Storms were brewing. The lows hit us. Cory and I were struggling to be on the same page. We seemed to disagree about everything. What place to sleep, where, why how.. It was freezing outside. I could see my breath. The low was in the low 40's. It's supposed to be summer people. Summer time. I'm coming from 100 degree weather. Give me a break or at least let me see the sun. It's been cloudy and rainy for a few days now. Isaak and Chloe were fighting about everything. Zelly kept screaming at the top of her lungs. I didn't think I could handle anymore and then Zelly peed in the tent on my down sleeping bag. Sigh. I was feeling defeated, tired and just wanted a flush toilet or to go inside. I knew we couldn't clean the sleeping bag because it would never dry. Heaven help me! Where is the sun. We took our average of two hours to break down camp while we waited for everything to dry out and traveled 50 km to Mount Robson. At the visitor center we used their awesome flush toilets, read books to the kids, bought some long sleeve shirts and made a plan to ditch driving and go on a long hike.
Before we reached the visitors center though we passed a short hike to Overlander Falls. We all opted to hike down to see them. Nobody even complained because the sun had finally peaked out and a waterfall was involved. The waterfall is named after a group of people on an expedition named the Overlanders. They started their expedition in 1862 in search of gold in the Cariboo Goldfields. They reached Fort Edmonton by cart and traded for horses to continue their journey across the Rockies and prairies. They hired indigenous guides to help them find their way through. They suffered many difficulties and blazed new trails. Finally they came to the Fraser River and decided to abandon the trail that had brought them much hardship. The majority of the group followed the Fraser River while a smaller group went towards Thompson falls. Miraculously only six men died navigating through the rapids and falls of the Fraser River and arrived in Kamloops. The only woman overlander named Catherine O'Hare Schubert, who brought her three children along, gave birth to her fourth child a daughter upon arrival. She had opted to travel with her husband even though it was discouraged. I want to learn more about Catherine. I can't even imagine her bravery and strength, especially when they almost starved because they became high centered by water while she had her children around her and was pregnant!
Before we reached the visitors center though we passed a short hike to Overlander Falls. We all opted to hike down to see them. Nobody even complained because the sun had finally peaked out and a waterfall was involved. The waterfall is named after a group of people on an expedition named the Overlanders. They started their expedition in 1862 in search of gold in the Cariboo Goldfields. They reached Fort Edmonton by cart and traded for horses to continue their journey across the Rockies and prairies. They hired indigenous guides to help them find their way through. They suffered many difficulties and blazed new trails. Finally they came to the Fraser River and decided to abandon the trail that had brought them much hardship. The majority of the group followed the Fraser River while a smaller group went towards Thompson falls. Miraculously only six men died navigating through the rapids and falls of the Fraser River and arrived in Kamloops. The only woman overlander named Catherine O'Hare Schubert, who brought her three children along, gave birth to her fourth child a daughter upon arrival. She had opted to travel with her husband even though it was discouraged. I want to learn more about Catherine. I can't even imagine her bravery and strength, especially when they almost starved because they became high centered by water while she had her children around her and was pregnant!
I love what a climber she is. She's always climbing, balancing or crawling over something
The kids were amazed that trees can grow out of rocks.
Running towards the falls. I love those adorable little bundles.
The beautiful Overlander Falls
Just downstream from the falls
We just figured out how to use the gopro app to take pictures, but it can be hard to find a place to put the gopro without getting a tree or a rock or something else in that wide angle. Can you tell whose taking the picture?
The wide angle allowed me to capture both falls in one frame. Eventhough it's crooked. A group of Kayakers had just crossed the falls as we arrived. It was pretty cool to watch them kayak through the entire falls area.
Finally we continued on to Mount Robson. Mount Robson is the largest peak in the Canadian Rockies and is stunning in it's majesty at 12,972 feet. Unfortunately it was still cloudy so we saw the mountain with clouds shrouding it's peak, but it was still beautiful.
So now to our hike. We deliberated. We debated and decided to hike to Kinney Lake which is 9 kilometers out and back. That's a jaunt for a small family and we knew we wouldn't be driving anymore and decided to stay at Robson Meadows which was adjacent to our hiking trail. We climbed on the rock wall, ate some lovely turkey sandwiches and headed off into the back country. I was bubbling over. I couldn't wait to see what the mountains had in store. I was starting to feel rejuvenated.
Everyone had their time to shine on the climbing wall
And so we begin on our 9k journey
A tree growing out of an old stump. Isaak loved these. We hiked through old cedars all along the trail.
Notice how swiftly and strongly the Fraser river is flowing. I may have constantly been warning the kids to stay away from the edge of the trail because of the flow. We also were making a lot of noise because they told us that a bear den was near. 
They had marked the trail at every kilometer. I was so happy to see 4K knowing we only have .5 to go. Chloe kept herself busy and entertained by picking berries for us to eat. Cory didn't carry her the entire way up. It was a small miracle.
Notice how calm the Fraser has become as we get closer to the lake. Some gravel or maybe moraine from the glacier slow down the river and lead to the existence of Kinney Lake.
What the trail looked like the whole way. Much like a rain forest with berries growing everywhere
We spent time skipping, singing, talking about the Lego sets Isaak wanted for his birthday, and just being together. We made it to the lake with few problems. It was worth each step. It was beautiful to see the majestic mountains with glaciers surrounding this soft green lake. Kinney Lake is home to pikas, bears, american dippers and the lake only exists because of a huge layer of gravel like dirt that slows down the river and creates a beautiful lake and a serene river. The Fraser river the rest of the way is fierce, churning and dangerous. Isaak and Chloe resumed arguing at the lake. We just tried to keep them apart. By the time we got back to camp that night(at a place with showers by the way! Yay!) all seemed calm on the front. We seemed to make it through our low. We dined on lovely mac and cheese, carrots and peaches. Chloe gathered up everything she needed to head to the showers. She was so excited to shower. Isaak hid out reading Star Wars Academy. We all rejuvenated. It was going to be okay. We were going to make it one more day.
The visitor center with a map and flush toilets that were so, so, so, so clean
Dinner time. Our two pans for the entire trip a MSR sauce pan and our good ole cast iron
Comments