JOFFRE LAKES ADVENTURE SESSION
The morning of this hike started early, around 6am on one of those crisp, overcast winter morning that Pacific Northwest natives will be familiar with. We packed a car full of warm clothes, camera gear and Thermoses full of strong coffee, then picked up Gabe and Jaki from their house, wiping sleep from our eyes as we sipped steaming coffee and helped them load their things into the trunk. The drive up the Sea to Sky highway was amazing as always, winding through soft dawn light falling on the mountains, islands and ocean of the BC coast. After grabbing breakfast sandwiches and second cups of coffee from Galileo Coffee, we passed through Squamish, then Whistler and Pemberton, to the snowy trailhead at Joffre Lakes Provincial Park. We loaded up our packs, laced up our boots, and started up the trail.
Although we had checked the trail conditions the previous day, it had snowed a little overnight and, things were a bit slicker than the trail report had suggested. So, we took things slowly, thankful that we’d gotten up early and budgeted some extra time to make our way up to the third lake. During some of the more difficult stretches of the trail, where slipping and falling on our butts was a very real possibility, we made sure to check in with Gabe and Jaki, and discussed options for alternative shoot locations if they weren’t feeling comfortable with the conditions. After a short discussion, they decided to press on like the champs they are, and we made our slippery way up towards the peak, Gabe and Jaki holding onto one another for support, laughing and skidding along together during some of the steeper sections.
Once we reached the third and final glacial lake, we took a few moments just to revel in the fact that we’d made it in one piece, and take in the incredible view. We dropped our bags, took a seat on a log, and cracked open a bottle of Fireball whiskey to celebrate our triumph. Once we were all good and warmed up, Jaki and Gabe changed from their hiking gear into their formal wear (which they carried hooked onto their packs, we told you they were champs!) Once they were changed, everyone took one more nip of whiskey for good luck, and we started the shoot. The hijinks continued with ice cracking under our feet as we photographed the couple, and we took intermittent breaks to warm up with blankets and down jackets. We kept shooting until the sun was completely down, and even got a chance to take some long-exposure shots while they changed back into their hiking gear for the descent.
We hiked down with headlamps in the dark, but about halfway down we realized we didn’t even need them, the moonlight reflecting off the snow was so bright that we were able to see our way down without any issue. During the steeper sections, we opted to crouch and slide down the trail on our butts, ice-luge style, rather than risking a tumble, and we’ve decided this is our new favourite mode of wintertime downhill travel.
In the end, Jaki and Gabe were stoked and thankful that we pushed them to get a little bit out of their comfort zone for an adventure in the mountains. It’s always a pleasure when we get to feel like we’ve gotten to be a part of a challenging new experience for our clients, helping make memories on either side of the actual pressing of the shutter buttons.
