Mornings at camp are some of my favorite times, sipping coffee while stirring oatmeal at the campstove, Â stretching breakfast into an hour-long affair. Â Juliette gets a big mug of warm cinnamon milk and Shane fries up a pan of breakfast sausages and we do none of the rushing around that our typical weekdays entail.
I was just settling into my chair with my second cup of coffee on Thursday morning when I heard a ruckus from the other end of the campsite and saw Jason marching toward the bridge with a log hoisted over his head, the kids excitedly trailing behind. Â I couldn’t help but follow.
This bunch of folks is just so good at the camping shenanigans.
Once we’d log-jammed the river, I headed back to my seat in the sun.
And the kids had a go on the slack line…
BUPS!
We rallied late morning and piled into our cars to head out for a hike up to Cheakamus Lake. Â Shane hauled the paddleboard, because, well, Shane.
We weren’t the speediest bunch, per se, but that was ok, as there was plenty of scenery to savor along the way, from deep dark woods…
To lush, glowing thickets.
Juliette was a trooper, though when J offered to put her up on his shoulders two miles in, she was quick to accept.
Some risks are just too good to pass up.
We eventually made it to the lake and hunkered down on a tiny patch of lakefront while Shane paddled ahead to see if there was a larger place to spread out for lunch.
We were waved ahead to a perfect sitting log and ate our sandwiches while the guys took turns on the paddleboard.
This place was so worth the trek!
I got out on the SUP for a few minutes but turned back when the choppy, freezing cold water started lapping over my board. Â Contrary to Jason, I find that some risks aren’t worth taking!
The hike back to the cars took some coaxing in the form of a perpetual game of hike and seek, where the kids would run ahead to hide behind trees and the adults would feign utter astonishment each time they jumped out. Â Also, candy.
The rest of the afternoon was quiet, with a quick spin through Whistler village for wine and ice, followed by plenty of campsite reading, hammocking, and biking.
The kids tossed a few more sticks in the river…
And then goodnight hugs were shared all around.
