Friday, August 29, 2014

Lindeman Lake

This afternoon we did a hike to Lindeman Lake with our friends.  Gary and I have done it twice before but never with the kids.  It was a little harder than I remembered  (I'm a few years older and had Nya on my back the whole time) but still enjoyable!  It's about 2 km long and takes just under an hour to get to the lake. 


The kids all did so well!  It was a little chilly so I'd say Jen and I did well too :)  The only downfall of this hike is that it's pretty far away.  It's right next to Chilliwack Lake which means it's about 1.5 hours from Surrey.  I think this would be the perfect place to do our first overnight backpacking trip with our kids!  There are tent pads and an outhouse located at the lake and the fact that it's just a one hour hike makes it ideal with younger kids.  There is another lake, Greendrop, about another 1-2 hours hike past Lindeman which I've never been too.  Could be fun in a couple of years!


The kids found a couple of geocaches along the way which they always love.  


We had a few snacks and relaxed a bit but then the wind/cold/light rain had us up and moving again!


Ella and the boys get along really well and they are all the same level of goofiness.


Miss Nya's last two molars are coming in right now so she's not the happiest little hiker but she did all right!



We love hanging out with this family and are so glad that we've been able to spend some great times with them.


I love the scenery on this hike.  I wouldn't recommend it for kids under the age of 5 unless there are enough adult hands for them to hold (or if they are in a carrier!).  I hope you have a good and safe long weekend!

Love,
Louise

PS If you've done the hike to Greendrop Lake, let me know how much longer it is and whether the trail is slightly `easier' or just the same please!

7 comments:

  1. This is my favorite hike, though I haven't done it since having kids :) I will say that the hike to Green Drop is much more technical (over a boulder field) and the lake is not nearly as beautiful as Lindeman. For real! In my opinion, it's not worth the hike to camp there. Maybe camp a couple nights at Lindeman and hike to green drop as a day hike, but Green Drop is not nearly the color as Lindeman and not as nice to camp at (this is 9 year old information, but I'm curious to see if others agree with me on this)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kelly-good to know! My thought (if we backpacked) would be to set up and then the next day hike to Greendrop and back. Do your kids like hiking? I wonder if you should show them your favourite hike :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. honestly...we haven't taken them hiking (i know...). They would love it and reading your post made me turn to Alf and say, "If there is one more thing we squeeze into summer...let it be Lindeman." So I am hoping for this yet! If they know an area, they tire easily, but if it's new and exciting, they have way more endurance :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Louise, I loved everything about this post (including that you carried Nya the whole way, you are a warrior)! Just wondering if you have any recommendations about starter hikes for us - Sam is just 4 now and he would be walking the whole thing on his own. He is pretty good but is a) a bit klutzy like me and b) a bit whiny when he gets tired. So, to start, we would need something not too long (or at least not straight out and back) so that we could cut it short if necessary, and something where I wouldn't have to be terrified that he would fall down a cliff or something if I turned my head for 10 seconds. Any thoughts? If not, no worries!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lana-our starter hike is always Lower Falls/Gold Creek Falls at Golden Ears Provincial Park. It's relatively flat, beautiful but long enough to be a challenge. It could be a tad bit too far for you guys to travel to.
    http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/gold-creek-falls/

    Another option would be Lynn Canyon. If you go over the suspension bridge (it's free but definitely a tad bit scary!)there are two walks/hikes you can do. I think the Thirty Foot Pool Trail would be perfect! It's BEAUTIFUL at the end. Maybe a 20 minute walk each way. Ok, now I need to do this with my kids again.
    http://www.dnv.org/ecology/park_trails.html

    Hard to say because I don't know hikes in Vancouver as well. Oh, you know what's gorgeous in North VAn? Lighthouse Park. LOVE it. If we lived closer we would go there more often.

    I wonder if you could just start by hiking a bit in the UBC endowment lands...that might be easiest and nice and close for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh! Lynn Canyon! Lighthouse Park! AHHH, need more summer. Ok, in truth, we'll be ok with hiking in cooler weather too ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Louise - all great suggestions (although I am totally scared of the suspension bridge)! We do hike around in the Endowment Lands a lot, but it is all so loopy that we are never too far from home if we need to pull the plug - it is what makes me more nervous about trying longer out and backs, even though I know that 95% of the time Sam would have no problem with the distances. We do love Lighthouse Park but I haven't been in a long time, thanks for that reminder too!

    ReplyDelete