Adventures of a T1D Summer Update

Well, it’s Sept. 1st, Starbucks has their pumpkin spice latte on board, Garibaldi Provincial Park may receive a cumulative 1.4cm of snow above 2000m in the next 10 days, and I wore Ryan’s down jacket AND carried an umbrella to run errands today. Yup, summer is coming to an end – the weather says so, Starbucks says so, and so say my last few (4 to be exact) days before classes start.

We’ve been out in the mountains most weekends this summer, but I haven’t posted any new trips in quite some time. I have a lot of quarter to half-completed posts in the queue; part of the reason why it’s taking so long is because it’s a daunting task, and part of the reason is because it’s been awesome just getting out and doing things, and not focusing on the details and pics in the aftermath. That said, I have a lot of ‘inside’ days coming up so I’ll be able to get to the posts over the next few weeks.

It’s been a pretty good season. I had an extremely long to-do list this summer and got a small portion of trips done and others I hadn’t even considered. Snow lingered in the alpine in June and July, this sort of slowed progress. We set aside a weekend in August for home renovations, it extended slightly longer than planned (we’re still cleaning/organizing, ugh!)

Here’s a quick snapshot of some trip highlights throughout the summer: 

In July, we headed for Priddis, AB to attend a friend’s ranch-style wedding – it was beautiful. We extended our trip by a few days and drove to the Rockies. We made several stops along the way and met with a friend who lead us up Little Temple. It was a little early in the season to complete big objectives, and the weather was marginal. Needless to say, we’ll be back again.

Jack standing at the head of Lake Annette, Rocky Mountains, AB.

We experienced wildflower season at Manning Park. I had some post-hike blood sugar issues here – likely from running out of glycogen stores.

The start of the Three Brothers Trail, EC Manning Park, BC.

We completed the odd sunset hike near Seymour and Cypress.

Sunset at Bowen Lookout, Cypress Provincial Park, BC.

We spent an extended weekend at Lake Lovely Water and summited Omega Peak, my first mountaineering objective.

Ascending Omega Mountain, Tantalus Provincial Park, Squamish, BC.

I conquered some demons along the Diez Vistas Trail located near Buntzen Lake.

Along the Diez Vistas Trail, Anmore, BC.

We spent the last full week of August in the Bridge River Valley – one of the best places we’ve found for camping, hiking, backpacking, etc. I seriously can’t get enough of it and I’m always dreaming about the next visit.

View Looking Over the High Ridge, Shulaps Range, BC.

And many, many more. That’s it for now, I hope everyone had a great summer :). Stay tuned as I get some trips down on paper (…computer screen?). Happy Pumpkin Spice latte season! I’m stoked for longer nights, cooler days, and whole lotta rain – while I sit inside and stare out as I tackle a 5-course load in the coming months.

– Ash