From Backpacks to Backyards

S: Ever since I went on a  trek on the West Coast Trail, a multi-day backpacking trip on Vancouver Island, Caseigh has been begging me to take her backpacking. 

C: I wanted  to start doing more difficult hikes, so that I could eventually do the West Coast Trail with Mom.

S: I loved the West Coast Trail, but I’m not sure I’d do it again, even with Caseigh.

C: Fine. My own mother doesn’t believe in me? I decided to take any backpacking opportunity that came my way. 

S: More like I just don’t believe in me! 

Now, I didn’t get to take Caseigh on her first backpacking trip last year, though I’d wanted to for years. I think I’m glad I didn’t go!

C: Our homeschool coop organized a backpacking trip from Mt. Seymour to Deep Cove. Mom couldn’t join, but a bunch of my friends and their moms were doing it. 

S: There were no bear encounters or cougar stand—offs, but there were attempts to run across the highway and a discovery that the trail that was supposed to have led them back to civilization (and much anticipated, freshly made doughnuts) was closed without notice.

C: We got lost on an extreme trail, the water wasn’t potable, and I was so hungry, that I ate everyone else’s food. My mom redeemed herself for not coming by showing up on the side of the road, where we were all waiting for rides back home, with doughnuts. 

S: This year, we’d do it together – a backpacking trip to Garibaldi, a glacial lake the colour of turquoise joy. 

C: Finally! I had been waiting for this for so long. I was so happy. 

S: We’d invited Eva, a lovely family friend who has grown up with Caseigh, and Claudia, a dear Auntie and my tent mate on the West Coast Trail. 

C: Our tent pads were reserved, our supplies bought and packed, and new batteries were inserted in our headlamps. We were ready, and I couldn’t wait!

S: The day before we’d start the trail, I got a text from Claudia.

BC Parks cancelled everyone’s reservations and closed the trail. Water levels, which had been inching up year by year, had finally submerged the trail, picnic tables, and the tent pads. 

Sensing impeding heartbreak in Caseigh and staving off my own, I thought fast. If we couldn’t go backpacking, maybe we could go… hmm… car camping? Garibaldi is between Squamish and Whistler, and I knew there had to be some private campgrounds in the area that were not yet booked. To fulfill our hiking component, the Chief, an iconic rock face with its own set of ladders and chains, and a spectacular view of the Howe Sound, was proposed. Then at the end of the day, after our hike, we’d toast marshmallows over a campfire. What better way to soothe a disappointed adventurer’s soul?

C: To be honest, I was really disappointed to not go backpacking, and I was not happy to have to repack all my stuff, especially my sleeping mat. It was a pain to squeeze it into its little storage bag. But I knew Mom would come up with something we could all do that would be fun.

S: Nothing is a complete loss for Caseigh, if she can toast marshmallows.

So off we went, driving up the Sea-to-Sky highway, looking forward to a great hike, lighter loads, and a more relaxing campfire time. 

C: The Chief is not an easy hike, but we were still able to have really lively conversation. Near the top, we saw the ladders and chains that we would use to climb up to the peak. This was the part that I had been looking forward to. The whole area was solid rock with just a few trees to hold onto for support.

S: Then at some point, someone looked back and said, “Wow, look at the view!” So, of course, I did. It took my breath away, and my heart skipped a beat. The sky was laid on an expansive horizon of sea. Then my heart skipped another beat as I realized how steep the rock we were on was. Exuberance gave way to fear of heights, which gave way to a determination to get it done! And in a decided turn of my head, my left eye landed solidly into a bare, whitened stump of a tree branch. 

Stunned, I sat right down. 

C. Sorry, Mom. I’m pretty sure that I was the one who said “ Wow, look at the view!”

S: Yes, well good thing there are people who come prepared on hikes, like Claudia, who had the foresight to put her water bladder in the fridge the night before. It makes for a nice cold drink on the trail… or a nice cold pack for injury treatment! 

And here the adventure goes really off the trail. We went from a call to the nurse’s line near the rock summit (no thank you, we will not hold for an hour and a half), to a kind doctor and fellow hiker (yup, get thee to a hospital), to the Squamish hospital (record time of being seen in a hospital – under 10 mins?), to an ophthalmologist (that is no sty in the eye), and to the drug store for meds (and chips, because if this wasn’t a party by now, we needed to make it one). 

Well, my eye looked like a blackening, swollen mess, but it was just slightly scratched, thank goodness! 

C: I was hoping there would be a doctor on the trail, and there was. I was so glad when she offered to look at Mom’s eye, and I was even more glad when she didn’t say that Mom was going to be blind. Her eye did look like a real mess. But I was still panicky, and I was trying to figure out what we were going to do and what was going to happen.

S: Even with a slight scratch, I didn’t have it in me at that point to find the campsite, put up a tent, and get dinner going. 

C: Auntie Claudia suggested that since everything was packed and food had been prepared, we should still go for the camp experience – in the green space right by our house in our complex! Everyone else thought it was a good idea, because we do have a lot of space next to us, and it’s tucked into a corner, so most neighbours wouldn’t be able to see us. But, my little brother and sister would be home, and I didn’t want them to come out bothering us and wanting to toast marshmallows too. I don’t think I could take that many disappointments!

S:  But if we weren’t pitching a tent after a long trek with backpacks at Garibaldi Provincial Park nor at some random campsite in Squamish, surely we could pitch a tent in our backyard, even if it we had to do it in secret so as to not raise the suspicions of children looking out their windows.

C: Eva called it “bamping.” Backyard camping. That’s totally what we did. Our 6 person tent is so huge, and when we got it up, it was so ridiculous – this bright blue and white dome. We were texting Daddy back and forth to make sure that my siblings’ bedroom curtains were closed and that they wouldn’t be able to hear us get our stuff out of the car and set things up. Auntie Claudia cooked delicious spaghetti. As it got dark, we ate my chai molasses cookies and beef jerky. Then we took turns sneaking into the house to brush our teeth, giggling and shushing each other.

S: As soon as my head hit my pillow, I fell asleep. I slept hard.

C: Apparently, Eva and I were kicking Auntie Claudia in the face while we were sleeping.

S: I was wondering why she decided to turn her head the other way around. Poor Claudia!

C: The next day was really nice. We had a great breakfast with eggs sneaked from the fridge. Then we made friendship bracelets and painted our nails. Mom put a hair wrap on a strand of Eva’s hair.

S: So, our adventure was demoted twice – from backpacking to car camping, and finally to bamping.  And we went to a lot of unexpected places, like waiting rooms and snack aisles. But we learned that we can go just about anywhere with good snacks and great friends. 

C: Our adventures brought us back home.

But I still want to go backpacking with you, Mom!