Camping, Hikes, Roadtrips

E.C. Manning Camping

June 17, 2016

View of Manning Park

For our next camping adventure, we stole Whiskey’s sister Sophie and headed off to E.C. Manning with a bunch of friends. I’ve heard so much about this park and was just waiting for a good weekend to go. This was the last weekend before reservations started to book the campsites so I was hopeful that if we arrived at a good time on Friday, we would be able to grab a couple good camp spots for our larger group. We picked Lightning Lake to camp at, since it was the largest and I thought the best chance at getting a couple spots and finding our friends. Campsites were surprisingly expensive ($35/night) with a max of 4 people and an extra $12 for another car. I suppose the facilities made up for the price though, with self flush toilets, hot showers, and lots of bins and water taps everywhere. The rangers even drove around delivering wood (at a high fee of 8$/bundle).

our two guard dogs
playing all day long

Campsites at Lightning lake were a good size but still too close to neighbours to have off leash dogs. We brought the long line so the dogs could still run and play and got to work on drinks, bbq and setting up tents.

morning wake up call, lining up at the “door”
morning walk
A very Canadian scene

Whiskey and Sophie had to get used to their new accommodations but then happily fell asleep in a dog bed (Sophie) and my sleeping bag (Whiskey). Of course they woke me up at sunrise for a walk the next morning but I really couldn’t complain once I got up and saw the beautiful scenery.

The view from the road leading up to Blackwall Peak

our camping group
dogs checking out the view
walking up to the parking lots
really nice views!

checking out the views
Sophie approves

catching snowballs in June
best game ever!

not a bad weekend!

heading back
all clouds lead to Whiskey

Lightning lake from a viewpoint

Once everyone else was awaken and we finished an extravagant breakfast, we attempted the 3 Brothers hike but didn’t realize the road to the parking lot was closed. Instead, we walked the 1 hour on the road to the parking lot and took in the views of the still-snow-covered trail.

Paddleboard with dad

getting a taxi around with the girls
not sure what she’s pointing at
ground squirrels keep a watchful eye

photoshoots with Whiskey
Just a regular at the camera
posing on a board isn’t easy!
Sunset on the water

It was a really hot day so after that we headed down to the day area of Lighting Lake and hung out in the glacier waters until sunset. Whiskey had a couple goes at the paddleboard (we took turns taxi-ing her around) and the dogs were happy just lying in the sun or pointing at the ground squirrels.

campfire after dinner
sleepy in front of the fire
eating way too much food

Back at camp we toasted marshmallows, ate way too much food, and just enjoyed the fire. The dogs were so fully exhausted from the day that they went into the tent and fell asleep on their own (success!). Again, the next morning I took them for their sunrise walk and this time walked a good distance around part of the lake.

morning walks
sunrise with the girls
glacier water is gorgeous
my little poser

chase on the trails

fetch is perfect when it’s this hot!
ear massages while lying on her blankets
This is the life of a Vizsla

Once the group ate breakfast and made some sandwiches for lunch, we then headed again to the day area where some suntanned, some others floated on various items in the water, and a couple of us (including dogs) did the hike around the lake. We headed back home after that with a car full of tired Vs and humans.

beautiful British Columbia
until next time!

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