This Is Where I Live

The intrepid hikers tackle Crumpit Woods on a rainy day.

We had planned to hike the Joffre Lakes trail today. To get to the trail head on the Duffy Lake Road, one must drive 2 hours north of here. The hike itself takes about 4-6 hours meandering around three lakes with the Metier Glacier as a backdrop. I was reallllly looking forward to it!

But alas, the weather did not cooperate. At 7:00am the rain was slanting sideways, the trees were bent over and no one in our hiking group was keen to drive 2 hours in the rain to hike 4 hours in the rain, then drive another 2 hours home in the rain.

So we adapted our plans. We met at our place at 8:00am, had several cups of Joe's famous coffee with toast and jam (thanks Colleen) and then hiked 2 hours in and about Crumpit Woods. After baking in the sun and heat all summer, it was surprisingly lovely to be in a wet forest again. To make ourselves feel better about not experiencing the Joffre Lakes, we made up a list of the positive things about hiking on the local trails....

• our carbon footprint was smaller because we didn't have to drive very far.
• the fern fronds and vine maple leaves looked beautiful glistening in the rain.
• the air smelled wonderful.
• the fungi we saw was fluorescent orange.
• once we were finished the hike, it wouldn't take us long to get back to our cozy homes for a hot bath and a nap.
  

We are going to take a look at the long range weather forecasts and pick the next dry Sunday for another attempt at hiking around the Joffre Lakes.

P.S.
I must acknowledge Sue Shalanski for single-handedly getting me interested in hiking. Sue is a physiotherapist here in town and is currently organizing a '100 Day Wellness Challenge' starting on September 23rd. If you are interested in finding out more about it, please click here.