Day 15 : Out of the enchanted forest and into the fire

After exploring the magical rain forests, we made our way through the fire and the flames to Kamloops where we rock climbed, swam and rested.

Chasing waterfalls

Waking up in the enchanted rainforest, we set out on our quest to find the mysterious waterfall nearby. With no trails or maps we bushwhacked our way through the lush and mossy forest floor, following the river. Feeling like true explorers, we arrived at the edge of a cliff overlooking Frog falls.

Going through the fires

After finishing our little adventure, we made our way out of the forested valley and into the plains between the Rockies and the coastal mountain ranges. In less than an hour, we were out of the giant trees and into the savanna, burnt grass all around with scarce trees. It’s astonishing how fast the landscape changes. In this burnt valley we found ourselves surrounded by wildfire and the smell of smoke was everywhere making it hard to see past a few kilometers.

Arriving in Kamloops

Making our way to Kamloops, the city was covered by a blanket of smoke making the sun shine red. We then made our way to Costco to restock on bananas and peanut butter (the lifeblood of our trip).

Cliffside climbing gym

Wanting to rock climb everywhere we go, we went to the local rock climbing gym : Cliffside rock climbing. We really enjoyed the atmosphere, the staff was super friendly and the routes where really fun and challenging. It was Marty’s first time belaying and we where lucky enough to get a course free of charge! We stayed at the gym for about 3 hours trying the top rope routes and making our best efforts in the bouldering caves.

Diving, swimming, relaxing and showers

After two days of rock climbing without shower our smell made it pretty clear we needed to find one before the night. We made our way to the Canada Games Aquatic center where for only 4$ each, we had access to a hot tub, a steam room, diving boards, a lap pool and showers. We felt like kings relaxing and having a blast in the pool.

Apocalyptic scenery

After shedding out layers of dirt, it was time to head west to find a camping spot as far away from the fires as we could. After checking with the bc safety fire map, we ended up finding a spot in the middle of nowhere next to a huge copper mine and a field full of cows. The atmosphere was nerve-wracking to say the least, we where a few kilometers in between two wildfires with ash falling from the sky like snow. it felt like the end of the world and we where just playing cards by the cows.