Valhalla part 2

Our third and last full day we decided on another alpine hike to beautiful lakes. Gwillim lakes is one of the most renown in the area and takes you past 3 beautiful lakes in 7 miles and 2500 ft of elevation gain. This was probably the buggiest hike we’ve done. Started the day off with a 3:30 am wake up call to try to hit the cooler part of the day for the big inclines. GPS said it would take 1 hour 50 minutes to get to the trailhead but turned into 3 hours when the last 40 km (25 miles) was dirt road and kept getting worse and worse. Thank goodness for a great driver (Dave), and high clearance. We met 2 logging trucks on the road which is not what we wanted. Luckily there were narrow pull offs at both points and the truck drivers were really maneuverable. We saw a few deer and what may have been elk hoofprints. The mosquitos and horse flies were brutal, even with both of us soaked in backwoods spray. Dipping our shirts and hats in the icy water helped keep us cool on the way back and we were able to try out our new food thermos for a warm meal before heading back down. Overall, a very long day followed by a partially failed search for a magnet in 4 towns. The beauty and serenity of this area make it easy to see why it was named Valhalla.

Our last morning at Camp Valhalla we were able to check out a little late from our campsite so decided to take advantage and get another swim/paddleboard in. Finally made a full mile (1760 yards) which I haven’t done in 5 years. We played around with some photos/videos since it was a leisurely swim. We’re going to miss the easy access to crystal clear water surrounded by the mountains. We saw hundreds of tadpoles at the beginning and end which was neat.Read more