the twin lakes adventure

after such an epic trip into the monashees and pinnacle lake a few weeks ago, it was time to go again.  this time to twin lakes.  Tom, Patrick and I have been there before, but we didn't have tents or plans to stay the night.

this time, my bro Mark, Kris and I were the intrepid adventurers.  Mark got in Friday night, just in time to party on my deck with some hitchhikers i picked up.  we welcomed mark to my house in proper style... with extra old stock.

Saturday morning Anna dropped off kris, we packed up the truck and off we went.  ok, it wasn't quite that organized, but close.

our goal for the weekend

hiking in

We got to the trailhead under a sunny hot sky and began to climb.  and climb.  there were a few other cars in the parking lot, but none as awesome as truck 2.

the view into the area

 time for a snack

right around snack time (some granola bars that sucked every drop of moisture from your mouth) we noticed some clouds moving in, so we got moving too.  not fast enough.  the last 45 minutes of the hike was done in some of the craziest hail i've ever been in.  the alpine offered nothing for cover, so we just kept going.   i could not have been wetter.  it was one of those wets that if you went swimming you'd be the same wet.

luckily, the rain stopped and the sky cleared about 25 minutes after we got to the campspot.  since we were soaked already, we just stood around and waited it out.

our camp after the rain stopped

we got a fire going to start to dry our stuff.  the tents got set up and then our neighbours, who had stayed dry in their tent, showed up with a few arm loads of firewood for us.  pretty awesome.  thats the alpine spirit.

cooking and drying laundry

the rest of the day was spent drying off, cooking, chatting a bit with our extra-kind neighbours and not realizing that all our tents were set up on the craziest slope ever.  we didn't notice that until we tried to sleep.

the upper lake from our little spot

late afternoon sun

dinner was the most amazing pizza wraps cooked in the fire.  thanks kris.  the secret recipe will go with me on all camping trip from now on.  one of the biggest challenges was finding firewood, and our hourly searches took us further and further from the fire.  

marmot holes everywhere.  if i was a marmot, this is where i'd live too

when it was dark, we did sleep.  not super well, but a bit.  i'm not sure which tent was on the jauntiest angle, but i know that i had 2 marmot hols under my vestibule.  they were quiet if they visited at night.


the next day...

we had breakfast, laced up the boots and headed higher into the alpine. not much time was wasted getting into it.

waking up view

Our first goal was boulder mountain.  pretty aptly named.  we scouted around the mountain for a bit and decided that the alpine meadows and lakes were more appealing.  boulder mountain can wait.

looking up boulder

it was insanely sweet.  crazy views, snow fields, distant hanging lakes, ridge walks and summiting mount lakeview.  not much we didn't see.

don't know what these are, but they look like something from a dr. seuss book.

From the main ridge we looked over twin lakes and our camp on one side

and an amazing set of high lakes on the other.  one was a hanging infinity lake that was perched on the edge of a mad huge cliff.  we saved that scramble for another time as well. 

hanging snow field

kris and i playing on the snow

the lake system on the back of the ridge

after playing around on the ridge and meadow, we decided we were not high enough...or sweaty enough.  so we made our way to the spine of Mount Lakeview.  a cheesy name i know, but there was no cheese to be found.  actually, kris brought a huge bag of mozzarella, but it was back at the tent.

the spine up mount lakeview

mark up the ridge.  it was pretty down both side. 

we made our way of the spine, which was steeper than it looked but didn't take us long.  the last 100ft were a rocky scramble, but we are awesome enough. 

kris at 7923ft.

slanted camera group shot

the views from the top were pretty insane.  we hung out there for a bit and then continued our exploration.  there were a few sweet high plateau camps spots that definitely warrant a revisit of the area.

we took the long way back to camp.  the pretty long indeed and bushwacky way, but we made it.  then we rested.  and ate.

but the day was far from over, so we took the late afternoon to explore the area around the lakes.

there are actually 3 small lakes, which makes me wonder about the name twin lakes.  maybe one was adopted?  the 1st lake was warmer and right by our tents.  the 2nd was down a bit, smaller and clearer than something thats really really clear.  we walked around in it until our feet were totally numb.

kris.  standing.  in a lake.

i told you it was clear.

pretty clear, eh?

 we followed the lakes until they became a small creek, then a small rapid, then a mystery that disappeared down a cliff.  there was no trail, so we walked in the creek.  the rocks were sharp, so we got our feet nice and numb first.

kris thinking about how awesome we are.  and how awesome life is.

 Then, back to camp.  we made dinner surrounded by storms that were rolling past us, but not on us.  despite the lightening and thunder all evening and night, we stayed dry.

storms rolling past.

we spent an hour or 2 laying in the grass on a crazy ridge watching a meteor shower in the huge sky that had cleared above our camp.  all the while, 4 or 5 or more lightening storms raged 150km in the distance in every direction.  without a doubt, one of the most awesome experiences of my life.

In the morning, it was time to go.  we packed up our dry tents, ate pasta for breakfast, and off we went.

looking back at the lakes

hiking down

We left having done a lot, but with a lot more to do.  the alpine hiking season is getting close to done, and in a month or so there will be snow up there.  so glad we got while the getting was good.

thanks to kris for coming, mark for making the trek from manitoba to be part of this and for letting me borrow his memory card when i forgot mine, and for taking lots of the pictures.

not sure what you did this weekend, but you could have been here.

next week is ryan and christine canoe murtle lake for 8 days.  not sure what will happen, but i'm sure it will be sweet as well.

stay thirsty...
for adventure