Hozomeen Lake Backpacking Trip

July 24, 2024April 10, 2025 / Maria / 6 Comments

Disclaimer: I’ve heard that this border crossing is now closed and I don’t believe it’s possible to do this hike from the Canadian side anymore. Below recounts my experience doing the hike in 2024, I wouldn’t advise doing this hike at this time.

The thing I love about BC is that there’s something to do in every season. I love skiing and snowshoeing in the Winter, and kayaking in the Spring, but there’s no question that backpacking season is my favourite. As soon as the warm weather hits, I always get the itch to go to the mountains. But it takes the snow a lot longer to melt in the mountains than in the city, so I always have to impatiently wait until almost July for alpine hiking (though there are still opportunities at lower elevations).

It was a very poor ski season last winter, so I was expecting an early alpine season this year. Unfortunately, we ended up getting a lot of late season snow, and it’s been a cooler and rainier Spring than normal, so by the time July hit, there was still a lot of snow in the mountains. In the long run, I know this is a good thing for wildfire season, but it left me scrambling to find a trip for the Canada Day long weekend.

I monitor the snow in the mountains in several ways. First, I always check Sentinel Playground/Copernicus Browser, which has satellite imagery that allows you to check the snow levels. Availability of data depends on having a cloudless day when the satellite rolls over your area of interest, but generally you can get data on the conditions within the last 2 weeks. Second, I check AllTrails for trail reviews from other users, and finally, I search the location on instagram for recent photos. All this effort confirmed that most of the trails on my hiking list were still inundated with snow.

I spent weeks scouring the internet and maps, looking for an alternative that I hadn’t already done, wouldn’t have permits, and would be appropriate for my husband, Seth, and our dog, Sadie. After much searching, I stumbled upon a very interesting option – the Hozomeen Lake Trail.

Hozomeen Lake is located in North Cascades National Park in Washington State. It’s just south of Skagit Valley Provincial Park and east of Ross Lake. What makes this hike unique is that it’s primarily accessible from Canada, but there’s no formal border crossing. Silver Skagit Road continues through the entirety of Skagit Valley Park, and a few kilometres past the border, but it’s not a manned crossing, so there’s no border control (though there are cameras). Pre-pandemic, you could drive across the border and there were a series of frontcountry campsites located on Ross Lake. But the gate has been closed to vehicles since the pandemic and the campsites are no longer maintained.

Fortunately for us, there is a series of backcountry trails that extend all the way down to Highway 20 in the US, and it appears that they are still being maintained. It’s a 2km hike on the road to the trailhead, and then ~6km of hiking along a forest trail to Hozomeen Lake, which sits at the base of Hozomeen Mountain. Me and Brandon hiked to the base of Hozomeen Mountain via the Skyline II and Hozomeen Ridge Trail in Manning Park in 2017, so we were excited to explore the trail from the other side of the mountain.

Hozomeen Lake is beautiful and doesn’t receive many visitors, so it was a great pick for my extremely anxious dog. It does require a camping permit to stay there, which can be obtained from the National Park Service (NPS) via email. They only issue permits on the day before your trip, but the Ranger is really nice and called me the morning before the hike. I guess some other people emailed ahead of us because he told me the campsites were already full, but he kindly let us use the group site and gave us a permit for two nights.

There’s only a few campsites, maybe 3 or 4, but it turns out the group campsite is actually the nicest one! They’re all located in the trees and have tenting areas (but no pads) and eating areas with a fire pit. But the group site is the closest to the lake, which is what makes it the nicest. There’s 2 open-air pit toilets, one for the single sites and one for the group site. The campground was full on our first night, but we didn’t meet any of the campers because everyone had a dog, so we kept our distance since Sadie doesn’t like other dogs. But on the second night, there were only two women at one of the other sites and Sadie adopted them into our herd.

It’s a pretty easy hike and the trail is super well maintained. The walk along the road is flat and easy for 2km. The first half of the trail is uphill with 400m of elevation gain, but it levels out as you get closer to the lake. It’s pretty much entirely in the trees, but it’s a nice walk and we didn’t see anyone (human or bear) on the way in or out. There was some evidence of bears on the trail, but none at the lake.

It was overcast on our first day, but very humid, so we hiked in shorts. There was rain in the forecast, so we quickly set up our tents and tarps upon arriving and me and Seth went for a little skinny dip in the lake. Campfires were allowed when we visited, so we collected some firewood to store under the tarp for the next evening. It started to drizzle during supper, but it didn’t properly rain until 11pm, which was after we had gone to bed. It’s a gorgeous lake campsite, the only downside is that there is no bear cache. It took me and Brandon a long time to set one up, and I admit, it wasn’t our best work.

It rained pretty hard all night, but tapered off around 8am when we got up. It still sprinkled a little bit while we had breakfast, but then it stopped and didn’t rain anymore on the trip. We had a slow lazy morning by the lake and me and Brandon improved our bear cache until it was acceptable. We packed up our day bags and set out on a hike around 11:30am.

The trail continues on for miles and miles and there’s a lot of backcountry to explore. We decided to hike to Willow Lake, which is approximately 3.5km further along the trail. Brandon seemed keen to go all the way to Nightmare campsite, which is another 3.5km, but we wanted to swim in the lake again later and opted not to (plus, the name didn’t sound super appealing).

Hozomeen Lake is definitely a much nicer campsite than Willow Lake, but it was a great spot to stop for lunch. If you push through some of the brush, you can walk out over the dried up flats to the edge of the lake. This may have only been possible because the water level in the lake was super low! We ate on the banks of the lake and it proved a great spot for watching wildlife. We saw tons of different birds, amphibians, and insects.

Seth and Brandon spent most of the hike back trying to identify the forest plants and we arrived back at Hozomeen Lake around 3pm. The temperature of the lake is really nice – it’s cold, but not glacier fed – so we spent a lot of time in the water. We befriended the new campers, who were also from Vancouver, and we all marveled at how awesome the campsite is and how there’s so few people!

We ate dinner by the lake and then had a campfire at the fire ring. Always practice fire safety and only collect dead wood on the ground (don’t destroy any natural habitat). There was lots of blowdown for firewood, which is another indicator the site doesn’t get a lot of visitors. Sadie was absolutely pooped after 2 days of hiking and snoozed for most of the evening.

In the morning, we packed up to head home again. It’s an easier hike on the way back and we stopped at the overgrown frontcountry site to admire the view across Ross Lake. Ross Lake is currently super low and dry for the entire 2km of road walking, but the mountains across the lake are pretty. Our new friends told us there were bats living in one of the outhouses, so that was a cool side trip on the way back.

It is a fairly long drive to get to Ross Lake, the worst part being an hour and half on gravel road from Hope to the lake. We stopped in Hope for ice cream and then weathered the long drive back on the highway with all the other long weekend warriors. But overall, we all absolutely loved this trip! It was much more chill than some of my other backpacking trips, with the lake and lack of crowds being the main highlights! I would definitely recommend!

Tofino Surfing Trip

July 17, 2024July 16, 2024 / Maria / 3 Comments

I’ve had the opportunity to do some pretty cool things with my girl guides over the years, and this was definitely one of the more unique experiences!

Last year we did a water series that involved kayaking, whitewater rafting, and canoeing. The only activity on our brainstorm that we didn’t do was surfing, mostly because it was too expensive to make a trip to the island on top of all the other activities. This year, we decided to prioritize the surfing trip and dedicated 4 days over the May Long weekend to travel to Tofino.

I’d never heard of Tofino before moving to BC, but I remember after moving here that Tofino seemed to hold this mythical status for people who grew up in BC. It’s a small town located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It’s most well known for its premier surfing beaches; but it’s also home to Pacific Rim National Park and fun activities such as hiking, whale watching, kayaking, and hot springs.

I’ve been to Tofino several times, but I’ve never surfed, so this was a new experience for me. To be honest, I’ve always found surfing to be a bit intimidating. I don’t like getting salt water in my eyes and mouth (inevitable when surfing), so I always avoided it. I was happy to do it for the unit, but it’s not something I would have opted to do on my own. Which is one of the reasons why I’m so lucky to get to spend time with 15 adventurous teenagers every year, because I had a fantastic time surfing!

We left New Westminster bright and early on Saturday morning of the May Long weekend to catch our ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. It’s a 3-hour drive from Nanaimo to Tofino, so we made our first stop at Little Qualicum Falls to eat a packed lunch. It was raining on and off all morning, but Qualicum Falls has a nice picnic shelter and the rain held off long enough for us to do some exploring around the park to see the waterfalls.

After that, we drove across the rest of the island to reach the coast. The weather was incredibly variable and there were several downpours along the way, but as soon as we reached the coast, all the clouds disappeared and it was a gorgeous, blue sky, sunny day. We were extremely lucky to be able to book the group campsite at Green Point campground in Pacific Rim, which was just large enough for our group of 18.

After getting set up, we took a walk down to Long Beach before dinner, which is aptly named for its 16 kilometres of uninterrupted coastline. I’ve visited Long Beach several times, but I’d never been to this part of the beach. It’s a golden sand beach, with big waves, and on this occasion, a lot of wind. So it was definitely on the cold side, but we all loved running across the beach and exploring the area.

On Sunday, we had our first surf lesson. We did 2 lessons with Surf Sister School and I would highly recommend. As a female led organization, we loved having female surf guides to show us the ropes. On our first day, we met at Cox Bay Beach. We spent the first part of the day on land, learning how to safely get on our boards and pick our waves. Once everyone was comfortable with the instruction, we got in the water.

Surfing isn’t easy, but it was more fun than I anticipated. There was a steady stream of beginner waves rolling into the shore and we all practiced getting on our board. Standing up was almost impossible for me, but it was fun riding the waves on my belly and knees. Of course, once you get going, you become pretty determined to stand! I didn’t have any luck standing on Day 1, but several of the trex members were able to surf and it was fun to watch.

We returned to the campground for lunch and then planned for an afternoon exploring in the National Park. We visited the Kwisitis Visitor Centre on Wickaninnish Beach, which I’d highly recommend. They have tons of great info about the region and natural environment. From there, we did a short hike to South Beach, which is a small cobble beach. We had some excitement on the way when we spotted a bear! It was a great sighting because he was far enough away that us and the bear felt comfortable, and we were able to just watch it for a while.

South Beach turned out to be one of the group’s favourite parts of the entire trip. We didn’t do much there besides relax in the sun and do some beachcombing, but everyone really enjoyed taking it easy after a vigorous morning of surfing! We had dinner back at the campsite and then drove to Chesterman Beach for a sunset campfire. Tofino has really cracked down on beach campfires in the past few years, so you’re not allowed to have open beach fires anymore. Fires are only allowed at Mackenzie Beach and Chesterman Beach and must be in a contained fire pit. We brought a fire pit with us so that we followed all the rules.

On Monday, we had our second surf lesson, this time at Chesterman Beach. Our second lesson was mostly in the water and focused more on improving our skills. The general consensus from Trex was that they didn’t like Chesterman Beach quite as much as Cox Bay. The waves were bigger and less consistent, so I think it’s more popular for better surfers. But personally, I had a more successful day! I wouldn’t say that I actually managed to surf, but I did manage to stand twice, so it was nice to feel like I made a bit of progress! Considering that I didn’t want to surf, I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I would definitely surf again, and recommend it to those visiting the area. If you have time for 2 lessons, I think it’s more satisfying because you get to surf more on the second day.

One of the girls was celebrating her 13th birthday on the trip, so we had the most delicious birthday pie for lunch and then went into town for the afternoon. The girl guides had the opportunity to explore Tofino town on their own and I spent most of my time at the bookstore, Mermaid Tales, which is one of my favourites!

We finished the trip with a visit to Tacofino for dinner. We showed up only 15 minutes before closing (oops!!), but the staff were so wonderful in taking our 18 person order. We had some pretty good camp food on the trip, but the tacos were probably my favourite! We had a campfire to end the evening and everyone reflected on their favourite parts of the camp.

We still had a big final day ahead. It started to rain overnight and we had to pack up everything wet, which is never fun. But we’re really thankful that it didn’t rain during the rest of the trip, so it was a small price to pay! We had a pee break at the Taylor River rest stop on the way back, which has the most gorgeous green river running through. I’ll have to return in the future for a swim!

Our final stop on the trip was to the Old Country Market (better known as Goats on the Roof) in Coombs. The goats briefly came out on the roof for a photo op and we did some exploring around the market for lunch. We picked up some doughnuts from Billy G’s Doughnut Shop to enjoy on the ferry ride home.

I had such a fantastic time on this trip and I hope the girl guides did too! We received funding from West Coast Area’s Muriel Murray Fund and from Disney’s VoluntEars Program (through a parent employee) to do this trip. We’re so lucky to have access to funds to subsidize trips like these for teenagers. Several of the trex members are aging out this year after completing the entire Girl Guide Program from Sparks to Rangers. It is really transformative for girls to be able to go on trips like this, interact with female role models, and build up their skills. So thanks to everyone who’s ever bought girl guide cookies from me or a girl guide!

Kayaking Widgeon Creek

July 10, 2024July 11, 2024 / Maria / 4 Comments

Widgeon Creek has been on my bucket list for a long time! It’s a paddling route that leaves from Pitt Meadows, starting with a crossing of the Pitt River, and then meanders up Widgeon Creek through Widgeon Marsh and Pinecone Burke Provincial Park.

It’s only a half hour drive from my house, but the reason this sat on my bucket list for so long is because I was afraid of crossing the Pitt River. You have to cross the river at the entrance to Pitt Lake, which can get pretty windy, and the Pitt River is tidally influenced, meaning you can get some pretty fast currents coming in and out of the lake. Even though I know people cross the river all the time, in all manner of vessels (many of which are much less robust than my 16 foot sea kayak), I found the idea of crossing the Pitt River pretty intimidating.

But I finally decided to go for it on a gorgeous day in early April. I didn’t want to go during freshet, when the flows increase from snow melt, and I didn’t want to go during the summer when it’s highly trafficked, so the conditions seemed to align in April. Now that I’ve done it, I’m kind of wondering what I was so afraid of! I know my risk aversion keeps me safe, but it was much less intimidating than I imagined.

We got up early on a Saturday morning to beat the crowds. Fortunately, the creek wasn’t very busy at this time of year and we had no trouble crossing the Pitt River. There was definitely a current when we crossed and a headwind when we returned, but it was very manageable in our kayaks. I’d probably be too nervous to cross the river on a SUP, but there were some people doing it in the afternoon. Although I find it shocking the number of people who go out without a PFD!

The water was very calm when we crossed and the creek was almost completely still. I’ve heard the creek can run dry or very low in some sections during the hot summer, but we crossed near high tide and had no issues in either direction. It was such an enjoyable paddle on the way up the creek that me and Seth kept remarking that we had to spend more time exploring the area in the future (our go-to trip is generally paddling to Jug Island).

We didn’t see any other paddlers on our way up the creek since it was still pretty early in the morning. You paddle through Widgeon Marsh, which is a regional park, and eventually cross into Pinecone Burke Provincial Park. I think this is so cool because I love Pinecone Burke – it’s such a large and underrated park – and I’ve now explored it from 3 different entry points. The most common entry is from Harper Road in Coquitlam, but I’ve also entered the Park along the trail to Seed Peak (east of Squamish), and now via Widgeon Creek.

The final destination by kayak is the Widgeon Creek campsite. There were a few boaters here who had come in the previous day and were camping overnight. We hauled our kayaks up on the shore and then re-packed our bags for a little hike to Widgeon Falls. The paddle to the campsite takes about 75 minutes, and it’s a 6km round trip hike from the campsite, so it makes for a nice day trip with a variety of activities. You can hike to the Falls mostly along an old forestry road, which is faster, but we opted for the detour through the forest, which is much more scenic.

The Falls are really nice and we hung out for an hour enjoying our lunch. We were the only people there, although we passed some other hikers along the way. We took the road back to the campground and then paddled out from there. We encountered more paddlers on the way back and the wind definitely picked up in the early afternoon. The hardest part of the day was crossing the Pitt River because we had a headwind, but it was very manageable in our kayaks. I wouldn’t want to do it on a SUP, and I did wonder if the people crossing on SUP realized they would have a pretty substantial headwind on the way back.

But overall, I absolutely loved everything about this trip! I’m keen to go back and I don’t think I’ll be quite as hesitant in the future. Since it’s a short paddle, it’s easily doable on a Friday night, so maybe we’ll come back some day and stay at the campground. You can also continue the hike up to Widgeon Lake, though I’ve heard it’s a bit of a slog, as the trail is not well maintained and usually has snow on it until July.

Definitely play it safe if you’re planning on doing this trip and plan around the wind and current conditions, but it was a much less intimidating trip overall than I thought it would be. In the summer, you can rent kayaks from the parking lot, so it’s pretty accessible if you want to check it out! I think parking can get challenging though because this is also the parking lot for people recreating at Pitt Lake, so I recommend going early because then you can easily find parking and take advantage of the early morning calm on the water!