Summer plans, part 4: Smithers

Part 1 - The prep

Part 2 - The trip west

Part 3 - Okanagan

Part 4 - Smithers

Smithers was the goal for all this driving. My parents' 50th anniversary would be in the fall, so a summer gathering was planned, and most of the family hoped to attend. We arrived the day before the great and glorious celebration.

Most of the clan. There were 7 who couldn't make it.

Opa and Oma with just the great-grandkids

Can't very well celebrate without some bubbles.

Sister #1 (in age, not necessarily popularity...) generously offered a trailer for us to camp in, which sister #3 was kind enough to park at her place. We made sure to see sister #2 all well of course, just so everyone had their fair dose of us before we outstayed our welcome and skipped town.

One fine day, brother #1 decided a bunch of us should scale Hudson Bay Mountain the next day. (Against my better judgment, I decided this was a good idea for me. For one thing, I had a bit of what ailed Nora so I wasn't at my healthiest, and second, I had something planned fairly soon...) So a few adults and a bunch of kids made our way up to the ski hill. We parked there and started hiking for Crater Lake. It has been a while since I've been up there, and I've never tried to go for the summit beyond.

On the trek up to the lake, the meadows were amazing.

The hike is a steady climb, but with nice views and interesting flora. Much of that day, things were a little fogged in and it was quite cold. Carrie and I dressed properly for the occasion, but some others were dressed like it was summer. Ha! They likely regretted that.

Up, up, up. We've left the tree line behind.

Not the clearest of views

Behold, the lake...

Made it!

We got to Crater Lake. Nobody was dumb enough to venture in for a glacial swim. The fog wasn't far overhead, but most of us decided to forge ahead for the peak; a couple of people went back down to the vehicles.

After a steep incline that has some greenery, the rest of the climb is nothing but rocks. Sharp rocks. Slippery rocks. Windy rocks. You basically follow wet rocky ridges and try not to get blown off your feet as you climb, climb, climb. Every time we peered through the fog and though we saw the end, there would loom yet another rise to climb over. Eventually, a couple of the younger kids were too cold and miserable to continue, so we decided to turn back. The trek down wasn't too bad but it did challenge a whole different set of muscles. By the end I was wishing I hadn't done this, knowing what I'd signed up for the next day...

Never too summery for a snowball fight

Foggy view, slippery rocks, a deadly drop-off to the right.

Heading back down. Burning different leg muscles.

When the fog clears, the view is well worth it. (Click to enlarge.)

My old friend Derek and I have trekked to and explored Lower Reiseter (aka Two Bridge) Lake in the past, located in the rugged Babine Mountain Provincial Park. But we've never been able to get to Upper Reiseter Lake. This elusive smaller colder sibling has been calling our names for many years, so we decided to aim for it once again, thirteen years after our previous attempt.

This is where my mountain-climbing efforts of the previous day did me no favours at all.

We planned to stay overnight, so we'd have a bit of time to explore. We headed out early on Lily's birthday (sorry kiddo) with a couple of bikes in the back of the truck. Made it to the end of the lousy road, parked respectably, loaded up and started biking.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch... it was Lily's birthday, so Carrie took her and her cousin Lauren horseback riding. Carrie also took her to get her ears pierced, something she's wanted for a while.

Clever... they do both sides at once so you can't escape with a job half done

Happy 9th!

Back to the trail. The idea behind taking the bikes is to ride a decent trail uphill until it's no longer feasible to bike. Then stash them in the bushes, so that on the way back when we're dead tired, the bikes will be a welcome way to save time and energy at the end of our trek.

I remembered our previous trek here to be very wet and very blistery. Anticipating this, I brought my old hiking shoes so I could sacrifice them and still have (somewhat) comfy feet. Well, once the bike portion was done, it wasn't long at all before the undergrowth had our pants soaked through. And the feet didn't stay dry long either. But at least I wasn't wearing borrowed ill-fitting shoes this time. Unfortunately, my earlier mountain excursion had done a number on my joints and my toes, so I was, once again, not enjoying my walk as much as I would have liked.

Hillside trails

Non-trails

Along way is the site of a former cabin at an old mining site. Our visit in 2008 had seen it as a woodpile that still somewhat resembled the shape of a cabin. This time, however, we had to bushwhack to find any sign of it; there's not much left of it at all. Derek did take an old nail from the site as a souvenir; it currently serves as his keychain or toothbrush or something.

We made it to Lower Reiseter eventually. The campsite there still has a canoe and a picnic table. This time there was also an axe; also some wood but it wasn't split. We set up camp and tried to dry off some clothing. We tried to get on each other's nerves (is that how it went?); he would throw wet noodles at me, and I would give him a welt to remember.

After some chow, Derek tried to convince me that it was a good time to go and explore. I whined and complained, but he prevailed so off we went. Straight up a hillside, no trail to follow, dense underbrush. And So. Much. Pain. It was not pleasant. I was mobile, technically, but the dude was moving waaay too fast. So I hobbled along and complained just loudly enough to keep the bears at bay.

One much-needed break among many

We conquered a lot of elevation, heading generally in the right direction, eventually getting above the tree line. It was legit windy up there.

A little over his head is the tiny patch of blue lake we failed to reach

Lower Reiseter in the background

Rewarding views

We made it to a wide open area with views almost all around, and I was finished. But he wasn't. So I sat back while Derek decided to tackle one more hill. I watched him a for a long time, him wheezing up the hill, then dropping on all fours to crawl a bit, then falling down unmoving for half a minute, then getting up and repeat the process. He made it eventually, and I was surprised he wasn't blown clear off the peak. In the meantime, I also spied some wildlife on a different slope of the hill he was climbing. So while Derek played mountain goat for yet another view, I enjoyed watching a dozen or more actual mountain goats grazing in the neighbourhood.

Quality goat photography, I know. National Geographic is going to call any minute.

In time, Derek rejoined me and we made our way back to camp. Further efforts to dry off footwear ensued as we told tales around the campfire into the night.

The following morning we took our time breaking camp before striking out for civilization. Joints and feet ached of course, but we made pretty good time. The weather was warm, and our packs somehow got heavier by the minute. It was therefore with great joy that we reached the stashed bikes and flew with wild abandon down the last leg of the trail to the truck.

Were we successful? Yes, in that we had a fulfilling overnight hike to an old haunt. But no, in that we again failed to reach the upper lake. Perhaps next time we'll get dropped in with a float plane and save ourselves some hurt.

And speaking of hurt, I've since lost two of the toenails affected by the two hikes that week. I think the rest are okay. (I will spare you the pictures.)

Our stay in Smithers was pretty relaxing, apart from the odd excursion. We spent time at the lake and hung out with family.

Local apple thieves

Fun kayaking

He's getting the hang of this barbecue thing.

Cousins

Oh, also a plane ride.

We kids bought mom & dad an aerial tour of the town. There were weather delays that caused a bit of uncertainty, but in the end four of the siblings and three spouses got to come along for the ride.

We put on life preservers and the captain says "and then just pull the tab". To which I say "mine has no tab". He did a lousy job of looking competent repackaging mine.

Takeoff occurred from Tyhee Lake in a float plane. It was a beautiful day out and the views were spectacular. We circled Hudson Bay Mountain and saw some familiar sights up close. Most of us didn't feel like we were about to lose our lunch (and fortunately nobody did... but I hear there were some close calls).

Most importantly, Mom and Dad seemed to thoroughly enjoy the flight. Plus, we didn't crash and wipe out the senior ranks of the Vanderveen clan. Yay!

O little town of Smithers...

Up close. Felt like we could reach out and touch the mountain.

The plateau we trekked on our Crater Lake hike.

Ha! Still some glacier left!

And there's Crater Lake! This was sooo much easier than walking to it.

We all look pretty chill. Must have been a 'before' photo.

Carrie and I had the opportunity to visit a cousin of mine who has been battling cancer for six years. It was a farewell visit and we treated it as such, as he was terminal and was getting increasingly weak. It was really special to be able to see him yet, and I'm thankful we had the opportunity.

Not much else to report from Smithers. Well, Dad did call around one morning for help. He had gone for a walk only to find himself stuck, with a bear between him and home, and some unfriendly dogs the other way. Someone drove out to rescue him, but he managed to get back to his house on his own without needing help or being eaten.