The consistent rain on Friday forced us to modify the plan which, in the end, was a good decision. Initially I think that we had an unrealistic idea of what we were capable of accomplishing on our first backpack trip. In addition to the rain – snow and freezing temperatures are factors we seriously needed to consider.
Friday night we drove out to Cathedral Provincial Park which was where we planned to hike for the weekend. We arrived in the dark and the pouring rain. Happily we came across this cabin at the Ewart Creek trailhead and it provided a dry place to put our things while we set up our camp for the night.
After some lengthy discussions we decided to pack up in the morning and head to Manning Park. We hiked the Three Falls Trail, a fairly easy 9km (round trip), and camped along the trail near Shadow Falls. As well as, the more difficult 16km (round trip) Poland Lake Trail. We didn’t quite make it to Poland Lake because of the snow but found a great spot to camp near the top of the ski hill.
Overall, we changed the plan a couple times, battled the rain, hiked some beautiful terrain, seen some unreal watefalls, built impressive shelters, melted snow to cook meals and pulled together as a team…20kms later we have gained knowledge, great memories and an unforgettable trip!
A few key things we took from this experience that I want to leave with you guys are:
*always have a plan B and C
*prepare for all weather conditions – it is worth it to have the proper gear
*watch for nails when you sit on a log because you might just put a hole in your new rain pants 😐
*check to make sure all your gear is in working order before hitting the trail or that you have extra batteries 😛
GOPRO SHOTS:
