2018 was a pretty big year. From a three month trip to Asia where I rode a scooter around Indonesian and Thai Jungles, to living in a van and pursuing photography full time, I did a lot.

My first overnight camping/backpacking trip was one of the most memorable aspects of 2018. Not only did I hike one of the most inspiring and beautiful trails that I’ve ever been on, but I got a taste of adventure that I hadn’t known existed: multi-day trips, far from civilization with nothing but a backpack, the natural world, and the interactions with a couple friends.

Our adventure actually began in Nanaimo, far from where we planned on camping. A road trip is always one of my favourite ways to start a fun and exciting trip. Conversation about future trips, favourite songs, coolest mountains, and who knows what else while crammed into a small car gets me stoked (ok, maybe not the small car part but you get it).

Three hours later, we arrived at the trailhead and stretched out our tight legs, had a quick snack, and put on our packs. Due to having my camera gear (Sony A6500, 16-50mm Lens, 70-200mm Lens, Sigma 10-20mm Lens, Microphone) and my wetsuit (yes, you read that correctly) my sleeping bag didn’t fit into my bag... I’m still thanking Jordan for being a trooper and strapping it to the outside of her already full backpack.

The hike itself is relatively easy. The trail is extremely well maintained, one of the best I’ve been on so far. There’s dedicated camping pads at both of the Bedwell lakes, proper outhouses, and proper steel stairs for the really steep sections. I wouldn’t call this trail easy, especially while lugging 30+ pounds of camping and camera gear on your back, but it sure is nice. We read online that it would be about 8 hours one-way to where we wanted to camp, by far the longest hike I’ve done up until that point.

I don’t know if the forums were directed at really slow people, but we managed to make it in about 7-and-a-bit hours, while taking a dip in virtually every major body of water the whole way up. C’mon, it was a sunny summer day, you don’t just not swim every chance you get!

While on the trail, an amazing view of a mountain named Tom Taylor presented itself. It’s a big hunk of a mountain. I’m not sure what exactly the draw is, but Tom Taylor is high on the list of mountains that I really, really want to climb (maybe just because it looks so cool to me?).

Originally we were going to set up camp right at the base of Septimus (the grassy patch on the right side of the lake in the above photo), but there was already a party of two tents set up (I know, it was soooo packed… rolls eyes). We couldn’t see any major trails that went around the lake to the far side, but Steve was determined to have a camp spot that not many others would go for. That’s one thing I appreciate about him, he always wants to do something different, even if that means bushwacking your way through dense pines and thick mosquito swaths, he’s a man on a mission.

Finally, at around 8pm, we found a pebbly beach at the water’s edge and set up our tents. My first time camping in the alpine turned out to be a pretty spectacular experience. We boiled up a bunch of spaghetti noodles which turned out to be way too many spaghetti noodles because we weren’t as hungry as we thought… Haha, oops. After stuffing down every last bite of the very luxurious pasta and pesto sauce, we spent the rest of the night playing cards in my tent, protected from the relentless bloodsuckers outside. Protip: always bring cards on a camping trip, it really helps pass the time on those days/nights where laying under the stars isn’t quite an ideal activity.

We woke up the next day to a beautiful sunrise, dew on the tent, and crispness in the air. Oh, and how could I forget about the buzzing of thousands of mosquitos outside? That’s always a great sound to wake to ;).

Now remember how I said there was a WETSUIT in my backpack? Let me explain… Over the course of summer, Steve and I had both come across some of the beauty that is Vancouver Island, specifically the water. We had been shooting a ton of water video and photos, and we were both working on video projects based around the water here. We thought “A glacial lake? Imagine how cool those shots would be in that light blue water, I bet nobody has those kind of shots around here!” And for the most part we were right. So we lugged our suits the entire way, wrapped up in plastic bags, just so we could go jump of cliffs, and play in the water for extended periods without freezing while filming. Were we the first people to swim with wetsuits in this lake? Possibly. Would I recommend hiking with a 5lb+ wetsuit just to swim and stay warm? Hmm… Maybe not. Did we have a ton of fun? Oh you know we did. Even Jordan brought her swimsuit and went in like a normal person. It was awesome.

It was paradise, in a cold, getting-overrun-by-mosquitoes kind of way. In the moment we were cold, tired, and swarmed with mosquitoes at every minute, but in hindsight it was quite a magical experience that I don’t think I’d want to have any other way. Summer 2019 I will for sure be going back. When I return, I will leave the wetsuit behind, in exchange for climbing ropes and shoes, in order to get to the summit of Mt. Septimus.

Thanks for reading.