Two weeks ago I drove out to Western British Columbia to do some hiking at Joffre Lakes and Wedgemount Lake. I took four days off from work and drove out on a Thursday to Pemberton, British Columbia. Upon arrival I hit-up a local brewery (Pemberton Brewing Company) for a flight of beers, grabbed some groceries for hiking food for the next day from the local grocery store, before checking into my hotel; The Hitching Post Motel. The motel was a bit of a blast to the past with carpeted window sills, cigarette smell, and generally run down, but it was the “nicest” place to stay in the area for under $200 per night. After having a sound sleep I woke up around 7am and had a ham and cheese sandwich with the groceries that I had purchased the day before, before gathering my stuff and hopping into my car to drive 30 minutes to Joffre Lakes.
Joffre Lakes hike is a medium difficulty hike with 493 metres of elevation gain over a 8.5 kilometre round trip. The hike only took me about 2.25 hours to complete. The government staff at the base of the hike were surprised at how fast I completed it because it usually takes 4 hours.
After completing the hike I drove to Lillooet, got some groceries and ate at the Lillooet Cookhouse Restaurant for dinner. They didn’t have much of a selection so I had nacho poutine. Accommodation was at Hotel DeOro; a complete surprise because it was just recently taken over my new management and they were great. The hotel was exceptionally clean, beds super comfortable, and the staff super friendly. During the evening I explored the old Lillooet Suspension Bridge, which was built in 1913. It spans 161 metres over the Fraser River. The bridge served a long life carrying traffic until 1981 when the Bridge of Twenty-Three Camels was completed. The suspension bridge was eventually decommissioned and in 2003, the District of Lillooet and the British Columbia Ministry of Transport restored the bridge as a pedestrian-only crossing.
Be sure to check back tomorrow when I hike Wedgemount Lake!
About 5.5 km into the hike I was about to emerge onto the rock scree when I heard the roar of a bear!!! It made all the hair on the back of neck stand up, and I cautiously turned back to head towards the parking lot, while announcing my presence loudly.
About 10 minutes on my journey back I ran into a group of 7 male geologists and told them about my experience. They said that with a group of 8 the bear wouldn’t be scared of us and asked if I wanted to tag along. In the group there were 2 Rob’s, 3 Ian’s, and a cool old Romanian guy who I chatted with for a bit. I learned a bit about the different rock formations and had a great time with them. After about an hour I split apart from the group and blazed my own trail towards the first lake.
The wind started to pickup towards the first lake, and at times I was actually starting to get a bit cold, so I decided to put on my hoodie. Emerging at the first lake I was completely awe-struck at the sheer beauty of the scenery around me!
At the first lake I took a break for some water and a sandwich before venturing up towards the second lake. The climb up towards the second lake was beside a beautiful waterfall with alpine flowers growing up alongside the waterfall edge.
Gazing backwards towards the first lake I was presented with such an astounding view that I couldn’t help myself from continuously looking back at.
Finally, I arrived at the second lake, which was quite the different perspective. It wasn’t as beautiful as the first lake, but was still pretty in its own accord.
After taking a rest at the top I ventured back towards the car, without any more bear drama! The total time on the hike was 4.25 hours, but if it were not for my encounter with the bear it probably would have been closer to 3.5 hours.
Stay tuned for the next installment in my hiking series; Iceberg Lake!
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Ian Griffin Photography 