In the fall I posted a July trip to the Hinde. Greg Deabler offered to co-lead, which made the thing possible. Even with that much lead time, and even if Covid hadn’t interrupted hiking, I’d have trouble preparing to lead that serious a trip. Later a suggestion was made to change the plan to a traverse. John Young would lead a traverse from Elk River to Buttle Lake, ascending the Hinde along the way, and our group would do the same in the other direction. We conferred with those who were down for the trip that was originally planned and the decision was a “go”.
As it turned out, we didn’t complete our objectives but it was a great time in the mountains.
I struggle to find a balance between work, play, and family. When it comes to my annual vacation, I pack in as much playtime as I can, and this means I often leave my family at home while I’m off on an adventure. With my busy schedule, sometimes I’m unpacking one backpack by putting gear straight into a different one. This is exactly what happened on my August 13-15 backpacking trip to Mount Phillips. On August 10th, I hiked off the Augerpoint Traverse; with the next trip only a few days away, I didn’t have time to put anything away before getting ready for my family backpacking trip to Arnica Lake and Mount Phillips in Strathcona Park.
We had an ideal forecast, and if not for the haze of smoke in the air from forest fires, it would have been perfect conditions. Fortunately, the smoke didn’t hinder our breathing – it only obscured some of the otherwise amazing views.
alpine meadows that any bear would love
In addition to my wife and two children, I led a group of five Island Mountain Ramblers on a trip that I offered as an easy backpacking trip. The trip was split into three days, and the lion’s share of the distance and half of the elevation was planned along the well-manicured trail to Arnica Lake, where we set up a basecamp for two nights. Of course, the second half of the trip, out to Mount Phillips, is where the suffering was found.
