It would have been amazing to see the sun rise but we slept right through it and woke when the sun was warming the tent. A chilled out breakfast with Brandon and Gill then we packed a day bag and headed out towards Opal Cone, a volcanic peak to the north. It was only 200m higher than our campsite but we had to descend into a deep valley and get back out the other side, so it was a tough walk.
We walked through more alpine meadows and saw dozens of types of wildflowers! They were pink, purple, lilac, white, yellow and orange - a fabulous display of colour amidst the grey rock and green trees.
In the bottom of the valley, we crossed a raging river and we could see the glacier it came from only a few kilometres above. We hiked up out of the valley, around switchbacks and along a rocky ridge that looked like a moraine. On the right was a steep rocky drop-off to a barren plateau and opal-coloured lakes below. On the left the slope was shallower and covered with flowers and dancing butterflies.
Then the path headed up steeply and we found ourselves on loose rock and scree on a ridiculous angle. Who decided to make a path up a scree slope?! We took our time and I did my best not to freak out, then we got to the end of the slope and saw the actual path and rejoined it. Phew - at least we don't have to go down that slope!
We had lunch at the top overlooking a barren rockscape and the opal lakes, a few trees in the foreground clinging to the cliffs. Then we had to go all the way down the steep cone, back into the valley and over the river, then all the way back up the other side. I was exhausted and hungry (anyone who knows me well enough to have met me when I'm tired and hungry will feel sorry for Dave at this point) and I whinged all the way back. Then, about 2km from the hut we passed a guy in a digger taking scree off the hills and piling it up. We chatted to him then carried on. His colleague then came past in a bobcat to collect the scree and take it back to camp. We chatted to him too and when he'd collected the scree, he gave us a lift to camp on his way back. Ahh.
We had some much needed snacks then packed up our stuff and started on the trail back to the car. Thankfully I'd cheered up a bit by then and we talked all the way down and enjoyed the views all over again.
We made it back to the car around 6pm and started driving back down the gravel road we'd come up. I noticed one huge pothole too late and scraped the bumper. Bummer.
That evening we drove back to Vancouver and checked into a lovely B&B on Capilano Road. We went for dinner in our smelly trail clothes then showered and crashed out exhausted.
The next two days were spent recovering, eating and planning, doing chores and talking to the other guests, who were from all over the world! Breakfasts at the B&B were three course delights and we'd sit for hours learning about Lebanon, India, Dubai and San Diego whilst being brought delicious food. One afternoon, we headed to a park where there's a dam and fish hatchery in the forest. The hatchery was pretty interesting and we saw fish jumping up a fish ladder. We stood by the water in the shade of the trees and watched an osprey, a kingfisher and a heron all fishing in the same calm section between riffles!
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