Della Falls Hiking Trip (June 27-29, 2021)
Before the Hike
We had been looking forward to our first backcountry hiking trip with Charlotte and Bear for weeks. Della Falls is located in Strathcona Provincial Park and is Canada’s highest waterfall with a vertical drop of 440m. We opted to take the Della Falls Water Taxi, which cost $165/person and $40 for our dog, rather than paddle the 35 km across Grand Central Lake to the trailhead. After booking the water taxi in early April, I had made endless to-do lists and researched how to camp with a baby.
In mid-May, Rod and I spent a weekend car camping at Nanaimo Lakes to test out some of our gear and “practice” sleeping in a tent with our baby and dog. Charlotte slept relatively well in her Kangapouch down sleep sack, however she woke up every couple of hours and ended up sleeping between Rod and I on our air mattresses, rather than in her playpen. Bear frequently moved around the tent and woke us all up at the crack of dawn both mornings. As our Della Falls trip approached, we had realistically low expectations about the sleeping situation.
I sought advice from our family physician, who recommended that we pack the following items as part of a baby first aid kit: thermometer, children’s Gravol suppository, baby Tylenol, hydrocortisone cream 1% and antibiotic ointment.
We purchased a Garmin InReach Mini so that we could communicate with family and friends, as well as send out an SOS if we were in an emergency situation. I left a detailed trip plan with my mom and some close friends with the following information: our approximate hiking times (including start/stop times), possible locations where we were planning on camping and daily check-in times when I planned to send a message. Having access to a satellite phone and knowing how to use it provided us with a bit more comfort to bring a baby into the wilderness.
Day 1
Time of Day: 9:10-16:35
Elapsed Time: 7h 25m
Moving Time: 6h 29m
Distance: 19.1 km
Elevation Gain: 679 m
Temperature: 25-38 degrees C
It was hottest day of the year during a major heat wave in BC, with temperatures forecasted up to 40°C with a humidex of 47°C in Port Alberni, the closest town. After a groggy 5 am wake-up, we arrived at Grand Central Lake just in time to catch our 8 am Della Falls Water Taxi. Rod’s 75 L pack weighed 52.5 lbs and mine was probably 35-40 lbs (7.5 lb pack, 18 lb Charlotte and 10-15 lbs of water, food and gear). The water was flat calm and it was 22°C but felt much hotter with the high humidity. Our boat captain, Zack, drove us, along with a friendly couple from Cowichan Lake, across the lake, which took about 50 minutes. On the way, Zack gave us a trail report; he warned us that the bugs were pretty bad for the first 6 km and that Love Lake, our objective for Day 2, was still mostly frozen and snow covered.
After we docked and unloaded at the Della Falls trailhead, we generously applied our baby-friendly bug spray, donned our bug nets and draped a large net over the Osprey baby backpack to protect Charlotte. Rod used our trekking poles to keep himself upright and I held Bear’s leash as we began our long walk in the woods. The first few kilometers were easygoing, except for the constant buzzing of mosquitoes and black flies around our heads. Thankfully, most of the trail was in the shade so it was not nearly as hot as we had expected.
The first 6.5 km followed an old miner’s track up the Drinkwater Creek valley and was very straightforward to follow, with a couple of shallow creek crossings where Bear happily drank water. At the Margaret Creek bridge (6.5 km), we briefly paused to enjoy the cool air emanating from the raging rapids and removed our bug nets. We stopped for our first break around 8 km (2 hours) when Charlotte woke up from her first nap. One of the key things I have learned when hiking with a baby is that when the baby is sleeping, do not stop hiking unless absolutely necessary as the baby will wake up. We filtered some water, ate our morning snack and did a quick diaper change.
The trail steadily began to climb away from the creek and it became slightly more rugged, with various sized boulders, roots and the occasional blown down tree to navigate. It was noticeably warmer as the day went on and we began to sweat heavily. A few groups of people heading out to the trailhead kindly gave us campsite recommendations and shared approximate hiking times to the cable car and campsites. At 11.5 km, we arrived at the cable car. This was our first time on a cable car and I was nervous how Charlotte and Bear would do being swung over a rushing river in a small metal container. Although the maximum weight was supposedly 600 lbs, we decided to make 3 trips across to be safe. On the first trip, Rod transported his heavy backpack across to the other side. He returned to our side, then I transported Charlotte in the backpack across. The most challenging part was hoisting her from the cable car up onto the platform. Finally, Rod lifted a rather hesitant Bear into the cable car and transported him over to our side.
At this point, we were hungry but there was no decent place to stop for lunch until an hour after the cable crossing. On the way, we enjoyed the occasional blast of cool air walking by caves, large rocks and close to the creek. There was a pair of narrow metal bridges we had to cross and my heart stopped when Bear slipped and nearly fell off the bridge into the rapids below. He somehow managed to cling on for dear life and made it across to safety. We were starving by the time we stopped for a late lunch just before the Drinkwater Creek Gravel unofficial campsite. We considered camping there but decided against it due to the abundance of littered toilet paper and obvious signs of inconsiderate human waste everywhere. Bear has a certain affinity for human excrement and we didn’t want to share a tent with him if he indulged.
Leaving the campsite, we carefully skirted around the edge of the river on large boulders. We began our final steep climb up to the Saw Camp and Bear was ecstatic to discover small patches of snow that were protected in the shade, where he could roll around to cool himself. We dropped Rod’s pack at an idyllic campsite next to the raging river and continued hiking for another 20 minutes to the base of Della Falls. The sun had just set over the mountains, but the falls were in full flow, roaring so lively that we had to shout to hear one another.
After taking several photos and videos, we returned to set up our camp, which was challenging with a crawling, energetic baby. Thankfully, the tent functioned as a large playpen once it was set up and Charlotte was very entertained playing with our hiking gear. Rod and I took turns refreshing ourselves in the freezing water of the raging river. When we were getting set up to prep dinner, we discovered that our MSR Whisperlite stove was not working. Thankfully, one of the other hikers from our water taxi kindly lent us her stove so we could boil water for dinner and she helped Rod replace every part from our stove repair kit. Thankfully, they finally managed to get it working.
I fed Charlotte a Baby Gourmet pouch for dinner, brushed her teeth and put her down to sleep in the tent. To keep her bedtime routine consistent with what we do at home, I used a portable white noise machine but it was unnecessary due to the soothing sounds of Drinkwater Creek. Rod and I ate dehydrated meals for dinner then packed all our food, toiletries, dirty diapers and soiled laundry into the nearby bear cache and fell asleep next to Charlotte and Bear well before it was dark outside.
Day 2
Time of Day: 9:53-16:11
Elapsed Time: 6h 18m
Moving Time: 4h 12m
Distance: 10.3 km
Elevation Gain: 763 m
Temperature: 29-40 degrees C
Surprisingly, we all slept in until after 7 am. I think we were all exhausted from the first day. Charlotte was not a fan of being spoon-fed baby oatmeal, which made breakfast quite frustrating. However, the alternative to let her feed herself would be too messy and I was convinced that it would attract bears if she was covered in food.
We didn’t manage to start hiking up to Love Lake until nearly 10 am. Charlotte was fussy for the first few minutes, but she fell asleep within 15 minutes. Rod and I underestimated the length and strenuous nature of this day hike, but we had thankfully we packed plenty of water and food. I realized that I was dehydrated the previous day as I only peed twice on the trail, so I tried to consciously drink more frequently, especially because I was still nursing Charlotte several times a day.
The trail headed up steep switchbacks on a narrow track, riddled with unstable rocks and blowdown from past windstorms. Eventually, we came to the Henderson Lookout, which gifted us with breathtaking views of Big Interior Mountain, Nine Peaks and Della Falls. Soon after, the trail leveled out a bit and we suddenly hit the snowpack that we had been warned about. Bear was ecstatic to see snow; he rolled around in it to cool off and sprinted back and forth between us and the other couple that was hiking close to us.
It was nearly impossible to follow the trail when it was covered in 10 feet of snow! We eventually found some rock cairns and slowly made our way down to a snow-covered meadow where we decide to stop for lunch. Rod wandered down to a small opening in the frozen lake to filter water and I tried to feed Charlotte lunch, but she did not want anything to eat – she was definitely overtired by this point, possibly overheated and probably irritated by the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow. We moved to a spot with a small amount of shade and managed to get a bit of food and water in her before starting our descent back down to our camp. Thankfully, she quickly fell asleep.
On our way back down, Bear became increasingly fatigued. He was panting heavily and frequently sitting or lying down on the trail, which is unusual for a herding dog like him. We got worried when he refused to drink water from his bowl and decided to let him have a bit of a rest in the shade. We didn’t pack any dog food for our day hike so I gave him the rest of Charlotte’s baby food pouch, which he happily ate. Rod would not have been able to carry him down the rest of the way back to our campsite; the terrain was steep and dangerous and Bear was too heavy. In that moment, I vowed to research emergency dog harnesses and what to pack in a dog first aid kit, so that we would be more prepared next time. As we continued to descend, we found some little streams trickling across the trail and Bear finally drank some water. Back at our campsite, Bear gobbled up his dinner and promptly fell asleep, barely lifting his head for the rest of the evening. Rod and I took turns bathing in the water again, which felt incredible after such a hot day. After an early dinner, we crawled into the tent well before dark, completely exhausted but relieved that we all made it back to camp safely.
Day 3
Time of Day: 8:19-13:20
Elapsed Time: 5h 1m
Moving Time: 4h 15m
Distance: 15.2 km
Elevation Gain: 320 m
Temperature: 25-33 degrees C
The next morning, it took us 2 hours to eat breakfast, pack up and leave camp, which was an improvement from the previous day. Rod’s backpack was considerably lighter but mine felt just as heavy, likely due to the fatigue from the previous 2 days. Our water taxi pick-up was scheduled for 2 pm, so we left just after 8 am to allow for plenty of time to navigate the cable car, the narrow bridge obstacle and budget some extra rest for Bear on our way back to the trailhead.
After practicing her whistle blowing skills, Charlotte contently fell asleep around 9:30 am. At the pair of narrow bridges, Bear successfully crossed the first bridge, but refused to set foot on the second one where he had nearly plunged to his death 2 days earlier. Rod removed his backpack and carried Bear across the bridge to safety in his arms.
Hiking the trail in reverse was so much faster because it was all downhill and we were not exerting ourselves nearly as much as on the way in. We were pleased to realize that it only took us an hour and a half of easy hiking to reach the cable car. As Charlotte had woken up from her nap, we took a 30-minute break at the cable car and let her practice her walking on a wooden bench. It took 3 hours to reach Margaret Creek, where we sat opposite our fellow hiking couple and ate lunch, filtered water and loaded up on bug spray and bug nets before beginning the final descent back to the trailhead.
We speed hiked the last 6.5 km in an hour and 20 minutes, refusing to stop at all in the buggy section of the trail. Finally, we arrived back at the trailhead and took off our backpacks and hiking boots. The very best part of the day was jumping in the refreshing Grand Central Lake at the end. We had a quick boat ride back to the east end of the lake and headed back to Nanaimo for chips, burgers, beer and ice cream (and a 35°C house without air conditioning!).
Lessons Learned
- Be realistic. We knew that we were going to be hiking in a record-breaking heat wave and had agreed that we would cut our hike short or even turn around and head back to the trailhead if we felt that we, our dog or baby were in danger. The Della Falls boat captain even gave me his personal cell number in case we needed an earlier pick-up.
- Be prepared. We were very grateful to have packed a repair kit for our stove, otherwise we would have completely relied on our fellow hikers in order to cook our meals.
- Consider every emergency. We were ill-equipped to manage Bear’s heat exhaustion and we were not prepared to carry him down the mountain. In the future, we need to carry a dog carrying harness and a dog first aid kit.
- Pack lightly or as the saying goes, “every ounce counts”. It is way more exhausting to carry a heavy pack, especially in the heat and when there is a large elevation gain. We could have decreased weight by using a 2-person tent instead of a 4-person tent, streamlining our snacks and leaving some non-essential baby gear (e.g. white noise machine) at home.
- Enjoy every imperfect moment. Nothing is ever going to go exactly according to plan when there is a baby (and dog) involved. We tried not to stress about Charlotte’s naptimes and bedtime and figured that no matter how fussy she became, she would eventually fall asleep. There is something very special about sharing your love of the outdoors with your children, without any other distractions around. It makes you appreciate realize how little we actually need to be happy.
