First Camping Trip in 30 Years

We finally took the plunge! After 30 years of a very busy life which involved moving to various new locations, building a house and holding down time-consuming jobs, David and I decided to try our hand at camping again. The past 18 months of COVID-19 restrictions aided in the decision-making. We had spent most of that time on our Salt Spring property and were eager to get out to see the world again – but safely.

Camping seemed to be the perfect answer for our “cabin fever”. We could have our own food and safe accommodation, but wouldn’t have to mingle with people indoors.

The destination we chose was Elk Falls Provincial Park near Campbell River where we booked 5 days at the end of August. The weather looked good and we headed off with our Subaru stuffed to the gills. (Note: we hadn’t finished packing when I took this picture.)

We still had some of our old camping equipment from previous trips to the Rockies in Alberta, Manning Park in BC and the Appalachian Mountains in the US, but we needed to upgrade some items. Our previous trips had included backpacking excursions which meant we had a very small 2-person tent, a lite campstove and large packs to carry it all. This time we were car camping.

We headed to MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) to buy a new 5-person tent plus a very warm, comfy sleeping pad for me. At Canadian Tire we upgraded to a propane stove that boasted a proper temperature range from very low to very high. Many camping stoves are lacking in that department, and we like cooking: so this was an important investment for us.

Our high-falutin’ stoneware (Melmac) dishes came from Can Tire as well.

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Once we had settled into our campsite, we ventured out to see Elk Falls itself. The falls that gives the park its name was spectacular and so was the wobbly suspension bridge! To get to the bridge we had to go down many steps – and back up again, of course, but it was worth the climb. I took a video of the falls from the bridge holding tightly to my phone all the time saying” Don’t drop the phone, don’t drop the phone!” Thankfully, I didn’t.

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The weather changed a little from what we had expected. It got down to 5 degrees Celsius for a couple of nights, but we were cozy in the tent with our warm sleeping bags. However, when a day of rain was forecast, we decided to take a trip to Can Tire in Campbell River.

We ended up buying a screen tent which would provide shelter for eating when it rains. It also works well as protection from bugs and sun. We hadn’t thought we would need one on this trip, but the impending rain and the good price we found for this one, convinced us. In addition, it really does only take one minute to put it up!

David erected our small backpacking fly at the front of the screen tent which gave us more space for cooking. The setup worked very well, and we have now purchased a larger tarp to use on future trips that will give us more flexibility.

Final conclusion? The trip was a great success. We got away from home and out in nature. The campground was well-maintained and there were no rowdy parties. Our new camping equipment passed all tests and was very comfortable.

We are eagerly looking forward to another opportunity to go camping. However, it’s always great to come back home!