Backtrack - the journey at the end of June

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From Vancouver Island we caught a ferry back from Nanaimo back to the mainland (around the 24th June), determined to find sunshine and warm weather. Within 20 minutes of being back on the mainland, headed towards Squamish, it started to rain. So, like any good traveller, we stopped to camp for the night, erecting a tarp over the van and watched the rain showers wash in while we sipped away on red wine, cheese and crackers. Up early the next morning we headed up the three peaks of the Stawamus Chief, a giant rock monolith (second largest piece of granite after the rock of Gibralta) that overlooks Howe Sound. Note here: it’s not recommended to climb the chief when it has been raining or when it is raining, the rocks and the ladders are slippery! Nevertheless, we ascended all three peaks with the skies clearing enough for us to get some stunning glimpses up Howe Sound and towards Squamish.

We headed for Pemberton, which we were told was a laid back version of Whistler. Laid back it was, we headed for the legion, which was having an open night free bbq. All the locals told us that we would look back on our trip across Canada and remember Pemberton. That we would, for the swingers that tried to pick us up! Needless to say, we hightailed it out of town quickfast.

Our trip through the mountains took us to through Jaffre Lakes Provincial Park (beautiful, but cold and snowy!) where we met an assisted bike rider twosome, riding from Vancouver to Edmonton to raise awareness of a surgery for type 2 diabetes. Lillooet, blew our minds away. Hot hot heat and sunny skies! It was too good to be true! We soaked it up and headed south along the Fraser Valley, past rock slides and ranches, stopping to look out over the scenic vistas or chase Prairie Dogs along the way.

E.C. Manning Provincial Park in the Cascade Mountains was the next stop, after stopping to take mandatory photos of a (medium sized) black bear grazing on new shoots and flowers along the highway. It was here that I managed my first campsite yoga session, we were introduced to Columbian Ground Squirrels (see ridiculous photos), made our first batch of poor-man's museli bars (raw-cookies) and stretched our legs hiking some lovely trails – Strawberry Flats (still snow on the ground so sans strawberries), Three Fall and Lightening Lakes tracks. The second night we managed a free camp spot, easily the most scenic at Cascade Lookout, which had awesome views of the mountains. Somewhere along here when I got my results for honours from Alison my supervisor – first class – I almost fainted!!!

Our sight was firmly set on reaching the Okanagan, where we were told that we would find more warm weather and sunny skies. Keremeos along the way provided a plethora of fruit stands (the Canadian town with the most fruit stands in one town), a bottle of red, a warm night, clear skies (first time I saw stars at night in Canada) and free internet to Skype home.

We winetasted our way through the Similkameen Valley (a lovely Riesling from ‘Orofino’) and onto the stunning town of Oosoyos, the top of the Sonora Desert and the driest place in Canada. Here we visited the Desert Centre and did a great interpretive trail set up by a local environmental group, the Desert Society – such a different and beautiful landscape, sagebushes, cacti (in flower too – so lucky!) and badger hole landscape. The end of the day was spent cherry picking in an orchard... speechless to see such a plethora of perfect looking cherries. We paid $10 for 2.5kg and spent the next three days gorging ourselves on the perfect little creations.

Next update soon....

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