Well, it’s 4:19 am and I am wide awake.  Been that way since about 10 minutes to 2.  I have a lot on my mind, so what better way to try and get back to sleep than to “blog-dump” it!

We stopped at this nice pond after climbing the Bedwell trail.  Notice the very snazzy looking black back pack beside Tree (not the “tree”, my best friend Tree!).   It is possibly the best back-pack in the world!  Its an Arc’ter-yx Bora 65.

The climb up is about three hours.  You first get to drive up quite a ways from Buttle Lake (thank-you Westmin mine) and then you climb gradually for about an hour, then straight up, including steel ladders up rock faces, for an hour and a half, and then its “rolling” terrain for the last hour or so.  Maybe three and a half hours…

That’s one very attractive man with a very professional looking back pack!  Oh, that’s some big mountain thingy in the background…Tom Taylor I believe?  Details…

When you do reach the top, you hit “Baby Bedwell Lake” first.  It has ten or so nice tent pads (min wooden decks), a steel food cache and even a pit toilet!  Luxury!  After that, you have to climb up the bluff separating it from Bedwell lake.  Then you climb down, then you cross one more bluff and finally you arrive at Bedwell Lake, which has the same set-up as Baby Bedwell.

Moneyshot – the flank of Big Interior mountain in the foreground, right.  Nine Peaks in the background right and Della Falls in the background, left.  Photo by Tree!

We camped on the last available tent pad at Bedwell – the Labour Day weekend is busy in the Back Country.  The next day we hiked out to Cream Lake.  You go above Bedwell and through a pass alongside Big Interior.  There was a lot of snow.

Damn – that is an awesome backpack!  Too bad the photo wasn’t zoomed in more!  (oh ya – on the route to Cream Lake – that’s Septimus and Rousseau in teh background).  Nice red gaiters too!  Photo by Tree.

We had a short rest at Cream Lake where Tree tried to swim, but didn’t follow through as it was a little cold in the water…we made lunch on the way back to Bedwell, pack up camp and headed out.  It made for a long day – probably 9 hours on our feet!

Cream Lake with Flower Ridge in the background.  Sorry, the backpack didn’t make it into this shot…photo by Tree.

Tree take’s her colour coordinating very seriously. 

A trail junction we didn’t actually make it through as we took an alternate route from Bedwell to Cream – at least up the ridge to the pass.  Photo by Tree.

After our epic day, we needed food.  We stopped at Strathcona Park Lodge, but quickly realized we were out of our league…most entree’s were $30 plus!  We tried to find the Highway Man in Campbell River…but we were both too tired to find it.  Lucky for us Islander Pizza was still open when we rolled into town around 10 pm, and a large supreme quickly disappeared.

So, that was the Bedwell to Cream Lake odyssey.  Last weekend Cole and I headed up to Cain for a night mostly to get out of town but also so I could drop some firewood and fix a staircase at the cabin I’ve been borrowing.

Cole enjoying the ridge hike up Mt Cain.

Cole checking out the line for some summer skiing…

I reckon there is at least 2/3rds left to ski…

I’ll end with some philosophical discussion.  When good things happen in your life, regardless of the circumstances that bring them about, and regardless of how  long those circumstances last, they are still good.  Those experiences that you enjoy creating, once they are a memory, no one and nothing can take them away.  It is important to accept these good things, good people and enjoyable events and not question fate too closely.  It is also important to be alert for the next opportunity for good experiences to happen – and go and seize that opportunity.

Carpe Diem!