Castor.
The following day saw us atop the broad slushy summit of Mt Swanzy via the SE Couloir - a longish grind up a steepish snow slope, which would make a helluva ski in springtime. Along the way we met with a graupel-and-snow storm - normal August weather.
Finally, on Monday, we went up The Dome, by far the most interesting and fun climb of the trip.
The trip out was long and unremarkable - the reverse of the trip in, except that it seemed an awful lot longer. Ice cream on the way home was the perfect end to one of the best trips to be had in Rogers Pass.
More photos here.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Eagle Peak SW Ridge
Been there, done that, thank goodness it's done. Oh man what a tedious route. The SW ridge isn't a technical climb by any measure but we still hoped for a few moments throughout the day where we would think "Whoah, cool. What a place to be!". Unfortunately those moments were few and very far between!
We were tired and dispirited when we finally returned to the Illecillewaet parking at 7:00PM. But look who we found to brighten our day...
Simon Mason! We hadn't spoken with Simon since leaving Montreal two years ago and there he was standing before us like it was the most normal thing in the world. It was surreal. He'd been on vacation with the family in the Calgary area and now had a few days to do a bit of climbing. The next morning he was heading to Sir Donald with Bob, Alena, and Diane who we also knew from back east.
It was great to those guys but I must admit that the encounter left me feeling slightly melancholy. It reminded me of all the great people we left behind when we moved to Kelowna.
We were knackered on Sunday and spent the day visiting some of the points of interest along the highway. The "Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk" was interesting. As the name implies it's a narrow raised pathway that allows you to walk through a low-lying swampy area. Apparently these wetlands are extremely rare in the Columbia valley and provide important habitat for migrating birds.
Anyway the best part was coming across a huge pile of bear scat right in the middle of the boardwalk.
We were tired and dispirited when we finally returned to the Illecillewaet parking at 7:00PM. But look who we found to brighten our day...
Simon Mason! We hadn't spoken with Simon since leaving Montreal two years ago and there he was standing before us like it was the most normal thing in the world. It was surreal. He'd been on vacation with the family in the Calgary area and now had a few days to do a bit of climbing. The next morning he was heading to Sir Donald with Bob, Alena, and Diane who we also knew from back east.
It was great to those guys but I must admit that the encounter left me feeling slightly melancholy. It reminded me of all the great people we left behind when we moved to Kelowna.
We were knackered on Sunday and spent the day visiting some of the points of interest along the highway. The "Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk" was interesting. As the name implies it's a narrow raised pathway that allows you to walk through a low-lying swampy area. Apparently these wetlands are extremely rare in the Columbia valley and provide important habitat for migrating birds.
Anyway the best part was coming across a huge pile of bear scat right in the middle of the boardwalk.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Mount Begbie
Over the weekend Brenda and I lead an Alpine Club trip to Mount Begbie which is just south of Revelstoke in the Gold Range. We had climbed Begbie a couple of years ago and felt it would be within our powers to lead (and I use the term loosely) a group up the normal route since it's mostly a scramble with a few interesting bits. The trip generated a fair amount of interest and in the end we were a group of seven with a number of people still on a waiting list.
The elevation difference from the trailhead to the summit is around 2000 meters (ouch!) so we broke it up by hiking part way up on Saturday and camping. Even this was a grunt of 1300m with the added burden of overnight packs. It's hard to know which is the best approach, either doing it all in one day or breaking it up, but it was nice to spend a night camping out high above Revelstoke. Thankfully the campsite was mostly free of snow and we didn't have a repeat of last weekend's shoveling marathon. It was also nice to actually feel chilly for a change! It's been blistering hot in the Okanagan lately. Temperatures have been as high as 40C in some places.
The route crosses the toe of a small glacier and then gains a ledge that can then be traversed to gain the north ridge. You can see the ledge just above Trent's noggin in this photo.
This photo gives a better idea of the scale - the ledge starts at that little finger of snow just above the highest figure.
There was a bit of messing about getting onto the ledge from the glacier.
The ledge itself is actually several meters wide for most of it's length except for one narrow part with an awkward step where we set up a rope to get everyone across quickly.
Once on the ridge it's an easy scramble with a few slightly more technical parts. This is Astrid taking it all very seriously.
And here we are on the top.
It's hard to avoid making these summit photos looking like bad album covers. We look like some oddball folk band about to launch into a rendition of our latest cheesy hit. Except for me, I just look like a goof.
The elevation difference from the trailhead to the summit is around 2000 meters (ouch!) so we broke it up by hiking part way up on Saturday and camping. Even this was a grunt of 1300m with the added burden of overnight packs. It's hard to know which is the best approach, either doing it all in one day or breaking it up, but it was nice to spend a night camping out high above Revelstoke. Thankfully the campsite was mostly free of snow and we didn't have a repeat of last weekend's shoveling marathon. It was also nice to actually feel chilly for a change! It's been blistering hot in the Okanagan lately. Temperatures have been as high as 40C in some places.
The route crosses the toe of a small glacier and then gains a ledge that can then be traversed to gain the north ridge. You can see the ledge just above Trent's noggin in this photo.
This photo gives a better idea of the scale - the ledge starts at that little finger of snow just above the highest figure.
There was a bit of messing about getting onto the ledge from the glacier.
The ledge itself is actually several meters wide for most of it's length except for one narrow part with an awkward step where we set up a rope to get everyone across quickly.
Once on the ridge it's an easy scramble with a few slightly more technical parts. This is Astrid taking it all very seriously.
And here we are on the top.
It's hard to avoid making these summit photos looking like bad album covers. We look like some oddball folk band about to launch into a rendition of our latest cheesy hit. Except for me, I just look like a goof.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Hermit Meadows
We were at Hermit Meadows over the long weekend with Mark, a former colleague of mine. We didn't really have any specific objectives in mind and just wanted to spend a couple of nights out and perhaps get up onto the glacier below Mount Rogers.
Brenda and I made the same trip last year and have fond memories of being forced to dig out a tent platform with a pot from our cook set. With the big snow pack this year we made sure to bring a shovel this time. In the end we could have used two or three. There was still 2-3 meters of snow in places. It took hours of digging but it was well worth it to have a nice dry (albeit cramped) platform to pitch the tents on.
We had a good dinner, drank lots of tea, and watched the sun set on the mountains across the valley, but we were soon chased into our tents by the cold wind.
We woke to a nice morning with a mix of sun and cloud and made our way over Tupper Ridge and onto the glacier.
Just for kicks we climbed a steep snow slope to reach the top of a sub-peak beside Mount Rogers. It's the double humped feature in the center left of this photo:
Here's Mark trying to decide whether or not he's having fun (he was):
Another night out and then back down to the car where we found one of Brenda's most favourite things in the world...a cool bug!
Leave a comment if you can you help us identify him. I should have put something else in the photo for comparison because he looks tiny. Actually his body alone was about 2-3cms long.
Brenda and I made the same trip last year and have fond memories of being forced to dig out a tent platform with a pot from our cook set. With the big snow pack this year we made sure to bring a shovel this time. In the end we could have used two or three. There was still 2-3 meters of snow in places. It took hours of digging but it was well worth it to have a nice dry (albeit cramped) platform to pitch the tents on.
We had a good dinner, drank lots of tea, and watched the sun set on the mountains across the valley, but we were soon chased into our tents by the cold wind.
We woke to a nice morning with a mix of sun and cloud and made our way over Tupper Ridge and onto the glacier.
Just for kicks we climbed a steep snow slope to reach the top of a sub-peak beside Mount Rogers. It's the double humped feature in the center left of this photo:
Here's Mark trying to decide whether or not he's having fun (he was):
Another night out and then back down to the car where we found one of Brenda's most favourite things in the world...a cool bug!
Leave a comment if you can you help us identify him. I should have put something else in the photo for comparison because he looks tiny. Actually his body alone was about 2-3cms long.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit
Just back from a 6 day canoe trip to the Bowron Lakes. The trip was organized by a great group of guys from Edmonton. My connection to them was through Ross McEwen. I know Ross from the time when we both lived in Montreal. The timing was perfect since I was leaving the company that I was working for and starting a new position elsewhere. The trip fell in between nicely.
The park is situated on the western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range about 700km north of Kelowna. It was a loooong drive and I took the opportunity to christen the new (old) VW van by sleeping in it on the night that I drove up.
I arrived on a sunny Friday morning to find the happy pre-trip chaos of Ross, Darcy, Gary, Daryl and Mario mixing equal parts of packing, drinking, and general hilarity.
There is an unreal amount of administrative bureaucracy to go through before being allowed to depart from the staging area. There are information sessions, videos, and gear weigh-ins ad nauseam. Looking at this map, the trip begins in the top left corner and then travels clockwise from there. The places we camped are circled in red.
The circuit itself is 110km long with about 10kms of that being portages. It's very much like a canoe trip in Algonquin Park except that the mountains are...well, mountains...with snow capped peaks, avalanche runouts, and weather that changes in an instant. The portages are also much easier with well maintained trails that are designed to be used with canoe carts. This makes a huge difference in the amount of weight that you can carry (think giant smoked hams for the non-veggies and lots of booze). We saw moose, baby moose, eagles, ospreys, and bear. Got cold, hot, wet, and very dirty. So overall a great trip!
On the drive out Darcy and I passed two grizzly bears playing in a meadow near the road just outside of Wells. We pulled off onto a side road to watch from the van. We were amazed as they made their way directly towards us, play-fighting and running and loping around. Eventually they were within about 20 metres of us when all of a sudden an RCMP truck pulled up behind us, blasted its siren, and then parked directly between us and the bears. An officer jumped out with a rifle and started throwing rocks at the bears and yelling "Go on! Get out of here you stupid bears! Yargh!!". The bears stood up on their hind legs, hesitated a moment, and ran off in the other direction.
It was pretty dramatic. He explained afterwards that the bears are a real menace so they actively deter them when they get near the edge of town. The rifle was loaded with rubber bullets.
We had a fantastic meal at a little restaurant in Wells and then a highly entertaining evening in the slightly larger town of Quesnel. It gets a bit foggy from here but I do believe that we made quite an impression on the local populace. Highlights include karaoke in the Caribou Bar, endless sambuca shots courtesy of Daryl, and a new dance invented by Mario in the Quesnel Bar that features several people forming a line and paddling around the dance floor to heavy dance music.
I slept in the van parked in the Ramada parking lot.
More photos from Darcy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/darcy.lalor/BowronLakesJune2007
Google killed Picasa so here are more photos on Google Photos: https://goo.gl/photos/GkxCNj916oU7rwBJ8
The park is situated on the western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range about 700km north of Kelowna. It was a loooong drive and I took the opportunity to christen the new (old) VW van by sleeping in it on the night that I drove up.
I arrived on a sunny Friday morning to find the happy pre-trip chaos of Ross, Darcy, Gary, Daryl and Mario mixing equal parts of packing, drinking, and general hilarity.
There is an unreal amount of administrative bureaucracy to go through before being allowed to depart from the staging area. There are information sessions, videos, and gear weigh-ins ad nauseam. Looking at this map, the trip begins in the top left corner and then travels clockwise from there. The places we camped are circled in red.
The circuit itself is 110km long with about 10kms of that being portages. It's very much like a canoe trip in Algonquin Park except that the mountains are...well, mountains...with snow capped peaks, avalanche runouts, and weather that changes in an instant. The portages are also much easier with well maintained trails that are designed to be used with canoe carts. This makes a huge difference in the amount of weight that you can carry (think giant smoked hams for the non-veggies and lots of booze). We saw moose, baby moose, eagles, ospreys, and bear. Got cold, hot, wet, and very dirty. So overall a great trip!
On the drive out Darcy and I passed two grizzly bears playing in a meadow near the road just outside of Wells. We pulled off onto a side road to watch from the van. We were amazed as they made their way directly towards us, play-fighting and running and loping around. Eventually they were within about 20 metres of us when all of a sudden an RCMP truck pulled up behind us, blasted its siren, and then parked directly between us and the bears. An officer jumped out with a rifle and started throwing rocks at the bears and yelling "Go on! Get out of here you stupid bears! Yargh!!". The bears stood up on their hind legs, hesitated a moment, and ran off in the other direction.
It was pretty dramatic. He explained afterwards that the bears are a real menace so they actively deter them when they get near the edge of town. The rifle was loaded with rubber bullets.
We had a fantastic meal at a little restaurant in Wells and then a highly entertaining evening in the slightly larger town of Quesnel. It gets a bit foggy from here but I do believe that we made quite an impression on the local populace. Highlights include karaoke in the Caribou Bar, endless sambuca shots courtesy of Daryl, and a new dance invented by Mario in the Quesnel Bar that features several people forming a line and paddling around the dance floor to heavy dance music.
I slept in the van parked in the Ramada parking lot.
http://picasaweb.google.com/darcy.lalor/BowronLakesJune2007
Google killed Picasa so here are more photos on Google Photos: https://goo.gl/photos/GkxCNj916oU7rwBJ8
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Mission Creek
Okay this barely counts as a trip report but we've been a bit lazy lately so I gotta post something.
Last fall Brenda and I paddled two different sections of the Shushwap River between Mabel Lake and Mara Lake. At the time the river was teaming with big red sockeye salmon.
We really enjoyed ourselves and resolved to do more paddling in the area. Unfortunately renting a canoe and then returning it during business hours was a major hassle. So on Saturday we bought a used canoe. Nothing fancy -- a 16' frontier and a bit of a monster really -- but I've always wanted a canoe and this'll do for now.
The world was our oyster! Where to go canoing? Mission Creek seemed the obvious choice. Mission Creek flows out of the hills east of Kelowna and winds through the city and into Okanagan Lake. Brenda was a little dubious about the idea but she was a good sport and we went for it. We left one car at the lake and then drove about 12km upstream and put the canoe in.
Um...the river was really flowing. I mean it was seriously moving. To make a long story short by the time we were 500 meters downstream (which was pretty damn quick) we'd taken on a good amount of water and were soaked to the skin. The water is anything but warm this time of year let me tell 'ya.
A return to shore was promptly arranged and we came to a crunching halt on some shallow rocks, somewhat chastened. Our poor canoe must have wondered just what kind of a future life was in store for it.
We'll go back in a few weeks after the spring run-off.
Last fall Brenda and I paddled two different sections of the Shushwap River between Mabel Lake and Mara Lake. At the time the river was teaming with big red sockeye salmon.
We really enjoyed ourselves and resolved to do more paddling in the area. Unfortunately renting a canoe and then returning it during business hours was a major hassle. So on Saturday we bought a used canoe. Nothing fancy -- a 16' frontier and a bit of a monster really -- but I've always wanted a canoe and this'll do for now.
The world was our oyster! Where to go canoing? Mission Creek seemed the obvious choice. Mission Creek flows out of the hills east of Kelowna and winds through the city and into Okanagan Lake. Brenda was a little dubious about the idea but she was a good sport and we went for it. We left one car at the lake and then drove about 12km upstream and put the canoe in.
Um...the river was really flowing. I mean it was seriously moving. To make a long story short by the time we were 500 meters downstream (which was pretty damn quick) we'd taken on a good amount of water and were soaked to the skin. The water is anything but warm this time of year let me tell 'ya.
A return to shore was promptly arranged and we came to a crunching halt on some shallow rocks, somewhat chastened. Our poor canoe must have wondered just what kind of a future life was in store for it.
We'll go back in a few weeks after the spring run-off.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Monashees
We drove up to the Monashees on Sunday morning. The plan was to drive as far as possible on the logging roads and then to ski into Monashee Lake and spend the night.
It should be noted that this was Brenda's idea. She's beginning to make a habit of picking wacky spring destinations and this one continued the fine tradition! We needed the logging roads to be clear enough of snow that would could drive to within a reasonable distance of the trailhead. But then we also needed there to be enough snow remaining for us to ski as soon as we left the car behind. Somewhat conflicting requirements.
The road remained completely snow free except for one section of deep and really dense snow. Of course by now we've taken off the snow tires so at first the little CRV huffed and puffed but just could not get through. Eventually we used our avalanche shovels to clear two tracks and also put the tire chains on (once we remembered that we had them in the car with us) and that did the trick.
With the patch of snow behind us we were home free!
Or not...
I think we can fit through...
Um...perhaps we'd better take a measurement here.
Rats. Not going to happen. This is where we needed to get to...
And of course at this point it started to rain. And it was cold. And the prospect of walking several kilometers (at least) with skis on our backs just so that we could maybe, possibly, perhaps find enough snow to ski...
Well, let's just say that forward momentum was lost at this point.
We did see a bear though. And there was bear scat everywhere.
And I dunno if this was some bear's first dump after hibernation or what but either way I say that this was one big bear.
(And no the bear didn't pass Brenda's GPS through it's system, it's just there for comparison purposes.)
It should be noted that this was Brenda's idea. She's beginning to make a habit of picking wacky spring destinations and this one continued the fine tradition! We needed the logging roads to be clear enough of snow that would could drive to within a reasonable distance of the trailhead. But then we also needed there to be enough snow remaining for us to ski as soon as we left the car behind. Somewhat conflicting requirements.
The road remained completely snow free except for one section of deep and really dense snow. Of course by now we've taken off the snow tires so at first the little CRV huffed and puffed but just could not get through. Eventually we used our avalanche shovels to clear two tracks and also put the tire chains on (once we remembered that we had them in the car with us) and that did the trick.
With the patch of snow behind us we were home free!
Or not...
I think we can fit through...
Um...perhaps we'd better take a measurement here.
Rats. Not going to happen. This is where we needed to get to...
And of course at this point it started to rain. And it was cold. And the prospect of walking several kilometers (at least) with skis on our backs just so that we could maybe, possibly, perhaps find enough snow to ski...
Well, let's just say that forward momentum was lost at this point.
We did see a bear though. And there was bear scat everywhere.
And I dunno if this was some bear's first dump after hibernation or what but either way I say that this was one big bear.
(And no the bear didn't pass Brenda's GPS through it's system, it's just there for comparison purposes.)
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Wapta Icefield
The Wapta Icefield traverse is the classic Canadian Rockies hut-to-hut ski tour. The icefield straddles the continental divide on the Alberta-BC border north of Lake Louise. The traverse is typically done from north to south starting at Wapta Lake or Bow Lake and continuing southwards to an exit at Sherbrooke Lake near Field on the Trans-Canada Highway. There are four ACC huts along the route -- Peyto, Bow, Balfour, and the Scott Duncan. We planned a slightly shorter traverse over 4 days and 3 nights with stops at the Bow, Balfour, and Scott Duncan huts.
Alas, the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men...
The Bow is a really well designed hut with separate sleeping and living quarters connected by a short passage way. I'd been here a couple of years before in October for some early season skiing. That time we'd carried our skis on our backs and been forced to hop from rock to rock up the canyon since we were ignorant of the summer hiking trail that stayed above the canyon! This time we arrived in good time but in crap weather so we had a leisurely afternoon and evening playing cards.
The next morning we made our way up onto the glacier and headed towards the Olive-St.Nicholas col. At first the visibility was really poor and at times it snowed heavily and the wind howled. We aimed vaguely in the direction of the col and hoped for some visibility. Eventually it cleared just at the right time and we found our way over the col and to the Balfour Hut without too much trouble.
Above the Bow Hut
Brad at the col
The Balfour Hut with the St. Nick-Olive col to the right of the peaks in the distance
The next leg of the traverse travels over the Balfour High Col to the Scott Duncan Hut and is apparently the most difficult part of the traverse. According to the guidebook "advanced route finding skills" are required, especially in poor weather, which is exactly what we woke up to the next morning.
To make a long story short, some in the group weren't comfortable attempting to go over the pass and we were forced to backtrack to the Bow. I was bitterly disappointed. I think we should have at least put ourselves into a position where we could make a dash over the top if the weather broke. It wouldn't have been much worse than heading back to the Bow! We were forced into the classic navigation technique of one person breaking trail and the next person in line holding a compass on a bearing and calling out "left!" or "right!" as the first person drifted back and forth in the mist. Good fun that.
Brenda setting waypoints at the Balfour (with slippers!)
We spent another night at the Bow and thank goodness we did because the next day was nice and clear. We had a few really nice runs above the Bow Hut before heading out.
After that we once again shouldered our still heavy packs and tottered off down the canyon, across Bow Lake, and back to where we started from three days earlier. Next stop - Lagan's for coffee!
Alas, the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men...
The Bow is a really well designed hut with separate sleeping and living quarters connected by a short passage way. I'd been here a couple of years before in October for some early season skiing. That time we'd carried our skis on our backs and been forced to hop from rock to rock up the canyon since we were ignorant of the summer hiking trail that stayed above the canyon! This time we arrived in good time but in crap weather so we had a leisurely afternoon and evening playing cards.
The next morning we made our way up onto the glacier and headed towards the Olive-St.Nicholas col. At first the visibility was really poor and at times it snowed heavily and the wind howled. We aimed vaguely in the direction of the col and hoped for some visibility. Eventually it cleared just at the right time and we found our way over the col and to the Balfour Hut without too much trouble.
Above the Bow Hut
Brad at the col
The Balfour Hut with the St. Nick-Olive col to the right of the peaks in the distance
The next leg of the traverse travels over the Balfour High Col to the Scott Duncan Hut and is apparently the most difficult part of the traverse. According to the guidebook "advanced route finding skills" are required, especially in poor weather, which is exactly what we woke up to the next morning.
To make a long story short, some in the group weren't comfortable attempting to go over the pass and we were forced to backtrack to the Bow. I was bitterly disappointed. I think we should have at least put ourselves into a position where we could make a dash over the top if the weather broke. It wouldn't have been much worse than heading back to the Bow! We were forced into the classic navigation technique of one person breaking trail and the next person in line holding a compass on a bearing and calling out "left!" or "right!" as the first person drifted back and forth in the mist. Good fun that.
Brenda setting waypoints at the Balfour (with slippers!)
We spent another night at the Bow and thank goodness we did because the next day was nice and clear. We had a few really nice runs above the Bow Hut before heading out.
After that we once again shouldered our still heavy packs and tottered off down the canyon, across Bow Lake, and back to where we started from three days earlier. Next stop - Lagan's for coffee!
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