Cat Lake

Canadian camping and a floating fiesta.

After our hike we continued our expedition north with the intent of finding somewhere to camp for the night. Em had kindly loaded her car with all the camping gear under the sun plus the four of us. This proved troublesome on the unsealed road up to the lake and after tackling several fairly severe washouts at the expense of the car's undercarriage, we aborted the mission and headed elsewhere.

It's peak season for camping in Canada - summer holidays and it was a Saturday evening; the task seemed impossible. Fortunately we met some rowdy Irishmen who offered to share a campsite with us on the condition that we wouldn't complain about their partying - of course they were already on their second strike. Them Irish! The location: the beautiful Cat Lake.

Dave met us at the lake with another car full of gear and we spent some time assembling it all over cold beverages. Camping in Canada is not for the feint hearted. Right now, British Columbia is largely on fire. It's burning like Australia's eucalyptus forest only it's pine and the forest covers practically the entire state. It goes without saying there's a fire ban. But fire was not what worried us. Our fear was the bear.

This far in life, every animal threat I've received has failed to eventuate. This has led me to the belief that animal threats are cause for reserved excitement. That is, there is a slight but highly unlikely chance you will encounter such animal, and if you do it will likely be from such a distance it's rather indistinguishable and more probably just a tree stump. Bears, however, are not part of this belief. They are real. Very real. And they actually eat humans. In fact, the bear rules are more strictly enforced than the fire rules. Bear boxes (steel chilly bins) are to be used to store all food, food packaging and kitchenware, and they lock! Bear proof bins are the only form of bin and bear spray is sold at most supermarkets, camping stores and liquor stores. On top of that, almost every Canadian you talk to has seen one. It is also very confusing that the words bear, beer and bare have no audible difference in the NZ accent. Nonetheless, beware of the bear - you've been warned.

Cat lake really turned it on. An early evening dip, hummus dip, chip or two and a beauty of a sunset set up a great night which quickly disappeared into early morning. The dice were brought out and our opinion that Canadians are very friendly was reinforced by, well, lots of very friendly Canadians. Dave and Em introduced me to KDs (Kraft Dinners) which I can tell you take after the brand much more than the verb.

Late the next morning the kitchen reopened for breakfast. On a tiny gas burner we cooked french toast with maple syrup and vast quantities of local berries (it's berry season and we're really making the most of it). It was delicious and in line with the vast quantity of maple syrup we have already consumed in this country.

After breakfast, in his box of tricks, Dave conjured up a pair of inflatable paddleboards. We packed up snacks, drinks and some music and set out on the lake. It's not a big lake but somehow we managed to drift around (two people per board) for two or three hours soaking up the sun and dipping to cool off. We also had several attempts at log running/rolling which made us feel all the more Canadian. Dragonflies mating was another oddly interesting highlight, especially when they chose to do so on your body.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon/evening (who knows...it doesn't get dark until 10pm here) getting back to Vancouver with a vital stop at a brewery for lunch and a Caesar - a clamato (tomato-clam) juice cocktail with snacks (in it). Definitely nothing like the salad. I was again disappointed in not seeing any bears, but little did we know that would change in the Rockies. I also had enough of the other beers to keep my disappointment at bay.

Em kindly gave up her apartment for the night so we could have a sleep in a real bed. It was a really good bed and an even better sleep. Sooo much better than the floor (which we will be spending almost every other night in Canada on). We packed up our gear and most of Emily's camping gear and she dropped us at our rental car the next morning: let the Rockies road trip begin!

To Em, Dave, Tristan and Mahsan - you guys are legends! Let's hope paths cross again soon!Read more