stubsadventures

I’m not so much of a summer camper. I mostly camp in the spring and the fall, when the kids are back in school and the night time temps dip well below the comfortable summer heat. That’s when you see all the good stuff. In the spring, the waterfalls are bigger and louder, the rivers are higher, the smells are fresh and the little baby animals are all over the place. In the fall, the bugs are gone, the ground is usually dry and the leaves changing color just makes me happy.

That being said, camping is camping and this weekend we took off to Kananaksis for a three night stay. We found one of the few spots left in Eau Claire campground and set up shop. The campground manager came by and told us that a wolf had been around begging for food and people were feeding it, thinking it was a dog. I asked him if it would bother Caper, and he said no, it will just stand at the end of the driveway and wouldn’t come up unless it was invited. Isn’t that how a vampire works? A vampire wolf, how sweet is that. Sadly, we never got a visit, which I thought was possibly a minor insult to the smell of my cooking.

The second day, we decided it was time for a hike. We picked an unnamed trail that started from about 7200ft above sea level. The hike was stunning. Lots of up and down before opening up into a beautiful meadow. That, followed by a good rock scramble, followed by a stream crossing, followed by several snow crossings before turning around and doing it all in reverse. About 8km in total, Caper was a champ.

Day three, we decided to take the canoe out into Barrier Lake. Anytime on the canoe is a good time. We had a good paddle for an hour or so against a strong wind, sat and had a picnic next to the lake before heading back. So far, the canoe is proving to be a worthy vessel. Caper is all over the place when she’s in it, back and forth looking for a way off and back to shore. Even when fully loaded with gear, and a pacing puggle, its performed well.

Despite all the awesome things one does while camping, there is no denying the allure of the woods is mostly the campfire. No matter how many times you have them, they are awesome every single time. My newest thing is cutting wood with an axe. I can pretty much guarantee at some point I will hurt myself terribly but until that point, I will continue to be fearless and chop away. I’m pretty good for a girl, if I do say so myself.

Stubs.