Being prepared-what does this mean?

With the recent disappearance of hiker Tyler Wright in the B.C. wilderness it has opened up a discussion of safety and preparedness.  I have read many articles and comments about this very sad event but it has also made us question the preparedness of his adventure.  Was he prepared for what he said he was going to do?  From what we have read we don't think so.  But what do you need to be prepared?  Everyone has their own opinion, every hiker and camper will be prepared in different ways.  Hikers, whether day hiking or backpacking will be prepared differently too.  Was Tyler a true minimalist backpacker and is that why he took so little with him?  Why didn't he have hiking boots with him?  Why didn't he have some type of communication device with him?  Why was he alone?  Is he really an experienced hiker?  Did he have a compass and map?  We hope he is found alive, maybe he went a different way then where the search efforts have been?  Maybe he doesn't want to be found?  These are just a couple of hundreds of questions pouring in from all over.  Let's hope he's found and can answer these. 

So, back to the original question of being prepared and what that means.  If you are camping with your family it will be something entirely different than backpacking and hiking up a mountain. 
I don't think anyone's "list" of what to bring is the end all and be all but must be only used as a guide.  In our family, we are constantly revising and updating what we bring, what we think is essential depending on what we are doing, how long and where we are going. 

Looking at our last hiking trip this is how we prepared ourselves: 
We backpacked up Frosty Mountain knowing we would spend two nights.
First of all we checked the weather, we found that some people we met up there obviously hadn't done this which we found surprising.  Keep in mind that the weather changes quickly in the mountains and you do need to be prepared for it all.  Layers, always bring layers and avoid cotton.  We love to layer up in wicking fabrics, merino wool and goose down (ever seen a cold goose?).  We also bring rain gear even if all that means is a good strong garbage bag. 

Shelter: We have a variety of tents for different needs.  Bring a tent with a good fly for wet weather. 
We have quality mummy bags and will soon be investing in winter bags as well to do more cold weather camping.  You need to stay warm at night.  There is nothing worse than a sleepless night because you are cold.  If it is cold out, don't forget my tip for warming up your sleeping bag. 

Food: Make sure you have enough.  Be prepared in advance.  Write out your meal plan on paper if that helps, we do it just to make sure.  Remember what you are doing, if it's lots of hiking you'll need proper re-fuelling with good carbs and protein.  Dried fruit is nice and nuts are a great source of long lasting fuel. 
We always bring assorted salted nuts, chocolate candies and some type of fruit. 

First Aid:  Again, this is just what we do for a weekend backpacking trip, but we bring a small roll of duct tape, magnifying glass wrapped with some medical tape, matches,  band-aids, polysporin, a mirror, some type of pain reliever, bug spray, emergency blanket(the compact foil looking ones), swiss army knife, tensor wrap, ear and eye drops and sharp tweezers. 

We also have bear bangers and bear spray.  A compass and topographical maps of the area. 

We have our water bottles and a water purifying pump.  We also bring extra fuel for our stove. 

We also bring our phone with us although it doesn't work in many areas.  We do tell AT LEAST three people when we are leaving, where we are going and when we'll be back and we notify those people as soon as we're done our adventure. 

Rope, always bring rope, it just comes in so handy.  Whether for hanging your food if there isn't a cache, fixing things, using for your tent or hanging clothes between trees. 

We're always adding or renewing what we take for our own safety and well being, just really think through what you are going to do and what you would need in any given situation.  It just makes the whole experience more enjoyable if you are prepared. 

And remember this: depending on the situation, what you bring with you can have multiple uses.  A magnifying glass can be used to get a better look at some really cool small things you find but also used to make a fire in an emergency.  Same with a mirror.  Duct tape can be used for a variety of uses including the back of your heels if you get any blisters.  Be creative, things have multiple uses when you're away from home!

Backpacking at Frosty Mountain-Manning Park

What a fabulous weekend!  This is my new favourite hike even though it was very cold. 
We arrived at the day use area at Lightning Lake at about 5pm and started to layer up as the wind was blowing pretty  hard and the temperature had dipped to about 5 degrees. 

As we headed up, the first 4 kms were pretty steep, we gained lots of elevation but the trail is well maintained and very narrow.  I wouldn't want to have to pass many other hikers on this one.  After about 4 kms though, the trail levels out and the hiking gets a whole lot easier.  And before you know it we arrived at the sign indicating the campsite was up ahead. 

View from trail

Just before arriving at the Frosty Creek campsite we saw an outhouse and food cache which we didn't know were there and we were really happy to see the metal food cache.  Looks like two large metal lockers.  We had brought up rope to hang our food in case. 

The area around the campground is pretty slopey but we found a spot that wasn't too bad right beside the firepit which was another surprise.  Although campfires aren't allowed up there it was tempting with the weather being so cold.  As we began to set up our tent it started gently snowing.  We checked out the creek before it got too dark and there are lots of spots to get water from even being a small creek.  We got our camp set up and then started boiling water to make a quick dinner before climbing into our sleeping bags to

stay warm.  What was really cool was that we were the only ones on the mountain that night.  It was also a tiny bit unnerving.  Needless to say we didn't sleep much that night, partly because we were cold.  The next morning was tough to crawl out of our bags into the cold but the coffee helped!  And knowing we were heading up to the summit was enough to head out, dress warmly and get our oatmeal eaten.  The sun was out and we began our hike.  There are such beautiful meadows, many purple lupines were still flowering, the larches hadn't changed colour yet which means we'll have to go up again.  The views were stunning and this is one hike that I know I'll want to do over and over.  The trail itself is narrow but well maintained, steep in parts and fairly easy walking in others.  There are km markers along the path if you look up at the right time, we didn't notice them on the way up.  At about the 9 km mark it starts getting steep again and pretty rocky for the rest of the hike to the summit.  You'll come to the junction for Windy Joe here too.

The climb from here is pretty scraggly, if you've still got your heavy pack on then take it easy to keep your balance.  I will admit that we had just acquired trekking poles and were using them for the first time on this trip and we love them!  It does take some of the weight off your legs and really helps your balance and I highly recommend poles to everyone.

The rocks are a bit loose along here, watch your footing, it's hard not to stare out at the vistas that completely surround you.  We were expecting to hike through snow but never had to.  There were large snow packs around us, but not on the trail itself yet. 

Look at this gorgeous vista!  Lightning Lake is below in this photo.  A lovely surprise at the top is the creation of a small semi shelter with a fairly flat bottom of rocks that has been used for tenting by some brave hikers but also made for a lovely spot to enjoy our lunch and escape the cold wind. 

Upon our return to Frosty campsite, we met up with lots of other hikers who were spending the night and it is so much fun meeting fellow hikers.  There are lots of stumps in the campsite  which were used by all of us for sitting, tabletops and anything else we needed them for which was a treat over just cooking and putting everything on the ground. 

Frosty Mountain is a gorgeous, beautiful and terrific hike.  One well worth adding to anyone's list of hikes to do.  Although we did this one without our children we know that we'll be back next year attempting it again with at least two of them who we think can do it fairly easily.  Breaking the hike up the way we did with two nights at the campsite made it almost leisurely and very do-able for younger hikers or those wishing to make it a bit easier. 

Frosty Mountain backpacking

We're child free for the weekend and the packs are full!  We're going to E.C. Manning Park to hike up Frosty Mountain.  I'll take lots of photos and report back next week.  Can't wait to eat my dehydrated 3 bean chili tomorrow night, yummy! 

Camping at Golden Ears Provincial Park

Alouette Lake

We have camped twice at Golden Ears, once at North Beach and once at Gold Creek.  The North Beach campsite was great, smaller, more forested and less noisy.  But only pit toilets which after a few days gets tiresome for a family mostly comprised of girls. 

On the other hand Gold Creek has showers and flush toilets.  Of course both sites also have running water for drinking. 

Alouette Lake is great for swimming, fishing and boating.  There is a beach front near the North Beach campsite and along the Gold Creek campsite. 

Because Golden Ears park is so close to civilization it is a very busy campsite, especially on weekends.  I highly recommend making reservations.  Click on the title to go to the provincial park website for more general information and maps of the park itself.

One of the things we love here is how close it is to home and it's easy enough to go if you've only got two or three nights.  Plus, you won't hear much of "are we there yet". 

We also love the trails for hiking.  They are busy too with day hikers but the trail is wide and well maintained, the forest is gorgeous and the surrounding nature is very vibrant. 

A pool at Lower Falls 

Lower Falls Trail is a great family hike. You begin at the Gold Creek parking lot and the hiking trail is only 2.7 kilometres.  It takes about an hour with younger kids and a leisurely pace. As I mentioned above, this is a very popular, easy walk along Gold Creek to the 10-metre high Lower Falls. There is a beach area halfway to the falls which makes for a good spot for a picnic and to frolic in the river. Some of the best scenery in the park is visible just beyond.

There are several other hiking trails in the park ranging from easy to difficult, day hike to overnight backpacking style.  We will probably try the backpacking overnight trail (Golden Ears trail) this October and let you know our experience afterwards. 

Park trivia:  Golden Ears Park represents the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone (one of 14 large ecosystems in B.C.) and is characterized by a second-growth forest of western hemlock, western red cedar and Douglas fir.

Our kids have a great time here frolicking in the river, walking the trails and "discovering" new things in this beautiful natural area.  Our days are quickly spent swimming or boating in the lake and playing around the campsite with lots of other kids exploring the woods. 

We will definitely continue to take our family to Golden Ears over the years and hike up the more advanced trails as our kids are able to. 

Backpacking at Garibaldi

The gorgeous colour of the lake

This was our second time to Garibaldi Lake.  We did it last year without the kids in tow but this year our eldest was begging to give it a try.  If you don't know about this hike please click on the title above to go to the provincial parks website page for more information about this location and I'll give you our personal experience here. 

First of all, you need to hike 9 kms up some rather steep switchbacks which is not too bad unless you are carrying everything you need for food, shelter and clothing on your back.  We've seen lots of people that do this hike in a day, more like a good day hike but it's so amazingly gorgeous once you get there that I couldn't imagine not spending at least one night to enjoy it.  Plus, there are more hikes you can do from there on your second or third days. 

We went up this year at the end of July during the long weekend and it almost felt like the Grouse Grind.  Packed with people, tour groups, you name it.  At the junction where the path continues on to the lake or heads left to Taylor Flats, a sign was posted stating that the lake campsites were full.  We didn't want to take a chance and headed to the flats. 

What a beautiful decision that was!  The flats are lovely, creeks running through, sub alpine flowers blooming or almost blooming and platform campsites which keeps your tent off the ground in case of wet weather. 

There is a shelter here and cables for hanging your food supply. 

We chose a lovely spot with the creek rushing just down from our site. 

It was about a 2 km walk from here to the lake and if you've never been to Lake Garibaldi it's well worth the trip.  The lake is the most turquoise colour surrounded by large lava rock formations and snow covered peaks.  The water is glacier cold but we managed to get in and talk about refreshing!

Fishing can be good depending on what you are using, we clearly weren't using the right bait as the water was so clear you could see lots of fish swimming around your bait instead of nibbling on it.

Kids on the trail?  Can they do it?  We saw so many kids doing this, some for the day, some like ours with small packs on their backs.  The youngest child we saw there was 7 years old and she loved it!  I was amazed by how petite she was and how she and her 9 year old brother hiked like it was any ordinary day. 

Mosquitoes?  Horrible.  And I honestly think they are somewhat immune to DEET.  We are going to invest in bug helmets and I'll let you know what we think after we use them.

Water source:  I was pretty surprised by the number of dayhikers who thought there would be a clean water tap up at the lake.  I was pumping water through our filter into bottles and ended up volunteering to pump water for a few people who needed it to get back down.  You need to bring some type of water filtration system with you.  We use a great pump, there are chemical drops you can use, we only bring them with us as backup, and there is also the Steripen which we've looked into but haven't tried yet. 

Garbage:  Pack in what you pack out.  That's the rule, it's a general camping/hiking etiquette tip too.  So make sure you've brought a ziplock bag or something you can store your garbage into especially if you're staying overnight. 

There are a number of hikes you can do once you get here and most people use this stop as their base and go on day hikes from here.  Last year we did Panorama Ridge and I'll write about that in another posting.

For this two nighter with one of our kids with us we decided to take it easy and hike between the flats and the lake and enjoy.  Fishing, quick dips into the lake and reading while sunning on the lava rocks were heavenly. 

Our tent on a platform at Taylor Flats

I will admit to heavy rainfall, some sleet and a big thunder and lightning storm on our first night.  You never know how the weather will change when you are in the mountains so be prepared. 

I highly recommend this hike for either a day hike or camping for a night or two.  Leave early if you're going up on the weekend.  Just make sure you are prepared.  And another note for those not familiar with this one, no campfires ever in the backcountry.

I'm sure we'll be back up there next year.

Click here for an article with great advice for camping with your kids

Camping at Lightning Lake-E.C. Manning Park

In July this year we took our family for our first family camping trip of this year.  Our kids loved it!  Weather was cold the first day and night but warmed up beautifully after that.  We spent a week camping here. 

E.C. Manning Park The Jerry Ranger program was super for the kids, they had an activity every morning followed by an evening program held at the amphitheatre. 

Deer walk through the campsite daily, so do the squirrels and chipmunks who are not afraid to climb right up your leg if they think they will be rewarded with a snack.  The whiskey jacks are super friendly too!  But, don't feed the animals, they need to be able to survive year round finding their own food. 

Swimming in the lake is a bit of a challenge as the water is very cold.  Trout can be caught, small ones, but big enough for one or two to eat for dinner. 
There were bear in the area around the lake at the time although we did not see any. 
The hiking opportunities are fantastic in Manning Park, our kids did the Paintbrush Trail that was still quite snow covered for mid July.  Our eldest daughter and my husband also attempted the Monument 78 trail but it was closed part way along due to heavy trail flooding.  The whole family also did the Lightning Lake trail hike which is beautiful also.

Back to the campsite: there are washhouses with flush toilets and showers, only one was operational at the time we were there due to renovations.  I look forward to using the new ones next year!  The water in the showers can be warmish but get there early in the morning, mid day or later at night.  They can be quite busy and that warm water can run out. 

This is our second time camping here and we will be back for sure next year as it's such a great campground, lots of trails for biking, walking, hiking, exploring, lots for the kids to do and the sites themselves are quite private due to all the beautiful trees. 

At night, while we were there, the frogs came out to sing to us each evening with a chorus line of loon.  Absolutely lovely. 

Beware though, we learned one lesson here: do not leave any food in your pockets, especially if that article of clothing is left unattended.  I lost one fleece jacket to a squirrel who was determined enough to get to nuts in my pocket that he ate through my zipper. 

I would highly recommend Manning Park as a place to take your whole family. 

Camping in Lac Le Jeune and a small introduction

Lac le JeuneView of the lake from near the playground

Welcome to my first posting.  Ever.  A small introduction to begin:  My name is Leanne, I live in South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.  I think that I am privileged to live in such a gorgeous province and my husband and I want to share the natural beauty of our home with our young children and everyone else who is interested. 
We love camping and hiking and have several books which have ragged edges of where our next hike or campsite should be. 
With having young children and not being 20 ourselves anymore, car camping is great.  We love it, both of us grew up camping with our parents and now we're returning that experience to our own children. 
We also love backpacking and our 11 year old daughter has started to enjoy that experience with us (which meant the purchase of an awesome new 3 person ultralight tent). 
I'll put the rest of who I am and who my family is in the appropriate spot for your enjoyment, but the rest here is where I will start to outline our outdoor camping and hiking adventures from this year.
Enjoy!

Last week we drove up to Lac Le Jeune provincial park between Merritt and Kamloops.  It took less than 4 hours driving including a lunch stop in Hope for little ones to stretch their restless legs.
The weather was pretty hot, the lake deliciously cool and after ditching my husband to get our kids to the naturalist program down at the beach on time, we settled in nicely. 
We used two tents, a large six person for our three kids so they can really stretch out and have space in the centre for play.  We love that tent!  You can stand up inside it and still have some headroom!  We also brought our newest addition to our tent collection, an extra long three person ultralight used mainly for backpacking. 
I don't know the temperature of the lake but it's nicely refreshing and not too cold that it takes your breath away.  Even our youngest got in which is rare.  A small sandy beach worked great for entertaining the kids so bring along sand toys if you're heading there. 
Downside: It seemed to be leech breading season while we were there and a few people including our kids got their first lessons in leeches!  Also, the geese this year stayed all summer which meant the grassy area was totally covered in goose poop but the park did hire a "goose poop picker upper" who worked tirelessly from about 5-10am every day.  What a job!
The kids loved the naturalist program and they earned all their Jerry Ranger stickers! 
There is also a decent playground for younger kids to enjoy.  The paved roads are perfect for riding bikes plus the dirt trails surrounding the lake. 
Since the logpine beetles destroyed so many trees there, a few years back they had to take out a lot of the pine trees which has left the campsite fairly open, with a lack of privacy and shade.  The upside of that is the campsite will take on new looks over the years as the new, young trees grow up. 
Unfortunately, the day before we were expected to depart the forest fire smoke from the fires at Williams Lake blew in and the smoke was thick enough at the campsite that all our eyes were starting to be bothered and by lunchtime we decided it wasn't going to improve and we broke camp.  Breathing in smoke wasn't our idea of a good time.  I know it was worse in the surrounding areas after we listnened to the news on the way home so we knew we made the right call. 
Will we go back?  Probably, in a few years when the trees have grown more.  I found this campsite really great for relaxing.  There isn't too much to do if you don't have a boat with you or you have really young kids who won't hike or bike for hours on end.  We got some fishing in from the shore but no bites although we heard tales from previous years of 3-4 pounders being caught. 
On the bug side of things, they weren't bad at all.  Just a few mosquitos and wasps but nothing compared to previous camping in other spots. 
Final note: I saw the milky way in the middle of the night and we had the privilige of listening to loons and owls all night every night which we honestly enjoyed and missed on our first night back home.