Mt. Seymour

The "Three Peak" Adventure

"Each year hiker's get lost on Seymour. The lucky ones get out cold and a bit worse for fear. But others have been seriously injured or died. Don't underestimate the mountain. Be prepared!" This is just one of the comments in Dawn Hanna's book Best Hikes and Walks in Southwestern British Columbia.



















I didn't get lost on this hike nor did I get seriously injured or die but I did have to hobble up the last 0.8km of rock to get to the summit because of a bad knee from a previous hike I had unfortunately forgotten about. I wasn't going to back down from the mountain's summit and so at a snail's pace, I climbed my way to victory. I was prepared to fight this mountain for all it was worth!




















Conveniently at the top of the mountain there were snow patches. Because we were so "prepared," Andrew had a big plastic bag that I could put snow in to use as an icepack during our lunch break. (and also use to toboggan down the hills of snow.)





















Although feeling proud and strong to have made it to the top in my broken state, I forgot that if you go up, you must also come down. Wups. After having iced my knee and letting it rest, it was now seriously seizing up for the descent down the mountain. Finding a branch as support, I was able to tred slowly and painfully down the third peak to the second peak, down the second peak to the first peak, down the first peak to a nice lake located somewhere on the mountain. I think about 20 minutes from the bottom. Too bad the water wasn't drinkable because we were out and dying of thirst too.















A hike that should have only taken about 4 hours ended up taking 5 and a half because of my hobbling slowness. (probably why we ran out of water) So, no records were broken, no medals received, and overall I think the mountain ended up winning. Mountain 1 Kimberly 0.




















But despite being broken, the hike was really cool with some amazing views and scenery! I'd do it again!















Interesting FUN FACT of the day: This mountain is named after BC's Governor from 1864 to 1869 who died from acute alcoholism.

Othello Tunnels and Hell's Gate Expedition

Othello Tunnels

Last weekend, my mom and I made the trek out to Hope, BC to see the Othello Tunnels and then up to Hell's Gate. On Friday, we made it to Hope in record time, found a hotel, hit the beach for a picnic and then walked along the river and through the tunnels.

The tunnels were built in 1913-1916 by Andrew McCulloch who was a big fan of Shakespeare, hence the name Othello Tunnels. I think that if I had lived in the early 1900's, I would want to be Mr. McCulloch's friend. He seems like a neat guy.




There are 13 tunnels in total but we only managed to go through about 5 or 6 of them. I'll have to back sometime and check out the other ones. I think they go on for about 2 miles. I could be wrong on that fact though. Don't quote me.







The photographer "stance"












Walking through the tunnels.



















A look down below













One tunnel ends and another one begins.

Hell's Gate

Next stop on our list was Hell's Gate, the narrowest part of the Fraser River were the water swirls and turns under the great pressure of squeezing by the rocks. The water cur
rent was even too much for the jumping salmon that could not get up the river!


After traveling on the wrong highway and not being able to find a turn around point, we made a two hour detour to end up behind closed gates. However, we saw this amazing bridge on the road to Hell's Gate. I love it. I think it's my favourite bridge.



Apparently we weren't being let through Hell's Gate that day. We decided we'd try to get in the next morning. So we drove back to the hotel, had burgers and Kokanee at The Home Restaurant, went hot tubbing and settled into our room.



The next morning was cloudy and wet, the perfect day to go through Hell's Gate. We drove an hour on twisty roads through the mountains, over rivers and along forests in order to get there.



We took the tram down through the canyon and were taken aback by the gust of wind over the bridge.




We toured around, took in the chocolate factory and gift shops and settled down for the best icecream cone around.




It was a good day!

Lyndeman and Greendrop Lakes

I've hiked up to Lyndeman lake twice this year already and I wouldn't even mind going again. It's amazing how so much can change throughout the seasons of a year. The first time I hiked up to Lyndeman was in the Spring with Andrea and her friend Mandy.


We hiked the 2 km up the mountain to reach the first lake. It was warm on the beach but the glacier water was freezing cold!!! There was too much snow on the mountain to make the trek past Lyndeman and to GreenDrop Lake. So, we dropped ourselves on the sand with our German buddies who we met along the way, took out our lunches and spent the day looking at the amazing colour of the greenish blue tourquoise lake. The water was so clear you could easily make out what was lying at the bottom.














This past July, my Young Adults group took a camping trip up at Chilliwack lake and decided to give the hike another go. We hiked up the 2 km to the end of Lyndeman and hung out on the rocks this time since there was no sign of any beach. All the snow had melted from the mountains and everything looked completely different. The water was so high that the places I had walked just 2 months earlier were completely covered. We had to find the actual trail this time! While most of the group stayed at Lyndeman and enjoyed the warm weather, the hot sun, and all the m&m's from the trail mix, Andrew and I decided that we couldn't just turn our backs on Greendrop. So, without lunch and only a bag on m&mless trailmix, plastic tasting water from my camelbak, and one granola bar to tide us over, we made the next 6 km trek through boulders and stream flooded forests to reach the waterfall view at Greendrop. Walking back was a struggle as our stomachs sang out songs of hunger. It was so hot by the time we made it back to Lyndeman that we thought nothing of the instant brain freeze we got as we dunked our heads in the lake. I don't know why I like this hike so much. Maybe it's because it was one of the first hikes I did in BC, or because of the awesome tourqoise colour or maybe it's the mere fact that a guy named Harry Lyndeman, way back in the day, decided to hike the trail countless times in order to restock the lake with loads of fish.

Bouldering at its finest....




















On the trek back from Greendrop Lake














Finished! Now for the trek back uphill to camp...

A Year at a Glance

It has now been a year since I moved from Ontario to B.C. Looking back, it has been a year of definite highs and lows. So much has happened and changed that I could not possibly catch up with writing it all down. Here are a few highlights and lowlights:

August: I moved into my unfurnished basement suite. It was a super cute apartment but all I had to furnish it was a lawn chair my dad had bought so that he'd didn't have to sit on the carpet. I slept on an air mattress and waited for roommates to come home with groceries... but I didn't have roommates. It was sad. I also bought my first car. I had no idea what I was doing! I was shaking and pretty much sick to my stomach as I signed the papers and looked at the price of insurance!

September: School started. It was the first day of school for my Kindergarten kids and the first day for me as a teacher. Little did we know what the year would bring for us. I was in charge of my first class trip where we went for a "fall" walk in the forest and had a picnic at a playground. I had my first encounter with a child crapping his pants, another child pulling down her pants and a sibling of a child peeing in the sandbox. I was a little intimidated about what the next 9 months would involve.
Also in this Sept, my brother got married on Mayne Island, one of the Gulf Islands off the West coast. Many relatives came from Ontario and we took over the island for a weekend. It was such a nice wedding in a little chapel on the island with a view of the water across the street. It was such an exciting time and after 23 years, I can finally say that I have the older sister I have always wanted!

October: I turned 23, didn't really know too many people around and so I figured the Blink 182 song, What's my Age again? was actually coming true. But, I went to the beach on my birthday! I've never done that in October before! At school we had our Teacher's Convention in Lynden, WA and so I was able to see all the people I had worked with student teaching in Smithers and also some Dordt grads. It was a little exciting! I also took my students on our second field trip to the Pumpkin patch, got lost on the way and ended up being 20 minutes late for my own class trip which was pretty embarrassing as a first year teacher (but completely not my fault either).

November: I don't remember too much about the month of November except for this almost unbelievable moment when my name was drawn out of a hat at a Membership meeting as the winner of 2 NHL Vancouver Canucks tickets for a February game against Edmonton. Enough said right?

December: 2 weeks before school is out for Christmas holidays we get this snow storm Of course, the snow begins falling Friday night, continues all Saturday and Sunday so that we don't miss a day of school. However, Sunday night, it begins to pour rain as another "winter heat wave" rolls in. The foot of snow that is outside now all turns to slush just in time for the 2 min walking commute to school. Excellent. My boots are wet, my socks are wet and my key will not work in the school door. When I finally figure my stuff out, I walk into yet another rainstorm which this time is happening inside my classroom and in the hallway by my door. Chunks of ceiling tiles are falling and the water is accumulating on the floor making my Kindergarten classroom into the new school wading pool. Kids art work is dripping off off the walls, the name tags are floating in puddles of water and the chunks of ceiling continue to fall. Needless to say, I got the snow day I was praying for. However, it was spent cleaning and moving everything out of my room and across the school to a new classroom that would be my new room for the next 2 months. It was like September again- rearranging furniture, making new name tags, posters etc. What a lot of work!

Enjoying a Starbucks break during the flood clean-up.

At Christmas, I went home for the holidays and it was a nice break to be back in Ontario for a while. It was great to catch up with family and friends and have plenty of food around. When you have to eat for one, sometimes cooking gets forgotten and you eat whatever is in the cupboard that doesn't involve too many leftover, too many dishes and too many coins out of the pocket.


January: I went skiing at Whistler and stayed overnight in a really nice hotel in Pemberton. It had 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a fireplace, 2 bathrooms, a heated outdoor pool and hot tub. It was great! We skied all day and played games all night. It was excellent. I even went skiing past the tree line in the rocky part of the mountains and "skied" (sat on my butt and slid) in a glacier area.

February: Vancouver beat Edmonton. It was amazing! My first NHL game and I managed to find an NHL Jersey in the thrift store a week before the big game. All my colleagues were jealous of my winnings and were extra nice to me so that I might give them my tickets. HA! Andrea and I also managed to play ice hockey too!

March: Although it rained and was cold most of March break, I was able to make it through a blizzard onto the ferry to visit my brother and sister in law on the island. I also managed to get in a few good hikes and trails. A good friend from home visited and it was fun to be a travel guide for the Vancouver area. I also made the trek to Mt. Vernon, WA to meet up with a college friend for the day. I had heard so much about Mt. Vernon so it was fun to actually see what kind of place it actually was and recall who all lived there.

April: It started to become nicer outside and I anticipated the spring/summer weather. It was fun to let my students go outside more often and enjoy all their discoveries outside in the forest and on the playground. We took another field trip to the Fire Station (without any ordeals) and I got to put on all the fireman's equipment! It was exciting!

I got a call from my parents saying that my grandma had a heart attack and was in the hospital. She's doing well now but it was a little scary there for a time. I'm glad that she is feeling better now and is back home and doing her grandma thing.

May: We did a rain forest unit in Kindergarten which was super fun and exciting for both the students and for myself. We decorated the classroom like a rain forest and took a trip to the zoo to see the rain forest animals. 2 nights before we went, someone broke into the zoo and stole one spider monkey and murdered the other. How sad is that? May was a pretty busy month just getting ready for the end of the school year, having staff devotions, grandparents day, doing report cards etc. At this time, I was also stressing out about where I was going to work the next year, whether I would move to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island for a job or if I would stay and move just a short distance away so that I could have a roommate.

June: Decisions all made, report cards all finished but the stress still high as the school year came to a close. Kindergarten graduation loomed in the air and I was super busy just getting everything done and ready for the big day. The excitement in the air for the approaching vacation was definitely felt. The kids, not only in my class but in the whole school were out of control with excitement and summer fever. I think it also had to do with the fact that June was the coldest and rainiest month of the year. We started calling in Junuary just because it seemed to rain everyday. Everyday the kids were inside for recess couped up in the classrooms. Even the end of the year parties to the water park had to be cancelled cause of the cold and wet temperatures. But, graduation day came and it was so super adorable to see the students, who I had gotten to know so well get their Kindergarten diploma. Although I had many struggles with this class at times, I was able to appreciate each child and I loved them for who they were. I will miss them for all their quirks, all their strengths and all their weaknesses as they go on to grade one next year. My first year of teaching is done. I am no longer a rookie although I know I will still feel like it at times.

July: The summer is here and it is fantastic! Warm weather, sunsets, cloudless days and the smell of the ocean. I spent the first weekend of my summer camping in Golden Ears with Andrea and a few of her friends. My goal became to go camping every weekend in the summer. In July, I packed up all the belongings I had accumulated over the past year and moved to Langley. I had more than just a lawn chair this time! I spent July hanging out with old friends and new friends, going on many hikes, camping trips, walks around the seawall and mini road trips. Lynette and Jena came and we were troopers as we drove around Vancouver taking in the sights and walking different trails in and around the lower mainland. We took a ferry to Mayne Island where we went kayaking, saw a few seals including a baby seal laying on the rocks, almost met Raffi and saw a pod of Orca whales swimming and jumping in the "Ocean" (Straight of Georgia) while on the ferry back. My mom also made a visit out to BC in July and we went island hopping, covering 5 islands in 5 days! Unfortunately no whales on the ferries this time though.

Now, the new journey begins...