Conquering Canada: An early morning at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park
Paraphrasing my buddy on the PCT, ‘there’s nothing better than miles for breakfast.’
That was my mindset Wednesday as I awoke at 3:30 am, trying to not wake Cody, Chris, or our other hostel mate as I got everything ready for the morning’s excursion to Joffre Lakes Provincial Park.
About an hour away from Whistler, my drive took a little longer as I got lost due to missing a turn and ended up on some backcountry road in the middle of nowhere.
No worries, though. I quickly circled back and was back on my way in no time.
By 4:50 am, I pulled into the parking lot ready to go. A smidge after five, just as I headed for the trailhead, another couple scampered out of their camper into the early morning light.
For the next 50 minutes, I was the only one on the trail as I shot up past the first lake and then started shooting photos at the second. It was epic.
That couple caught up to me at Middle Joffre Lake and they too joined me in the photography session. We sort of played leap-frog the rest of the way up as we all were taking turns shooting the epic scenery including an awesome waterfall.
Minutes before seven, I arrived at Upper Joffre Lake.
I simply sat and enjoyed myself – soaking in the cool air, quiet surroundings, and endless beauty. I was able to watch the sun rise over the jagged peaks above and illuminate the turquoise water. The best part, there were no more than four other people at the lake the entire time I was there.
I think I headed down close to 8:30 am and passed a good amount of people coming up.
Again, I stopped at the middle lake and took some more photographs with the different lighting and couldn’t contain my excitement when it came to the reflection the lake supplied.
The trip down didn’t take more than 45 minutes including my pitstops to take photos.
Back at the car, I unpacked and headed back to Whistler as Cody, Chris, and I had a date with a gondola. Stay tuned!
Until next time adventurers, take care and be safe.
You can follow along the journey on Facebook and Instagram or shoot me any questions and comments about places to go. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get notified when new posts come out!
If you’ve just started following, here’s how the trip started: Day 1 and 2 in Vancouver, Day 3 on the water, and Day 4 at Wedgemount Lake.