Cathedral Lakes Trip July 8/9/10

We're a little behind in the writing, but we can't update you on our lives until we tell the story of our trip to Cathedral Lakes.  Our family joined forces with Tamsyn, Kory, and Keiran Hendricks (5+ months old at the time of the trip) to go into the high alpine above Keremeos, BC. 

FRIDAY
We dropped Jason off at the bottom of the trail so he could run up the hill to the lodge, while the rest of us put our packs and bodies into an old Suburban shuttle and caught a ride.  While Jason saved himself $80, he missed the thrill of the narrow, bumpy road near cliffs.  The driver we had was not the regular driver, which became obvious when he drove off a bridge and nearly sent us into the river below.  The wheel of the truck was stuck, and he told us we were nearly there and could walk the rest.  He told us the lodge was about 500 meters away.  So we grabbed a water bottle each and set off, confident that we could have the kids in the cabin before lunch and that the lodge staff would bring us our luggage shortly.  Tamsyn and I each had our baby bjorns (since we didn't have car seats on this ride, we opted to attach the babies to our own bodies as we bumped along the potholes in the truck) but I didn't grab any food, drink, or clean diapers for Rachel.  After 10 minutes and no lodge in site, I was skeptical about our location and wished I had at least grabbed a diaper.  The dodgy road climbed straight up and we were sweating and angry at the lying driver.  Our kids became less thrilled with this plan as we marched in frustration for another 80 minutes before making it to the lodge area.

Once there, we saw that Jason had successfully finished his run and was waiting for us amongst the remaining patches of snow.  The weather was sunny but cool as we were at altitude and snow was still visible on many of the surrounding peaks.  We had rented a 'rustic cabin' for the weekend, and set to work making a fire in the wood stove.  Poor Rachel had no diapers but we fed her what we could and waited for our luggage to appear from the rescued truck (this took a couple of hours).

We spent the afternoon walking around the flatter trails.  Kory had come off night shift (as a police officer) so he slept while the rest of us hiked around.  The alpine was beautiful!  After hiking around Pyramid lake, we ventured around the larger lake that the lodge sits next to, in search of a waterfall.  No problem... until we hit the other side of the lake which remained covered in snowy patches.  Tamsyn proved herself to be a 'SuperMommy' by taking a fall on the snow, sliding a bit, and protecting Keiran the entire time so he remained completely safe.  Still, after that we took it a little easier.

After dinner we put the babies to bed and Tamsyn drew the short straw to stay on duty while the others went into the main lodge to enjoy the hot tub.  Jason relieved Tamsyn after a few minutes in the scalding water and after that we went back to bed.  Rachel and Keiran took turns crying here and there, but Keiran settled well and had a decent night.  Rachel did not have a very good night, and Meggan froze herself trying to snuggle as still as possible with Rachel for most of the night.

SATURDAY
The big plan for Sat was to hike the Cathedral Rim trail.  This is the same trail Meggan dragged Steph/Kim/Dana on years ago but at that time we were tenting and there was only a dusting of snow.  We knew it would be a long and challenging day for our families and we weren't sure how it would go.

Glacier Lake (Pyramid Mtn in background)

Glacier lake - Rachel's pink toque just visible

We set out to Glacier Lake and quickly found snow and beautiful scenery.  The kids took turns sleeping in their carriers.  Rachel was happy in her backpack (thanks to Tony and Adri for the awesome pack) and Keiran alternated between his pack and the Bjorn.
Above Glacier lake, we climbed into scree but part of the trail was obscured with snow.  We negotiated a route we felt safer than the marked route, but there were sections that were steep, slippery and a little scary.  We were all relieved to hit the rim trail and have lunch, and even saw a mountain goat mum and kid above the ridge.
Hiking along the ridge was amazing - views of the Cascade peaks to the south were endless.  We hiked along through the Devil's Woodpile and Stone City.

Jason hikes into Stone City with Cascades in background

Keiran's patience was tested as we searched for our trail to descend, hoping for no major snow.  The moms took a break with the kids while the Dads explored the rock formation 'Smokey the Bear'. 

We then headed down, heading for a partially frozen lake, enjoying the fact that the trail was safe and snow-free... until we came to the snow.  It started out really fun, and the kids loved their first glissading experiences.

Rachel and Jason still smiling after hours out hiking in the snow

After a while of this, the snow became monotonous and our progress was very slow.  Melting snow meant post-holing with many steps and trying many routes to stay on a safe trail.  Bad words were said and moods faltered, but all in all the kids fared well.  We made it to the frozen lake and rejoiced in the idea that the cabin wasn't much further.  Alas, it took us much longer from this point than we had hoped and we were tired, hungry, and cranky by the time we made it home.  Another dinner, bedtime, hot tub routine preceded a good night for us all before we woke up laughing about it all Sunday morning.


SUNDAY

Rachel naps during shorter hike and picnic

Sunday we packed and then tried to go for a row on the lake.  Unfortunately, Rachel screamed for most of the life-jacket experience.  Instead we enjoyed a short hike and a picnic by a lake.  Rachel slept here while we snacked and watched the snow melt into the lake below.

We returned to our cabin, put our stuff into the jeep, and relaxed for an uneventful ride down.

Jason ran down the mountain and back to the car, and we enjoyed the comforts of home when we returned to Penticton.

Jason, Kory, Tamsyn and kids in front of our cabin.