Canoes, Camping and everything Outdoors

*Warning.... long entry*

Well, in case you haven't noticed I haven't blogged for a while. That was because I left the den to brave the great outdoors. Been a while since the guys got together for our annual camping trip (which yours truely has kinda neglected in the face of being so busy in the past while) and we decided to make sure we did it this May long weekend.

As you can tell by the fact I am writing this, I survived. Not only that, I am back, recharged and energized after being in all that BC fresh air! If you don't care to read about the trip, you are welcome to just go check out the image gallery.

Still with me? Good show. Well, the trip started off a little late. We were supposed to be mustering around 10-11 am to start the trek out to the lake, but we didn't actually get out of Chilliwack until like 4pm. We all decided to go see the Matrix Reloaded with other friends the night before, and as such, ended up not getting in touch until the next morning... when we were SUPPOSED to be already packed and going. By the time we did muster together for lunch at 2:30pm I realized that my CB needed a new car adapter, and later also realized a fuse was blown and had to replace it. All is not lost... radio shack was my friend and I got it all patched up and we were off.

The drive itself was uneventful. We took the canyon and was on pavement the whole way there. Kinda wished we could have 4x4 for a bit, but leaving as late as we did it didn't make sense to. We arrived at the BC Hydro camp site at Seaton Lake around 7, by the time we went and checked everything out.

Side note: Consider checking out some of BC Hydro's camp/recreation sites over forestry camp sites, or even public(yuk) camp sites. They are FREE, clean and even supply wood. Well, atleast Seaton Lake did. Was a pretty good site, even if it wasn't directly on the lake.

We spent two days making sure we got a chance to get some canoeing in, even in the face of swiftly changing weather (damn weathermen can never get it right). Seaton Lake is a beautiful lake, with a crisp green hue that is almost hypnotic. Of course, this is because it is so damn cold being glacier fed and all. Falling in wasn't an option and lucky for me my canoe partner was Doug, so we didn't have to take Bailey(Rick's energetic Labrador Retriever), in our canoe. I could tell everytime the dog moved in their canoe as the thing would start to tip. They stayed dry amazingly enough, and we all had a good time.

One neat point in one of the canoe trips was a hidden abandoned cabin we found on the side of the lake that has train tracks. I got a few shots of it in the gallery if you want to check it out. Seems like an amazing spot for a cabin. To bad it's so close to the tracks. I would gather the rail company bought the land and never bothered to perserve such a beautiful architectural masterpiece. (Hey look beyond the weathered wood and imagine how that looked in its day... wow).

The only regrets (if you wanna call it that) about the trip was I was hoping to have some time to myself to enjoy a book I took up there, as well as some Anthony Robin CDs (Get the Edge, his new set). Instead we hung out together and enjoyed the canoeing, some killer frisbee (until you see how Bailey can kill a frisbee, you won't know what I mean... you had to be there) and drinking around the fire. Got a bit of reading in, but it was just to loud to really be a 'relaxing' read the way I would like it. Rick had the right idea and just got up before everyone to get some reading in.

I could go on and explain the trip in greater detail, but the fact of the matter is that unless you were there, its really not easy to talk about. We saw lots of wildlife, enjoyed an evening of star gazing (awesome up there with little light pollution), enjoyed two days of canoeing and basically had a great time. Just the right amount of days to actually enjoy it all. And get back to civilization and the hustle of life. Which reminds me, I have a tonne of email to go wade through.

TTYL.