May 13 (Week 22)

Our intended destination on Saturday morning was Upper Joffre Lake, above Pemberton. Our arrival at the parking lot/trailhead, though, presented us with four feet of snow. We took a short walk to the lower lake, looked up the valley and decided that this would be a great hike in two months - should have brought the snowshoes. And I guess we didn't need the fly-rod! The whiskeyjacks in the parking lot were fun...

With so much snow still everywhere, we decided to try out Cheakamus Lake, near Whistler. Even at this lower altitude, we drove through a little snow and mud to get to the parking area (go new car!), and walked through quite a bit on the trail. All thoughts of winter disappeared as we found our spot by the lake.

I am continually surprised by how few people we encounter off the pavement. Cheakamus Lake is literally next to the biggest ski resort in North America; you can look down on the lake from the top of Whistler Mountain with your skis on. This close to people and development, we were certain that we'd have to fight for space to put our tent. There were four tents on Cheakamus last night, and the lake is 5 km long. We didn't hear a peep. We were happy to see some big trees, too.

All in all, a good night and a fun weekend, even if the fish weren't biting.