Cabin Lake Attempt

Not wanting to give up on fall just yet, we decided to head to Cabin Lake for the weekend. With beautiful sunshine in Vancouver, we underestimated just what we were getting into this late in the season.

The day started off with a silly mistake. Just minutes after reaching the gravel roads, I took a wrong turn and had to turn-around. I underestimated the stability of the road's edge, the Tacoma's rear tires prompty pushed through the soft bank, and we were stuck. Engaging 4x4 was not enough - the truck only dug itself deeper. Luckily there were a few perfectly-positioned trees, and I was able to easily winch us out.

Further up the road, we couldn't help but stop to take pictures of beautiful fall colours.

As we proceeded to higher elvation, fall quickly gave way to winter, and deep, fresh snow. We continued climbing, leaving behind fresh tracks, and enjoying winter solitude.

We reached the largest climb of the trail. It is steep & rocky, and not much of a problem on a summer's day, but covered with a few feet of fresh snow, it made for a tricky obstacle. Half-way through the hill, the truck slid sideways and settled at 45-degrees to the trail. We had about 1.5 hours of daylight left, it was snowing heavily, and we were the only vehicle. I made the call to not proceed any further. After winching ourselves straight, we backed down a few hundred metres (to a spot where we could safely turn around) and took a quick break.

Another few hundred metres down the trail, we found a spot to settle in for the night. The night added another few inches of fresh snow, so turning around proved to be a good call. Ending up stuck in this rugged, remote terrain would not have been fun.

Back in lower elevations, we stopped for a break and to air back up to street pressures.

We will try fall camping at Cabin Lake again, but earlier in the season!