Backpacking in Europe, Australia North America or Wherever. Backpacking Lifestyle is Amazing

While Irma and I were enjoying our backpacking trip up on Blowdown Pass we had the strangest experience with a deer and some very over sexed bunny rabbits.

The camping area is beautiful. What a fantastic setting. To get there you pass Whistler and continue on past Pemberton and Mount Currie, follow the highway out and pass Joffre Lake and Duffy Lake. Once you pass the end of Duffy Lake go about one mile and then make a right turn just past the avalanche barrier. Here you are on a logging road that is not used anymore. You go about 5 to six miles and keep to the left. Park where you cannot go anymore. Take your backpacking gear and walk.

The old mining site road is good to walk on. Some 4 X 4 vehicles take it but it may be totally washed out by now in places. After about an hour depending upon your speed you will be reaching the alpine at the edge of the tree-line. Watch for a little trail off to the right. Don’t worry if you miss it as you simply stay on the old road until you see the lake over on your right. It is easy hiking to the lake. There you will find the best camping area ever. Right beside the lake. If it is windy you might continue along the right side over to the trees and pitch your tent there.

This area is set in a bowl. Looking up toward the pass into the Stein Valley you will see to the left is a mountain called the 8300 foot Gott mountain. To the right of the pass you will see the huge rugged stone face of a mountain that falls directly into the lake. Behind you are many other peaks stretching out for miles.

Next to the lake, you will see a couple of fire pits. This is a great area to camp. This is where Irma and I were backpacking one weekend and we had the entire valley to ourselves. One evening after supper we were sitting around the fire just enjoying the feel and ambiance of the great outdoors when a deer approached from the other side of the creek that flows slowly from the lake. Thinking it was going to high tail it from us the moment it saw or us or caught our scent I crept over to the crossing area at the creek with my camera in hand. I was all set to take a photo that would be worthy of a full page photo in National Geographic. Much to my surprise the deer looked at me, totally ignored me, and walked into our camp site as if it had a printed invitation. It had no fear whatsoever.

This beautiful animal stayed with us for over half an hour. They are the true browsers. A little snip of this bush, a little snip of that one. They feed on over 200 different species of foliage. All of this time she stayed within 75 feet of us.

Soon she simply drifted off to another area and left us with a very fulfilling feeling of living with which nature has to offer.

As the daylight began to give way to nightfall, out came the second act if you will. First, a bunny rabbit showed up to chew on the foliage next to a nearby tree. A second one popped up to be followed with a whole entourage of the furry little creatures. They would chase each other all over the place. It was really funny. We did not see them mate, but with their enthusiasm surely they must have had mating egging them on. They ran so fast. This went on for about fifteen minutes as we watched. This is the thrill backpacking will bring.

Night darkness soon arrived. To see the sky full of stars with the nearest electric light some 25 miles away from us was fantastic.

Next day we climbed the hill up to the mining camp road, walked up to the pass and viewed the spectacular Stein Valley. To the right lay a huge snowfield reaching up to the top of the stone face of the mountain above the lake. We hiked up the snowdrift until we reached the top and took our first look at the most glorious view at Blowdown pass. This was our first view of the amazing mountain range that now lies below our feet. It is beautiful.

This is the view of the mountains from where we stood.