Birthday Paddle Adventure.

 

My good friends know me well. They know that my favourite thing is being active outside having some sort of adventure. Bonus points if there is delicious food that doesn't involve me cooking it.

So for my birthday, my good friends planned a day that involved all those things. The three of us have had so many adventures together many years ago when we were in our 20's, but it is so rare these days for the 3 of us to have a day together without the kids in tow that I had to take an excessive amount of pictures that this actually happened. And what a picturesque day it was....

We had a double kayak and a SUP and launched at Pitt Lake and paddled out to Widgeon Creek campground early in the morning. The paddle there takes about an hour. We stopped a lot to take pictures because it is gorgeous out here.

Once we docked our kayak and SUP, we hiked the scenic route on the trail to the Widgeon Creek waterfall. The scenic route takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. If you're in a hurry, take the gravel road option. It's more direct but you bypass this pretty viewpoint 

Both the gravel path and trail take you to the Widgeon Creek Falls. It's a nice waterfall and a great spot for lunch but apparently, everyone thinks that too so don't expect to be the only ones at this scenic point

We hiked back to our kayaks and our SUP which was still safely locked there. (After reading posts about people losing items during their hike, we had locked our items and hiked with our paddles).

We switched things up on the way back and I took the SUP and got an intense arm workout paddling the waves back to shore. 

We underestimated how much time it took inflating the kayak and the SUP and getting there and back so by the time we were done, it was way past lunchtime even though we had an early start to the day. If you are out near Pitt Lake, the best way to end the day is at the bistro at Hopcott farms. Sadly, there are no pictures of our amazing beef brisket sandwiches because we were beyond starving at that point. 

So if you have access to a kayak, canoe or SUP and like hiking and waterfalls - I'd highly recommend you put on your bucket list the paddle from Pitt Lake to Widgeon Creek falls. Best birthday paddle adventure ever. 

Thank you Rachael and Kristin for a planning a fantastic adventure!