My 4Runner, My Dog, and Me.
Meet two new additions to my family…my 4Runner Bones, and my dog Moon. Together we will had many adventures on and off the road! This post is about our very first one.
Greetings from British Columbia, Canada! I want to introduce two new additions to my family…my 4Runner Bones and my dog Moon. Bones is a 2003 4th generation Toyota 4Runner, and Moon is a 7 month old French Bulldog x Boston Terrier mix. Both of these beauties have come into my life during the past few months, and together we will have many adventures on and off the road. These photos are from our very first camping trip of the summer! If you already know who I am, you know that I love to spend most of my time outdoors. If you’re here for the first time, this website is a great place to get to know me. Feel free to snoop around.
On a partly cloudy Tuesday afternoon we drove 2 hours from downtown Vancouver to this beautiful mountainside lake. We had just enough time to take a few shots before getting rained out for the evening. Not to worry though, we spent the rest of the night camped out in the back of the 4Runner, which is super cozy with the back seats folded down. I’m going to keep this blog post short and sweet, so if you’d like to see more about this particular trip you can visit my Instagram which is linked below. There’s a story highlight called “4Runner”. Inside that highlight you’ll find an introduction to Bones, the full story of the camping trip, as well reason I named my 4Runner Bones in the first place. There’s also a highlight of Moon, for all my fellow dog lovers out there. Thanks for taking the time to read this post. We’ll see you on the next adventure!
All photos taken in collaboration with Natasha Fung.
↡ There’s more to the story…visit my Instagram ↡
Road Trip to Mount Assiniboine and the Canadian Rockies with Pacific Backroader
I road tripped to Mount Assiniboine and the Canadian Rockies in a customized Toyota 4Runner by Pacific Backroader! In this blog I’ll take you on the road with me to explore one of Canada’s most iconic Provincial Parks. I’m excited to share this journey with you! Enoy :)
Two girls, a custom overland 4Runner, an iconic Provincial Park, and ten days spent on the open road…this was an adventure of a lifetime! Let me tell you all about it.
Planning, pickup, and hitting the road!
It all started when I got some last minute camping permits for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. These permits are hard to come by so I snatched them up and started planning a road trip with my good friend and adventure pal Natasha Fung. The first thing we needed to do was find out how we would get to the trailhead which is located near Canmore, AB. The drive from downtown Vancouver to Canmore is around 10 hrs so we needed a vehicle that we could sleep in. Splitting that drive into two days is much more comfortable plus we wanted to road trip around the Rockies after hiking Mount Assiniboine. Below is the route we chose for this trip.
With all of this driving ahead of us, our ride needed to be comfortable and capable. This is where Pacific Backroader came in. We went with their 4Runner - Black Tusk. This rig has everything we needed to be self sufficient on this road trip; a 3 person rooftop tent, 4WD, high clearance, and a custom tailgate kitchen including a fridge! There is even a french press included because well, coffee is life.
We picked up Black Tusk in Vancouver on July 12th at noon. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Chris and Brit who showed us how to use/set up everything. I’ve never had to set up a rooftop tent before so this was very helpful. It was much easier than I anticipated! Natasha and I are both on the smaller side and we had no problem getting set up on our own. After getting familiar with the rig, we hit the road.
Our first night would be spent near Merritt, BC., at a beautiful lake that the folks at Pacific Backroader recommended to us. We arrived right at sunset and grabbed the last available spot to park and set up camp. After making dinner we got comfy in the rooftop tent and fell asleep to the sounds of the loons on the lake. The next morning we packed up started the second half of our drive to the Mount Shark Trailhead. This is where we would begin our trek into Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.
On the way we stopped to pick up a few things that we needed and then made our way into Kananaskis Country, which is where Mount Shark Trailhead is located. The road to Mount Shark is incredibly beautiful! The drive there is lined by brilliant blue lakes and towering mountain peaks. This trip was already blowing my mind and we hadn’t even started our hike yet. We spent the night at a campground near the trailhead so we could get an early start the next morning.
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
We started our 30km hike into Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park on July 14th. This was an epic journey and one of the most challenging hikes I’ve ever done due how long it is. We tackled the whole thing in one day using the Wonder Pass route. I’ll have to make another blog post dedicated to the Mount Assiniboine trek to share that experience with you properly. For now, here are some of my favourite images from the three days we spent in the park.
Natasha and I cheesin’ on top of The Nublet.
Mount Assiniboine at sunrise on our last day.
On our last day in the park we spent the morning at Magog Lake for sunrise. After that we packed our things and got on a helicopter which took us to Mount Shark helipad. This was a real treat rather than hiking the 30kms back out of the park. It was also Natasha’s first time in a helicopter! When we landed it was just a 2km hike down to the trailhead where we started.
A pretty epic view of Marvel Lake on our helicopter ride out of the park.
Once we arrived back at the trailhead we were reunited with Black Tusk. We were in desperate need of a hot shower and a place to do laundry so we decided to get hotel room for the night in Canmore and get back on the road the next day. After a good night’s sleep and what I think was the best shower I’ve ever taken, we drove north along the Icefields Parkway to our next location.
Abraham Lake
Setting up camp at Abraham Lake
When we arrived at Abraham Lake we couldn’t believe our eyes! This place is stunning - insane mountain views everywhere you look! It felt like we were camped beside the ocean because of the size of this massive lake. Shortly after setting up camp, we were greeted by a wild wind storm. Dark clouds rolled in and it started to pour down rain. We decided to hide out in the vehicle for a bit to wait out the storm instead of having to move to another spot. Natasha had a little nap while I watched the storm. After two hours the skies started to clear and a rainbow appeared! This sight confirmed to me that waiting out the storm was the right call. By this time it was right before sunset so we started a campfire (which struggled to stay lit due to the wind and light rain), made some dinner and took a few photos before we lost the light. After enjoying a moody sunset, we crawled up into the tent and had a snooze. The next morning we woke up to a pretty epic sunrise! Video proof down below…
Told you it was an epic sunrise! After shooting for a couple of hours, we had a post-sunrise nap. When we got up I made us bacon and eggs on the tailgate kitchen for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day hanging out on the beach before packing up camp to get back on the road. It was tough leaving this place, I could have easily stayed for another night or two but it was time to get moving. Next stop - Jasper, AB.
Jasper, AB.
Our road trip was coming to an end soon and at this point we were both getting pretty tired. We booked a campsite at Wabasso Campground in Jasper for the night. It was time to relax by the fire and make S’MORES! Personally, I really needed this chill night and it was absolutely perfect. Campfire, s’mores, chill music and a good friend made for a lovely evening. I think I had one of the best sleeps I’ve ever had while camping on this night.
The next day it was time to leave the Rockies and cover some serious ground to make it to our final camp spot of the trip in Chilliwack, BC. This drive would take us around 7 hours so we hit the road nice and early. I was super excited about this next location. One of my friends who lives in Chilliwack told us about this secret spot which I won’t disclose the location of, but I will share some awesome photos with you!
Chilliwack, BC.
EPIC sunset on our last night!
This spot was hard to get to, having 4WD and high clearance really came in handy. The road leading up here was very rough with lots of deep cross ditches. Upon arrival at the top we witnesses an incredible, moody sunset! After setting up camp we enjoyed some s’mores by the fire while chatting about how epic this trip had been. We were so stoked on all of the amazing places that Pacific Backroader had made it possible for us to see.
On our last day we packed up camp and made the final push back to Vancouver to return Black Tusk. At this point we were both SO tired, but so happy! This trip was one for the books. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.
Thanks and credits
Huge thanks to Pacific Backroader for such an EPIC experience!
If you’d like to see
more behind the scenes from this trip you can find my
Instagram story
highlight here.
All of the photos and video that you see in this post are in collaboration with Natasha Fung.
For more info and rental rates visit www.pacificbackroader.com and check them out on Instagram @pacificbackroader
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any feedback or questions you may have in the comment section. I’ll get back to you asap.
-Nina Defilla