Revelstoke Reunions & Rocky Mountain Adventures: Our First Taste of Canada
An action-packed week with our ex-pat pals, travelling and adventuring in and around Revelstoke, British Columbia.
After a lifetime of wanting to visit Canada, we finally made it happen in September 2025! And quite bloody right, too, as one of Tora’s besties - Dan, and his partner Ruth - moved out there earlier in the year and have been keen to get us over to visit.
The big reveal!
With Tora’s birthday being in June, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - see a couple of mates in Canada and have something to gift Tora on their big day! Dan and I chatted about potential dates and he threw out some ideas of things to do, which enhanced my excitement levels exponentially. We settled on September as it wouldn’t be the high season for tourists, but the weather would still be decent. I couldn’t wait for June to come ‘round so I could reveal the surprise and we could get excited together!
We decided we’d spend one week with Dan and Ruth in Revelstoke where they now live, and one week in an RV that we’d hire and travel further afield in! Read more about renting an RV in Canada; logistics, driving over there, etc.
September quickly came around and off we went. We rented a car for the first week - we were expecting very little from the “VW Jetta or similar” we selected - just a run-of-the-mill car to get from A to B, knowing we had a monster of a vehicle (the RV) to pick up in a week’s time. Upon arrival at the pickup desk, they said they’d actually given us a free upgrade and we were getting a brand new Mazda SUV! We were handed the keys, given directions as to where it was parked and we went skipping off to find it. First thing… keyless start. Where’s the button?! Second… no handbrake! How do you actually drive this thing?! That is on top of being on the left side of the car vs the right which I’m used to in the UK. One thing is for sure, I’m glad we got an automatic! We finally figured out how to turn the damn thing on and leave the car park, but getting used to it took some time. After an eight‑hour overnight flight on one hour of sleep, renting a car in a country where everything’s on the opposite side - and then driving four more hours - was a real challenge.
Despite all the above, the car was actually great. Going from a 2007 Ford Transit to this was one hell of a transition, but in all the best ways. So many gadgets: cruise control, automatic braking when getting too close to the car in front, settings that prevent getting within a certain distance of the car in front, a feature that pops you back into the lane if you’re veering off (which, for anyone who’s driven on the “wrong” side of the road, you’ll know how often this happens), and a touch-screen entertainment system with Android Auto. Oooof, this felt like futuristic living, when in reality we just exist 18 years in the past with our van.
Dan recommended a Mexican restaurant about half way, to break up the drive. It was called Reposados in a small town called Golden. The food was divine and there were a lot of vegan options. I could have sat there all afternoon to be honest, and watched the world go by, but no no, we still had a further two hours to drive. Bellies full, we hit the road once more.
Our arrival at Dan and Ruth’s was pristine. We were greeted by huge hugs and smiles, and the gorgeous smell of pine from all the trees in their neighbourhood. We instantly knew we were in for a great week and couldn’t wait to bed down and start fresh in the morning!
Ruth was working the next day unfortunately, but Dan took me and Tora into the town centre of Revelstoke and we had a relaxing morning looking around the weekly Farmer’s Market. We got ourselves a coffee and strolled around in the sun before heading off to a nearby waterfall. The waterfall was impressive enough, but when we looked into the basin of the falls, we could see loads of salmon starting their journey upstream! It was so cool to see all the shimmers of deep reddish orange in the pristinely clear water below. We had a walk around the area and got our first glimpse of the real Canada - out in nature, forests full of tall pine trees, huge expanses of water and giant mountains in the background. It was magic.
After our fun morning frolicking around waterfalls and Farmer’s Markets, we thought it’d be a nice surprise to go and see Ruth at work, and leave the car with her as we were ready for our first trip to the pub. She worked on the outskirts of town, and we met her colleague/friend - Tina - who was great. We decided there and then that we’d all do a hike to Balu Pass the very next day!
After sufficiently distracting Ruth at work, we set off on our merry way back into town. It seems like a walk to town isn’t complete without a pitstop at Big Eddy Pub! Here, they have their own take on the classic Canadian Caesar - aptly named Big Eddy Caesar. It came with a pepperoni stick in it, of which Dan had to eat mine and Tora’s, being the boring veggies we are, but the drink itself was soooooooooo good! We sat sipping those in the sun, while we caught up on all sorts of life events that have been happening since Dan and Tor last saw each other, before then making our way further into town for some beers at one of Dan’s favourite breweries.
We didn’t go on a mad one because we were both jet-lagged, and aware we had a big hike schedule for the next day, but it was an enjoyable afternoon spent in great company.
That brings us onto the next activity - Balu Pass with Dan, Ruth, Tina and her partner. For this hike, you are fined if you’re in a group of fewer than four people due to the risk of bears in the area, and bear spray must be carried at all times. All equipped, we set off, eager to see what wildlife and views would be had on the hike ahead. Up through the forest for around 1km, then into the gorgeous open meadows, before reaching the steep section at the top where we were hit with a load of switchbacks. The variety is one of the things that kept this hike fun and interesting. Another thing was wildlife spotting! Tina had done the hike before, and knew there was a high chance of seeing marmots, and a small chance of seeing pikas. I’d never seen either of these animals in real life, and actually, I hadn’t heard of a pika before then! To our surprise, we were lucky enough to see both during this hike! The pika was in the distance, but I managed to get a somewhat blurry shot of it with the zoom on my phone, and the first pair of marmots were just frolicking around in the bushes.
As well as the wildlife, there was an abundance of huckleberries for the duration of the second half of the trail. We’d also never had huckleberries before so decided to try one - delicious! I had purple fingers by the time we got up the mountain from gorging on all the fattest ones I could find. They were divine - and obviously served a purpose of keeping our energy levels up with all the natural sugars.
We reached the top, and the views were absolutely breathtaking. The sharpness of the mountains were incredible, and each time you turned around you were transported into a brand new scene, full of wonder about what additional wildlife might be out there.
After a brief snack at the top, we started to make our way back down the mountain. This is when we bumped into the cheekiest of marmots! Like me, he was also a big huckleberry fan, and would stop at nothing to get the most delicious ones he could sense. He was totally unbothered by us, and grazed merrily as we watched him from about 2m away. It was an incredible experience. This is one of my favourite videos of him that shows him going into his burrow then popping back out as if to ask “are you still here?!”
The hike in total was 14.28km, elevation of 855m and it took us 4h 11m to complete. With hearts full of wholesome joy, and eyeballs full of gorgeous scenery, we reached the bottom and headed back home. What a beautiful day!
Another stunning day came a couple of days later when Tora and I went off for a scenic drive to Meadows in the Sky, followed by a little hike to the summit of Mt Revelstoke. This is another place you can spend hours at a time just gazing into the distance at all the mountains in eyeshot. The tall pine trees in the foreground, completing the true Canadian scenery. The pictures speak for themselves, and apart from the stunning drive up and the beautiful views, there’s not much to report back on from that day. Oh, we enjoyed a sandwich by the pond!
Dan, Tora and I had been discussing getting tattoos, as an activity option while we were there, and since seeing those delightful little marmots, we thought what better subject to choose to represent our time in Canada together?! It was a truly special time just standing there watching them go about their business, while other hikers went on past. So, with that, we got to brainstorming ideas. Dan wanted one standing upright on his lower calf, so that when he’s wearing his cycling socks and shorts, the marmot’s head would be poking out over the top - cute! For me, I wanted a photograph I’d taken to be turned into a sketch-style tattoo, with a stick ‘n’ poke part to it, and Tora wanted a very chilled out marmot lying in a bush having a smoke.
We came across a tattoo artist who seemed perfect for the job - Kata, from Acoustic Ink - and we reached out to her. To our amazement, she said she’d be able to get all three of us done the very next day! We did think this was ambitious considering what we all wanted, plus she wanted to design them herself rather than copying any stock images (which aligned perfectly with what we wanted, too), but we went along the next morning anyway to have a chat, and see what she’d come up with.
First up in the hotseat, my design was ready and I really liked it, but there were a few tweaks I wanted to make - we worked through it together and I was chuffed with the final result. She didn’t take long at all to do it, and that was with the stick ‘n’ poke marmot itself. Next, up was Tora. Kata had designed such a cool little marmot chilling amongst the flowers. It’s a quirky cartoon-style drawing and is exactly what Tor was after! Finally, it was Dan’s turn. As mentioned, he wanted a marmot standing on its back legs, and Kata hit the nail on the head with a beautifully executed stamp-style tattoo. We were all chuffed with our new little memoirs of our trip, and will look at them with happy memories for years to come, I’m sure.
Dan had a real treat for us the next day. We were off camping!! Proper… in the wild… Canadian camping! He and Ruth had found a spot last summer right by a lake, with a perfectly flat area to pitch a tent. It was better than I could have ever imagined. It was as if there was a bedroom with space for two tents, and a living room area with a great big fire pit waiting for us to sit around for the rest of the night. The lake was absolutely serene, and we were all looking forward to getting the paddleboards out the next day when it was light.
Tora cooked a curry whilst we sat around the fire. That, paired with some craft beer from the local liquor shop and some sweet treats for after, just topped off that night perfectly.
Waking up to the mist on the lake at sunrise was nothing short of magical. We took it in turns to get on the paddleboard and check out the views from the lake itself, rather than just the edge. It was the perfect way to start the day.
Talking of magical experiences created by Dan, he also took us for a relatively short hike to a breathtaking viewpoint, looking over Revelstoke with the Columbia River in the foreground. He whipped out the cutest tiny paint set and had us paint the scene in front of him. All three of us were totally in the zone. There’s something special about paying close enough attention to really absorb the whole scene. Check out our works of art! Each one quite different, but all perfect nonetheless.
More wholesomeness was to follow that afternoon, when we attended the Revelstoke “Skate Jam for Palestine” - this was a wonderful gathering of people wishing to support the people of Palestine, and raise awareness for the genocide that is happening, and has been happening for years. Naturally, the “Skate Jam” was held at the skate park, and there were people of all ages tuning up with their skateboards, to showcase a few tricks and compete for various prizes like t-shirts, socks, hats, etc. It was such a positive atmosphere while raising money and awareness for such a negative thing that’s going on in the world. As well as the skate competition, there were various market stalls there and a raffle. We actually won a Big Eddy T-Shirt and some stickers, which now live proudly in our van.
Sadly, our last day with Dan and Ruth came around ridiculously quick, and it was time to have one last adventure before saying goodbye to them in Canmore. Of course, we weren’t just going to drive straight to Canmore, we wanted to take a walk around Emerald Lake, and on the way to that, there’s a pitstop by “Natural Bridge” that Dan and Ruth recommended. Natural Bridge is exactly what it says… it’s a bridge made out of a natural thing - in this case, a rock where the waters of Kicking Horse River gush through the middle of it, creating a waterfall-type effect out the other end. 8KM north of Natural Bridge is Emerald Lake. Again, the name says it all - the lake is the colour of a gorgeous emerald, glowing a vibrant green from any angle. We strolled around the lake, chatting and savouring the last day together then grabbed a hot chocolate and headed to Canmore for a final meal and some farewell beers.
