February—Emerald Lake, BC

When you arrive at Emerald Lake there are two directions you can walk around the lake. One is the right way, the other is the way I went because I often don’t read signage no matter how obvious it is. So off I went across the beautiful wooden bridge that leads into the cabins you can rent. I thought it was a bit odd to be walking past families chatting away by their outdoor fire pits or playing fetch with their dogs, but I shrugged and continued. Eventually, after a bit of an uphill climb, the path sort of, ended.

I’m a hiker (sometimes), so a little missing pavement isn’t going to stop me. Nice try, Parks Canada!

It had rained for several days leading up to this excursion and the path, where there was one, went from dirt, to mud, to sinkholes I assumed would swallow me entirely if I took a wrong step. 

Still, this was a major tourist destination! Everyone was doing this. Except… everyone wasn’t doing this. I looked ahead and behind my partner and I and realised no one else was around. Strange, but it was the day after a big rain so maybe no one else decided to come to the Emerald Lake Loop today. 

No one else in all the world decided to come here today… LOL.

We struggled on for about an hour, balancing across fallen trees stretched across gaping pits like Lara Croft, swinging on vines to clear… ok, it wasn’t that bad, but it took an hour to get around half of the lake until we emerged from the Great Canadian Jungle Adventure on the opposite side of a sign that, when approached from the right side, told us the trail was closed because the rain had flooded the path. 

Am I… Indiana Jones? Perhaps. 

We had gone the wrong way, yes, but more importantly, it had allowed us to leave the dense trail at an angle that let us see a path that led off to a quiet area near a bubbling river, silver with the light of the afternoon. Above it, the mountain you see in your calendar on the month of February. 

I took off my pack, set up my easel, and painted a mountain in a national park without another soul around (except for my partner, Jeremy, who was happy to take a few videos and snack on a few pepperoni sticks while I painted).

Once I had what I needed, I packed up and walked against the stream of people going the right way. We endured a few looks of annoyance as people had to wait for us to pass along parts of the path that were single-file only. Sorry.

All that said, this is not a story trying to teach the value of going against the crowd or daring to be a leader in a world of followers. It’s a post telling you that if you are going to go your own way, wear boots.

See you in March!