summer

Joffre Lakes Revisited

Most overnight camping missions I go on tend to be just me, Sara, and the dog. So it was a fun treat to go re-visit Joffre Lakes with a crew of friends. Joffre Lakes is always a beautiful hike to check out, and I have been numerous times, but I had heard they recently put a new variation on the trail that visited a nice waterfall, so I was very excited to get a chance to see it.

With friends in from Ontario and also up from Vancouver, we started hiking up on a beautiful Sunday morning. On our way up, we counted 45 campers hiking down that had stayed there overnight (there are not that many campsites available)! Luckily, our Sunday-Monday choice was a good one - we only encountered 2 other camping groups up alongside us. 

Another unique part to this trip that had me excited compared to years' past was a new toy I had recently acquired, a 10-stop ND filter, which allows you to take long exposures during broad daylight. Once we reached the third lake and set up camp, I took off with the dog and explored the neighbouring glacial streams. Hoping for a clear starry night, I was bummed to see the clouds roll in, but it made for a great sunset. 

If you live in or near the Sea-to-Sky corridor, Joffre Lakes is a must-do for the area, probably the most bang for your exercise buck in terms of a beautiful hike.

The party arrives at the waterfall

Running into more friends up at the third lake

Beautiful glacial streams feeding into the lakes, taken with a 10-stop ND filter

Beautiful colours brought on by the sunset

Playing cards by headlamp as the night closes in


Meager Creek Hot Spring Retreat

Meager Creek Hot Springs is a beautiful hot spring pool that lays towards the north end of the Pemberton Valley. A very well-developed site, it is (was) easily accessible by car, and purportedly used to see up to 30,000 visitors per year. On August 6, 2010, at 3:30am, initial failures began, with the secondary peak of Mount Meager collapsing 45 seconds later, releasing ~48.5million cubic meters of rock. The rock travelled at an estimated 240km/h down Capricorn Creek. This was one of the largest landslides to occur worldwide and one of the three largest landslides in Canadian history. This landslide took out the bridge that people would use to access the Meager Creek hot springs, and they rarely see any traffic these days due to limited access.

In the last few years, the Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC) has established a hiking trail that accesses the Harrison backcountry hut. An awesome side note: it also gives hiking access to the hot springs without having to cross the river. Sara and I had planned to do this hike for about a year, and we were excited to finally get a chance to do it in such great weather - sunny weekday, with a full moon to boot.

With very little net elevation gain (actually a loss once you descend into the valley to reach the springs), we expected the hike would be a breeze. That idea was soon thrown out the window though, as we found the trail had some aggressive side-hilling with lots of ups and downs. After a 4 hour jaunt, we found ourselves at the springs, with not a soul in sight, and our sore muscles found great relief in the soothing tubs. 

Thinking about this trip beforehand, I had a vision of a nighttime portrait of Sara and I in the springs, with stars in the sky. Given that we had the full moon, I had to slightly change my original idea. I ended up getting a shot of us I will treasure for years to come, and it proved to be worth hauling my damn tripod and flashes in on the 10km hike!

The hike began through a nice patch of old growth

It continued on through a ragged trail with orange markers interspersed to line our route

Sara and Tiva enjoy a great view of the Capricorn Creek slide area

Self-portriat, 2am under full moon