Last week we hopped on a flight to Calgary, excited to explore Canada for the first time! Not long after, on Thursday morning, we started our first adventure into the Canadian backcountry. We set off from Mount Shark Trailhead on our way to Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park where we would be camping at Lake Magog.

Over the next 3 days, we would travel over 50 miles and walk for over 24 hours. According to Johana's Fitbit, we burned over 10,000 calories during the trip! It was an incredibly testing experience, but also one of the most rewarding things we've ever done. It's in the most difficult times that you learn the most about yourself and how far you can really make your body go. I have to say though, this was our limit!

We hiked in with full packs which were around 35-40 pounds each. With my cameras, lenses, and tripods, it's safe to say it was a heavy burden to carry!

From Mount Shark, you walk past Bryant Creek and onto Marvel Lake. It's not too steep and getting to have lunch by the lake helped us forget about how tired we were!

Marvel Lake

This is the halfway point, so there's still a long way to go. From there you walk a little way up the mountainside and then hike the entire length of the lake, which feels like it would never end!

Not long after you catch a glimpse of the end of Marvel Lake, you reach Wonder Pass. It's said to be quicker and more scenic (we agreed with that statement on the way down) but it's incredibly steep and after already hiking for 8 hours, it was the hardest thing we've ever done. What was meant to take one hour, took three!

Wonder Pass

By the time we got to the top of the Pass, it was already dark and the rain had started to fall. We had to call it and set up camp for the night in the first possible place.

We woke up at first light to complete the next two miles down to the official campsite. The sky was still full of clouds and the bags were still very heavy, so we took our time, arriving just before midday at the campsite.

The one good thing about having rubbish weather was that we didn't feel bad about sitting in the tent for the rest of the afternoon! We needed the rest after hiking for 12 hours the day before and 3 hours that morning.

That evening, we ventured out for sunset, but the clouds still clung tightly to the sides of Mount Assiniboine. We got a short glimpse of what the Mountain really looked like before it was enveloped in a dark grey cloud once again. At this point, we started to wonder whether we'd made it all the way out here just to see the clouds! You never know what to expect in the mountains and it wasn't looking too hopeful! We headed back to camp and went to sleep. We would be hiking back to the car the next morning, so sunrise was the last opportunity to see what we came for!

A few hours later, I switched off the alarm and reluctantly climbed out of the icy tent into the freezing cold. As I looked up, I saw the moon sitting amongst twinkling stars. I hadn't expected to see anything but clouds, so I jumped back into the tent and whisper shouted to Johana that the sky had cleared and I was going to run down to the Lake.

Mount Assiniboine

I ran out into the darkness of pre-dawn and made my way back to Lake Magog. I was the only one there when I arrived and it stayed that way. The sky was almost completely free of clouds, which felt like a miracle after days of miserable weather. I set up by the lakeside and started to shoot.

Lake Magog

The top of Mount Assiniboine turned pink before there was any sign of the sun. As the sun got closer to the horizon behind me, the show began. The light crept down the peak of the mountain, changing colours with every passing moment.

Lake Magog

A few small clouds joined in and added some texture to the sky. The wind even calmed and left me with an almost perfect reflection of the mountain in front of me. It was mindblowing. I might have shed a tear. It made everything worth it.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

If you want to see more photos and videos from this hike, head to my Instagram Highlights. I've saved everything there from our 3-day adventure to Mount Assiniboine. 

If you'd like to support us as we continue on this crazy adventure, that's now possible thanks to a platform called Patreon. It's like a Netflix subscription but for independent creators. Patreon is great as it not only gives you a way to support our work but also allows us to show our thanks and share something with you in return. Click here to find out more.