Staycation**

We have spent the last couple of weeks having a wonderful holiday here in Chilliwack. We spent four days camping at Cultus Lake with some friends. This was our first time actually camping at Cultus and we loved it. As much as we loved it, Ty loved it even more. He was in his glory running around the campground looking for sticks (he has become very discerning when it comes to sticks, he definitely has a preference for large ones with interesting points), playing in the sand and making his mother and father (well particularly his mother) worry about him taking off and falling down an embankment.
Here is Ty helping me get ready for camping by dumping the sugar all over the floor.

Food tastes great while you're camping!

Here is the car all packed for camping with the high chair on top. We know how to camp in style!

Marc went for a run up Teapot and meandered around Seven Sisters while we were camping. He also took the kayak out a couple of times. His new cyclometer app records his routes, times etc... Here are his routes:

Yes he did run 11 km and yes it was uphill. Crazy kid!

While Marc was swimming, biking and kayaking, I relaxed on the beach:

Here is this years classic of Adriel:

Last years:

After we headed home from camping we continued our staycation here in Chilliwack with a visit from Brad and Raquel and our niece Maria.

We celebrated Raquel's birthday while they were here with raspberry, blueberry, peach pie.

One day we headed up to Lindeman Lake for a hike. Ty is getting very good at navigating down steep slopes. As evidenced, I am trying to hold him back. ;)


Brad and Marc crossed the lake on a log to check out the sunny side. Niko stayed on the side with the women and children until Brad decided to take a dip. Niko immediately cried, jumped in the water and swam to "save" him. Niko trying to "save" you in the water usually includes multiple scratches all over your body.

Maria and Ty absolutely adore each other. It is so cute to watch. They constantly hold hands and kiss and talk in a language that only they can understand. Holding hands

Kissing Cousins

Definitely a great two weeks!!

**While Brad and Raquel were here we read an article in the Globe and Mail about worlidays (a holiday where you are at home but doing some work and sending the occasional e-mail.) While this definitely was a worliday for Marc (he has lots of studying to do) I much prefer the term staycation!!

welch peak trip report

a lot has happened since our last post: a camping trip in cultus, kayaking, and now a visit from brad, raquel and maria, but i want to get some pics up from our scramble up welch peak in the cheam range, so those things will have to wait.

welch peak is one of two mountains easily accessible from williamson lake, the other being foley. as the directions to the new williamson lake shortcut hike are always a little vague in the books, i will describe it briefly here. take chilliwack lake road to foley creek forest service road on the left (just past the jail). turn right after the bridge (left goes to cheam). continue on the main road, staying along the river until you pass foley lake on the left. keep low until you come to the gate. this gate is currently open 24/7, but i dont know for how long. after that it is right, right, left, left and you end up in a turnaround with 2 quad tracks exiting. take the RIGHT quad track and watch for the start of the flagged trail up a creekbed to your right approx 3 minutes in. after that you cant get lost.

the trail starts in a valley and enters the forest on the edge of a cutblock, climbing quickly and popping out into a wonderful alpine meadow. it was full of wildflowers, blooming insanely late this year.
from williamson lake, the routes up welch and foley are myriad. we chose to avoid the southern gendarme and head straight up the snowslopes to attain the ridge.
the snow brought us almost to the top of the ridge with ease. after that it was a quick scramble up mixed brush and scree to a whole new view.

here is brad deriving energy from "the still". you can see baby munday in the left background.
once on the ridge you are confronted with a beautiful spine to work your way up.
this portion was wonderful. solid rock and multiple mini pitches with occasional exposure.
after the initial slopes, the mountain became much steeper and the climbing more technical. the amount of exposure increased dramatically. hold on marc.
the snow pack has stuck around super long this year. the same snow that made attaining the ridge so easy stymied us near the summit. in a few places cliffs forced us off the ridge onto the east face. sometimes we traversed rock, and a few times we crossed high snowfields. at this point the rock became much more crumbly and we got into a few scary sections.
just under the subsummit the way was blocked by a sketchy corniced snowfield that extended down the ridge. working down and around it was possible but dangerous, as was traversing the tip. as both of us are new fathers, brad and i elected to swallow our pride and turn around just short of the summit. no big deal. it was a wonderful day with amazing views and we will be back.
the route down was awesome. descend the spine, climb the southern gendarme for fun and then weeeeeee... glissade all the way down to the lake. perfect snow for a little boot skiing. chilliwack is a wonderful place. i still cant believe i have peaks like this an hour from my door.

next up: camping at cultus. another wonderful thing about chilliwack.

By the Numbers . . .

My dad recently finished his 35th year of teaching and to celebrate his many years of service to the Lethbridge School District, he wrote a poem. I borrowed his idea here . . .

6176 - Number of kilometers traveled

After spending the first 10 days of our trip in Idaho and South Dakota we headed back to Canada for the second half.

90 - Estimated number of hours Ty spent in the car
468.8 - Number of white butterflies per square kilometre in Southern Saskatchewan **
Our first stop was in Creelman, Saskatchewan to visit the farm where Marc's mom grew up and where his Aunt Cheryl lives now. We stopped in at the Weyburn Hospital to visit Uncle Billy and Bette even gave him a hair cut!
3 - Number of points Julie and Lowell beat me by in Bocce
We played a game of Bocce where I started off strong and ended poorly while Julie and Lowell lulled us into a false sense of security with their horrible bocce skills then surprised us all with a win from behind in the last few rounds!

1 - Number my niece Maria turned when we were in Lethbridge.

Brad and Raquel had Maria's party at Popson Park in Lethbridge. It was the perfect spot to have a party! Lots of land for the little kids to roam on and a great picnic shelter for the adults!

Maria taking a swipe at her pinata. Her parents look really into it. ;)

Ty loved exploring the Old Man River valley. Thankfully no rattle snake bites!!

3 - Number of tiny pictures sent to me by my mom. They suit the tiny subjects! (Well not so tiny anymore, Maria did just turn 1!)



24th - The date that Pete started out his birthday in Saskatchewan and ended it in Lethbridge


10 - Number of onion rings on the MASSIVE tower that we ordered while visiting with Fraser and Kally.
And no, we did not finish it. As much as it pained Marc, we left the last 3 onion rings!

13 - Number of pictures taken on this trip with Ty's tongue hanging out. I will just give you some highlights . . .





Priceless . . . Ty pooping in the bathtub then doing a faceplant in it as I tried to keep him out of it while cleaning it up. Julie and I have never laughed so hard!
**Highly educated estimate