Getaway to Island Lake Lodge

Posted on September 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

We go to Fernie a lot in the summer and have spent the past several years exploring the many hiking trails in the area. A favourite place to go has been Island Lake, a beautiful mountain lake located up a winding dirt road that travels through Mt. Fernie Provincial Park. We usually just walk around the lake with the kids — or canoe on it — but this summer we had the opportunity to leave the children in Fernie with Grammie and spend a night at Island Lake Lodge to celebrate our anniversary (16 years!). This meant we could graduate beyond the lake trail to the more difficult ascents above timberline.

Taking a rest on Spineback Trail.

Taking a rest on Spineback Trail.

The lodge is best known as a cat-skiing base during the winter, when feet of epic Fernie powder fall on the slopes that surround the lake like an amphitheatre. Come summer the area transforms into a beautiful mountain sanctuary, with old growth cedar forests giving way to sub-alpine meadows dotted with wildflowers and rocky escarpments inhabited by marmots and pikas.

We opted for Spineback Trail, a hike that climbs 530 metres over 3.5 kilometres up a ridge. The payoff? It’s a great workout and there’s a lovely wooden bench at the trail’s terminus that affords an eagle’s eye view of Island Lake and the lodge far below.

Look down, waaaay down: Island Lake and the lodge as seen from the top of Spineback Trail.

Look down, waaaay down: Island Lake and Island Lake Lodge as seen from the top of Spineback Trail near Fernie, B.C..

We boogied back in a short but insistent rain storm and headed straight for the hot tub to help us warm up and rejuvenate our over-tired muscles. Then it was time for a rich dinner of duck, lobster, creme brûlée and lots of wine, served in the main lodge. The mountain air afforded us a sleep in (kid-free, hooray!) and we emerged for a buffet breakfast and a short hike around the lake. There wasn’t a lot of time to luxuriate in our cozy room in Cedar Lodge (complete with balcony and mountain view), but the point of an escape to Island Lake is to get active in a breathtakingly beautiful place. What a great way to spend our anniversary — doing something we love, together, in the mountains. We’ll be back!

A beautiful summer morning at Island Lake.

A beautiful summer morning at Island Lake.

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Posted in Outdoor Adventure, Travel

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Drinks of the Week: Engineered Cocktails

Posted on September 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

Billed as a “Stampede for geeks” the Beakerhead festival is running in Calgary through Sunday, Sept. 15. Events across the city, such as today’s Sustainival — a “green” carnival featuring rides powered on renewable energy — celebrate art, science and engineering.

This year, part of the festivities include Engineered Eats, a series of special dishes at seven local restaurants that show off the latest food trend: molecular gastronomy (that’s industry-speak for getting scientifically fancy with food). Because cocktail culture in Calgary keeps growing, bartenders at those restos have gotten their geek on too, by coming up with engineered cocktails to complement the eats.

I attended an Engineered Eats sneak preview earlier this week and was impressed by the creativity of local mixologists.

This cinnamon-infused shot comes in a sphere of ice that you crack open with a mini mallet. Inventive!

This kaffir-coconut shot comes in a sphere of ice that you crack open with a mallet.

Event host Muse showed its inventiveness by re-imagining my favourite childhood refreshment, the push-pop. The Kensington restaurant slushified a tequila sunrise, added a pinch of cayenne and some sous-vide fruit gel, then devised a way for the resulting mass to become spicier as you pushed it to the top of the somewhat leaky push-pop device. CHARCUT created a cognac Manhattan and topped it with a vanilla-apple foam. And Raw Bar raised the bar on presentation by injecting its delicious kaffir-coconut-cinnamon concoction into a perfectly round sphere of ice. It was a little confusing as to how I was supposed to drink it until bartender Christina Mah handed me a little mallet with which to crack it open.

I wouldn’t reccomend making any of these complicated cocktails at home, unless you have a chemistry lab in your basement. Instead, all are available at the participating restaurants through Sunday. Here’s the complete list:

  • Candela Lounge: Reverse rhubarb mojito
  • CHARCUT Roast House: Autumn in Cognac
  • dtf (Downtownfood): Gin sour
  • Muse: Tequila sunrise push-pop
  • Raw Bar at Hotel Arts: Kaffir-Coconut Cocktail
  • Taste: Black & white Russian

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Drink of the Week: Basil Gin Smash

Posted on September 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

A bag of lemons and a container of basil make lovely bedfellows when they find themselves in the drink with a bottle of Victoria Gin. The resulting love child is called a basil gin smash.

This twist on a classic smash is an aromatic end-of-summer sipper. But good luck just sipping it.

This twist on a classic smash is an aromatic end-of-summer sipper. But good luck just sipping it.

Traditionally, a smash is a short cocktail with a base spirit, sugar, perhaps a touch of lemon or lime, ice and mint. Sometimes a liqueur is used in place of sugar syrup, or a grapefruit gets juiced rather than a lemon. But there is always mint. Unless, of course, you use basil. I prefer basil with gin as it plays nicely with the spirit’s botanicals and I sometimes find mint too overpowering.

Once in the glass the drink performs as a smash ought to; as in, you’ll become what you’re drinking after a couple (ahem, smashed) because they are so good you will chugalug instead of just sipping. Oops.

Basil Gin Smash

  • 5 fresh basil leaves, plus sprig for garnish
  • 1 oz simple syrup
  • 1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 oz gin (I used Victoria Gin)

Add basil leaves, simple syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Gently muddle until the basil is fragrant. Add gin and some ice cubes and shake. Strain into an ice-filled lowball glass and garnish with the basil sprig.

This dink is lovely with Victoria Gin.

This dink is lovely with Victoria Gin.

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