Canyon Camping - May 20 to 21
Another Unitent AdventureChapter 1: Decisions
The May long weekend loomed eerily close and we still had no definite plans. Alberto and I were going to revisit Westport* but the surf forecast was dismal with onshore winds, rain and 0.8m waves. The decision was made to drive 100km northwest of Squamish to the Elaho Canyon, what awaited us there we did not know.
*see Sunday, September 11, 2005 blog - "September Surfing Safari – September 3 to 5"
Chapter 2: A Bumpy Start
We pulled out of Subway in Squamish only to hear a huge bang and the vehicle jerk forward. "What was that?" "That guy just ran into you!" We pulled over and inspected the vehicles, but fortunately a Plymouth Voyager doesn't do any damage when it hits you at about 5km/h. After 70km of logging roads we arrived at the trailhead/campground without any further incidents - except the concern that we wouldn't be able to get back to Squamish if the river level rose.
Chapter 3: Get Lost
The trailhead was on the edge of a clearcut which was kind of an average situation since a clearcut doesn't make the most picturesque surroundings for camping. Nevertheless we erected the unitent and set off to explore the "Douglas Fir Loop." Fortunately the logging company hasn't decided to log this area yet as we still got to view some impressive sized trees. Unfortunately, due to reasons I suspect can be attributed to logging, the trail no longer resembled the map we had looked at, and we ended up somewhere other than planned. Fortunately, the GPS was somewhat helpful for finding our way back without having to backtrack the entire way.
Chapter 4: Into the Fire
For dinner Alberto and Luke prepared a delicious meal of sausage, vegetables and potatoes all cooked in the fire. Before we had left home, Kevin's and my neighbour had seen me loading scrap two-by-fours to burn in the fire, and offered us some real firewood. We thanked him and loaded up a couple bundles. We didn't notice until dinner time that the firewood was called "Stuart's Romantic Wood" - exactly what we need with four guys camping out in the middle of nowhere. I'm blaming this on a poor Chinese translation.
Chapter 5: Bacon and Mini Spatulas
Breakfast the next morning consisted of a few pounds of bacon, toast and scrambled eggs. Luke constructed this toaster out of sticks, and Alberto tried to cook the bacon using his mini spatula that he brought.
Chapter 6: Up and Down
After breakfast we took down camp before embarking on the hike to Blueberry Falls. Now the hiking book claimed that there was 90m elevation gain for this hike. That is close to the elevation difference from the trailhead to the falls viewpoint, but inbetween the trail went up and down quite a few gullys and canyons, making the cumulative elevation gain close to 850m. The bad part was that the hike wasn't even all that interesting - the best part we did the day before. The book did describe a "splendid bridge" that we would cross. By "splendid" I assume he meant "better than a log across the river."
Chapter 7: MREs
The highlight of the hike was probably eating lunch (with a waterfall roaring in the background). Luke had procured some US Military Field Rations for us which were quite entertaining - it was like Christmas when we opened our packages. Everyone had something different ranging from Thai Chicken with Yellow and Wild Rice Pilaf to Beef Stew, and besides the entree there were things like crackers and peanut butter or M&Ms, french vanilla cappucinos, chocolate shakes and elvish whey bread. Warming up the entrees was interesting as you add a tiny bit of water to the ration heater and within a minute the heater is extremely hot - just put your entree against the heater and let it sit for 15minutes. The taste of the food was actually quite good.
Chapter 8: The Cedar Woman
On the way back to camp, somehow we took a wrong turn (apparently there are forks on this trail that we did not see on the way out) and ended up on top of some bluffs where a cedar woman carving had been erected. This was clearly not right, but at least we had a good view, and it ended up being a short cut back to camp.
Chapter 9: Chillin' at Burger King
After completing the hike we started the drive back home and stopped into Squamish for dinner. Burger King was the popular choice until we went in and realized how cold it was with the AC on in there. Comments such as "I've been camping all weekend and this is the coldest I've been," and the instant classic by Alberto, "This burger would taste much better if I had my pants on."
Chapter 10: In the End
Arrived Safe.
posted by Aaron @ 10:20 AM
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