Sometimes being bold is being brave, and sometimes being brave is crazy or it pays off.
Heading out on a 12km uphill cross country ski for a two night hut stay as 4 adults with 5 children under the age of 6 is, in my opinion, quite brave.
But, we did it and we laughed and the pay-off was huge; happy kids in a wild environment with friends, celebrating the gift of being alive, and a 2 year olds birthday!
I would and will do it again in a heartbeat!
Elizabeth Parker Hut sits just up from Lake O’hara in a wide meadow.
It’s a small hut compared to the tall mountains that rise above it, but it is a huge hut if you are a but a wee
child with an exploring heart. We were gifted with beautiful weather and the kind of snow that could be easily moulded into snowmen,
which lead to endless enjoyment in a sea of snow.
Planning and executing a winter family trip has many variables with young children,
but I have found that the best adventures are often made with friends in tow.
The kids are distracted and happily entertained by each others jokes, antics and are motivated by each others skills.
Our ski up to the Elizabeth Parker Hut began from the Lake O’hara parking lot, just off of Hwy 1.
The road into Lake O’hara, which is accessed by school bus and a reservation system in the summer, is closed in the winter.
The only way in is a walk, ski or snowshoe up the 12km windy road.
We slapped on the skinny skis and promptly began dropping gummy bears along the trail.
Not only did this provide motivation for the kids, it also created a lite competitive spirit to get to that next gummy bear first.
Lunch stops and water breaks and a few meltdowns later, (notably by yours truly, who
overestimated her strength and underestimated the weight of the chariot) we arrived.
It took us 6 hours of skiing to arrive to a warm fire in a log cabin the depths of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The whiskey jacks made friends with the kids and their ability to leave crumb treasures behind in spades.
Exploring the wood piles, outhouses and bunk beds inside and around the Elizabeth Parker Hut made for hours of entertainment,
not to mention tobogganing down the roof of the hut on cookie trays!
The adults found joy in the bag of wine, the fresh air and the wild open space.
As always, I tote my camera along. I lack the ability to “un-see” the world from a photographic perspective and, I feel naked without my camera
to frame and capture our relationships with each other and our loved ones.
Isn’t that what it’s all about anyways; experiencing life with your friends and family?!
How do you build and capture your moments as a family?
What adventures made you stop and think, and grow a little more?
Which adventures with your people ask you to dig deeper?
I guess, in a sense, what I always want to know is; what makes you, you?
What makes you a family?
In life we build our relationships through actions and experiences,
these are the tangible moments that make up who you are,
and the only ones that really matter.
These also happen to be the moments I enjoy photographing the most. The nitty gritty!
I want to capture and document your ski, or hike or breakfast time or snowman building!
It doesn’t have to be a 12km ski into Lake O’hara, that’s just for crazy people 
What we learned from our trip was:
1) we should have made it a 3 night stay
2) we might have needed more wine
3) we sometimes underestimate our children’s abilities, they are totally capable
4) good weather makes adventures fun and
5) sleeping together in a small cabin with 4 adults and 5 children = zero sleep!
A small gallery of our adventures is highlighted below.
Thanks to Steph O’Brien for having the wildest of ideas and for her family for being excellent adventure companions!
I can’t wait to see where we end up next.
What are your family day / week plans? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear how you build your time together as a family?
In conclusion!
When you ski up 12km, it means you get to ski back DOWN 12km on the way home!
Check out the video on my Facebook Page @rachelboekelphotography to see what it looks like to haul a chariot,
backpack and kids down the road from Lake O’hara.
Happy Family Day Week!
by rachel
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