Trip Dates: April 19-21, 2025
Trip Participants: Alexander Liu, Ayano Miyamoto, Lillian McCallum, Marie Sandler, Matilda Ridge, Morgan Tidler, Roseisa Weeraratne, & Sarah Tischer
Trip Participants (left to right top row): Lillian McCallum, Ayano Miyamoto, Roseisa Weeraratne, Matilda Ridge, Morgan Tidler, (bottom row) Alexander Liu, Sarah Tischer, Marie Sandler.
Have you ever been on a VOC trip where you set-off after 10am and arrived back home before sunset? What about a trip where you felt relaxed, care-free, and content throughout its duration?
Before this trip, my answer would have been no. My experience with many previous VOC trips have been a combination: exhaustion, mild suffering, cold, & chaos. Yet after a warm shower and a good night’s sleep I think back (and possibly delude myself into thinking) – well, that was fun!
Unlike my previous trips, Marie and Morgan’s trip, “Chill Camping and Hiking in the Okanagan” lived up to its Type 1 fun expectations.
At 10:45am on Saturday, our car group headed off to the Thacker Mountain Loop, where we met with the others and enjoyed a wonderfully sunny (and windy!) hike & lunch! The chill 4.3km trail was the perfect rest stop to stretch our legs before we continued driving.
Morgan, Marie, and Sarah enjoying lunch + a view!
We also stopped by the remnants of one of Canada’s largest recorded landslides, known as the Hope landslide from January 9, 1965. Where an estimated 47 million cubic metres of rock came down from the mountainside.
The magnificent yet ominous remains from the Hope landslide.
After a long day of driving, we arrived at Princeton Municipal Campground where an employee gave us a free upgrade to a larger campground! Our campsite was right beside a river – so we were able to hear the serene sounds of a running stream as we enjoyed dinner and campfire roasted marshmallows and grapes. Yes, campfire roasted grapes.
 Admiring Alex’s exquisite dinner.
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 Campfire marshmallows.
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 Ayano and I by the river.
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The next day, we drove to hike around the Myra Canyon Trestles, which refer to the 18 trestle bridges and 2 tunnels that were part of the historic Kettle Valley Railway. I give Morgan my complete respect and awe for zooming through the 8km FSR to get to the trailhead in an Evo Toyota Corolla. Although there were concerning moments of snow, the weather turned out to be excellent. The day was well spent in the sun and in good conversation.
Tilda, Sarah, and Morgan enjoying the sun at the Trestles.
After leaving the Trestles, we made a quick stop to Walmart to buy potluck items for dinner before heading to Okanagan Provincial campground. The campground rested right beside Okanagan lake, giving us beautiful views – and Morgan spotted a marmot!
The campfire potluck featured foods including: sausages, baked sweet potatoes, samosas, roasted corn and bell peppers, cookies, donuts, celebration cookie s’mores, and milk rice (for breakfast the next day)!
Our potluck was a bit chaotic – many unfortunate vegetables fell into the fire as they were being flipped on the grill. Also, retrieving the baked sweet potatoes after plopping them into the fire was a conundrum that we didn’t foresee. Our flimsy marshmallow skewers were no match to a 1lb potato; chopsticking it with two branches didn’t seem to work either. Thank goodness Alex’s method to push the potatoes through the hole at the bottom of fire ring worked! Yay for baked sweet potatoes!
 Sausages over the fire.
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 Alex getting the baked potatoes out of the fire.
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On our last day, we made our way to the UBCO campus. Before leaving, there was some delay in the other car group (Alex, Sarah, Roseisa, & Ayano). From our car window, I noticed their car jolt backwards as Alex dangled from the rooftop! AH! Apparently, Sarah accidentally pressed the gas pedal as Alex was on the roof packing up. To our relief, he was okay (& Roseisa too as she was standing right behind the car during the commotion)!
Alex is okay.
At UBCO, we walked around the humble campus, checked the library for any VOC journals (none unfortunately), and hiked a trail nearby filled with wild Okanagan sunflowers (Balsamorhiza sagittata). We spent a long time soaking in the wildflowers and sun. It was absolutely beautiful and the best way to wrap up the trip before our long journey home.
 Alex napping.
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 Tilda napping.
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 Roseisa on the trail.
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My absolute respect and admiration for Morgan, again, for making it back to Vancouver by 6pm in our Evo Toyota Corolla despite the snowy conditions on the road. The next time I hear Cotton Eye Joe I will surely think of you (Morgan) and this trip!
A snowy drive back to Vancouver.
Thank you again Marie and Morgan for planning this trip, and our drivers Morgan and Alex. It was so lovely meeting all of you – I had such a great time during the trip and now after as I am thinking about it (no coping or delusions needed).