Jofffre Lakes

via portland We left Tofino in a hurry before sunrise because we had committed to a concert in portland.  We hadn't really planned on being on vancouver when we committed and certainly hadn't counted on a 12+ hour travel day, but we aren't really into backing out of plans once committed. The fog was so thick on the island we could barely see a cars length ahead of us, but luckily we may have been the only vehicle out on the island at that time.  We retraced our curvy path back over the island, were finally rewarded with an amazing sunrise amidst the mountains and fog, and then eventually made it back to the southern end of the island where we caught the ferry to anacortes.  We almost always are topside for ferry rides taking in the view and on the lookout for whales, but this time we made the easy choice of a nap before driving the last 5 hours to portland.

We pulled in plenty early for the show, only to end up standing in one of the longest lines we've ever seen.  We enjoyed the show, but even moreso the chance to catch up with friends we haven't seen enough of over the last few months. We got a quick 2 days in town (really more of a layover really) and tried to fit in lunches, dinners and drinks with as many people as we could and then had to hit the road back to vancouver for yet another set of plans we had already committed to.  This time a cabin in the woods and some hiking into joffre lakes, which has been high on our list all summer.  Yes please!!

We drove past vancouver to jofree lakes, where we had planned on hiking a few trips back but were chased away by the insane number of cars at the trialhead.  This time, our friends had rented a cabin for the continuing monthlong celebration that is jess' birthday and we settled into the woods and enjoyed the view while awaiting our friends to wrap up work and join us.

We had a great couple of days relaxing and enjoying the group at the cabin...and were it not for our layover in portland (and the 20+ hourse of driving) it seemed like our tofino trip simply continued but somehow moved locations.

On saturday we hiked into Joffre and were thrilled at the relatively small crowds.  Apparently we chose the perfect weekend as the road to whistler was shut down most of the day for an event.  This trail is far too convenient and attracts quite the crowd.  A weekend trip is the last thing I would recommend if you can avoid it.  In this case however, it turn out perfectly and the hike in was fairly quiet until we arrived at second lake and saw the group f tourists already here snapping photos.

Luckily, for some unknown reason most of them don't continue to the third lake, so we were able to enjoy our lunch in peace and with most of the lake to ourselves.  We scrambled around the boulders and rocks that line the lake snapping photos and taking in the absolutely perfect views and then eventually decided to pack in in and return to the cabin. We apparently chose to leave at the right time because our hike out met an insane number of hiker heading in the opposite direction.  We decided rapidly that we would never return here unless it was midweek.

Well exercised we returned to pemberton for a bit of exploration.  Visited a local farm, talked about crashing a wedding (but restrained ourselves) and did a tasting as a local distillery (and may have bought our first growler of gin).

We all returned to the cabin for a campfire, more good times and a terrific weekend in the mountains with friends.