More weekends please!
Especially when the weekend lasts three days and I spend it away from home and from the computer. Bliss.
After the heavy-duty week we just had at work, a weekend away was needed. Not a heavy-workload week, but a heavy-emotional-load week as the company laid-off half of our R&D department in Vancouver. Last Friday was the last day at the office for many, including my boss, my boss' boss, several of my colleagues and others we will probably hear about later. What a mess.
When I was invited to spend a few days away in a rented cabin in Yale (just East of Hope), I jumped on the occasion to experience a chance in scenery. The long weekend was looking to be warm and sunny all across BC and the getaway was really needed.
Although Yale is only a few hours East of Vancouver, it is far enough from the coast to offer +35 degree weather in the summer. It's a dry heat, so it's tolerable, but boy is it hot! That's pretty much the weather we had the entire weekend, very sunny, very warm. Fortunately, the cabin was well insulated and we were able to sleep well at night, even though it did get a bit warm inside in the afternoon.
The cabin was right next to the Fraser River. We had a boat launch access across the street from us and a nice sandy beach where we could lie down and read. The river was too cold for swimming, but the beach was quiet and, most of the day, would have some shaded areas. You've guessed that the shade was my preference, unlike Sarah and Candice who made conscious efforts to return to Vancouver sporting a tan (or a sunburn).
On Saturday, we all had great plans of getting up early to go for a hike and visit the area, but we were all so exhausted from the week that most of the day was spent lounging around the cabin or lying on a beach towel. Everyone needed to recover from something. With a three-day weekend, no problem. You can take a day to bum around and not feel bad about it.
On Sunday, we headed to a nearby lake for a swim. It was a 10-minute drive, not ideal, and the lake was a very popular spot. There was only one small beach access to the water (at least on the public side of the lake) and it was crammed with people. We looked around the lake and noticed a small beach on the other side of the lake. We had two small inflatable boats with us and decided to pack our belongings in the boats and swim across. Sarah and Candice were rowing the boats while Katrina, Robert and I went for a leisurely swim. It was approximately half a kilometer across, not a very long distance, but it made for a good workout. Especially since we had to swim back to the car! Everyone built up a nice appetite for dinner that night!
Monday was our last day in Yale and we decided to go for a hike. One of our hiking books mentioned a trail called Spirit Cave Trail, a moderate hike that was a three-hour round trip. We wanted to hike in the morning, while it was still cool, so we woke up at 7 and were on the trail by 9. The hike was challenging at times, mostly on the way down because it zigzags along a really steep hill and some parts are slippery, with little gravel washouts. The view from the top was spectacular (photos to come) and we did find some caves. Whether or not these were the "spirit caves" is not clear, we might have missed some of the bigger cave entrances (the caves we saw were really small).
What a weekend. We had time for rest, time for physical activity, time for reading, time for games (I learned how to play poker and ended up cleaning everyone out, woot!), time for good food and wine (for Saturday's dinner, I made tandori chicken with basmati rice and a salad, served with a crisp Gewurtz).
Again please :-)
After the heavy-duty week we just had at work, a weekend away was needed. Not a heavy-workload week, but a heavy-emotional-load week as the company laid-off half of our R&D department in Vancouver. Last Friday was the last day at the office for many, including my boss, my boss' boss, several of my colleagues and others we will probably hear about later. What a mess.
When I was invited to spend a few days away in a rented cabin in Yale (just East of Hope), I jumped on the occasion to experience a chance in scenery. The long weekend was looking to be warm and sunny all across BC and the getaway was really needed.
Although Yale is only a few hours East of Vancouver, it is far enough from the coast to offer +35 degree weather in the summer. It's a dry heat, so it's tolerable, but boy is it hot! That's pretty much the weather we had the entire weekend, very sunny, very warm. Fortunately, the cabin was well insulated and we were able to sleep well at night, even though it did get a bit warm inside in the afternoon.
The cabin was right next to the Fraser River. We had a boat launch access across the street from us and a nice sandy beach where we could lie down and read. The river was too cold for swimming, but the beach was quiet and, most of the day, would have some shaded areas. You've guessed that the shade was my preference, unlike Sarah and Candice who made conscious efforts to return to Vancouver sporting a tan (or a sunburn).
On Saturday, we all had great plans of getting up early to go for a hike and visit the area, but we were all so exhausted from the week that most of the day was spent lounging around the cabin or lying on a beach towel. Everyone needed to recover from something. With a three-day weekend, no problem. You can take a day to bum around and not feel bad about it.
On Sunday, we headed to a nearby lake for a swim. It was a 10-minute drive, not ideal, and the lake was a very popular spot. There was only one small beach access to the water (at least on the public side of the lake) and it was crammed with people. We looked around the lake and noticed a small beach on the other side of the lake. We had two small inflatable boats with us and decided to pack our belongings in the boats and swim across. Sarah and Candice were rowing the boats while Katrina, Robert and I went for a leisurely swim. It was approximately half a kilometer across, not a very long distance, but it made for a good workout. Especially since we had to swim back to the car! Everyone built up a nice appetite for dinner that night!
Monday was our last day in Yale and we decided to go for a hike. One of our hiking books mentioned a trail called Spirit Cave Trail, a moderate hike that was a three-hour round trip. We wanted to hike in the morning, while it was still cool, so we woke up at 7 and were on the trail by 9. The hike was challenging at times, mostly on the way down because it zigzags along a really steep hill and some parts are slippery, with little gravel washouts. The view from the top was spectacular (photos to come) and we did find some caves. Whether or not these were the "spirit caves" is not clear, we might have missed some of the bigger cave entrances (the caves we saw were really small).
What a weekend. We had time for rest, time for physical activity, time for reading, time for games (I learned how to play poker and ended up cleaning everyone out, woot!), time for good food and wine (for Saturday's dinner, I made tandori chicken with basmati rice and a salad, served with a crisp Gewurtz).
Again please :-)
Labels: hiking, long weekend, summer, Yale
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