We journeyed off down the 1 to Point Reyes National Seashore about an hour north of San Francisco. The drive down was once again very scenic and rugged, so with a few stops along the way we made our way to The Samuel P Taylor State Park to find a camping spot, the main problem being that it was the weekend and the campground was already full with more San Francisco weekend holidayers! We knew of one other campground in the area called the Olema RV resort and after a quick call we learned that camping spots were available, at an all time high of $42/night! It was a very well equipped campground and we found a spot amongst many campers, which made a change for us!

We ventured out to Point Reyes Station, a small village up the road from us where a farmers market had been taking place. It was still pretty busy when we arrived and so we walked around the village and chatted to a local photographer about his work in his little studio on the main street. After picking up some maps at the visitors Information in Bear Valley we decided to drive out to do a hike out to the most northern point in the area. There were a good few historic ranches along the way and we parked right by one of the oldest ranches in the area called Pierce Point which is open to walk around. From there the path heads out into the marsh-like landscape, it felt very much like the Scottish Highlands and wild Elk accompanied us along the way.

We didn’t manage enough time to fit in the whole walk out to the furthest point as it was getting dark but we did cover around 6 miles on the trip. At the end of the walk we drove down to McClures Beach where the photographer had talked about the rocks he’d been photographing. We took the path down to the beach watching and photographing the sun go down. The waves were immense and the sky was angry but we had an amazing sunset and there were only 3 other people on the stretch of the entire beach the whole time we were there. More amazing views for us!

We got back to the campsite when it was dark, prepared a stella meal and then proceeded to sit in the laundrette to do some washing and work indoors for a bit. We won’t miss these laundrettes!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We had an early start with showers, packing and breakfast at the hostel before meeting the rest of the group and our tour leader at 8am. In total there were 10 of us in our group with 6 lads and 4 lasses plus Eric who was to be our tour leader for the next 2 weeks, we knew from the start we would be in line for a few good laughs along the way. After introductions and a little bit of where we’re from and why we booked the trip, we collected our things and found the van, our solid companion for the next fortnight outside in the car-park. Another group led by Zak were also doing the same route as us for the first 2 weeks so we would be bumping into them along the way.

Our first day in the van was very long, we were in it for around 9 hours and with no head rests there was a lot of head bobbing going on. We took a few stops along the way including a grocery shop when we were an hour or so away from Wells Gray. The cooking teams were put together and along with both of us Marian joined us and we were cooking for the first night. Or rather it was grab some wraps, a roast chicken, bits of salad and so on.

For the first night in Wells Gray we stayed at a cowboy ranch with log cabins, not luxury one’s but basic wooden shack’s with benches and mats, we had access to showers and both groups were staying there. We cooked up our snacky dinner, and chatted before an early night. We had all arranged to go on an overnight canoe trip the next day.

The following morning we went on a hike to a nearby waterfall, it was a pretty dull day – our dullest yet having been spoilt with the fine weather! Following on from this we set off with an over night bag and met Fred who would be taking us on our canoe trip across Lake Clearwater . Both groups went out for the trip and when we arrived at the lake we found ourselves each a canoe, and packed in our gear, of which we had so much! But if you’ve got some big bits of tarp these canoe’s can really take some weight!

The journey over to the Island took around 2 hours and it was a little chilly. When we arrived we set up camp and began the fire and BBQ. This consisted of lots of sausages, some salad and veggies along with quite a few beers going around and finally marsh mellows and s’mores. Some of us ended the night light painting on the beach and others took a guided midnight canoe with Fred. This was our first night in bear territory so we packed our snacks and toiletries in the bear bins provided around camp.

Up fairly early the next day and after packing down our tents and eating breakfast most of the group went on a 2 hour steep hike up to the peak above where we spent the night. The views at the top were very rewarding and we could view all the way down the lake and across to the surrounding mountains. We chatted to Fred a fair bit along the trek and the night before learning about the park and the wildlife that inhabits the area. The canoe back to mainland was beautiful, and far warmer and sunnier than the previous day. We canoed back at a record pace which we think must have been wind assisted. When we got back to the dock we packed up, but the boats away and went back to the cowboy ranch. As we were back in record time we had an extra hour or so to explore some nearby crashing rivers and waterfalls in the area, the waterfall being the 4th largest drop in Canada!

For our last night at the ranch and after some well-earned showers we all ate to the restaurant at the ranch which was fairly over-priced and not very satisfying. Dave and I felt we didn’t have much choice on the food option as ‘everyone’ was eating there and there are no other places to eat in the area, we could have set up the stoves but this would have been food from the kitty, so we decided to share one vegetarian meal for the same price as the meat option which was $20! The service was pretty poor so with a 10% service fee plus 12% tax we felt ripped off even though we only had one meal between us! The lads were even more unimpressed with the portion sizes. Most people felt this place was a bit of a tourist trap and perhaps unnecessary for Intrepid to use.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)