When: October 2019
Where: Cougar Creek Trail at Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park
Road Trip: Okanagan Valley of eastern British Columbia
What: hike
Accompaniment: You Used to Love Me by Quantic feat. Denitia
I discovered that credit card points could be put towards hotels, and decided to splurge my points on a ridiculous hotel for my birthday: Sparkling Hill, with 3.5 million Swarovski crystals hanging from the ceiling and glued to the walls. We indulged for dinner and dessert, and I woke with an aching stomach.
Nevertheless, I was determined to see fall larches despite my discomfort. I'd picked a short hike just outside of Vernon that climbed to an overlook of the mountains and lake. Fingers crossed, we'd get lucky.
It became clear that I hadn't paid enough attention to the description when the incline steepened, and the trail grew rougher. Just as I was questioning the distance, the trail crested a ridge and mellowed out. We followed it up to a rocky cliff-edge where a gnarled juniper clung to life. Eager for a rest, we looked out over the forested slope. And there at the bottom, lit by warm sun: a small stand of yellow larches!
Okanagan Road Trip
We loved the Okanagan region of B.C. Visiting in October worked out pretty well — we missed the tourists, caught gorgeous fall leaves, and lucked out on weather — though there were some things that closed down a week or two before we passed through. The first or second week of October, rather than the third, might be perfect.
We could have easily spent a long weekend in Osoyoos, rather than the half day we had! It's a wine-growing region and there are dozens of wineries to go tasting at. The town's at the edge of a huge lake, with a stone massif overlooking that reminded me of Yosemite without all the tourists. Local First Nations bands have created a beautiful cultural center to share their history, with connected trails incorporating art and cultural elements.
The drive from Osoyoos to Kelowna was pretty, but I didn't feel like I was missing out on not staying there. We made a quick stop to walk the boardwalk at Vaseaux Lake Bird Observatory that was well worth it, ending in an overlook tower to get a fantastic view.
Kelowna's home to many breweries, if you're more into beer than wine. We did a circuit of the breweries, and didn't have time to explore more.
Sparkling Ridge was crazy over the top, but kind of fun to pretend to be a rich person for a night. As a spa resort they encourage you to walk around in robe and slippers which I also found funny. They have a heated infinity pool overlooking the lake view that seems designed for Instagram selfies but you're not supposed to take your camera in (saw at least one couple who ignored the rule).
Vernon's smaller than Kelowna but seemed to have a cute downtown with some nice restaurants that had vegetarian options.
Between Kelowna and Vernon, the lake area is beautiful and there seemed to be many trails we didn't have time to see.