With my girlfriend recovering from a broken foot, we couldn't go for any extravagant hikes, so we decided to travel by paddle instead. We cruised up the Callaghan Valley to Callaghan Lake for an overnight camping mission. Arriving at the lake, we found that the campsites were right on the side of the dirt road, with minimal tree coverage - not quite as serene a setting as we were hoping for. We soon learned, however, that there was a camping spot across the lake that was quite nice. So, we packed all our gear and loaded it into the canoe, and a rubber dingy which we tied to the canoe, and set off for our new destination. Callaghan Lake is pretty large, and makes for quite an enjoyable paddle. We eventually made it to our new home for the evening; an extremely small patch of beach at the trailhead to Cirque Lake (a hike which I will soon return for). After setting up camp, we went for another paddle on the lake, and then took a mellow stroll on the hiking trail, checking out the beautiful streams that flow from Cirque Lake into the Callaghan. We were about 4 nights post-full moon, so after dinner and a short nap we headed out onto the lake again for a moonlit paddle. Waking up well-rested and feeling like we escaped the "bubble" (if only temporarily), we headed back across the lake and back to real life.
