Brian Vivona, ALA Travel Moment Winner, on Hiking in British Columbia

Location: Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, British Columbia We hiked up three lakes to Middle and Upper Joffre Lake. It was a rough, rocky and steep (3 mile) mountain route. The elevation gain to Upper Joffre Lake from trailhead is approximately 400 meters. We hiked through old growth forests of hemlock and spruce on the lower elevations. As we climbed up and fianally arrived at Upper Joffre Lake we were at nearly 9000 feet. There are incredible views of rugged peaks, icefields and cold, rushing streams beneath the Matier Glacier. It was a long challenging hike. We then all took a very quick dip in the lake itself, at a temperature of just above freezing it was unbeleiveably cold but it was an amazing refresher. Then the icing on the cake, our guides Buzz and Jazz disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a silver tray full of fresh blueberries, brownies and othe treats. An amazing day.