Fish Lake

 This was a first overnight hike. We'd purchase a tent at MEC that had been used the previous year as a rental. It's condition was essentially new. Our sleeping bags we bought from the ____ manufacturer in Vancouver. The others, from here and there. Lots a great equipment is available here in the area as it's a centre for such activities (Enough of the prattle.)

We'd limited our packs to the essentials except for three minis of rye and one of rum. The trail's a very easy 6.3 kilometres in that we completed in under two hours. (Much to our surprise.) Basically, a bunch of gentle ups and downs and a lot of flat. Someone had even pushed a stroller in, not carrying a baby, but supplies. 

The near side of the lake is flat where the campsite is located. Not realising the sites line a peninsula, we stopped at the first site located on the shore. We shared space with three others, only one occupied by a couple of young girls. Nicola informed me that overnight hiking was becoming very popular with young women. These two were very much in the enlightened groove, performing yoga on the dock while we cooked dinner on the only picnic table. 

Finian immediately got in the water and stayed in there until I forcibly removed him because he was shivering so violently. After setting up the tent, we sat down on one of the two benches to have a drink and hors d'oeuvres. These were very basic. Rye and water, pepperoni sticks cut into bite sizes and soft cheese. 

After our hors d'oeuvres, we walked the trail around the lake.Mount Dingley and Mount Doolan rise up from the far shores so building the trail must have been tricky. The trail begins through a meadow and then past an avalanche chute and a couple of land slides and a water fall that Nicola found "very loud" for sleeping. The dogs loved it and Finny was a able to get in and out of the water. A log jam created a shallow, boggy area just before the creek that drains the lake. 

Nicola cooked dinner on the picnic table by the bunkhouse that was closed due to COVID. It provided a nice view of the lake and mountains a little entertainment, first from the girls performing their yoga and later with various fishermen, women and, on the last day, children. The only person I saw catch a fish was a child. She didn't know how to get it off the hook. Fortunately, her older sister was there to help. 

Dinner was one of those freeze-dried jobs that had been too expensive when I was kid hiking with my family. We probably ate better, probably due to my dad carrying sausages in a can that he heated in a fry pan. He used the grease for gravy to pour over our . His meal was delicious but he also had to carry it. Ours was more elaborate and infinitely easier to make. On Friday night, we had sweet pork with corn and fried rice and all it required was about a cup of hot water. Pour the water in the bag it came with and ten minutes later, voila, dinner. Actually, quite good. 

View from picnic table

After dinner coffee was made using the Aero Press coffee maker, a gift from our children. Its supposed make the best coffee in the world. That was hard to prove. Suffice it to say, this was very excellent. Then, we pretty much went right to bed, way too early for Nicola who had difficulty getting to sleep before midnight. I was out and snoring, or so I'm told. 

The next day, we did a couple of hikes. In the morning, we headed out on the long uphill grind to Sparkle Lake. The upper third of the walk was through a rock slide where we had to pick our way through that rocks making sure we don't misstep and twist an ankle. It is the perfect place for marmots and, indeed, we spotted one posing on the side of a rock, invisible to our dogs who were chasing those whistling like crazy all over the mountainside. We were able to take a number of shots with our phones without him moving a muscle, perhaps believing that we couldn't see him. 

The lake is surrounded by peaks on three sides and a rock face on which we were standing. After searching for paths down to the lake, both to our left and right, the only one that seemed feasible was down the rock face in front of us. It didn't seem worth it. One, it would be too cold for swimming, And two, getting the dogs down the slope seemed almost impossible and Finny wanting in was one of our main reasons for going. 

In the mean time, he and Pippa were running all over the slope searching out marmots with their constant teasing whistles. In Finny's desperate desire to catch up with us, he'd got himself covered with burs. So, that's what we did as we contemplated going down the slope to Sparkle Lake, pulled burs from Finny's fur. 

Sparkle Lake does sparkle as so many lakes do when the sun glistens off their undulating surfaces. And the fact that it's nestled in amongst three peaks does add to its beauty and it may be more beautiful in the spring when the peaks are covered in snow. But, as it was, I kinda thought, Meh. Maybe we've seen too many beautiful mountain lakes lately but I actually preferred our second hike to Crazy Creek. 

Crazy Creek gets its name because it emerges as a spring directly from the hillside. It's supposed to require a slight detour for those wanting a slightly different route back to the parking lot rather than retracing steps. It would if it would covered in deadfall, very difficult to pass without a backpack let alone with one. The creek indeed comes directly out of the mountain and it follows a rocky route with the sides covered in moss lined with thick foliage with lots of deadfall to provide texture. It was very delicious to drink from. 

A couple of young men accompanied by children occupied the sites 4 and 5 beside us. They looked like brothers which would make sense because there were a lot of families occupying the spaces at our camp site. Two sisters with their husbands and children and two brothers, one with a girlfriend who spent most of their time embarked the time-killing but zen inducing activity of catch and release. One even asked me how to kill a fish when the girl he'd lent or given his fishing rod to couldn't get the fish off her hook. She did otherwise I'm sure I'd have been the one killing it. 

The hike out was easy ending with another family, this one two generational on their way in. Nicola took their picture on the first bridge, just before the parking lot. 

An interesting aside. Overnight hikes are excellent ways of losing weight, even alarmingly so. 

Map of trail to Fish Lake